6.5x55 120gr NBT.

sako75 hunter

Well lads, anybody know where i can get some 120gr normas for the coming season. I have tried 6 dealers that i know of in the tipp/waterford region but there all telling me that they are having trouble inporting them from the north and englang. Ive been using them since last year and dont wat to change if it can be helped. Im finding them a great bullet for the 6.5. Ive bought a couple of boxes of Hornady 140gr Interlock just in case i cant get me hands on the 120gr normas. Anyone any experience on the hornady interlocks 140gr, i havnt used them before??? Thanks.

fathersymes

Paul O'Halloran in Drangan is where I last got the 120gr ones.

It wasn't me!

Try John Lambert in Camolin.

thelurcher

I think it could have been Lambert who is charging €55 a box now - that's a rip-off.
I'll go back to the Federals - they were very close to the Norma's - on deer at least but the Norma's had the edge on targets. Not enough to justify that kind of price though.

It wasn't me!

Have seen them in McCarthy's in Prosperous too actually. Think they were about €45 a box.

sako75 hunter

Thanks lads, i tried paul but he hasnt got them in so far. Was just in with sean harding and he hasnt git them either but hes getting a batch of hornady superformance 140gr polymer tip in during the week. Just read up on them, they reckon they improve the speed of the bullet to between 100 and 200 fps. Sean reckons they will be priced between 40/42 euro a box. Gunna get a box and see how they perform in the sako. Thanks for the replys lads....

Cass

Was down with a mate in Sean's a few weeks/months ago and he bought one of the last boxes Sean had. When he got them Sean said he wouldn't be in a hurry to get them back in. Too expensive, and honestly i fired them in my mates Steyr and they are nothing special. I used to use them in the 6.5 a few years ago and they were massively effective on deer but as with my mates 6.5 in the wind they are easily blown off due to the shape of the bullet.

Jim McBride used to be the man for Norma so i'd give him a buzz if you really want a box, but they are between 50 - 55 euro a box wherever i've seen them.

It wasn't me!

Another one you might want to try is the 140gr partition load from Norma. Saw it for €40 a box in McCarthy's, but you'd probably get it cheaper by the hundred. It's about the hottest 6.5x55 load on the market and a great bullet.

sako75 hunter

Thanks for that, ill take a spin up saturday. Is that mcarthys in prosperous?

It wasn't me!

sako75 hunter wrote: »

Thanks for that, ill take a spin up saturday. Is that mcarthys in prosperous?

It is. About the best prices I've found for a lot of stuff. Very good.

tac foley

It's just occurred to me, sitting over here in deepest East Anglia, that you guys are talking about the price of a box of TWENTY cartridges.

It must take much of the fun of of going out for a day's shooting, that's for sure.

tac

sako75 hunter

The prices over here are terrible. It depresses me anytime i ring up gun dealers for a price on ammo, they seem to go up 5 euro or more every year. I think we should all get together and sign up some sort of petition or write a letter to the department of defence or whoever it it to legalise reloading of ammunition! Is there any politician out there that could stand on our side and make our voices heard in the oreachtas or where ever it is they put legeslation foward!!!:D

tac foley

Sir - this has already been done - I was one of the group of advisors who put together a petition to the Department of Justice last year requesting that re-analysis and re-evaluation of the present out-of-date regulations was carried out without delay.

Not only is the Republic of Ireland the only state in the entire EU that does not allow its licenced gun-owners to reload - a freedom that many millions of other shooters in Europe and the Americas, Australia and New Zealand take for granted, it is far and away the most expensive country in Europe in which to buy factory ammunition of any kind.

Here in yUK, where we firmly [and rightly] believe that we are being ripped off on a cosmic scale, we still pay less than 60% of your prices. It cannot be the transportation costs that bump up your prices - it is further from Liverpool to Belfast than it is from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire.

One of the reasons that reloading is so popular in the rest of the world is that it is often far cheaper than buying factory stuff to buy components and tailor your own. The oft-trotted-out argument that the dealers would lose out on the sale of merchandise is total tosh - what they lose in factory ammunition sales they more than make up for in components. Why? Because you can afford to shoot MORE and therefore need MORE.

Ask yourself why it is that every dealer over here or up in the north also sells components - if it was not profitable then they would not be doing it. And I've yet to meet a gun-dealer who was a philanthropist where business was concerned.

tac

Cass

tac foley wrote: »

Sir - this has already been done - I was one of the group of advisors who put together a petition to the Department of Justice last year requesting that re-analysis and re-evaluation of the present out-of-date regulations was carried out without delay.

Firstly well done on being pro-active, and not "sitting back" and allowing others to do the work for you.
Secondly, and i ask with no sinister intent, why didn't more NGBs, organisation, clubs, ranges apply for reloading when it was offered the year prior to your work? They may or may not have gotten it and they may have been subject to the same limitations currently in place, but they would have their "foot in the door".

Not only is the Republic of Ireland the only state in the entire EU that does not allow its licenced gun-owners to reload - a freedom that many millions of other shooters in Europe and the Americas, Australia and New Zealand take for granted, it is far and away the most expensive country in Europe in which to buy factory ammunition of any kind.

I agree whole heartedly on the price issue. Many a times i have been exceedingly low or even out of ammo due to the high cost. Having to make a minimum of €50 per week available to have just 20 rounds is akin to paying for a car or would in current circumstances be more than useful to a number of people, myself included, for household bills, etc.

However the issue with Ireland is, and i'm not sure if its relevant elsewhere, we do not have any rights, or entitlements to firearms. They are "given" to us by the Government via the DOJ, and An Gardai. This would extend to amunition.

Here in yUK, where we firmly [and rightly] believe that we are being ripped off on a cosmic scale, we still pay less than 60% of your prices. It cannot be the transportation costs that bump up your prices - it is further from Liverpool to Belfast than it is from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire.

I am only guessin/making assumptions here, but i would hazard a guess at the prices here being so high due to the number of taxes, duties levied by the Gov., and, to a lesser extent, the distributors and dealers that add their own bit to the final cost.

If you factor in all that with the fact that we have a small shooting population compared to most other countries it means the volume imported is smaller and as we all know price goes up the smaller the volume, as much as it goes down with larger volumes.

One of the reasons that reloading is so popular in the rest of the world is that it is often far cheaper than buying factory stuff to buy components and tailor your own. The oft-trotted-out argument that the dealers would lose out on the sale of merchandise is total tosh - what they lose in factory ammunition sales they more than make up for in components. Why? Because you can afford to shoot MORE and therefore need MORE.

I agree with you. They could offset the "loss" in ammo sales with an increase in sales of reloadng gear.

tac foley

Ezridax wrote: »

Firstly well done on being pro-active, and not "sitting back" and allowing others to do the work for you.
Secondly, and i ask with no sinister intent, why didn't more NGBs, organisation, clubs, ranges apply for reloading when it was offered the year prior to your work? They may or may not have gotten it and they may have been subject to the same limitations currently in place, but they would have their "foot in the door".

Sir - I am led to believe, talking to the other contributors that made up our petition, that many clubs/organisations felt one of two things -

1. That the continuation of the lack of licencing [as you know, it is not actually prohibited, but licenced, and so far, excepting the group who HAVE been 'licenced', nobody else has been able to obtain such a licence] is a 'taken' and will never change.

2. Complacency coupled with an unbelievable 'let somebody else do it' attitude and we'll hang on their coat-tails when it happens.

I agree whole heartedly on the price issue. Many a times i have been exceedingly low or even out of ammo due to the high cost. Having to make a minimum of €50 per week available to have just 20 rounds is akin to paying for a car or would in current circumstances be more than useful to a number of people, myself included, for household bills, etc.

I can shoot a hundred rounds of tailored .308Win for around eu65 - apologies for the lack of the euro sign, but my Japanese keyboard does not have it.

However the issue with Ireland is, and i'm not sure if its relevant elsewhere, we do not have any rights, or entitlements to firearms. They are "given" to us by the Government via the DOJ, and An Gardai. This would extend to amunition.

It is the same here in yUK - the firearms Licence is just that - permission to acquire a firearm after having satisfied the county Chief Constable that you have met the required demands of public safety. However, it is interesting that the wording here is rather different to yours - 'The Chief Constable of the County, having satisfied himself that good reason has been satisfied, SHALL grant a Firearms Certificate...'

I am only guessin/making assumptions here, but i would hazard a guess at the prices here being so high due to the number of taxes, duties levied by the Gov., and, to a lesser extent, the distributors and dealers that add their own bit to the final cost.

Yup.

If you factor in all that with the fact that we have a small shooting population compared to most other countries it means the volume imported is smaller and as we all know price goes up the smaller the volume, as much as it goes down with larger volumes.

Sir - it is not necessarily the 'small shooting population' - proportionally the RoI is pretty well up up with the other European shooting population. I'll admit that compared to Switzerland the figure for the RoI is not even on the scale... However, you are right, the actual sales figures are miniscule, although it has to be admitted that Ireland has far more than its fair share of bespoke/custom rifle builders. I'm certain that IF reloading were to be allowed, then EVERYBODY in the sport, on both sides of the counter, would benefit massively.

I agree with you. They could offset the "loss" in ammo sales with an increase in sales of reloadng gear.

See above comment.

tac

Cass

1. That the continuation of the lack of licencing [as you know, it is not actually prohibited, but licenced, and so far, excepting the group who HAVE been 'licenced', nobody else has been able to obtain such a licence] is a 'taken' and will never change.

I am not in a position to either confirm or deny that possibility. Unfortunately, as with all things firearm related, the shooters are neither wanted or needed in the legislative process. While i do not agree with propellant being lumped into the same category as other explosives i cannot prevent it.

When the long, long awaited explosives bill is finally passed and we get to see for definite where we stand on reloading then we will be in a better position to see where we stand. Perhaps then this "stall" in the issuing of licenses may be addressed.

2. Complacency coupled with an unbelievable 'let somebody else do it' attitude and we'll hang on their coat-tails when it happens

This would be, in my opinion, the crux of the problem. While everyone wants it very little do anything actively to pursue it, yet will "demand" they be allowed it when others have successfully gotten it.

I'm not so naive to believe that everyone will be or even should be involved in getting reloading, but a little cohesion, less bickering, and alot more actual work would achieve more.

tac foley

Ezridax wrote: »

...a little cohesion, less bickering, and alot more actual work would achieve more.

That is a good summary on what is required. After the magnificent but bitter-sweet efforts by the Creedmore Team in the recent past, a lesson should have been learnt by those in a position to do something about it.

It is a well-acknowledged fact that in spite of the best efforts of shooters and those who prepared their guns for them, shooting even the best of factory ammunition available against skilled an experienced handloaders would have produced a walk-over, rather than the hard-fought REAL competition that we saw taking place.

All we ask is that Irish shooters at all levels and of whatever interest be treated like the rest of the free world.

tac