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

[sram9102]

Anyone using the 130 ELDM? How does it perform compared to the 140, 147 and 143 ELDX?

I switched from 143s to the 130s a couple of years ago for a little more velocity. Most of my shots are sub 400. I recovered my first one on a doe last week. Everything else has been pass throughs. They have been very effective terminally.

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[sierracharlie338]

Latest…
- 130gr Berger AR hybrid @ 2551fps
- Whitetail doe @ 150y
- Dropped where it stood, had 1 or 2 little pieces of the bullet separate but great results overall

Velocity seems low. What cartridge?

 

[duffman]

Velocity seems low. What cartridge?

6.5 creedmoor. Admittedly a lighter load but was very accurate and never felt like changing it.
MV ~2785

 

[MHWASH]

Anyone using the 130 ELDM? How does it perform compared to the 140, 147 and 143 ELDX?

Seemed just as effective one the one bear I killed compared with the one deer i Killed with the 143 ELDx. I used the 135 Berger on a deer and a bear, so out of the 3 bullets I liked the carnage of the Berger better. That being said, I bought a couple hundred of the 130 TMK to try.

 

[sierracharlie338]

6.5 creedmoor. Admittedly a lighter load but was very accurate and never felt like changing it.
MV ~2785

Ahh so that was impact velocity got ya. And I hear ya accuracy over speed

 

[Jake Leibke]

Seemed just as effective one the one bear I killed compared with the one deer i Killed with the 143 ELDx. I used the 135 Berger on a deer and a bear, so out of the 3 bullets I liked the carnage of the Berger better. That being said, I bought a couple hundred of the 130 TMK to try.

We’ve shot deer with the 143 eldx, 140 Berger and now 2 this fall with the 130 tmk. Not sure if I’ll ever use another bullet then the tmk.


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[brockel]

We’ve shot deer with the 143 eldx, 140 Berger and now 2 this fall with the 130 tmk. Not sure if I’ll ever use another bullet then the tmk.


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What makes you pick the 130 TMK over the others? I’ve had great results with the 143 eldx and 140 Berger so curious on what I’m missing with the 130 TMK

 

[stephane]

Does anyone have a good summary of this thread? I’m putting together a new gun, definitely somewhat of a Rokslide special…MDT HNT26 chassis, and a Tikka stainless 6.5cm. Still looking into optics, but right now I’m thinking a Nightforce NXS 2.5-10 paired with sportsmatch rings. I’ve got a couple questions:

Good options for factory ammo?
From my research, seems like Hornady Precision Hunter (143g eldx) and Federal Terminal Ascent are the two most common recommendations. Any others I should look into?

Barrel length?
The Tikka comes with a 24.3” barrel from factory. I’m wanting to cut it down shorter, as I’ve got the folding MDT chassis and I think it would be great to have an overall shorter gun for my backpacking trips. What would be a good balance of barrel length to performance for this Tikka? I’ll be practicing out as far as I can, and would expect to hunt at a max range for 500-650 yards once I feel competent at those distances.

 

[BrentH]

My son and I have 4 deer this year. All 6.5 CM with the 143 ELD-X from two different rifles (hence the differing velocities).

Mule Deer Buck
198 yards
Impact Velocity 2177
Shot was a touch back, but still got lungs. Buck went 40-50 yards and tipped over.

Blacktail Buck
202 yards
Impact Velocity 2417
Shoulder/Lung hit. Deer dropped on the spot and was dead.

Whitetail Buck
435 yards
Impact Velocity 1857
Buck was downhill quartered away. Shot went in perfect and took out both lungs. Buck made it 60-70 yards, with most of that being a downhill tumble/slide.

Whitetail Buck
500 yards
Impact Velocity 1995
Buck was hit in the lungs and made it 50ish yards and tipped over.

I neglected to take wound channel pictures, but they all had some form of an exit, leaving blood trails if/when they ran.

I do have the Mule Deer and the 435 whitetail shot on video to see how they reacted.

 

[CC55]

Good options for factory ammo?
From my research, seems like Hornady Precision Hunter (143g eldx) and Federal Terminal Ascent are the two most common recommendations. Any others I should look into?

Not an authority on this but common recommendation is either 140/147 ELDM, 143 ELDX for factory ammo. I'm sure you've read it on here, but most use ~1800fps as the velocity cutoff for the ELD bullets and you will lose about 25-30fps/inch of barrel length. On the conservative side, say you shoot factory 140 ELDM at 2600fps at 24". Chop 4" off, lose about 100 fps, now at 2500fps. At 5000ft, you'll hit 1800fps at roughly 675yds if my math is right. Chop to 18", now at 2450 and you'll hit 1800fps at ~625yds, so should meet your distance criteria.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Does anyone have a good summary of this thread? I’m putting together a new gun, definitely somewhat of a Rokslide special…MDT HNT26 chassis, and a Tikka stainless 6.5cm. Still looking into optics, but right now I’m thinking a Nightforce NXS 2.5-10 paired with sportsmatch rings. I’ve got a couple questions:

Good options for factory ammo?
From my research, seems like Hornady Precision Hunter (143g eldx) and Federal Terminal Ascent are the two most common recommendations. Any others I should look into?

Barrel length?
The Tikka comes with a 24.3” barrel from factory. I’m wanting to cut it down shorter, as I’ve got the folding MDT chassis and I think it would be great to have an overall shorter gun for my backpacking trips. What would be a good balance of barrel length to performance for this Tikka? I’ll be practicing out as far as I can, and would expect to hunt at a max range for 500-650 yards once I feel competent at those distances.

For me personally, in my 6.5 guns, a 20" barrel as a field carry/mountain rifle is just about perfect. This is more than enough for 500-650 yards with a good bullet.

Factory ammo choices that have all performed really really well on hundreds of big game animals for me and those I hunt with personally are...

Hornady Superformance 129 Grain SSST
Hornady Precision Hunter 143 Grain ELDX
Hornady ELD Match 140 Grain ELDM
Nosler Ballistic Tip 120 Grain BT
Nosler Varmageddon 90 Grain FB Tipped

 

[Jake Leibke]

What makes you pick the 130 TMK over the others? I’ve had great results with the 143 eldx and 140 Berger so curious on what I’m missing with the 130 TMK

Don’t get me wrong I’ve not been disappointed with the eldx and Berger but I’ve heard great things about the tmk so wanted to try it.

From the 2 deer we’ve shot with it this fall, I have not seen terminal performance like that from the other 2 bullets. 1 deer was only about 80 yards the other about 175 so I don’t have any lower velocity hits with them. The first deer was a great hit behind shoulder and left a 4’ wide blood trail of your into those. The other hit was back through stomach and also left a great trail. That deer I am confident we would not have found with a “typical” hunting bullet.


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[MThuntr]

6.5 CM 120CX at 200 yards whitetail buck. Impact velocity approx 2620fps

 

[Hunt the Top]

I originally setup a 6.5 CMR for my two daughters. They haven’t really taken a ton of interest in hunting yet, so I’ve used this setup on 2 hunts over the last 2 years. Currently shooting 147 gr ELDMs due to the best grouping I got with em. Shot a mule deer buck last year @ 130 yds broadside right behind the shoulder, bullet came apart no exit. Buck went 70 yds and piled up dead. This year shot a whitetail buck @ 260 yds slightly quartering away, hit 2 ribs back behind shoulder, no exit bullet was lodged in offside shoulder mushroomed out nicely. Buck went 60 yds and piled up dead. Although I prefer hunting with bigger calibers, this gun is a sweet shooter and much more enjoyable to pack!

 

[Nine Banger]

For me personally, in my 6.5 guns, a 20" barrel as a field carry/mountain rifle is just about perfect. This is more than enough for 500-650 yards with a good bullet.

Factory ammo choices that have all performed really really well on hundreds of big game animals for me and those I hunt with personally are...

Hornady Superformance 129 Grain SSST
Hornady Precision Hunter 143 Grain ELDX
Hornady ELD Match 140 Grain ELDM
Nosler Ballistic Tip 120 Grain BT
Nosler Varmageddon 90 Grain FB Tipped

mxgsfmdpx, do you have any specific feedback or notes on the Varmageddons?​

I have loaded and fired 95gr V-MAX at prairie dogs, but only because it was the only varmint bullet I could get at the time. That choice didn't seem special so I just picked up 3 boxes of the Varmageddon bullets thru Midway with a product notification. I look forward to using them.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

mxgsfmdpx, do you have any specific feedback or notes on the Varmageddons?​

I have loaded and fired 90gr V-MAX at prairie dogs, but only because it was the only varmint bullet I could get at the time. That choice didn't seem special so I just picked up 3 boxes of the Varmageddon bullets thru Midway with a product notification. I look forward to using them.

They perform like most of my photos in here using 129 SST's. I've only seen around 15 California blacktails killed with them and the guys swore by them for those deer. They were using 24" barrels and zipping those things out in the 3380-3390 range. VMAX is probably a fair comparison, you won't get as much "penetration" as the SST but the destruction to vitals was immense. Large wound channel with about half of them exiting. The others we recovered bullets in far side ribs and spine.

 

[fwafwow]

I’ve yet to shoot my 6.5CM at a whitetail, but at the relatively short distances I’m shooting in GA, I’m thinking about sticking to my 223 because I’m worried about overkill!

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I’ve yet to shoot my 6.5CM at a whitetail, but at the relatively short distances I’m shooting in GA, I’m thinking about sticking to my 223 because I’m worried about overkill!

Overkill, to me, is an oxymoron when trying to kill animals and actually recover them.

 

[matthewmt]

Anyone running 140gr nosler BT in 6.5 with good results?

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[trailblazer75]

I don't have pics of this year's stiff but I (we) put 4 down with a .260 rem, Remington 700 I bought on here. I used sig elite hunter 130s. Absolutely devastating.

Shot one was 164 yards, facing me, quartering slightly. Entered just right of her right shoulder on a mature doe, she took 4 steps and died. Necropsy showed front of right lung and catching heart, rear of left lungs and stopping in the gut.

Shot two was 311 yards on a broadside buck. Entrance was high behind shoulder and exit was just under offside elbow. This was due to the extreme angle myself and the buck (Shooting DOWN and compensating weirdly). He ran about 60 yards before expiring in the field about 50 yards from my truck. Necropsy showed both lungs to be complete mush.

Shot three was by my son. 35 yard shot through left shoulder and out just behind right shoulder. Quartering to. Ran 130ish yards with great blood, down a gulley and back up and finally parallelling the rim for about 80 yards before expiring and rolling into it. Necropsy showed both lungs absolutely mangled. Heart completely separated from the hoses. No idea how he made it that far losing the amount of fluid he was losing.

Shot four was from about 11 yards while my son was trying to gut his deer. Doe was working up the draw and stood too long broadside and I popped her. 2" behind right shoulder, exit the same behind left shoulder. She took one step and died. Necropsy showed complete soup of the lungs.

I went from being absolutely anti the 6.5 CM to loving the .260. I was shooting the 6.5 CM Hornady American whitetail in 129 grains a couple years ago and have VERY poor performance. Deer DIED but it was neither fast, nor simple to find them. That year my shortest track was 250 yards. I don't know how to explain it but now I'm allll in on the .260.