6.5 CM factory ammo for deer 50-550 yd.. am I overthinking this

[bojangles808]

Headed to the mainland in a couple months and going to ship a bunch of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo to my friend's house to bring back gome as getting any good ammo s very challenging in hawaii.

Looking for something for deer at ranges of 50-550 yards (want to start shooting longer ranges, sometimes I bump them out of beds and take shots up close.) Would like to try and stay under 50$ a box.

Everytime I think Hornady precision hunter eld x is what I'm looking for I read up on something where it grenaded or someone sayingit didn't perform as expected. Maybe it's becausr eld x is so popular there's bound to be some poor experiences? Other factory options that caught my eye was Barnes vor tx LR, federal swift sirrocco ii, and federal terminal ascent. Something higher BC and solid when taking closer shots. What say you?

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Check out the Norma Bondstrike, my 6.5 loves them. I dunno about 750 but that's more to do with CM velocity than the projectile.

 

[Jr4]

750 is pushing it in my opinion, nothing wrong with ELD-x, I have a couple of friends using 147 ELD-m with no problems
I think the creed is more realistic at 500
I limit my prc to 700

 

[bojangles808]

750 is pushing it in my opinion, nothing wrong with ELD-x, I have a couple of friends using 147 ELD-m with no problems
I think the creed is more realistic at 500
I limit my prc to 700

Thx for the dose of reality ya I'm probably talking out of my butt about 750. 5-600 would probably be more realistic I'll edit it

 

[Fatcamp]

Eldx has worked fine for me. Good luck finding it, though.

 

[inkedspot]

Up close with a more frangible or explosive tipped type bullet you just need to be a little more particular about shot placement. Dont shoot a shoulder blade up close with a volatile non-bonded bullet and they perform fine. If you dont want to have to be concerned about shot placement move towards a bonded bullet. ELD-X used to publish a maximum top velocity and memory says it was 2650ish (im getting old so forgive me if this is off a little), if your velocity at your shot distance is slower than that then it should be fine. All bullets have design limits so just know the max and min speed limitations for the bullet you choose. If you are inside the range of maximum speed take a quartering away or straight broadside shot to avoid large bones and you should be fine. ELDX have killed a lot of animals, and they have been complained about a lot by people who were picking up dead animals. Im saying that in fairness because I dont use them - I prefer other bullets - but they are effective.

 

[PathFinder]

Definitely overthinking it.
People read ammo boxes more often than they do wound channels apparently...The 140 ELD M is an ideal bullet for axis deer. Shooting them with a bonded bullet would be asinine.
The 140 ELD M will fully penetrate a mature mule deer buck anywhere from 50-900+, even if it hits heavy bone on the way in. It's more than adequate for axis.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Tahoe1305]

Eldx is great out of a creed at those speeds. I’ve blown some up for sure but all going well north of 3000fps.

I’ve never had an issue below 2800.

 

[Lawnboi]

Eldx has worked fine for me. Good luck finding it, though.

Hornady: Precision Hunter 6.5 Creedmoor, 143gr ELD-X , 20/Box

Hornady 81499: Loaded with the most advanced hunting bullet available, Precision Hunter sets a new standard of accurate, deadly hunting performance. 20 rds.

www.milehighshooting.com

Ask and you shall receive

OP. A creedmoor dosnt push these bullets at blow up speeds, I wouldn’t worry about that.

 

[Fatcamp]

Hornady: Precision Hunter 6.5 Creedmoor, 143gr ELD-X , 20/Box

Hornady 81499: Loaded with the most advanced hunting bullet available, Precision Hunter sets a new standard of accurate, deadly hunting performance. 20 rds.

www.milehighshooting.com

Ask and you shall receive

OP. A creedmoor dosnt push these bullets at blow up speeds, I wouldn’t worry about that.

Have you ordered from there?

 

[Lawnboi]

Have you ordered from there?

Yes. Great place to do business with

 

[slowelk]

Have you ordered from there?

Mile High is GTG. They have a lot of my money.

 

[mitchparker1980]

I'd agree that you're probably over thinking it. ELD-X is a great bullet. My personal favorite (as it groups insanely good in my rifle) is 140 Ballistic Tip

 

[Antares]

Headed to the mainland in a couple months and going to ship a bunch of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo to my friend's house to bring back gome as getting any good ammo s very challenging in hawaii.

Looking for something for deer at ranges of 50-550 yards (want to start shooting longer ranges, sometimes I bump them out of beds and take shots up close.) Would like to try and stay under 50$ a box.

Everytime I think Hornady precision hunter eld x is what I'm looking for I read up on something where it grenaded or someone sayingit didn't perform as expected. Maybe it's becausr eld x is so popular there's bound to be some poor experiences? Other factory options that caught my eye was Barnes vor tx LR, federal swift sirrocco ii, and federal terminal ascent. Something higher BC and solid when taking closer shots. What say you?

I've shot lots and lots of feral goats and axis deer with the 140 ELDM from 10 to 500+ yards. Its just flat out works. I have no concerns with "grenading," I've never seen it happen, probably for the velocity reason @Lawnboi pointed out. The only time I can remember not getting a pass through was a big axis buck; the bullet ended up under the hide on the offside shoulder.

 

[EmperorMA]

Yup. Pretty much whatever the rifle likes in 129-147gr that has a G1 BC above 0.5 should do the trick out to 600.

I personally would look at three Hornady offerings … 140 and 147 ELD-M and 143 ELD-X. All shoot well in my Creed so I’d just use whatever I could find a case of. Same goes for the 140 SST but I am not sure if it is commercially loaded.

The above-mentioned 140 Nosler Ballistic Tip is a wicked slayer, as well.

I’ve seen quite a few critters fall to the 129 ABLR (loaded by Nosler) and the 142 ABLR loaded by Winchester. Excellent performance from both.

 

[kthomas]

The lot of 6.5 Creedmoor 143 ELD-X Precision Hunter that I have is very slow. So keep that in mind if you have a short or slow barrel (such as a Tikka).

Out of my 18" Benchmark barrel, factory 143 ELD-X is only going about 2500 fps. I'm going to try reloading 123 ELD's and 123 Scenars to get into better velocity, which is a shame as I have a few boxes of this Precision Hunter.

 

[EmperorMA]

The lot of 6.5 Creedmoor 143 ELD-X Precision Hunter that I have is very slow. So keep that in mind if you have a short or slow barrel (such as a Tikka).

Out of my 18" Benchmark barrel, factory 143 ELD-X is only going about 2500 fps. I'm going to try reloading 123 ELD's and 123 Scenars to get into better velocity, which is a shame as I have a few boxes of this Precision Hunter.

Try the 129 ABLR if you can find some. Freakin’ deadly-ass bullet!

 

[kthomas]

Try the 129 ABLR if you can find some. Freakin’ deadly-ass bullet!

I'll look into that, thanks!

 

[h2so4]

I've got a couple of cases of Black Hills 143 ELD-X and their new 130gr Dual Performance (machined copper bullet from Lehigh). PM incoming.

 

[Unckebob]

I like Hornady Precision Hunter and Nosler BT factory ammo.