6.5 Creedmor- the Holy Grail?

[Longreach]

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.

No flack from me. I agree completely with your thinking. Whilst there are always better substitutes for cartridges for a particular job, there is absolutely no substitute for common sense.

 

[FIGJAM]

No flack from me. I agree completely with your thinking. Whilst there are always better substitutes for cartridges for a particular job, there is absolutely no substitute for common sense.

You need to change that avatar pic - makes me question your credibility! Lol - J/k

 

[JimmyCP]

Its no surprise at the penetration, a bullet hitting that slow with opening because of tumbling penetrate well and kills well but it a sure sight your nearly gasses out!

If I remember right, when they developed the eldx they used the amax jacket trying to get the bullet to open as close to transonic as they could, sorry been up 24 hrs and still on the road in Nm.
I load one for a guy that wo

143 ELDX bullets blow up and make a huge mess out of a Pronghorn if any bone is hit on the entrance side. A perfect broadside heart / lung shot and the stomach exploded. I saw it twice this year 300 and 400 yrd shots.

Eldx if not mistaken uses amax jacket we prefer the sst behind the shoulder or back of shoulder for the same reason.

 

[CaptnC]

I use the SST in both my 6.5 CM (129gr at 2900fps) and 6.5 Grendel (123gr at 2500fps).

The CM two stopped against the hide on the off side, one pass through. The Grendel all three passed through. All 6 were 100yd shots, so I'm really like what I'm seeing from those bullets.

From what I've seen there is no way I would take either into the woods for elk. That said, for me an elk is a once in a life time hunt. So one of my 7mm or .30 magnums would get the nod!

 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

That "fact" was established with 160 bullets though vs 140 gr. Monolithic or bonded bullets can definitely bump a cartridge up a weight class but the 6.5 bore is still considered the minimum effective bore for elk and maybe light for American moose. For hunting purposes even a 7mm-08 or 308 offers more energy at practical ranges. That's why people dislike the hype around the creed.

Not all of the old 6.5 rep was built on 160 gr bullets. A modern mono or bonded core bullet retains more weight than the old , non bonded core 160 gr round nose soft point.
Anyone that thinks the 30 caliber is some great step up from the 6.5 needs to see more animals killed with the 6.5s
I've said it before and I'll say it again. If someone Needs more than a 6.5. Then they Need to start at the 338 and move up.

Live in Alaska and hunting lots of game!!! Rule of thumb in Alaska is 30 caliber and bigger!!! Lots of big animals up here, and you could have a run in with a Grizz or brown bear and I would rather be over gunned than under gunned!!! 6.5 Creedmoor is a great round, just for certain animals in my hunting trips!!!

The 30 cals are the worst offenders of being under gunned on Brown bear ! More wounded brown bear walking around Alaska with 30 caliber bullets in them than anything else ! The problem with the 30 s is many people think it's big. Then they wack a bear with one and it takes off like a scalded *** ape. They may track that bear for a little ways but that's it. Bear carts start at 375 and go up. But a 338 will generally keep a bear down long enough for a guy to get in a good 2nd shot.
I've killed many boat loads of Sitka Blacktail deer with 416 s and 458 s because where I was hunting was heavily populated with brown bear.

 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

I sure thought about scaling back more from the 30 caliber line up of cartridges,,, I still remember the 243 and 270 hunt a few years ago ,,, oh my ,,, talk about alot of running and pocket fulls of ammo to bring that buck down.

All of us plan for that perfect shot ,,, it just didn't pan out as planned ,,, mother nature sometimes puts a kink into our plans. Ha

Our group of shooters scaled up from those days,,, mostly larger chunks of lead ,,, now things are happening .

Don't get me right or wrong,,, its only fair for people to pick and choose what works for them.

Purhaps this is why I'm in the category I'm in. It's working ,,, so the plan is to stay where I'm at.

Who knows ,,, maybe the day will come when change happens .

Sounds like some extremely poor shooting ! Anyone that can't kill a deer with a 243 or 270 in no more than 2 shots. Needs to learn how to shoot and perhaps learn how to stalk.
Most of the problems someone may encounter with the 6 5 Creedmoor shooting an elk would be shooting too far. Or hitting in the wrong spot with a bullet that won't penetrate deep enough. The Creed will do that just great. Put a 130 gr TSX thru the shoulder at 400 yards or less and you'll have meat on the ground.

 

[rustyshackleford]

Not all of the old 6.5 rep was built on 160 gr bullets. A modern mono or bonded core bullet retains more weight than the old , non bonded core 160 gr round nose soft point.
Anyone that thinks the 30 caliber is some great step up from the 6.5 needs to see more animals killed with the 6.5s
I've said it before and I'll say it again. If someone Needs more than a 6.5. Then they Need to start at the 338 and move up.


The 30 cals are the worst offenders of being under gunned on Brown bear ! More wounded brown bear walking around Alaska with 30 caliber bullets in them than anything else ! The problem with the 30 s is many people think it's big. Then they wack a bear with one and it takes off like a scalded --- ape. They may track that bear for a little ways but that's it. Bear carts start at 375 and go up. But a 338 will generally keep a bear down long enough for a guy to get in a good 2nd shot.
I've killed many boat loads of Sitka Blacktail deer with 416 s and 458 s because where I was hunting was heavily populated with brown bear.

It's not really up for debate that the 6.5x55 round built it's legend on the 160 round nose. When WDM Bell was brainshotting elephants it was a 160. The majority of the moose felled in northern Europe were likely shot with a 160. You can say 30 cal isn't any type of step up but I sincerely doubt that. A 140-160 gr bullet at 3k isn't going to hit as hard as a 180-220. I do however agree that serious guns start at .35-.375.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

44 Pages of trying to find,.. the "Holy Grail" of Cartridges,.. LOL, LOL, LOL !
We Americans, sure must be,.. BORED !
The poor old,.. .270's, .280's, .30-06's,.. don't know it yet,.. but they are, obsolete "Toast" headed for, the scrap piles, of History,.. LOL !
Where's that pic of a guy beating, his dead Horse ??

 

[stx]

44 Pages of trying to find,.. the "Holy Grail" of Cartridges,.. LOL, LOL, LOL !
We Americans, sure must be,.. BORED !
The poor old,.. .270's, .280's, .30-06's,.. don't know it yet,.. but they are, obsolete "Toast" headed for, the scrap piles, of History,.. LOL !
Where's that pic of a guy beating, his dead Horse ??

 

[WildRose]

No flack from me. I agree completely with your thinking. Whilst there are always better substitutes for cartridges for a particular job, there is absolutely no substitute for common sense.

Or proper shot placement and selecting the right bullet for the game and the intended POA.

 

[WildRose]

44 Pages of trying to find,.. the "Holy Grail" of Cartridges,.. LOL, LOL, LOL !
We Americans, sure must be,.. BORED !
The poor old,.. .270's, .280's, .30-06's,.. don't know it yet,.. but they are, obsolete "Toast" headed for, the scrap piles, of History,.. LOL !
Where's that pic of a guy beating, his dead Horse ??

There will still be people shooting the O6 a hundred years from now.

 

[Deleted member 103481]

I need to get another CM this is making me miss my last one.

 

[farmboykjb5.9]

There will still be people shooting the O6 a hundred years from now.

Yup and the creedmor will be long gone

 

[FIGJAM]

I sure thought about scaling back more from the 30 caliber line up of cartridges,,, I still remember the 243 and 270 hunt a few years ago ,,, oh my ,,, talk about alot of running and pocket fulls of ammo to bring that buck down.

If I judged a cartridges effectiveness to bring down an animal with 1 shot, based on experiences that I have had with different hunting partners, I wouldn't be able to hunt with a 338 Rum, 300 Rum, 338 wm or 300 win mag...lol. That .243 and .270 are awesome deer guns...they don't shoot themselves though.