6.5 creedmoor blood trail

[Creedmoor shooter]

It's the bullet. Not the cartridge. Try a different bullet. I have a whole thread on the 140 eld-m killing whitetails and bears

 

[FEENIX]

Has anyone else had problems with their 6.5 and good blood trails or am I just having a bad day?

No! I have been using 125g Winchester Deer Season XP since 2018. Since then, I have harvested six deer from 200-300Y, all DRT.

My Airman also harvested two deer last season with 150g Winchester Deer Season XP in his .308 Win at 150Y, so it is not the bullet.

 

[Jcook02]

From my experience, the Deer Season XP expands more violently than ABLR's, Bergers and ELD-M's. This is out of 6.5, .270, and multiple 7mm Rem Mags. I would say you're up in the shoulder more or just the way it happens sometimes. The Deer Season is a fantastic round and it's super cheap. We take an average of 12-20 deer off our place every year, which provides us with a good sample size.

 

[FEENIX]

From my experience, the Deer Season XP expands more violently than Bergers and ELD-M's. This is out of 6.5 PRC, 270 Win, and multiple 7mm Rem Mags. I would say you're up in the shoulder more or just the way it happens sometimes. The Deer Season is a fantastic round and it's super cheap. We take an average of 12-20 deer off our place every year, which provides us with a good sample size.

I admit I did not expect it to perform this well. I purchased a couple of factory ammo to break in the barrel. But it was grouping so well at 200Y that I did not find the need to load for it, so I purchased all the ammo my LGS they have on the shelf with the same lot #.

3-shot group at 200Y.

 

[birddog 68]

I wasn't familiar with the deer season bullets so after doing a little digging it seems most experienced hunters are saying that they act similar to a Hornady SST. I had to dig deep to find any problems and the most common problem was with accuracy not performance.

The 3rd one was at 60 yards broadside and double lunged, I seen the red mist through the scope after the shot. By the time I got things together and out of the stand it was dark. I thought it was going to be an easy recovery but even with snow I wasn't able to find blood

After rereading your post this stood out. You said that you seen red mist after the shot but you were unable to find blood in the snow?
I agree with others that if you want to anchor them on the spot the high shoulder shot is the way to go. Bang Flop

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I wasn't familiar with the deer season bullets so after doing a little digging it seems most experienced hunters are saying that they act similar to a Hornady SST. I had to dig deep to find any problems and the most common problem was with accuracy not performance.

After rereading your post this stood out. You said that you seen red mist after the shot but you were unable to find blood in the snow?
I agree with others that if you want to anchor them on the spot the high shoulder shot is the way to go. Bang Flop

If they're similar to a SST it should be sweet. We've killed a couple with the 129 sst. Nasty little round

 

[Jcook02]

I admit I did not expect it to perform this well. I purchased a couple of factory ammo to break in the barrel. But it was grouping so well at 200Y that I did not find the need to load for it, so I purchased all the ammo my LGS they have on the shelf with the same lot #.

View attachment 634207
3-shot group at 200Y.

I was in the same place. My Dad's 270 Win and both our 7mm RM shoot these so well, it felt like a waste of time reloading for the three of them. We try to buy all they have on the shelf, when we can find them. We've been pretty lucky to only have minor scope changes with lot #'s.

 

[grouse]

Bullets not headstamps

 

[lyotehunter]

It is the bullet not the caliber

 

[Lionel Boyd Johnson]

Another vote for Nosler Partition bullets. The OP hunts where his shots are under 100 yards. No need for high BC or other long range considerations. The Partition bullets have proven themselves to me in several calibers. Enough for me.

 

[billflangjr813]

I did some serious hunting with the 6.5 this week and I'm starting to get a little nervous. I shot 3 whitetail today all under 75 yards with Winchester deer season, the first ones heart exploded and the blood trail was 3 feet wide for about 80 yards and it was an easy find. The second one was double lunged but the blood trail was a very light mist for about 80 yards, if there wasn't snow it would have been pretty hard to find. The 3rd one was at 60 yards broadside and double lunged, I seen the red mist through the scope after the shot. By the time I got things together and out of the stand it was dark. I thought it was going to be an easy recovery but even with snow I wasn't able to find blood, hopefully tomorrow will be a successful recovery. Has anyone else had problems with their 6.5 and good blood trails or am I just having a bad day?

I think your right on the money with what your saying!!

 

[Mike D Texas]

I find that smaller CALIBERS result in quicker and more dramatic kills when using heavier target style bullets. There is NO need to use a bonded bullet of any kind on a whitetail deer.

 

[billflangjr813]

Another vote for Nosler Partition bullets. The OP hunts where his shots are under 100 yards. No need for high BC or other long range considerations. The Partition bullets have proven themselves to me in several calibers. Enough for me.

One of the best to shoot out of a 25-06. Group great and really do the job . Pass through every time.

 

[6.5x300 WBY]

It is the bullet not the caliber

Nor the cartridge. After reading these guys it's actually the bullet placement. 2 shoulders hit they just don't go far if at all. It's all in the placement.