Anyone elk hunting with a 6.5 creedmoor??

[Savage110]

Just wondering if anyone has used this gun to hunt elk and if so what were the results. I usually take my .300wsm or .338lm. I just got this gun this winter and have worked up a great 140 gr load and this Guns a real tack driver and I have the itch to use it this year. Thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[HuntFarther]

I am sure it would be fine as long as the shot placement. Not much different than a 6.5-284 and I have seen them shoot holes through bull elk out to around 1200yards. I am not sure what you have in mind for yardage but I personally would shoot a elk with it but hope for shots around 800 and in.

 

[backcountryguide]

Just got a custom Creedmoor back from my smith and am ramping up to do some serious penetration testing and bullet performance test to give me an answer or at least a good idea on this very topic. We will be looking at the new Berger 140 Hybrid as well as the 140 hunting vld. We hunt from 6500 feet and up. Running the hybrid at 2800fps gives me around 1300 flbs of energy at 1k while still moving 2000fps so it should get the job done on bulls and muleys here in Nevada.

 

[Savage110]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I load I worked up for mine was for a Berger 140 hunting vld. Its a very forgiving round. With all my load development (I believe I worked up 12 loads to get it right) I don't think I had a group over an inch at 100 yards. For my gun (a savage 111 LRH)40.6 gr of h4350 at 2700 fps is the sweet spot. This gives me a three shot group at 100 that I can easily cover with a dime and slightly over a 1" group at three hundred. Haven't had a chance yet to shoot any farther than that yet. I'm not sure about elk but it sure piles up the coyote's.

 

[Wyofax]

There is a youtube video of Wayne van Zwoll punching a hole clean through an elk in the 5-600 yard range with a creedmore. Don't recall off the top of my head the bullet he was shooting but I don't think it was a Berger. My 264 WM starting at 3145 has about the same down range velocity and energy that is posted above using the Berger's so I would think those might be a tad overstated, but the Creedmore has plenty of punch for elk.

 

[backcountryguide]

Not over stated drops confirmed at 500 700 and 1010 yards. Elevation is playing a big role here

 

[angus-5024]

if you only had the 6.5, i would say go for it.... but you have two real elk rifles. I think I would take one of them.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Just got a custom Creedmoor back from my smith and am ramping up to do some serious penetration testing and bullet performance test to give me an answer or at least a good idea on this very topic. We will be looking at the new Berger 140 Hybrid as well as the 140 hunting vld. We hunt from 6500 feet and up. Running the hybrid at 2800fps gives me around 1300 flbs of energy at 1k while still moving 2000fps so it should get the job done on bulls and muleys here in Nevada.

Are you sure about those numbers? According to the calc, the 140 Hybrid with an MV of 2800 reaches 1K with 990 lbs of energy and 1780 fps. You have to go to over 14,000 to get 1300 lbs and 2000 fps

 

[backcountryguide]

Exact numbers from shooter app are 1945fps 1224ft-lbs no way for me to tell if they are dead nuts or not but my drops from the program are. Kestrel 2500nv and a Swaro range finder used for the input. Up 6.6 mils for 1000 yards gave me center hits on a 10" plate.

 

[cwinner]

if you only had the 6.5, i would say go for it.... but you have two real elk rifles. I think I would take one of them.

+1, I love my Creedmoor and have shot almost 1000rds since January in local matches but there is no way I would use it for elk at anything past 300 yds.....here's a table of my load for the 140 A-Max which is not an elk hunting bullet nor is the Berger in this caliber in my opinion.



Firearm: 6.5 Creedmoor
Sight Height 1.500 in Sight Offset 0.000 in
Elev. CF 0.95000 Wind CF 1.00000
Ammo: Hornady 140gr A-MAX (Litz)
Bullet Diameter 0.264 Bullet Weight 140.00 gr
Bullet Length 1.3750 in Atmos. Std. ASM
Muzzle Vel. 2875.00 fps Drag Model G1
BC(s) [email protected]
Zero Range 100 yd Zero Height 0.000 in
Zero Offset 0.000 in
Atmosphere
Altitude 0.00 ft Station Press 23.63 inHg
Temp 62.00 °F Humidity 15.000 %
Shot Data
Move Speed 5.00 mph Move Angle 90.00 °
Look Angle 0.00 °
Wind Speed 10.00 mph Wind Angle 90.00 °
Range
(yd) Path
(in) Path
(mils) Drift
(in) Drift
(mils) Velocity
(fps) Energy
(ft-lbs) TOF
(s)
0 -1.5 0.0 -0.0 0.0 2875.0 2569.4 0.000
25 -0.7 U0.7 -0.0 0.0 2842.6 2511.7 0.026
50 -0.2 U0.1 -0.1 R0.1 2810.8 2455.8 0.053
75 0.1 0.0 -0.2 R0.1 2779.0 2400.6 0.080
100 0.0 0.0 -0.4 R0.1 2747.8 2347.0 0.107
125 -0.3 U0.1 -0.7 R0.1 2716.6 2294.0 0.134
150 -0.9 U0.2 -1.0 R0.2 2685.9 2242.4 0.162
175 -1.9 U0.3 -1.3 R0.2 2654.7 2190.6 0.190
200 -3.1 U0.4 -1.7 R0.2 2624.5 2141.2 0.218
225 -4.6 U0.5 -2.2 R0.3 2593.9 2091.5 0.247
250 -6.5 U0.7 -2.7 R0.3 2563.9 2043.3 0.276
275 -8.7 U0.8 -3.3 R0.3 2533.9 1995.8 0.306
300 -11.2 U1.0 -4.0 R0.4 2504.4 1949.7 0.335
325 -14.2 U1.1 -4.7 R0.4 2474.6 1903.5 0.366
350 -17.4 U1.3 -5.4 R0.4 2445.3 1858.7 0.396
375 -21.0 U1.5 -6.3 R0.5 2416.5 1815.2 0.427
400 -25.0 U1.6 -7.2 R0.5 2387.4 1771.7 0.458
425 -29.3 U1.8 -8.2 R0.5 2358.8 1729.5 0.490
450 -34.1 U2.0 -9.2 R0.6 2330.2 1687.9 0.522
475 -39.2 U2.2 -10.3 R0.6 2301.8 1647.0 0.554
500 -44.7 U2.4 -11.5 R0.6 2274.0 1607.4 0.587
525 -50.7 U2.5 -12.7 R0.7 2246.2 1568.4 0.620
550 -57.1 U2.7 -14.1 R0.7 2218.2 1529.5 0.654
575 -64.0 U2.9 -15.5 R0.7 2190.7 1491.8 0.688
600 -71.3 U3.1 -16.9 R0.8 2163.3 1454.7 0.722
625 -79.0 U3.3 -18.5 R0.8 2136.4 1418.8 0.757
650 -87.3 U3.5 -20.1 R0.9 2109.4 1383.1 0.792
675 -95.9 U3.8 -21.8 R0.9 2082.8 1348.5 0.828
700 -105.2 U4.0 -23.6 R0.9 2056.1 1314.1 0.864
725 -114.9 U4.2 -25.5 R1.0 2029.8 1280.8 0.901
750 -125.2 U4.4 -27.4 R1.0 2003.5 1247.7 0.938
775 -136.0 U4.6 -29.5 R1.1 1977.6 1215.8 0.976
800 -147.3 U4.9 -31.6 R1.1 1952.0 1184.5 1.014
825 -159.3 U5.1 -33.8 R1.1 1926.3 1153.4 1.053
850 -171.8 U5.3 -36.1 R1.2 1901.1 1123.5 1.092
875 -185.0 U5.6 -38.5 R1.2 1875.9 1093.8 1.132
900 -198.7 U5.8 -41.0 R1.3 1851.1 1065.2 1.172
925 -213.1 U6.1 -43.6 R1.3 1826.4 1036.9 1.213
950 -228.0 U6.3 -46.3 R1.4 1802.2 1009.6 1.254
975 -243.7 U6.6 -49.1 R1.4 1777.9 982.6 1.296
1000 -260.1 U6.9 -52.0 R1.4 1753.9 956.3 1.338

 

[Savage110]

Thanks for the input guys. You are probably right about the bigger caliber for elk especially at long distance. I want to put a muzzle brake on my .300 this summer and work up some loads for it. Not my most favorite gun to shoot from the prone position. Never shot an elk with it but it really hammers the deer. I've shot five whitetails with it and not one has taken a step yet.

 

[hififile]

You should be fine with a good bullet and good placement. I have shot a spike bull @220 yards and a "big" cow at 150 yards with a 6.5x55 using Sierra (gameking) bullets, 140 grain at 2630 fps (mv).

Both went down with 1 shot, both were heart/lung shots.

The Creedmoor will do the same!

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[doniphan]

Having read all of the opinions above, I agree with most that the 6.5's are a great round and very capable of putting animals on the ground at some pretty amazing ranges. I have shot a 6.5 Creedmoor but have never hunted with one. I have hunted with a 6.5x284 and successfully taken large bodied Kansas whitetails with really impressive results. I used a Striker pistol in 6.5x284 with a 140 grain Berger VLD with a MV of 2,651 fps to take a Kansas deer at just over 600 yards this past season. When looking at the ballistics tables on paper, the 6.5's hit much harder than they should. Like I said the Creedmoor may not be right for elk, but it may be. I think one part of the equation that has to be considered is accurate shot placement. Let's face it, when you put a 140 grain bullet through the heart of an animal they usually go down quickly. I have the faith in my abilities and the accuracy of my weapon/load to make that shot with the 6.5x284 at longer ranges on deer. So, if the range was kept within reason (how confident are you in being able to put all your shots into the heart sized target at what range?), I think it could work well. Just my two cents worth. And you get what you pay for, this was free, so take it for just what it is.
John

 

[Savage110]

Thanks for the input guys. The consensus of most is that if you can place the shot and the yardage is within reason for the size of the animal your trying to kill that I should be fine. And factoring in my past hunting results that definitely makes a lot of sence. I've shot a deer at 25 yards with a .460xvr and 260gr bullet in the vitals and had it run 100+ feet and I saw a guy on you tube shoot an elk at 75 yards with the same gun and it dropped its knees. So shot placement trumps caliber within reason.