6.5 CM -- Starting over, bullet selection

Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
312
Location
Northern NY
Why out of curiosity?

The bullet performance seems to be more predictable in my limited testing, and a slight decrease in recoil was welcome. I would have no problem with the 140 or 147eldm if I couldn’t get the 130 tmk though. My last 2 tikka barrels seemed to prefer the 147 to the 140s.
 

Unckebob

WKR
Joined
Aug 21, 2022
Messages
1,044
The Tipped Game King isn't known for having the same type of wound channel as the TMK. It is slower to open and makes a smaller permanent wound channel.

Jay

It still shocks me how many people like to use match bullets vs the same company's hunting bullet Match bullets are potential disasters waiting to happen.

Hunting bullets are tougher than match bullets for a reason.
 

Flyjunky

WKR
Joined
Jun 22, 2020
Messages
1,424
It still shocks me how many people like to use match bullets vs the same company's hunting bullet Match bullets are potential disasters waiting to happen.

Hunting bullets are tougher than match bullets for a reason.
It shocks me that people still think match bullets are somehow inferior to "hunting" bullets. Like has been said many times, Berger hunting bullets actually have a thinner jacket than their target bullets.
 

woods89

WKR
Joined
Sep 3, 2014
Messages
1,820
Location
Southern MO Ozarks
It still shocks me how many people like to use match bullets vs the same company's hunting bullet Match bullets are potential disasters waiting to happen.

Hunting bullets are tougher than match bullets for a reason.

Have you ever seen what a 130 TMK does between 2000 and 2800 fps?
 

JGRaider

WKR
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Messages
1,825
Location
West Texas
Have you ever seen what a 130 TMK does between 2000 and 2800 fps?
Yep. Here's a .284 169gr VLDH at approximately 2850 impact velocity (100 yds) on an average sized TX Panhandle whitetail (200lbs live weight). You berger fans can have 'em all. Also experimented and shot about 20 hogs with them, zero exits, many were very hard to find due to very little blood trail.


jsXgsbg.jpg
 

docdoc

FNG
Joined
Aug 26, 2021
Messages
13
Interesting that the 130 grain was the weight of choice by Jack O'Conner and many others for so many years. The 130 grain in 6.5mm will have better ballistics.
 

woods89

WKR
Joined
Sep 3, 2014
Messages
1,820
Location
Southern MO Ozarks
Yep. Here's a .284 169gr VLDH at approximately 2850 impact velocity (100 yds) on an average sized TX Panhandle whitetail (200lbs live weight). You berger fans can have 'em all. Also experimented and shot about 20 hogs with them, zero exits, many were very hard to find due to very little blood trail.


View attachment 618547

Not a TMK, and not what I have seen with them.
 

Unckebob

WKR
Joined
Aug 21, 2022
Messages
1,044
Have you ever seen what a 130 TMK does between 2000 and 2800 fps?

I have seen what ELD-x and TGK have done ... exactly what they are designed to do.
- good wound channel,
- nice exit wound
- "a nice blood trail to track if they run off.
 

woods89

WKR
Joined
Sep 3, 2014
Messages
1,820
Location
Southern MO Ozarks
I have seen what ELD-x and TGK have done ... exactly what they are designed to do.
- good wound channel,
- nice exit wound
- "a nice blood trail to track if they run off.

So are you really going to indict a bullet you have no experience with?

There's a rather large body of evidence on this site showing that TMK are one of the best killing bullets on the market. Some of that evidence is mine. I'll trust my own experiences and those of individuals I trust way further than any warning on the side of a bullet box.
 

gethuntin

WKR
Joined
Mar 2, 2012
Messages
349
The Tmk have the wounding characteristics I wanted. They are pretty devastating.
Make sense. I have the TGK and with a small sample size of 2 antelope and 1 deer they have done well but the rifle splits between my kids big game gun and my long range coyote gun for certain stands. I hit a coyote a little back last year at 400. It hit the dirt but got back up and ran and there was no blood and we never recovered it. I chalked it up to yes a bad hit but impact velocity was too low for that hit and the bullet wasnt violent enough. So i am actually looking for a 6.5 varmint bullet in the 120-130 range. I shot another coyote with that combo at 125 yards frontal and it was messy. I actually bought some 120 eld-m to try. Interesting that the 130 SMK are $50 and the 130SGK are $43 on Midway.
 

Glendon Mullins

Hillbilly Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 7, 2014
Messages
2,394
Location
Highland County Virginia
So are you really going to indict a bullet you have no experience with?

There's a rather large body of evidence on this site showing that TMK are one of the best killing bullets on the market. Some of that evidence is mine. I'll trust my own experiences and those of individuals I trust way further than any warning on the side of a bullet box.
Is there a specific thread on this? I would like to check it out, not opposed to TMK use, would like to research it
 

PNWGATOR

WKR
Shoot2HuntU
Joined
Oct 14, 2014
Messages
2,736
Location
USA
Is there a specific thread on this? I would like to check it out, not opposed to TMK use, would like to research it
This one has a thing or two about the TMKs in it:

More information here regarding bullet performance here:
 
Top