6.5x55 or 7mm Rem Mag

A

Amarillo.Mitch

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I know, I know another cartridge decision thread.

Looking for a new rifle for no other reason that I want one.

Looking to get a Tikka T3 Hunter in either 6.5x55 or 7mm Rem Mag. (already own a MRC in 257 Weatherby).

The gun will "probably" only see WT, Mule Deer, and Pronghorn. But, if luck goes my way it will go on a elk hunt.

Also, know that neither of the new cartridges probably truly offer anything substantial over the 257 Bee - but where is the fun in being a one gun guy?

What are your thoughts?
 
Well, I shoot both. I killed all my game out West (Idaho and Colorado) with the 7 Mag. Like it. It basically does what your Weatherby does with a bigger bullet. If you want something different, go with the Swede. Very pleasant to shoot, and it's my primary hunter now that I'm back East. In fact, I got it (M70 Featherweight Classic) because it was handier to carry than the Rem 700, and you don't get many 400 yard shots in Pennsylvania. As an elk round, you'd have to limit your range, meaning passing up shots you could take with the magnum knock 'em deads. But it sure will kill them. Have fun!
 
Just for reference I ran some numbers @ 500 yards with a 100 yard zero.


6.6X55, 120 gr bullet, .458 BC, @ 2950 mv, 1079 ft lbs energy -48"
6.5X55, 140gr bullet, .509 BC @ 2750 mv, 1162 ft lbs energy -55"
7mag, 162 gr bullet, .630 BC @ 3000 mv, 1921 ft lbs energy -42"
257 WBY 120 gr bullet, .391 BC @ 3250 mv, 1177 ft lbs energy -41"

and just for comparison

243, 105 gr bullet, 500 BC @ 3000 mv, 1052 ft lbs energy, -45"

This shows why a bullets BC is important. There are lots of good 6mm and even more good 6.5 and 7mm bullets. Not much in 25 caliber. While the 257 starts out looking really good and does have the least drop, it isn't significantly better than 243 or 6.5X55 in energy. And well behind 7 mag.

I'd go with the 6.5X55 unless elk were something I hunted a lot. The heavier 6.5 bullets will still take elk, but the 7 mag really shines at hitting hard at long range. The 257 shoots flat, it just doesn't hit very hard and today's range finders and scopes have made the need for flat shooting rounds less important.
 
JMR,
Thanks that was good stuff. I'm leaning more and more towards the 6.5x55. Plus it will be a pleasure to shoot in a lightweight rifle.

Could I ask you to the numbers again...only figuring sighting in 1.5" high at 100 yards and a 400 yard endzone?

Like I said, if I go on a elk hunt it will give me a (real) reason to get a "true" elk cartridge, and both the 257 and 6.5x55 can go as backups.
 
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I had a 6.5 x 55, and it was sweet and easy on the shoulder. I also had a 243. I still have a 7-08 and a 7mm mag. Since you mentioned elk, IMO, the 7mm mag gets the nod as your 257 will cover some of the pothers, especially pronghorn and whitetail.
 
The 7 mag is an excellent medium game round with adequate range for most any hunting scenario. I shot a lot of deer and several coyotes and a few elk with a 7mm Rem mag and it never failed me. The recoil finally started working on me and I cased the 7 mag about 20 years back.
I've not used a 6.5x55 but it can't be a whole lot different from a 7x57 which I have used extensively on deer and coyote.
 
I have a 6.5X55. I re-barreled another one to 7x57 when I shot the orig. barrel out. I have three 7 Rem mags. To me, there is absolutely no comparison between the two cartridges. The 6.5 x 55 is an awesome cartridge. It does not have a lot of recoil. It is accurate. You can long seat the bullet and give it a bit more power, but it is still no 7 Rem mag. It is most likely strong enough, but I would definitely prefer the 7 mag for Elk. I believe your more apples to apples comparison would be the 6.5X55 to the 7-08.
 
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This is an apples to oranges comparison.

Will a 6.5X55 kill elk? Sure, but you are talking about 100-150 yds or so. It is a finesse round, not a cannon. Get close and sneak one in between the elk's ribs and it will eventually lay down and give it up. Low recoil, good accuracy due to low recoil, add up to a good stalking rifle. Definitely not a long range rifle for elk.

Will a 7mm Rem Mag kill an elk? No doubt about it, it has the energy to take an elk down out to 1,000+ yds. The price you pay is recoil, but if you're OK with that it's no biggie.

Like others on here, I gave up the big boomers for a 7X57 years ago. And on cold, damp days, my shoulders still tell me I should have given them up even sooner.
 
I never hunted with 6.5x55 but have taken lot of bull elk and mulie bucks with 7mag. I shoot 30-338mag and I'm 74 but not sure I want to shoot 7mag or 6.5x55 in T-3 hunter.

What they weight 6.7 lbs or what max magazine length would be for either.
 
I'd vote for the 6.5, it will do anything the 7MM will do without the recoil.

The above post was a bit off on the BC of the 140 Gr. 6.5s. The BC for the 140 Bergers is .612, The 140 Hornady (which I like) is .585.

In my 6.5 CM they stay super sonic to 1400 yards. You should beat that a bit with the 6.5X55,
 
The 6.6x55 Sweede is an oldie but goodie. It's a load that's really best suited for hand loading because factory loads tend to be on the lighter side. I know of only one guy shooting this cartridge. It's out of a custom rifle and he's pushing 140 gr A-Max and SST's at 3,000fps. Even at that speed with those bullets that have about the same energy as your .257 Wby, and you .257 still shoots flatter.

You can get the Sweede in a little lighter and shorter gun than your .257 Wby.

It's not as easy to get a fair comparison between different calibers as it it the same calibers. I tend to look more at the overall performance of a particular cartridge than just the bullets BC.

Here's a graph for a round from the .243, .257 Wby Mag, 6.5x55, and the 7mm Rem Mag.

You can see there is a little separation between the mags. I'd take the 7mm Rem Mag for Elk and prefer the 300 Mags myself for that kind of hunting.
 
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I have a lot or respect for the 7mm Remington Mag, both my oldest son and my cousin shoot them and they do very well with their rifles both at the range and in the field. My "go to" elk rifle is a 7WSM that I had built up some years back. It is a heavier rifle and because of that is a pleasure to shoot but on hunts where we're going back in a few miles it does become burdensome carrying that much weight. For that reason last year I picked up a lighter weight rifle for those hunts and ended up with a Savage 116 in 6.5-284. I looked hard at the Tikka and it topped my list of rifles I wanted but unfortunately the Savage was on sale and the 6.5-284 really interested me. In your case I would choose the Sweede, the 7 Mag is really going to pound you in that rifle and the Sweede is a great deer cartridge fully capable of taking elk if you do your part.
 
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Wow, didn't realize the 7mm Rem Mag was such a Crusher at 500 yds! :eek: Very impressive BC, which is more important than case capacity at long range.

Doesn't matter for most of us really. I've toyed with the idea of a .270 Wby Mag or 7mm Wby Mag, both of which are Ultimate Class elk cartridges in my book, and lately the more practical and cheaper 7mm Rem Mag, but I had to finally admit to myself that any of these are total overkill for my current needs.

I suppose I need to hunt elk at some point, although I've never done it. If I thought it was likely to happen, I'd pick 7mm Rem Mag over the Swede. Anything less than that, and the Swede is a much kinder, gentler shooting experience, and it's "different". I highly value different rifles and cartridges, simply because they are very interesting to me. It takes no imagination at all to go to your local Wal-Mart and pick up a Remington 700 in .308. Not that there's anything wrong with that, although my rare 700 is in 8mm Mauser. :cool:
 
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I own both. The two calibers are on the extreme opposite ends of the general purpose NA hunting calibers.

6.5x55 is one of the lightest things I would ever consider for elk, certainly a bull elk. With the 160 grainers the terminal performance is good, but the trajectory just sucks because of the round nose and 160gr spire points won't stabilize well. Most people end up shooting 140s. Overall it's soft recoiling. Factory ammo is limited.

7mm mag is the hardest recoiling of the "big 4" NA calibers (.270, .308 and .30-06 are the other 3). It shoots flat, and with heavy premium bullets like the 175 gr A-frames, Partitions and Woodleighs it hits very hard out farther than I'd want to shoot. Factory ammo is very available.
 
Incidentally, if I was going to use a 6.5x55 on elk, I'd try a 160gr Woodleigh 80B round nose at 2550ish (IMR 7828, 55K PSI). That should be good to about 200y at elevation and about 175y for coastal Roosevelt elk. Stay within those range limits and terminal performance will not be a problem and you won't have to be paranoid about "slipping between the ribs" or anything like that - you can take any shot you'd take with a .30-06 with a load like that.
 
I have never owned or used a 6.5x55, but I have owned a couple 7 Mags. Used them on white-tail and antelope. It is a sure enough stone cold killer, but they were also, heavy, loud and lots of recoil. I still have a 7-08 and a .280. Both are much easier to shoot than the 7mm Mag for ME. I wouldn't hesitate to load the 6.5 or my .280 and take it to Elk country. With good bullets and good shooting I wouldn't worry at all, and would certainly enjoy practicing and carrying it around more.
 
my rem 700 SS DM in syn stock 7mm mag will put two shots under a quarter at 200 yrds with a 150gr bullet at 3000fps, the two shots are the first one from a clean cold barrel and the second shot ten minutes later from a dirty cold barrel. and it weights a little over 8 lbs with a 3x9 compact leupold. i sight my rifles in on a lead sled, to check the rifle. as to recoil while hunting are we becoming a nation of wooses that can,t take 2-4 shots at game while hunting? i find the 7mm mag recoil to be not much more than a 3006 and i shot the 30-06 in the military matches out of a 03A3 bolt action with 175smk at over 2800fps. eastbank.
 
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