6.5 Creedmoor/260 for Deer, Elk, and whatever else.....

[Hthunter]

I wanted a super lightweight mule deer gun. So 4 years ago i got a tikka superlite in 6.5cm. I load 4350 and a 143gr eldx. I don't have any pictures of the carnage and these are the only 4 animals this gun has shot at. All dropped on impact

330 yards hit behind the shoulder and exited out the neck on opposite side
View attachment 359698350 lungs and one shoulder blade and it exitedView attachment 359699575 lungs and hit one shoulder. No exit, bullet stopped on the hide on opposite sideView attachment 359700250 lungs and exitView attachment 359701

Impressive bucks! Nice job!

 

[Sierra Hunter]

How about bobcat and badger to mix it up.

View attachment 359352
View attachment 359353

How was fir damage, that’s a pretty cat

 

[woods89]

I wanted a super lightweight mule deer gun. So 4 years ago i got a tikka superlite in 6.5cm. I load 4350 and a 143gr eldx. I don't have any pictures of the carnage and these are the only 4 animals this gun has shot at. All dropped on impact

330 yards hit behind the shoulder and exited out the neck on opposite side
View attachment 359698350 lungs and one shoulder blade and it exitedView attachment 359699575 lungs and hit one shoulder. No exit, bullet stopped on the hide on opposite sideView attachment 359700250 lungs and exitView attachment 359701

........nonchalantly posts four stud mulies.........

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Dall Sheep from this August. 6.5 Creedmoor with a 21” barrel. Barnes 127 LRX, 330 yards at a steep downhill angle. 2137 fps on impact. Wind was stronger than anticipated and hit it low in the neck, rather than behind the shoulder. Exited out the front of the neck. Dropped it instantly and went for a short tumble. It didn’t give any indication of still being alive when it stopped rolling.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Last years sheep with the same rifle and Barnes 127 LRX.
518 yards. 1806 fps. Pass through on both shoulders.

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[woods89]

This thread is off to a really solid start. Thanks to all!

 

[bbell]

6.5 Grendel for me. 2450fps from my AR shooting 123gr eldm black ammo. My buck was 125yds. Went through both shoulders and passed through. Daughters was about 60-70 yds. No bone hit. Insides were jello on both deer.

 

[tonechaser88]

Bottom boooolet is a 143 gr eldx from a .260- killed the Mule deer in the picture at 230 yards. Nice looking mushroom. I’ve killed others with Barnes 127 LRX and another small mule deer with the 143 eldx. The top bullet Is a 230 gr eldx from a 338 wsm, just a comparison for velocity sake, the 338 is going 2850fps out the muzzle and that 260 was roughly 2650 FPS. Similar distances 200-300. My experience has been that the ELDX performs nicely at those velocities. No drama

 

[woods89]

Living the dream, @B_Reynolds_AK ......

 

[Formidilosus]

6.5 CM, 2x 143gr ELD-X, 735 yards, 1,990fps impact. 20 yard recovery.

 

[roosiebull]

So far we have whitetails, mule deer, elk, caribou, and a grizzly bear.

Anybody have some more?

I have a blacktail and a lion from this year.. both 130gr terminal ascent, lion was a rushed offhand head shot and got lucky and shot him in the eye at 211yds, buck was 315 facing up a steep ridge quartered away.. bullet broke the spine on entrance and blew apart the offside knuckle and was sitting in the hide. I have some more from the past couple years I will try to post later

 

[grappling_hook]

lion was a rushed offhand head shot and got lucky and shot him in the eye at 211yds, buck was 315 facing up a steep ridge quartered away..

Must be nice to be able to say “yeah, I can shoot the eye out of a mountain lion offhand at 200 yards.”

 

[roosiebull]

I have a blacktail and a lion from this year.. both 130gr terminal ascent, lion was a rushed offhand head shot and got lucky and shot him in the eye at 211yds, buck was 315 facing up a steep ridge quartered away.. bullet broke the spine on entrance and blew apart the offside knuckle and was sitting in the hide. I have some more from the past couple years I will try to post later

This is one of the 130gr terminal ascents, like I mentioned, went through the spine on the entrance, and blew up the knuckle on the exit and was resting under the hide, impact velocity around 2300fps

 

[MTMeatHunter]

I wish I had photos of terminal ballistics (I really don't) , but here's my wife and I's experience with the 143 ELD-X from various Creedmoors at a muzzle velocity of ~2650.

- Whitetail buck, broadside at 150ish. Caliber-sized entrance, golf ball exit, ran 30 yards leaving a great blood trail in the snow.
- Whitetail doe, broadside at 80ish. Caliber-sized entrance, golf ball exit, ran 30 yards leaving a great blood trail in the snow.
- Whitetail doe, broadside at 150ish. Ran 20 yards, bedded down and died after about 20 seconds. Hit her a little far back, caliber sized entrance and the exit I've come to expect with the ELD-X (golf ball)
- Antelope buck, broadside at 256 yards. Ran 30 yards at the first shot, stopped, hit him again. Both shots exited. Only noticeable difference was both entrances were golf ball sized, similar to the exits. Second shot not required but I always shoot until they're down.
- Black bear, bedded down and severely quartered to at 218 yards. Shot entered high front shoulder and at the shot, bear jumped straight up into the air, did half a back flip and came down directly onto its back dead as a doornail. Bullet took out heart and was found near rear hams. Jacket had completely separated from core.

The most interesting part to me is that during this time frame, I also shot two other black bears (both 220 yards) and a bull elk (180 yards) with the 200 grain ELD-X from my 300WM. These three critters were each broadside and were shot through the lungs. In my small sample size of eight Montana big game animals, mostly broadside between 80 and 250 yards, I've noticed no difference in killing performance between the 143 ELD-X from my Creedmoors and the 200 grain ELD-X from my 300 Winny. Everything had shredded vitals and seemed to make it around 30 yards with a double lunger. That's my experience, hope I don't ruffle too many feathers there...

 

[Oneforeachofyou]

I wish I had photos of terminal ballistics (I really don't) , but here's my wife and I's experience with the 143 ELD-X from various Creedmoors at a muzzle velocity of ~2650.

- Whitetail buck, broadside at 150ish. Caliber-sized entrance, golf ball exit, ran 30 yards leaving a great blood trail in the snow.
- Whitetail doe, broadside at 80ish. Caliber-sized entrance, golf ball exit, ran 30 yards leaving a great blood trail in the snow.
- Whitetail doe, broadside at 150ish. Ran 20 yards, bedded down and died after about 20 seconds. Hit her a little far back, caliber sized entrance and the exit I've come to expect with the ELD-X (golf ball)
- Antelope buck, broadside at 256 yards. Ran 30 yards at the first shot, stopped, hit him again. Both shots exited. Only noticeable difference was both entrances were golf ball sized, similar to the exits. Second shot not required but I always shoot until they're down.
- Black bear, bedded down and severely quartered to at 218 yards. Shot entered high front shoulder and at the shot, bear jumped straight up into the air, did half a back flip and came down directly onto its back dead as a doornail. Bullet took out heart and was found near rear hams. Jacket had completely separated from core.

The most interesting part to me is that during this time frame, I also shot two other black bears (both 220 yards) and a bull elk (180 yards) with the 200 grain ELD-X from my 300WM. These three critters were each broadside and were shot through the lungs. In my small sample size of eight Montana big game animals, mostly broadside between 80 and 250 yards, I've noticed no difference in terminal performance between the 143 ELD-X from my Creedmoors and the 200 grain ELD-X from my 300 Winny. Everything had shredded vitals and seemed to make it around 30 yards with a double lunger. That's my experience, hope I don't ruffle too many feathers there...

Can you speak about the/any damage to meat on these animals, In particular with the broadside hits?

 

[MTMeatHunter]

Can you speak about the/any damage to meat on these animals, In particular with the broadside hits?

The broadside shots that went through rib cage only didn’t do much for meat damage. I’d say a 2-4” circle of rib meat around the hole on either side was inedible, at least to me. We did hit the exit side front quarter on the 80 yard doe and meat loss there was fairly significant even though the bone wasn’t struck. 6” hole of destroyed or bloodshot meat. I have a photo of that but I’m bumping into issues posting it.

 

[Rieckman]

All 6.5 CM.

2020 - 143 Eldx 2820 MV 190 yards. DRT spine.


2020 - 143 Eldx MV 2820 235 yards. 75 yard run. Lungs exit out opposite side shoulder.


2021 - 143 Eldx MV 2620 400 yards. Lung/heart DRT


2021 - 143 Eldx MV 2620. 650 yards

DRT little far back

2021 - 143 Eldx MV 2620. 425 yards. Entrance through front shoulder exit as show. DRT.

143 Eldx MV 2620
385 yards GA whitetail doe Heart/lungs went 75 yards.
325 yards GA whitetail buck heart/lungs went 65 yards
455 yards GA whitetail doe heart/lungs went 55 yards.
50 yard GA whitetail through front shoulder exit opposite side through both lungs DRT.

 

[passinggas33]

This is one of the 130gr terminal ascents, like I mentioned, went through the spine on the entrance, and blew up the knuckle on the exit and was resting under the hide, impact velocity around 2300fpsView attachment 360944

What are your thoughts on the “terminal ascent” bullet? Performance? Accuracy? Obviously they kill. Just wondered what your thoughts are. I just bought a bunch for my 6.5 CM and I’m hopeful that they are even more accurate than the 143 Eldx.

 

[roosiebull]

What are your thoughts on the “terminal ascent” bullet? Performance? Accuracy? Obviously they kill. Just wondered what your thoughts are. I just bought a bunch for my 6.5 CM and I’m hopeful that they are even more accurate than the 143 Eldx.

not a huge sample size yet, but i'm loving them, they shoot really well out of my creed, and they seem to create a bigger wound channel than the accubonds i was shooting, but still holding together well... surprisingly well.

as long as i can keep getting them as i run out, i will keep shooting them. if they aren't shooting well for you, let me know, i'll buy them

i assume they will shoot well for you and performance seems good... especially in the creed. they have shot really well in the 3 rifles i have shot them from. they were kind of an accident for me... beginning of the ammo crisis, they were the only 6.5's on the shelf because of their price, so i bought a box, shot some, then came back and bought several boxes more.

this spring i plan on filling my spring bear tag with the ELD-M, and i want to try Hammers, but to date, they are my favorite bullet i have shot in my creed. we did well with accubonds for a couple years too, but they seem to not be as destructive, they turn into a round, smooth mushroom and hold together, the TA fragment a little more, and take a more jagged nasty shape, and just do more damage from my small sample size of a half dozen critters with them so far

they shoot as well as any bullet i have shot out of my rifle... reliably about 1 MOA off a bench, which is just about as good as i shoot period, with any rifle or bullet.... for me, they kick ass so far

 

[passinggas33]

not a huge sample size yet, but i'm loving them, they shoot really well out of my creed, and they seem to create a bigger wound channel than the accubonds i was shooting, but still holding together well... surprisingly well.

as long as i can keep getting them as i run out, i will keep shooting them. if they aren't shooting well for you, let me know, i'll buy them

i assume they will shoot well for you and performance seems good... especially in the creed. they have shot really well in the 3 rifles i have shot them from. they were kind of an accident for me... beginning of the ammo crisis, they were the only 6.5's on the shelf because of their price, so i bought a box, shot some, then came back and bought several boxes more.

this spring i plan on filling my spring bear tag with the ELD-M, and i want to try Hammers, but to date, they are my favorite bullet i have shot in my creed. we did well with accubonds for a couple years too, but they seem to not be as destructive, they turn into a round, smooth mushroom and hold together, the TA fragment a little more, and take a more jagged nasty shape, and just do more damage from my small sample size of a half dozen critters with them so far

they shoot as well as any bullet i have shot out of my rifle... reliably about 1 MOA off a bench, which is just about as good as i shoot period, with any rifle or bullet.... for me, they kick ass so far

Not to deter the thread, but I’m glad to hear this. I just bought a bunch of rounds for my 6.5 CM and my 300 Win Mag. I was already shooting them out of my 280AI with good success. I guess you could say I have gone all in on this bullet and am glad to hear it’s having as good of results from the CM as I was in my AI. Here’s to hoping the 300 win mag likes them too!!!