Blog: Loading Hunting Ammunition for 6.5×47 Lapua with 6.5 mm Lapua TRX bullets
About the Author
Peder Mørch Pedersen from Denmark is one of Lapua’s sponsored shooters and a dedicated ambassador for ethical hunting. With the motto “The more you practice – the luckier you will be”, Peder combines discipline, experience, and passion both on the range and in the field.
Peder has proven his skills in competition, with highlights including a 3rd place at the 2024 National Championships Masters Class and 2nd place in 2022. Beyond competing, he trains hundreds of hunters each year, always emphasizing responsibility and ethics as the foundation of hunting’s future.
In this blog, Peder shares his process of loading hunting ammunition for the 6.5×47 Lapua with 6.5 mm 7.8 g / 120 gr TRX N583 bullets, from precise measurements at the bench to real-world testing in the field.
Loading Hunting Ammunition for 6.5x47 Lapua
I started by measuring the length of 10 randomly selected 6.5 mm (.264) Lapua TRX bullets and found the average length to be 34.9 mm (1.374”). I calculated the gyroscopic stability (SG) to be 1.43, which is considered marginal. However, I’ve often experienced excellent precision within this SG range.
I aimed for muzzle velocities of around 880–900 m/s (2890–2950 fps), which would ensure reliable expansion and solid terminal performance at ranges well beyond 300 meters / yds. I based my three loads on 36.5 to 38.5 grains of Vihtavuori N150 powder and a 1.5 mm jump.
Experience at the Shooting Range
I often test my hunting ammunition at 300 meters. My Doppler radar can measure out to this distance at most, and if the ammunition performs well at that range in terms of precision and velocity, I feel confident using it for the kind of hunting I do in Europe.
The hottest load produced a muzzle velocity (V0) of 900 m/s and a G7 BC of 0.2, with single-digit velocity spread and a group size of 43.7 mm (0.5 MOA) at 300 meters (328 yards). I chose this load as my hunting load.
I finished off by stress-testing the bullet by shooting it into 10 kg of clay. This resulted in a textbook permanent wound channel with great depth and a perfectly expanded bullet, retaining nearly 100 % of its original weight.
Field Experience
I brought the ammunition on hunts with good chances of harvesting roe deer, fallow deer, and red deer. During the remaining part of the season, I harvested four roe deer and one hare at distances ranging from 120 to 250 meters.
All animals were shot through vital organs, and only one ran about 25 meters—the rest dropped within 0–10 meters. Meat damage was quite moderate, considering the relatively high impact velocities.
Conclusions
The 6.5 mm Lapua TRX projectile is easy to handload for excellent precision and provides a very reasonable balance between strong terminal performance and moderate meat damage. I will continue to use it in the future and can confidently recommend it to others.
P.S. I’ve also loaded the 165-grain TRX bullet for my Blaser R8 in .308 Win. The very first load I tested produced a 9 mm group at 100 meters—equivalent to 0.3 MOA—using 44.0 grains of N150 and a 1.6 mm jump. Not bad… Not bad at all!
-Peder Mørch Pedersen