6.5 SAUM - Was it a wise choice for Western hunting?

[HOT TUNA]

A 6.5 SAUM will give anything that walks this earth a dirt nap with a well placed shot. I've been getting the job done for a long time with a .260 Remington on game sized up to elk and black bear. Marksmanship kills.

 

[highdrum]

5) Your 6.5 SAUM is a smidge more powerful than a PRC, but short of a 264 Win Mag. It is an inherently accurate round, but beware of jams in push-feed actions during rapid cycling under duress. The shoulder angle is very sharp. Either clow down and take your time, use it in a CRF (too late for op), and above all else, make your 1st shot count!

The origin action actually is a CRF style bolt, yeah no mause claw extractor, but the rim is designed to slip up under/into the bolt face as the case is stripped from magazine. A 30° shoulder angle isn't sharp, 90% new cases designed since 1990 all have 30-35° shoulder. The saum case is a great design and I think Remington would still sell a lot of they'd kept it around and adopted the 6.5 version. I have a 6.5 and 257 saum, they all perform very well, efficient, accurate and moderate recoil. If you have the twist for it, try running the new 156 Berger, no doubt it will carry a ton of energy and should pass through for blood trail if needed.

 

[dxlbaile]

The 6.5 Saum is a great Gun you will be safe with it shooting anything out west, Just aim small and you will have a good outcome.. My Saum continues to pile them up and it has very little recoil compared to other guns.. Happy shooting amigo.

 

[Bill Peet]

The 6.5 PRC is just as g

I was considering a 6.5 PRC for the same until I saw several elk shot, very accurately with one. None of the elk seemed very impressed. It did kill them, but only after multiple shots (3-5) to put them down. Yes, it will do the job, but certainly not as decisively as I would like.[/QUO

The 6.5 PRC is as good as the Sherman or any other 6.5 . Might not be as fast as some but its still a 6.5 you are shooting. Its the bullet and the placement of the bullet. My nephew uses a 270 WSM for every thing including big bears . Its shot placement and good bullets. Your 6.5 SAUM will work just fine , good bullets and practice .

 

[Todd Gansel]

The 6.5 PRC is just as g

That can be said with any caliber for the most part. I just dont want to carry a Cheytec around the mountain side. Bullet selection is critical. I've had luck with Berger VLD, I have friends who have had luck with ELD and AB. I also have a friend that uses a 30-06, if he hits an Elk he doesn't stop shooting until it's laying down. Elk and moose are tough critters but bullet selection and shot placement are critical. I'm not sure I would shoot an elk at 1000 yards. You need to know your limits most people don't. If you cannot hold sub MOA at 1000 you really have no business shooting an animal that far. Just my opinion.

 

[Don A Parsons]

^^^ X's 2

Yuppers,,, what I can pull off at the shooting range or in competition never comes with me onto the hunting grounds...

Shooting with in my limits along with the cartridge only allows for X distance...

I don't have the wild land shooting skills, not like the shooting range where I have time to place the shot as needed...

Fast jack and roll on the close up critters,,, or slow it down when range becomes a factor... Ha... Sometimes I get this mixed up with slow shots up close and too fast on the further stuff...

Its all about missing the mark now days, LOL.

That way I get to start fresh the next day... Ha

 

[ramrod79]

I built my 300 Win mag in 1969 My choice was based on the advice of Guides and men who had killed Elk Moose in their opinion at 400 yards 7mm mags and others ran out of gas beyond that range for pure knock-Down power Now bullets have evolved into guided missiles and powder is not leftover WWII artillery powder having said that there are couple thing to think about an Elk dies hard where a Moose you can kill with a 22 I've seen range cows shot with 06 in the head get up and run off so what is your comfort range to kill an animal, not brag how far away you hit the Animal! Second, a lot of new light wait ultra Mags, are no fun to shoot you need to be hunting with a rifle you're comfortable with even if its a 300 Savage!

First off good for you and your 1969 300 win mag! I wasn't bragging !!! I was letting op know that there's no problem with a 6.5 and big animals and they are awesome cartridges. Secondly I don't shoot an ultra mag but I do shoot a 338 Sherman Short and thirdly it's a light weight my 16 year old kid can shoot as it has a good break.
All the negativity on here over a Point of view makes me sick.

 

[COBrad]

These threads always turn into a ****ing match between the guys who think you HAVE to have a .300 mag as a minimum to kill elk, and guys who kill them nicely with smaller cartridges. When I was a kid here in western CO most of the ranch guys shot 30-30's or .300 savages and killed elk every year. Most of those shots were within 150 yards... as the vast majority of elk shots around here are. Most everyone else shot .270's or '06's. Most of the guys shooting magnums were city guys and they almost all shot poorly. Ever heard that 10% of the hunters kill 90% of the elk year in and year out? Holds true here, and most are shot with standard cartridges. The .30 caliber magnums are very powerful elk killing machines if you can shoot them well, but their real advantage is at longer ranges, out around the 500 yard mark and beyond. The fast 6.5's make great elk guns with proper bullet selection. I've used 140 Berger HVLD's in a .270 WSM to kill several elk, but hit a little too far forward a few years ago and didn't have the penetration necessary to reach the boiler room. I've gone back to bullets built to penetrate.

 

[Braunschweiger]

This has turned out to be a fantastically informative post ... from both points of view. I believe I'll stick with the SAUM as I shoot it well. I have a plethora of 6.5mm bullets at my disposal... really wanting to pick up some of the new 156 EOL's from Berger next. My barrels free bore and twist will be sufficient. Also... might as well post a pic of the rifle:

 

[Stgraves260]

I had a custom 6.5 SAUM built by a very well known smith in MO. Firstly, rifle is incredible... he did a great job. It's a Bighorn Arms Origin action, Proof Research 26' Sendero threaded barrel, Wyatt's 300 WSM DBM, Triggertech Special Trigger, and Stocky's Carbon Fiber Long Range v2 stock. Using a Zeiss v6 Conquest 3-18x50 scope. Overall very lightweight and shoots great.

My debate now is that when I first had decided on this build, I did a bunch of research and waited about a year before pulling the trigger. I felt that since I do a lot of long range shooting, that accuracy always trumps caliber. With this being said, I decided that a 6.5 variant was a great choice for hunting my whitetails here in Missouri, but if I wanted to go out West (which I plan to next year for Antelope), my rifle would be great for any game up to Elk/Moose.

I know that what bullet you choose really makes the difference, especially when it comes to overall distance of the kill. However, my overall question is would I have been safer going with a 7mm or 308 caliber variant? I'm all about ethical kills, so even though I can, have, and will shoot over a mile... doesn't mean I will with an animal an front of me. For most shots 500 yards and in, with a good shot, am I safe for Moose/Elk? Or, should I step up to a long action like 7mm/300 mag or 280 AI, etc?

Luckily, with that action I can always have a prefit spun up in a different magnum caliber, like 7 SAUM to push 180's (in SA of course)

Thanks!
Darin

Follow this rule and you'll be fine. It has all ways worked for me. I call it the " Graves Rule " my last name. The numbers below will be kinetic energy. 600 Ft Lbs for white tail deer, 800 Ft Lbs mull deer, caribou size animals, 1,000 Ft Lbs elk and 1,200 Ft Lbs for moose. Now I shoot Berger bullets so they have to travel 1300 FPS to expand. With your ballistics program make sure that the date does not conflict with each other. See if this helps. I shoot a 260 Rem 140 grain bullet at 2998 FPS. At 1325 yards the bullet still travels at 1306 FPS but only has 530 Ft Lbs. So I don't shoot white tail at that distance. I have to drop back to 1250 yards so I still have my 600 Ft Lbs and over my 1300 FPS so my bullets will expand. People say they have trouble with Berger Bullets expanding at close range. I never have but that does not mean nobody else has. Another rule I made for myself that has never let me down is on White Tail deer and larger animals 300 yards and less I shoot in the neck. My little 260 Rem drop moose like it's nobody's business. The energy method that I use is to break the shoulder on your animals you are hunting. So even if your off a little on your wind call your bullet will have enough energy to break the shoulder of you target. Really hope this helps.

 

[Stgraves260]

This 290 lb hog 2.75" cutters was taken at 998 yards with a 260 Rem 140 grain Berger Bullet.

 

[Braunschweiger]

Follow this rule and you'll be fine. It has all ways worked for me. I call it the " Graves Rule " my last name. The numbers below will be kinetic energy. 600 Ft Lbs for white tail deer, 800 Ft Lbs mull deer, caribou size animals, 1,000 Ft Lbs elk and 1,200 Ft Lbs for moose. Now I shoot Berger bullets so they have to travel 1300 FPS to expand. With your ballistics program make sure that the date does not conflict with each other. See if this helps. I shoot a 260 Rem 140 grain bullet at 2998 FPS. At 1325 yards the bullet still travels at 1306 FPS but only has 530 Ft Lbs. So I don't shoot white tail at that distance. I have to drop back to 1250 yards so I still have my 600 Ft Lbs and over my 1300 FPS so my bullets will expand. People say they have trouble with Berger Bullets expanding at close range. I never have but that does not mean nobody else has. Another rule I made for myself that has never let me down is on White Tail deer and larger animals 300 yards and less I shoot in the neck. My little 260 Rem drop moose like it's nobody's business. The energy method that I use is to break the shoulder on your animals you are hunting. So even if your off a little on your wind call your bullet will have enough energy to break the shoulder of you target. Really hope this helps.

Great info bud! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Stgraves260]

Great info bud! Thanks for sharing!

Yes sir. You are very welcome.

 

[Stgraves260]