I just got back from my first prairie dog hunt in WY, and I'm already looking forward to the next trip!

For some reason, I really liked ranging the dogs and calling the wind on longer shots, and my 260 Rem bolt gun did a great job in that department.  It didn't do so well in actually killing the dogs though.  I had a lot of shots that rolled them or spun them around, but then, they would crawl back in their hole.  I'm shooting hand loaded 123gr Nosler Custom Competitions right around 2600fps at the muzzle.  That load is very accurate, but I feel like I'm just poking holes in the dogs.

I would like to stay with 6.5 (I have rifles in 260R and 6.5C) platform, but I'm struggling to find bullets that are intended for varmints yet have a decent BC.  It seems like there are a couple of routes that I see others taking:
1) Sacrificing wind resistance and settling on a lower BC varmint bullet (i.e. 95gr Vmax)
2) Using a tipped match bullet (i.e. 140gr ELD-M)

Does anyone have words of wisdom or real experience to share?  Especially for option #2 above, do the tipped bullets really come apart easier than the traditional BTHP match bullets?  Other options that you have found to work?

No practical experience, but I'd try 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, which are designed for rapid expansion at lower velocities.  Decent BC @ 0.497

I have hunted them for going on 30 years.I have shot them with everything from 22lr to 7mm rem mag.Match bullets are  very iffy,some explode, and some turn into fmj's.Put hp, sp, or vmax bullets in that rifle, and watch the show.

Yup…believe it or not, they went through like a fmj.  My buddy had a 6.5c with 140gr Nosler match and it was the same for him!

Honesty the range didn’t seem to matter.  I watched a dog at 90yards take a shot and it seemed like his back legs didn’t work any more, but he drug himself into his hole with his front half!

I looked for vmax, but it looks like they don’t make them anymore.  What about the ELD-m?   Maybe the tipped match king?

This really isnt surprising...  With very modest muzzle velocities at around 2600, actual impact speeds are low.  And using bullets designed as.match bullets, you get really spotty expansion.  Its totally a result that should be expected.   Compound that bullet expansion issue with a target only 2 inches thick and the bullet expands outside the.critter....

Really explosive expansion is fun, but its usually a product of speed.  There is no real way to safely get 3000 fps out of the 6.5/260.   Theres only one real choice then:  use a very fragile bullet.   If you go to 120s, you will gain a little speed however something like Noslers Ballistic Tip or Hornady s Vmax will get it done nicely.  As a rule they are far 'softer' and expand well at lower speeds.  I would not expect dramatic explosive expansion with a 260 120 Nosler BT at 450 yards.  You will see good expansion however.

Side note:   grab a good older reload manual.  Look up 6.5 JDJ in the handgun section.  The preferred deer load was a 120 BT at 2400 fps.  They did not explode, but rather expanded well on deer at 50.and 100 yard ranges.   Again, low impact speeds.  Step the 6.5C or 260 out to long range.  Speeds drop, and we are talking very similar impact velocity.  Again, expansion not explosion.

If you want dramatic blow em up explosive performance, a 140 6.5mm at 2600 MV cant deliver.  You need 2900, 3000 fps or more

I shoot my 6.5 simply to maintain some skill.
I shoot my .22-250 to see red mist.

Vmax or TNT seem to be the only common varmint bullets that go past 6mm. Like the previous reply said, you need a light jacketed bullet and speed.  The problem with calibers that are better suited for long range is that their twist is faster to stabilize heavier/longer bullets.  Lighter bullet don't do well with fast twists as the centrifugal force can cause them to come apart inflight.  You'll just have to test them to see if theyll work in your rifle.  I used to run 58grn vmax in a 243 on pdog trips.

6.5 must get pretty spendy $$ for PDs... I'd drop back down to 556.  1:9 heavy barrel with 55 to 69gr soft points...

I’ve used the 95gr VMax out of my creedmoor on them. They do okay if you can get them to shoot out of your rifle. I’m a .223 and 22-250 guy most of the time.

I have used and still use amax and the amax replacement eldm 140gr loadings.  I used them because its what I had--I wish I had stocked up on the 120gr amax loadings.

Good news is they are absolutely devastating on prairie dogs.  Im launching them at about 2850fps and out to 3-4 yards they are explosive--not as much as say a 50gr 223 varmint round but there is no doubt and they are drt.

Bad news is that makes for an expensive and maybe tough on the shoulder day of shooting.  But is those are not issues, the 140 ELDM's will absolutely not disappoint

I have been on over 30 pd shooting trips. FWIW my favorite PD round these days is a 53 gr v-max out of a 22 BR

I use the 108 ELD's in a 6x47 and they work pretty well in killing the dogs

I have used berger and sierra non tipped match bullets before and they dont work well at all

Perhaps a an eld 6.5 hornady will work.

I test PD loads on grapefruit and find that if they blow up a grapefruit they will blow up a PD. If they pencil hole the grapefruit , they will pencil hole a PD.

And I dont like graprefruit anyway

I got back from South Dakota a few weeks ago shooting them. I have a AR-10 in 6.5 Creedmoor. With Hornady 123. ELD M it was absolutely murder on them. A solid hit would cut one in half.  I also have a 6.5 Grendel and with 95 VMAX s its also deadly but nowhere near the Creedmoor. The lesser recoil of the Grendel is nice for seeing the hits.

It’s been a while since I last shot dirt squirrels, but I think a .264 is too small.