6.5mm 140 A-Max on deer?

[varn]

I have been using my 6.5x55 Tikka for deer the last two seasons. Shot a buck at 75 yds and a doe at 175 yards the first year with 129gr. SST's. Buck was hit in the pocket behind the shoulder right through the heart. It ran about 50 yards before piling up. Very little blood on the ground and a dime sized exit hole. I shot the doe with the same bullet quartering slightly away. I broke the near shoulder and narrowly missed the far shoulder. She ran about 100 yards and had a quarter sized exit hole. Not a great amount of blood either.
I switched to 130gr. Barnes-X TSX at 2700fps last year and shot a buck at 35 yards. Hit just on the crease behind the shoulder. It ran about 100 yards before piling up. Also very little blood on the ground and a nickel to quarter sized hole.
I'm looking for more expansion and larger exit hole. Anchoring the deer where hit would also be nice. I will be using this rifle at woods ranges (35 to 100 yards max) and at moderate field ranges (200 to 500 yards). Any opinions on the 6.5mm 140gr. A-max for use on deer at 2700 to 2800fps? Any other thoughts on acceptable bullets for this cartridge and velocity range would also be appreciated. Thank you for your time. Hello to Carl Nye. Mark Varner

 

[Saulg]

I have used FEDERAL Power Shok 140 gr with great success from 55 yds to 310 yds on on our large Canadian grain fed whitetail deer with great success.
Stats:
Velocity: M 2600 100 2402 200 2212 300 2031 400 1859
Energy: M 2102 100 1793 200 1521 300 1283 400 1074
Trajectory:
50 -0.1 100 0 200 -4.6 300 -16.2 400 -36.2
50* 1.1 100 2.3 200 0 300 -9.4 400 -27.0
Wind Drift=10 MPH
100 0.7 200 3.4 300 8.0 400 14.7

HORNADY
Velocity: M 2525 100 2341 200 2165 300 1996 400 1836
Energy: M 1982 100 1704 200 1457 300 1239 400 1048
Trajectory:
50 -1.5 100 2.4 200 0 300 -9.9 400 -28.5

Also WINCHESTER Super X have slightly higher across the board stats than the Hornady. I have used them more than any other, they are excelent but I liked, no I should say my guns liked the Federal better as to groups. I have never used the Hornady, myself, but I know them to be, from speaking and hunting with others, a well made bullet, that expands and penetrates well.

 

[sierra22]

I've used Nosler 120gr ballistic tip. Sounds perfect for the scenarios you describe. (Normal hunting with occasional long shot). You can push them out at about 880-900 m/sec with great accuracy.

 

[Charles A]

The A-Max is an outstanding bullet. If they shoot well, they would be my bullet of choice.

 

[DanielLudwig]

we had great success with 120gr. Nosler BT's and a very heavy load of RL22, dont be afraid to bump the load up past the book if you arent seeing signs of pressure, as most loads are meant for old '96 Mausers and stuff, which were a pretty weak action. We are using a Remington M700 Classic 6.5x55.
good luck
later
Dan

 

[hey]

I have Tikka T3 6.5x55, and using
ADI 2209 (IMR 4350) 48.2gn, speed 2720fps
N550 48.0gn, 2900 fps
Both loads have groups under 1 moa. I've shot a deer at 280 yards few weeks back with a-max 140gn, deer dropped about 5 meters where it been shot, but I did notice the exist wound was quite small.

Cheers
Yibai (New Zeland)