Need some guidance..

[Swatman05]

Tika's, Kimbers are pretty light weight. The gun I just bought, in a Browning X-bolt Hells canyon is fairly light at 6lbs 10 oz and is a magnum caliber (28 Nosler) but light for a magnum for sure considering it's one of the heavier Hells canyon models. The Browning X bolt Hells canyon models are beautiful guns to shoot and hold. They feel lighter than they really are. They have a protective finish that protects the metal from the elements which is another thing to consider while your sitting in the rain. The recoil pad is second to none.
This is just one of the great reviews this gun has received:
https://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/browning-hells-canyon-speed/

Don't forget to consider the rifles twist rate also. American guns often have slowish twist rates which sometimes prevents the heaviest, highest BC bullets from being used. Look for twist rates faster than 10 for sure. A 9 twist will accomadate most 30 cal and 7 mm bullets but a 8 or even less if using a smaller caliber is even better.

Bullets. I know most hunters when hunting Elk will use heavy for caliber bullets and for good reason. But what if you were able to find a lighther bullet that seemed just as deadly as a heavier one. What advantage would that have? Well velocity for one, more veloctity equals better flat shooting ability at least up to moderate ranges of say 800 yards. I found some bullets recently I am so impressed with. I killed a couple deer with them this year and they were DRT. Others have found them to be just as effective on Elk. Check out hammerbullets.com
I don't sell them but I guess you could say i'm a supporter or more accurately a fanoldfart. LOL

Do you have any experience with Ruger ? I like the Hawkeye model. I need to find a good gun store with a wide selection of rifles so I can hold them and see which I like best.

 

[okie man]

If you want a true elk cartridge get something 7mm or bigger with magnum in the name

 

[redleg1013]

You're apt to get a Ford v Chevy v Dodge arguement with everyone's two cents freely offered. Find something with around 1000 ft/lbs retained at 600 yards. Practice meticulously to consistently deliver accurate and precise hits on vital zone sized targets at that range, do this bit a lot, and get really good at it. The "best" chambering in the world won't help if you can't hit the side of a barn whilst inside the barn.

 

[Savage 22-243 AI]

300 WM

 

[WalksLikeADeer]

I will be moving to Utah from Oklahoma in March. I definitely will be getting into Elk hunting and I was told to go with a 6.5 Creedmore. My main goal is primarily to hunt Elk and do some long range shooting at a range with yardage up to 2,000yds. I was also contemplating building a 300WM and putting a good muzzle brake on it to help with recoil. With me being new to Elk hunting I told the gentleman I don't plan on shooting past 400-500yds. I'm just concerned with penetration with the 6.5 Creedmore on a large animal. Also, what would you guy's recommend for a good muzzle brake? Thanks for any input gentlemen.

I will be moving to Utah from Oklahoma in March. I definitely will be getting into Elk hunting and I was told to go with a 6.5 Creedmore. My main goal is primarily to hunt Elk and do some long range shooting at a range with yardage up to 2,000yds. I was also contemplating building a 300WM and putting a good muzzle brake on it to help with recoil. With me being new to Elk hunting I told the gentleman I don't plan on shooting past 400-500yds. I'm just concerned with penetration with the 6.5 Creedmore on a large animal. Also, what would you guy's recommend for a good muzzle brake? Thanks for any input gentlemen.

300WM with a brake and good hearing protection. Save the 6.5 CM for deer sized game and paper. Why compromise?

 

[Roughwater]

Do you have any experience with Ruger ? I like the Hawkeye model. I need to find a good gun store with a wide selection of rifles so I can hold them and see which I like best.

I have a friend who had a 270 Ruger. It only had a 22" barrel but was an accurate rifle. I can't speak to the Hawkeye though but I believe Ruger makes decent weapons. I haven't followed this whole thread so I don't know if you reload or not? But either way I thought I should mention that a longer barrel can give you a little more velocity to a point, roughly 25 Fps per inch. So just saying a 26" barrel will give you up to 100fps more velocity than a 22" barrel. In some situations it makes little differance but in other situations it can be a real plus. In some calibers the difference between the magnum version and the standard version is often only 100 fPS or so. Just something to consider as well. I mention that because some like to make a lightweight version of a rifle by shortning the barrel. Again just something to consider if you are looking to get all the juice out of your gun.

 

[FIGJAM]

I'm going to start using that quote when I talk about the .300 win mag. "It's never the wrong answer." It's really not.

It is so true it's annoying...probably why I don't own one. LOL

 

[JT47]

.300 Win Mag

 

[WalksLikeADeer]

Browning is out of Morgan UT. I would look at x-bolt - not because they are out of Utah, but because all of mine have been tack drivers. Tikkas are good too.

I believe Browning is also offering certain calibers in faster twist rates for longer heavier bullets. I think 300 WM is one of them?

 

[Michael Souther]

He said he has a friend who killed an Elk last year at 1,550yds with a 6.5 Creedmore and told me the guy is phenomenal at shooting. I really like the look of the blended brakes. I'm not scared of the recoil as I used to own a 340 Weatherby Mag and handled it just fine. I'd like a brake in case I need to do a quick follow up shot.

Sounds like a wild story from your friend, talk is cheap. 300 wm or bigger for a humane kill. I use 338 wm. And long range target 6.5 cm shoots great. I have 300 wm long range . 6 5mm is fine for deer size ammo is a available for 300 and 6.5 and many different loads

 

[Roughwater]

I believe Browning is also offering certain calibers in faster twist rates for longer heavier bullets. I think 300 WM is one of them?

That is true. The browning Xbolt Hells Canyon LR model comes with an 8 Twist as do some of the other Browning X bolts. The Browning Xbolt speed model comes with a 9 Twist in the 28 Nosler but I'm not for sure if that's the same twist rate for the 300 WM.
For what it's worth the only differance between the Hells Canyon Speed model and the hells canyon Long Range model is the twist rate and the barrel. The long Range model has a heavier barrel than the speed so comes in at about 7lbs 3 ounces I think Vs the 6lb 10 ounce Speed version. Again the speed has a 9 twist and the Long Range a 8 Twist. The Hells canyon models can also be bought with a Mcmillan stock but for more $$$ of course. There are also some of the special edition X-bolts that come in the 8 twist.

 

[FIGJAM]

If you will read some of the statements in a few of the forums here, you will read about lost elk using the 6.5 Creedmoor. I will refer you to 'Ballistics Studies' which is a website out of New Zealand that a ballistician and hunter runs. He has done extensive wound analysis and impact studies on animals he and those he has guided have killed with various combinations of bullets in calibers ranging from .224 up to .475. Read his material on bullet diameter and weight.
I would not hunt elk with a 6.5 caliber anything. The bullet doesn't have enough mass to penetrate heavy bone at any distance past (maybe) 200 yards. I live in Colorado and go out every year for elk. I use a .35 Whelen and a 225 grain Sierra or a 250 grain Speer. My backup rifles are a .300 winmag or a 30-06. The lightest bullet I load in them for elk is a 180 grain Sierra Pro-hunter. At 400-500 yards, a 140 grain 6.5 Creedmoor round has a velocity (at 7,000 ft.) of about 2100fps. It has about 1,350 Ftlbs of energy. You've just shot a 600 lb animal with the equivalent of a .223 at around 50 yards. With a 300 winmag using a 180 grain Sierra GK bullet, my MV is about 2450fps at 400 yards with a starting MV of 3,000fps. The energy is apout 2450 foot-pounds. (.308 Win. at about 50 yards) The bullet mass is about 20% greater, and it makes a considerably greater entrance and exit wound. With the Whelen and a 225 grain bullet at around 2725fps starting velocity, I have about the same velocity at 400 yards but my entrance and exit wounds are much larger, and because of the bullet mass, it penetrates heavy bone and doesn't deflect.
Elk are pretty tough. Go with a round that will penetrate and exit at 400 to 500 yards and give you a good exit wound. The larger the better, because you may have to blood-trail him. Also, a large sucking chest wound will put him down much quicker than a small one. A 6.5 Creedmoor is accurate, moderately flat-shooting and easier to hit with. It can kill an elk, but so can a .22, and if you hit an elk with it properly, it will work. However, the elk may be in the next county when it dies, and you won't have much of a blood trail to follow if you have to trail it. A .300 or a 30-06 makes a nice large exit wound and leaves a good blood trail. My Whelen makes a very large blood trail, and an enormous sucking chest wound at 500 yards. Pick a round that will do the job if the shot isn't perfect at 400 yards (which it probably won't be). Go with the 30-06 or the .300 winchester magnum. (or the Whelen, which when handloaded just about equals the .338 Winmag.)

I don't disagree with everything you are saying, I actually just reread it am probably disagreeing with more than I originally thought - the 223 comparison seems a little out there tho...you are comparing a 140 gr 6.5 cal bullet to a .55gr 224 bullet, given equal energy, the larger diameter heavier bullet will penetrate more and cause more damage. Not all energy is equal.

Also, if you hit an elk properly with a 6.5 creedmoor the elk might be in the next county over when it dies? If it is running across county lines it wasn't hit properly.

As soon as you start getting into penetration and busting bone and deflecting off of bone, sectional density and bullet selection play a bigger role.

Does the 35 whelen really equal the 338 win mag? I don't shoot either and am asking the question, seems a little questionable to me and considering the larger case capacity I doubt it, but could be wrong.

 

[Swatman05]

Sounds like a wild story from your friend, talk is cheap. 300 wm or bigger for a humane kill. I use 338 wm. And long range target 6.5 cm shoots great. I have 300 wm long range . 6 5mm is fine for deer size ammo is a available for 300 and 6.5 and many different loads

How much is ammo for the 338WM?

 

[Pbethell]

I will be moving to Utah from Oklahoma in March. I definitely will be getting into Elk hunting and I was told to go with a 6.5 Creedmore. My main goal is primarily to hunt Elk and do some long range shooting at a range with yardage up to 2,000yds. I was also contemplating building a 300WM and putting a good muzzle brake on it to help with recoil. With me being new to Elk hunting I told the gentleman I don't plan on shooting past 400-500yds. I'm just concerned with penetration with the 6.5 Creedmore on a large animal. Also, what would you guy's recommend for a good muzzle brake? Thanks for any input gentlemen.

7Rem Mag, 300 Win Mag are both goo choices, the creed is a bit light IMO. Ive lived and hunted in elk country for over 40 years, that doesn't make me an expert, but if you are really wanting to hunt elk then gear up for it.