Thread: 6.5mm sub 250m bullet recommendations

As the title suggests I'm looking for 6.5mm bullet recommendations for under 250m.

I will be using point blank range, no range finder, no bipod, there are no adjustable turrets on the scope and it's a plex reticle (at some point I may measure the sub-tensions and work out drops). The reason for a 130gr preference, less drop and marginal difference in wind drift.

Quarry: goats up to red deer, maybe sambar. A few assumptions: 120gr will probably be too light for the bigger animals, and a premium bullet shouldn't be necessary.
Distance: anywhere up to 250m.
Velocities: ~2650fps for 140gr, ~2750fps for 130gr, and ~2850fps for 120gr.
Cost: under $100 per 100.

First hand experience would be useful, any suggestions with justifications are welcome. I've narrow the selection down to a few choices:

Hornady Interlock SP 129gr: Well constructed, flat base (which may have an advantage inside 300m?), cheap.
Hornady SST 140gr: Might be bit explosive hence the extra weight.
Sierra Gameking HPBT 130gr: Supposedly very accurate, heavier construction than the 140gr Gameking but may have excessive meat damage.
Sierra Gamechanger 130gr: Heavier construction than the 140gr Gameking.

This bullet performs extremely well at faster impact speeds. Have guided two guys using this bullet, watched them poleaxe a heavy red hind and spiker at 200m-ish, and another hind at 400m. Back in the shed, meat damage was minimal. Clean pass through in all three cases, good exit wound. From the nature of the wounding I would think the bullet shed a little weight, but not a lot. For closer range, that’s what you want, else you end up with too much blood shot.

https://www.speer.com/bullets/rifle_...264140GDB.html

I don’t use this bullet myself because my 6.5 is almost exclusively used for longer range stuff and I have no desire to change from the ELDX. If however I was to build a lightweight carry rifle in 6.5 for closer range stuff like you then this is the bullet I would choose, no question.

140grn partition should be top of the list.....

Do a google search for Speer Gold Dot expansion tests. Jonny tested the 6.5 them quite thoroughly. I don’t really see the point of doing an expansion test at 10 yards though...

I load Hornady 129 SP in my mats daughters .260 they have shot alot of goats fallow and a couple of reds he says they are awesome

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Anything 120 -140gr should suit. 120s have plenty enough smack on reds at reasonable ranges.
I tend to go light, fast and hardish or heavy, Slow and Softish.
I use 120gr speer Gold dot in a 260 and 140gr Hornady spire point in a 6.5 x 55.
Creek and slips hunting

143 eldx have shots shit loads of various animals with them.
Reasonably priced and accurate

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Speer 140 gn hotcore - excellent pill for what you want & hard to beat at $54/100. If you got plenty of cash go 140 partitions

what kind of 6,5 are we talking

Sierra 120gr Pro Hunters. Cheap, effective, reliable and very accurate.

Greetings,
129 grain Interlock for me. Accurate in most rifles, even those with long throats. Easy to get over 2,800 fps to keep that trajectory flat for point blank out to 250 metres (with a 180 metre zero). Good price and availability. Wind deflection a non issue out to 250. What else could you possibly need.
Grandpamac.

The Sierra 130 Gameking was very accurate across a range of powder loads in my 260.
The 143gr eld-x shot well too.

The 125 Partition is one of the better allrounders for your given parameters, will open on lighter framed animals, but still punch deep/through big heavy animals - but if it's all about cheap,cheap,cheap - go the 120 Sierra Prohunter or 130 Sierra Gameking hp. BC's not the best 6.5 stuff, but you're not proposing to knock animals over at 400 either.

i use 140gr and 120gr gold dots in one of my 6.5s 120 mk i think it is in one of my other ones 140gr speer hot cores in another of my 6.5s and trailing a 90-100gr load in another one all work good so far just depends which one we are talking about

Had multiple 6.5s. Gotta be the 130hpbt gameking. Ran them at 2700~ and they were lethal.
Had a 260 running 140 sierra gamekings @ 2520 and they were epic. Recently shot a sika front on at sub 50m and it monster it