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

[Luke S]

The 6.5 Grendal was shooting 123 gr ELDM bullets. Impact velocity was probably in the 2200fps range (close range bear bait, 12 inch pistol).

 

[Luke S]

Well a nuisance bear was in my yard so I shot it with the 6.5 Grendal. This was a rushed deal so it was a bit messy.

• First shot hit the neck just behind the skull (I aimed for the head and was a bit off). The was a messy 1 inch hole in the neck. Esophagus was cut so the bear was done but he flopped around a bit
• Shots 2 and 3 were rushed follow ups and overlapped a bit so it's a bit hard to tell. One bullet went through the right ribs, out the left ribs and that is all I know for sure.

I do know that both shoulders were broken up. Here are the pictures for interpretation.

Here is the exit wound on the left side, the entrance on the other side was a bit smaller. Inside the lunges were soup with a hole through the heart.

This is the view of the left shoulder. It was smashed up pretty badly with the damage covering a verticle area of 2-3 inches. I actually think we might be looking at 2 bullet paths.

Below is what appears to be a clean entrance wound into the left shoulder. This does not appear to match up exactly with the fact that the shoulder was broken farther down. So I think the bullet from this entrance might have gone into the far shoulder (also smashed).

It is a bit confusing but the point is the 6.5 is doing well on bears. It looks like we have
1. A clear hit into the neck.
2. A clean entrance and exit through the torso.
3. A bullet going left to right through the shoulders and doing impressive damage.
4. A possible 4th hit (which might explain some of the shoulder damage) or my 4th shot might have been a clean miss with the 3rd shot smashing up both shoulders.

So my conclusion is I like our 6.5 Grendal. I MIGHT be a bit nervous shoulder shooting a really big moose or grizzly with the ELDM depending on how you interpret my last hits. But it works.

 

[rbutcher1234]

Everyone talking about shooting 6arc or 6.5 Grendel, I might just start using my 6BR lol

 

[Eargesplitten]

I'm curious here, do you tend to want heavier bullets if you're trying to push for longer distances with a shorter barrel (16-18") or are there particular bullets that might be lighter than some other options but expand and penetrate well at lower velocities so they perform better than the FPS and Ftlb numbers would suggest? I know I've heard there are some Barnes bullets in particular that expand down to like 1800FPS but I don't remember which ones those are, nor do I know if that's actually true or what kind of penetration they'd get at that speed.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Barnes are not the right choice for a shorter barrel. You want something that fragments, like an eld or tmk. The photos in this thread will tell you the story.

 

[Castle Rock]

I'm curious here, do you tend to want heavier bullets if you're trying to push for longer distances with a shorter barrel (16-18") or are there particular bullets that might be lighter than some other options but expand and penetrate well at lower velocities so they perform better than the FPS and Ftlb numbers would suggest? I know I've heard there are some Barnes bullets in particular that expand down to like 1800FPS but I don't remember which ones those are, nor do I know if that's actually true or what kind of penetration they'd get at that speed.

Velocity matters and heavier bullets really make a curved trajectory, so unless you’re ranging every shot you are very likely to miss over or under and the wind is much less relevance

 

[Jlop_2]

6.5 creedmoor 143 eld-x, factory ammo, unknown speeds out of a RAP factory
length.

Broadside 80 yards. First photo is where the buck was standing when hit.

He ran about 10 yards, and piled up seen in the second photo.

 

[Eargesplitten]

That makes sense. All the long distance shooting I've done has been KD shooting on steel so I can check my dope chart to line it up right and the wind (and my lack of skill) are the only variables. At the same time though, it doesn't seem like there's a huge difference between, say, a 120gr ELD-M and 147gr ELD-M in terms of how far before it starts dropping 20+ inches per 100 yards. At least that's what I'm seeing from running loads through GRT and then putting it into a ballistic calculator. That's even at longer (20-22") barrel lengths. I kind of assumed that I'd need a rangefinder if I went out where there were longer than 200y shots, which is about the farthest you can get around here without going above the treeline. Am I missing something?

Do you end up having different loads you use depending on the landscape of where you're going and just stick a different dope chart on your stock depending on what load you're taking?

 

[The Guide]

Has anyone tried the AAC 140 grain Saber Black Tipped 6.5 Creedmoor ammo? Done several searches on here looking for any information. For $1.00/round, it might be some great target and hunting ammo if the bullet is worth a dang. Nothing up in the northern states open to test them on right now.

Thanks,

Jay

 

[Undrgrndprdcts]

Large doe, 6.5cm 142 ablr 18" barrel, ~100 yards, DRT


Lungs



Entry



Exit

 

[Trapperkid]

Has anyone tried the AAC 140 grain Saber Black Tipped 6.5 Creedmoor ammo? Done several searches on here looking for any information. For $1.00/round, it might be some great target and hunting ammo if the bullet is worth a dang. Nothing up in the northern states open to test them on right now.

Thanks,

Jay

Apparently it’s like a heavy vmax or eld it should do the job just fine. If I had a 6.5 creed I know I’d be buying a bunch of them

 

[The Guide]

Apparently it’s like a heavy vmax or eld it should do the job just fine. If I had a 6.5 creed I know I’d be buying a bunch of them

That's what my receipt said for my 75 grain 5.56 ammo said. VMAX Black Tip. We have a whitetail doe damage hunt in 10 days that we will try the 75 grain bullets on. Didn't order any of the 6.5 Creedmoor ammo so we can't try any of that.

Jay

 

[TimberHunter]

Reading through the thread but not seeing too much on it. How are the 135 classic hunters

 

[sierracharlie338]

Everyone talking about shooting 6arc or 6.5 Grendel, I might just start using my 6BR lol

Have you seen the video of David Tubb shooting baboons with his 6XC?

 

[sierracharlie338]

Reading through the thread but not seeing too much on it. How are the 135 classic hunters

I’d say similar to the 140 elite hunters if I had to guess.

 

[TimberHunter]

I’d say similar to the 140 elite hunters if I had to guess.
View attachment 748065

Looks similar to my 5 or so deer shot with 143 eldx. Just wanting to change it up but saw form say the 130 OTM needs approx 2050 FPS to reliable expand, didn’t know if the 135 classic hunter was the same/similar from a minimum FPS standpoint


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sierracharlie338]

Looks similar to my 5 or so deer shot with 143 eldx. Just wanting to change it up but saw form say the 130 OTM needs approx 2050 FPS to reliable expand, didn’t know if the 135 classic hunter was the same/similar from a minimum FPS standpoint


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Again just my opinion here but I would bet it might be a little lower (around 1800fps) than that FPS due to the hunting line having thinner jackets. Here is a couple of things I found after typing the initial response.

Berger Classic Hunter Terminal Performance with Matt Cashell

Visit Rokslide.com where gun writer Matt Cashell demonstrates Classic Hunter's terminal performance on big game, and get in the drawing for the Berger bullets.

www.rokslide.com

Barnes’ tests proves why Berger Hunting VLDs are so successful

Recently, Barnes did several tests to compare Berger and other competition to their hunting bullets. They prove why Berger Hunting VLDs are so successful.

bergerbullets.com

 

[Natebonebusta]

I’m new here. I’ve come across this forum in searches. I started reading through the 77gr tmk thread and all of @Formidilosus great posts. 6.5 Grendel has been my new reloading addiction, but I also have a Creedmoor. All the info I have digested, I purchased 500 130 TMK’s and will be ready for some Eastern NC whitetail harvest this year.

Thanks for all the data that is in this thread. The knowledge from factual field performance is excellent, and just what a reloading and data nerd needs. Glad to be here.

 

[Honyock]

I’m new here. I’ve come across this forum in searches. I started reading through the 77gr tmk thread and all of @Formidilosus great posts. 6.5 Grendel has been my new reloading addiction, but I also have a Creedmoor. All the info I have digested, I purchased 500 130 TMK’s and will be ready for some Eastern NC whitetail harvest this year.

Thanks for all the data that is in this thread. The knowledge from factual field performance is excellent, and just what a reloading and data nerd needs. Glad to be here.

Welcome to Rokslide, where guys argue 223 vs 300 WM (or some other magnum) over and over.

 

[Unckebob]

Welcome to Rokslide, where guys argue 223 vs 300 WM (or some other magnum) over and over.

And using match bullets for hunting vs ... hunting bullets.