6.5 CM for a once in a lifetime Oryx hunt. Give it to me straight

[ResearchinStuff]

Let me get this straight….a 223 will kill elk with no issues but a 6.5 creed isn’t a good choice for an oryx?

Not sure how you concluded that. The guy who's killed the most of them in this conversation has used a 22 cal extensively, albeit a very fast one. He also indicated no issues with 6.5 creed in the post right above you.

 

[BjornF16]

It sounds to me that this 10 foot Russian is nothing more than a re-arranged internals that most NA hunters aren’t familiar with…

 

[BjornF16]

Found this on the web…small chance I’ll run across one next week

 

[chamois]

Found this on the web…small chance I’ll run across one next week

View attachment 488319

I assisted to the gralloch of all the Oryx I shot, as I always like tracking the bullet paths and look at the amount of tissue disrupted, and in my experience that drawing is exact gives an exact idea of the animals anatomy. Compare it with what I said was my perfect shot and the photo in which I showed it.
Also note about the length of the spinal apophisis in the shoulder neck area and how easy it is that and apparently well placed shot will not be lethal.
There is another observation to make about the drawing… see how the stomach protrudes into the rib cabe displacing heart and lungs forward. The reason is that they need a huge digestive system to absorb the maximum amount of nutrients from the poor feed they have available.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

Cool info on these beasts, looks like 4-6" above the black, inline with the legs, is the hot spot, look forward to the pics with your ctr 6.5cm , good luck

I'd go at that sucker with my Grendel and 123 eld-m's and not worry at all, but my guide might have to work a little to get me to 300 yards or less. That 6.5 CM with 142 AB's will stomp that thing to 600 no prob.

 

[Gila]

300 win mag and 185 Berger Hybrids for me....If I am ever lucky enough to draw the tag.

500 plus yards with a lot of mirage is the norm from the guys who have drawn the tags.

They make big guns for big critters....just sayin’

 

[Andy Ivy]

Put crosshairs in the middle of the front third, squeeze the trigger.

good luck

 

[Brent]

After being part of putting a couple dozen of these animals on the ground, this picture is a more accurate depiction of the kill zone on an oryx. For broadside shots I always say go straight up the back of the front leg with the vertical post, and rest the horizontal post on top of the rise of the black belly line .

Oryx are not bullet proof, a 6.5 Creed will kill them, but you sacrifice margin of error for quartering shots. I prefer at least a 30 cal with 180+ grain bullets if you have to punch through bones.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

I've shot one and helped with 3 others. I shot mine from an elevated position with a 7mm-08 (T/C Encore pistol). I got one lung and liver. That thing went FOREVER! I followed up with a double lung/top of the heart shot from my .340 Weatherby with instant results.

I shoot a 6.5 CM quite a bit, and if that is what I had, I'd shoot one with it. If I had access to something a little bit bigger, I'd choose that. I have only hunted them in Africa, but what I hear from the NM hunt is often times shots are pretty quick and at quite a distance. If that is the case, and you may be stuck with a less than ideal shot, my vote is the bigger the better for the rifle.

 

[prm]

Sounds like a great opportunity to get a new rifle. While I doubt the end results change much, I do feel fatter bullets create a bigger reaction. Based on seeing deer and elk hit with both 6.5 and 338 bullets.

I’ve only shot one Gemsbok, but a .338 cal 160 TTSX from a little 338 Federal placed into the front of the shoulder resulted in no tracking required. Best guess was the bullet ended up in the stomach which was full of grass.

The PHs I hunted with said to envision a softball low and between the front legs. Get the bullet through that softball.

 

[UTJL]

Not an apples to apples comparison but I’ve shot one with a bow. Made a great double lung complete pass through and it still ran 400 yards. The other ~20 animals I’ve killed with a bow haven’t gone more than 150 yards if they were double lunged, that includes deer, bear, hogs and a couple other African animals.

Since it’s OIL the additional room for error of a 30 cal would make me more comfortable.

 

[fwafwow]

This trip would give me all of the reason to build my RS 223 TMK Tikka Special!

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

I was in this exact situation a year ago when I drew. I pasted one of my previous posts here, you may have already seen it.

I was in a similar conundrum when I drew my OIL tag last year. My only rifle was a 6.5 CM that I shoot well. I have some buddies who are Afghanistan war vets, they get opportunities to hunt oryx often through vet programs and have taken 10+, all with a 6.5 shooting 143gr ELDX at varying distances up to 475 yards. They all told me I’d be fine, so I started working up loads for my rifle. But eventually I decided a OIL tag was a good excuse to buy another rifle and coupled with the fear of making a bad shot and wishing I had more gun/energy behind my bullet. I bought a 300Win and worked up loads shooting 180gr. TTSX bullets.

Fast forward to last month and I shot a cow at 125 yards with the .300 Win. My shot was little behind, clipping both lungs and missing the heart and shoulders. The cow dropped with yards of where I shot her. At 125 yards my bullet traveled at 2858fps and delivered 3265 ft-lbs of energy. That had to make a difference.

Later that day when I dropped the skull at my taxidermist he was surprised at how my shot went down. He had been on a hunt where his buddy made a perfectly placed shot at 300 yards with a .300 win, and they had to chase that oryx down and shoot 6 more times before it died.

Moral of the story? If you can swing it, buy a bigger caliber. If not you’ll likely be fine with the 6.5 but focus on that shot placement and don’t be tempted to make a rushed shot.

View attachment 392994

You can see the exit wound here. Not the ideal placement and I got lucky. No doubt the extra energy behind the .300 Win helped

 

[Dhf8ka]

”During my years of study on high velocity and killing power, I have come to one definite indisputable conclusion. Velocity plays the most important part in killing power.”-Roy Weatherby
I shoot a 6.5 myself, but it’s a 6.5 x 300 Weatherby Magnum sending a 142 gr Nosler ABLR blistering down range and it kicks and frankly I don’t care because it is my hunting rifle, but in my experience and very humble opinion, shot placement is going to play a major role Regardless.

 

[JGRaider]

Good bullets put in the right place kill the crap out of animals. I'm not one who agrees with the theory that bigger and faster makes up for poor shot placement. My buddy just this past weekend drilled a 325lb aoudad ram in the Davis Mountains of West Texas with a 7mm08/140 accubond combo running 2810 at the muzzle. Impact distance was 518 yds through the shoulder. The 34.5" ram ran 20 yds and keeled over.

 

[Unckebob]

I was in this exact situation a year ago when I drew. I pasted one of my previous posts here, you may have already seen it.

They are not heavily armored Rhinos.

The rancher who owns the ranch I hunted at told me he gets concerned when hunters show up with a giant magnum. Inevitably, they haven't shot their rifles much and tend to make poor shots. He said guys who show up with heavily used rifles make the best shots on game.

Any rifle bullet/rifle combo that is good enough for a large deer will drop an Axis deer fine.

 

[Scottgolf]

I killed one at white sands NM back in the 80’s with a Remington Mohawk in 243 One shot. It wasn’t the best choice but my only rifle since the fifth grade.

 

[woods89]

He said guys who show up with heavily used rifles make the best shots on game.

Quoted for emphasis........

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

They are not heavily armored Rhinos.

The rancher who owns the ranch I hunted at told me he gets concerned when hunters show up with a giant magnum. Inevitably, they haven't shot their rifles much and tend to make poor shots. He said guys who show up with heavily used rifles make the best shots on game.

Any rifle bullet/rifle combo that is good enough for a large deer will drop an Axis deer fine.

Quoted for emphasis........

Hey man I don’t disagree with you. Like I said in my other post I have buddies who have been real successful killing Oryx with a 6.5. But having lived my whole life within a few hours of the missle range I’ve heard even more stories of people shooting an oryx with large calibers and good placement, only to watch the oryx get up and run a mile away.


My advice to anyone who draws the tag is to get as comfortable as you can with the biggest gun you’ve got. There’s a reason the WSMR biologist says to keep shooting until they’re down.

 

[fwafwow]

Hey man I don’t disagree with you. Like I said in my other post I have buddies who have been real successful killing Oryx with a 6.5. But having lived my whole life within a few hours of the missle range I’ve heard even more stories of people shooting an oryx with large calibers and good placement, only to watch the oryx get up and run a mile away.


My advice to anyone who draws the tag is to get as comfortable as you can with the biggest gun you’ve got. There’s a reason the WSMR biologist says to keep shooting until they’re down.

I’ve never hunted Oryx, but in case those reading this thread don’t already know, there are plenty of threads on RS recommending choosing the right bullet over the biggest cartridge. Those threads may be worth considering.