6.5*54 MS anyone who use it?

[Norway_woods]

Hello.

I have a Stutzen Mannlicher in 6.5*54 MS. A great caliber in my mind.
Have used it on game from Roedeer, Gams, wildboar and more.

But, does it have a place on a Safari?
Will it be underpowered on a Kudu?

 

[Norwegianwoods]

With good bullets it will work well on Kudu.
It has a great history with lots of use on PG early in the last century.
The famous W.D.M. Bell even used it to cull Elephants for some time before he switched to 7x57 Mauser.
But I would not advice it for DG hunting anyway

 

[Norway_woods]

Oh, to take on a Buff with it....
Thanks for the reply.
When I go, I will take it with me.

 

[Sika98k]

A gentlemans rifle. Mine is rebarrelled in 308
But I will make no pretence at being a gentleman I am taking mine.

 

[Mannlicher]

2 of my M 1903 Mannlicher Schoenauer in 6,5x54 MS. Rifle ( take down ) from 1930 and Stutzen from 1918:

Mannlicher

 

[Sika98k]

I like the cheekpiece on the stutzen. Must give you a better weld to the stock. The original stocks are a bit awkward with a scope. As we know they were designed to be used with the iron sights.
Still ya gotta love them!

 

[Steve Steyr]

Never hunted with mine but I did a penetration test which blew me away. I lined up 4 12" dry hackberry stumps. Behind that was a dead 10" diameter hackberry tree. Behind that, and I didn't even look at the time, was a 7" diameter live hackberry tree, then a forest and, about 100 yards away, a 15' railroad embankment.
I fired an 8mm 180 Nosler Ballistic Tip from my 8x56 at @2360 fps. It penetrated 2"-3" into the first stump, turned inside out, and stopped.
Then I fired a 160 gr Hornady Round Nose Soft Point from my 6.5x54 at @2160 fps. That bullet went through all four 12" stumps, through the 10" dead tree, through the 7" diameter live tree, and sailed off into the forest. 65" of absolutely straight-line penetration from a soft point. No wonder they found the 6.5x54 effective on elephants, buffalo, and all the big stuff.
I have a copy of a 1932 Western Cartridge ad. It shows an 18 year-old girl from Kansas City kneeling with her Mannlicher-Schoenauer 6.5x54 Carbine in front of the two polar bears she had killed with one round apiece from her little rifle. Don't know if I would recommend the round as the optimum polar bear round but I know, now, it's been done.

 

[Steve Steyr]

Here's the ad from 1932. Kind of hard to read.