6.5CM barnes or hornady?
 

Got my new Finnlight 6.5CM in the mail and now looking for ammunition.

I'm looking at Barnes 120 gr TTSX and Hornady 143 gr ELD-X.

Thumbs up? Thumbs down? On either of these?

Will be hunting deer and black bears for the most part, but may shoot a moose or elk with it too if the opportunity arises.

I’d pick the 120 TTSX or 127 lrx. I like max velocity in the mono metals. I bet the little 120’s would punch well above their weight class.

Either will work fine, and the 127LRX is also a great choice.

I really like the Hornady 143 gr ELD-X out of my Sauer 6.5CM:sHa_shakeshout:

Try them out and see what shoots the best, my 6.5 PRC loves the 143gr ELDX, and I have not tried anything under 135gr bergers which it also shot very well, have a couple buddies that have the 6.5 CM and they all shoot really good with almost anything they are fed.

Barnes 127LRX for sure.

I shot the 147eldm. They work excellent. 143 or 147 would be my choice.

Buddy has 2 6.5s and swears by the 143 eldx.

Hmmm how about whatever groups best out of your rifle?
Both are capable at killing game but accuracy plays a huge factor.

A box of each then off to the range you go.

For hunting, would be hard to beat the 147 or 140 ELD-M or Sierra TMK in my books.

143 eld-x. The standard deviation was around 8 or 9 fps from the box ammo and they group nice. They are also pretty nice performers on elk

https://www.barnesbullets.com/produc...tx-long-range/ :) RJ

At Creedmoor velocities, the 143gr ELD-X is tough to beat. Have used it with success on deer moose and elk. If my shots were up close, like stand-hunting bear then I might consider a switch to a TTSX. If shots at any distance were on the menu I would be sticking with the ELDX

That's usually what I do, but at the moment I haven't been able to source any 6.5 locally, of any brand, so looks like I'll have to mail order some. And we have a lot of hunters on this page, and if you ask they will usually warn you if a certain bullet selection didn't work well in their finnlight....or in a specific hunting situation.

I am leaning towards the TTSX as most of my kills happen under 150 yds.

Under 150yds I think you’re extremely safe with any bullet manufactured for hunting big game so shoot whatever works best for you, availability maybe your biggest concern, but sticks are bouncing back.

I've got some 142gr matchkings, but that really won't help you.

Best price I've seen for 127 LRX is cabella's and tenda. Don't know who will be cheaper to mail it tho.

Choices
 

Perhaps Prophit River will have the ammo you are looking for they do a pile of mail order everyday

Prophet River has both, bullets and loaded ammo

https://store.prophetriver.com/barne...il-20ct-28986/

https://store.prophetriver.com/barne...il-50ct-30228/

I think their site said they won't ship ammo.....

Depends,what you are hunting for, and how far you can shoot?

Already told u what I'm hunting with it, most kills are under 150 yards.

Should be good with either at that range.

I know fellas that shoot both out of their Creedmoors.
It all comes down to personal preference for them, both rifles are accurate , but one guy prefers monometal bullets so shoots the Barnes.
Cat

I ordered some TTSX [3] from Cabela's, now to see how long before they arrive and test them out. I ordered enough for the free shipping and they were on sale, so if my rifle doesn't hate them things will be golden for spring bear season.

Edit: Cabela's just sent a notice they are going to charge $67 for shipping, so much for free shipping lol

$67 isn't too bad!

I ordered 2lbs of Hodgdon 4350 powder from Cabela's - used the free shipping code - they came back to me with a shipping quote of $245.74... LOL... nope...

for 10 boxes from tenda, it is only $20 shipping and only 5% tax. Unlike cabella's they charge you the 12% tax.

Go figure.

they have both ttsx at 62.59 and lrx at 60.99. 5 boxes of each in cart and total was 671.90 shipped.

COOL!:sHa_shakeshout:
As an aside , Barnes says to start at .050 off the lands , but my experience with the numerous rifles I have loaded them with , I start them at the top driving band!
It seems from speaking with others , .080 to .125 off the lands is not uncommon for extreme accuracy for the TSX'S and TTSX'S :)
Cat

I'll remember that for my next order!!

With all due respect….
 

That’s a target bullet, the m stands for match. Not designed to be used as a hunting bullet, doesn’t open up reliably. On the other hand an eldx (x stands for expanding), is an excellent hunting bullet, with only a slightly lower bc per comparable weight.