Montana whitetail with 6.5x52R

[CoyoteJoe]

I looks like I'm finally able to post the photo I couldn't get posted last fall. I rushed my shot because I couldn't imagine that little buck would stand there looking at me for very much longer. It was a broadside shot at 50 yards and I went high, well above the heart. He ran about 50 yards uphill then turned back down and collapsed about where he was standing when shot. The rifle was my Franz Kettner stalking rifle in 6.5x52R. The load was a handload in Hornady 25/35 brass with the Hornady 110 grain FTX bullet at about 2300 fps. That bullet was very destructive, the exit was a crater I could easily put my fist through, there was nothing identifiable as lung remaining, just red jelly. Kinda glad I did miss the heart, that's good eating and that bullet would have totally destroyed it.

[mike ford]

Waidmannsheil

[CoyoteJoe]

Thank you.

[Leatherman]

Awesome! Nothing like harvesting game with an old rifle you have reserected, made ammo for and put back into use as it was made to do so many years ago.

[JDL]

I looks like I'm finally able to post the photo I couldn't get posted last fall. I rushed my shot because I couldn't imagine that little buck would stand there looking at me for very much longer. It was a broadside shot at 50 yards and I went high, well above the heart. He ran about 50 yards uphill then turned back down and collapsed about where he was standing when shot. The rifle was my Franz Kettner stalking rifle in 6.5x52R. The load was a handload in Hornady 25/35 brass with the Hornady 110 grain FTX bullet at about 2300 fps. That bullet was very destructive, the exit was a crater I could easily put my fist through, there was nothing identifiable as lung remaining, just red jelly. Kinda glad I did miss the heart, that's good eating and that bullet would have totally destroyed it.

That looks like a heavy W/T, congratulations. You are firing me up to use my Haenel 6.5X52 rimless, aka .25 Remington, this coming season. Most of our deer are smaller than this one and I have loaded it up to a little over 2600 fps with a 100 grain Sierra PH. Should work well at ranges of less than 100 yards, mostly half that but, hearing the damage your FTX caused, I may get a box of those and load some of those. Just wondering what kind of accuracy you're getting?

[Peter K]

Beautiful picture, Joe. You need to print and frame that one. Besides the large white tail deer I also like your more traditional hunting attire. It sure makes for a very nice picture as opposed to some of the orange pyjamas some jurisdictions require.

Peter

[Tom H.]

Waidmannsheil Joe.

Thank you for the hunting report.
I think that the more reports that come back with cartridges like the 6.5x52r, the more of those guns will make it out of the closet and back into the field.

Tom

[sharps4590]

What Peter said.