6.5 Creedmor- the Holy Grail?

[WalksLikeADeer]

I know I am going to get a bunch of flack for posting this, but....

In a recent conversation with a friend of mine, who has a grand slam of sheep on his bedroom wall, and a super slam of the rest of the game animals in North America less a barren ground caribou, I was told during a conversation about accurate smaller caliber rounds that he has four friends, who this year each lost mature elk bulls each with a 140 grain bullet reasonable well placed from a 6.5 Creedmor.
This cartridge, to me, seems to have the ability in many of its proponents minds to be the holy grail of all cartridge designs. It is sad when common sense is put back in the gun locker when any of us take to the woods with a weapon that doesn't really fill the bill for the game we hunt, when we know we have the horsepower in the locker to do the job properly.
Elmer Keith who we all know loved the .270 Winchester. But his favorite for hunting and guiding for elk is reported to be the .375 H&H. He also loved the .338 Win Mag.
Dead is Dead, but wounded is usually also dead but with a heavy dose of suffering to go with it.
I own a .338 Win Mag and have made it a point to be able to shoot it comfortably. I also own 2 25-06's and 3 .243's. I use the latter to plink, for my grandchildren to shoot deer, and for just a fun day on the range. When the hunt is on for me and as a back up it is 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm Exact or .338 Win Mag. Common sense to see that Dead is Dead when I pull the trigger on something worth shooting.

Watch at 31:30. He claims he hit it all 4 times at only 300 yards then brags about the 6.5 CM cartridge! He's very lucky he was able to get off shot 2, 3 and 4.

 

[Tex_Hunter]

Watch at 31:30. He claims he hit it all 4 times at only 300 yards then brags about the 6.5 CM cartridge! He's very lucky he was able to get off shot 2, 3 and 4.

Look very carefully at the video, first shot we cant see the body, I'd be willing to bet it was a clean miss (EDIT: clicked through to the youtube video guess the first shot hit it in the hind leg... what a joke) but then shots 2 and 3 there was a very pronounced ripple in the paunch (#3 was the most pronounced)... then a pause, and then a very clear impact dead center on the shoulder on shot 4 which the bull almost immediately keeled over after it landed. The guy in orange sucks at shooting, you are right that he is lucky the elk stood still after two very obvious punches in the guts. Hunting with a can on almost certainly helped the effort here.

So yeah, basically what everyone has been saying, shoot the bull in the vitals with a Creedmoor and it pretty much instantly died... learn how to f*&#'in shoot so that round one hits it in the shoulder not the guts.

 

[rustyshackleford]

Those heavy for caliber high bc 6.5 bullets seem to retain a lot of energy down range. The 160gr matrix has like a 0.74 bc doesn't it? I would think at any decent velocity those will perform better or just as well as any 7mm or 308 caliber bullet as far retained energy at long ranges.

Except an equivalent 30 cal bullet will weight 2x as much and be propelled just as fast so 2x the energy. No one likes shooting a 230 Berger hybrid at 3k because of the recoil. It's not because it's lacking or even on the same playing field as any 6.5 I've seen. Not saying 6.5 magnums aren't performers but you would need a lot of velocity to offset the mass deficit

 

[rustyshackleford]

Maybe somebody should have told the Swede's that the 6.5 caliber it is not enough rifle for moose over 100 years ago.

160 round nose at short range. Not a 140 at extreme distance

 

[Barrelnut]

Watch at 31:30. He claims he hit it all 4 times at only 300 yards then brags about the 6.5 CM cartridge! He's very lucky he was able to get off shot 2, 3 and 4.

He says that the cartridge was a 6.5 PRC! he says it a couple times.... Think I would be looking at a 300 PRC after that.
4th shot, the last one, was the only good hit and the one that did him in. 3rd shot hit way back in the gut just before the leg.

 

[Barrelnut]

Look very carefully at the video, first shot we cant see the body, I'd be willing to bet it was a clean miss (EDIT: clicked through to the youtube video guess the first shot hit it in the hind leg... what a joke) but then shots 2 and 3 there was a very pronounced ripple in the paunch (#3 was the most pronounced)... then a pause, and then a very clear impact dead center on the shoulder on shot 4 which the bull almost immediately keeled over after it landed. The guy in orange sucks at shooting, you are right that he is lucky the elk stood still after two very obvious punches in the guts. Hunting with a can on almost certainly helped the effort here.

So yeah, basically what everyone has been saying, shoot the bull in the vitals with a Creedmoor and it pretty much instantly died... learn how to f*&#'in shoot so that round one hits it in the shoulder not the guts.

He was shooting a 6.5 PRC.

 

[Deleted member 103481]

That guy grinds my gears. He has an antelope video where he drills it but shoots the wrong freaking buck. For like 15 seconds his spotter tells him over and over again no the other one. Ok cool... the one in the open? No the other one. Ok cool the one looking st me, no the one looking away broadside. Ok cool,

Shoots wrong animal

Blames it on spotter

 

[FIGJAM]

Except an equivalent 30 cal bullet will weight 2x as much and be propelled just as fast so 2x the energy. No one likes shooting a 230 Berger hybrid at 3k because of the recoil. It's not because it's lacking or even on the same playing field as any 6.5 I've seen. Not saying 6.5 magnums aren't performers but you would need a lot of velocity to offset the mass deficit

You are right - if we are going to compare bullets with larger diameters and equivalent BCs, I agree with you 100%. But the 160 6.5 bullets compared to the 168gr 7mm or 180 gr 30 cals, which is what a lot of guys shoot, isn't giving up much. You would have to be jump up to the 195 gr bergers in the 7mm or the 230 gr bergers in 30 to match performance. I shoot the 215gr bergers in my 300 ultra.

 

[Deleted member 103481]

Idk how many average CM or PRC builds have a 1:7 twist to shoot 160s? They are really optimized for a 140 class bullet

 

[McDoone]

We hunt a farm that causes us problems if the animal walks off property.
Many years ago we switched up to the .338, because some elk would do just that.
I switched from the .300Wtby, my brother in law from the .308.
Some elk will still walk, but we strongly feel not as far or as fast. Baseball sized exit wounds at 400 plus yards contribute much to this performance.

 

[Bullet210]

I have killed several whitetail deer (bucks and does) ranging from 110lbs to 225lbs with my 6.5 creedmoor! Some out to 648 yrds. It's a great cartridge. Prolly the most accurate I own. I carry my creedmoor 90% of the time! But! If I where hunting elk, I would differently open my cannon and carry my 300 win or my 300 RUM! No sense in taking chances if you have bigger cartridges available!

 

[bgouin]

I have a 6.5x55 which was for my wife to to start shooting center fire rifle. She now shoots a 7mm RM. I started with a 7mm RM which I will take hunting for up to Elk sized game, but I would rather use my 340 Wea Mag. I am not belittling smaller calibers. I just prefer a larger stick us use with larger critters. Yes I also agree that bullet placement and construction are also important, but given appropriate bullet placement and bullet construction, BIGGER is better. Bigger results in bigger holes and more trauma. Then again that is just my opinion.

 

[Troutslayer2]

The "Ideal Elk Cartridge" depends on a whole lot of factors including who's carrying and shooting the gun.

Oh oh there it is! The i always make perfect wind calls, I am such a good hunter that I always have a massive bull perfectly broadside, my bullet will land within 1/4" of where I intend it to every single time I pull the trigger. I get it now.

 

[moosekiller99]

I own a .270 Win, a 6.5 Creedmoor and a 338 Win Mag. My favorite whitetail rifle? The 338 of course. I get no pleasure whatsoever in tracking any game. If I have to track, I prefer 2 big holes bleeding profusely. A 250 grain 338 projectile in the vitals has for me resulted in no tracking ever and no bloodshot meat.