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

[robby denning]

Thanks! Is there a pack out photo contest? I have seen one for sheep, mule deer, elk etc but don’t think there is one for moose. Although it would be a great thread.

hey, no specific pack-out photo contest but every one of those species contents have been won or at least placed with pack-out photos. but we don't have a moose contest (or antelope, or bear...). We're contested out!

Here's @Aeroflot81 winning pic from 2024

 

[EmperorMA]

View attachment 391109Arkansas whitetail taken at 304 yards with 125gr Deer Season factory ammo. Bullet expanded and stayed together with a good wound channel. Stopped in the other side of the hide without exiting. Ran 45 yards but didn’t spill much blood until the last 5.

The 125gr Winchester Deer Season XP is a very good bullet that kills very well. Its performance kind or reminds of a cross between a frangible and a bonded bullet (I know it isn't bonded). My somewhat limited sample of six showed almost exactly the same performance on each deer. The bullet entered, started creating a very wide wound channel almost immediately (similar to Bergers or TMKs) which lasted for several inches then held together as velocity dropped and drove on through to the other side. Two had about 1/3 of the bottom of the bullet resting against hide on the off-side and four had quarter-size exits. These slight variations were to be expected based on impact velocities and on what type of bone was hit. The shortest shot has been around 40 yards and the longest 325 but I see the exact same thing regardless of distance.

All have been dramatic bang/flop kills, which leads me to believe that the initial grenade on impact is throwing fragments forward 360 degrees for shock but then tough jacket catches up and holds the bullet together once it slows down from the initial upset of its jumbo-size polymer tip.

The fact that it has been so very consistent from deer to deer indicates to me it's a brilliant design that uses a tough jacket for penetration but incorporates an extra-wide tip opening to start violent expansion to ensure a large wound channel.

I really like it. It has been very accurate and you just can't argue with the performance. I choose to use it when I know shots will be under 300 yards (the places I use it a 200 yard shot would normally be about max), as I prefer the wind-bucking ability of the 140gr ELD-M if the shots might be longer. But as far as I'm concerned, the Deer Season XP is a no-brainer easy button for 6.5 Creedmoor owners who shoot factory ammo at about 90% of the ranges most deer are taken.

 

[woods89]

Alaskan Yukon Moose
300 yard shot. 143 ELDX 6.5 CM
MV 2765 est impact velocity 2350
Did take a follow up shot but first one was through lungs. Excellent amount of hemorrhage in thoracic cavity. No exit and did not recover bullet. Appeared to center punch a rib but still sufficient penetration.
View attachment 957199
View attachment 957200View attachment 957201

I like it!

 

[justin davis]

6.5 Prc shooting 147 Eldm. 2966 at the muzzle. 250 yard shot.

 

[Deerfield]

Whitetail doe from last year with the 6.5 and the 147ELDM. 40 yard shot. Down within 30 yards.

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[omicron1792]

hey, no specific pack-out photo contest but every one of those species contents have been won or at least placed with pack-out photos. but we don't have a moose contest (or antelope, or bear...). We're contested out!

Here's @Aeroflot81 winning pic from 2024
View attachment 957774

Holy photoshop Batman.

 

[MTlan66]

Whitetail doe, approximately 180 yards, 6.5 Creedmoor, 147 eldm. Basically destroyed the off shoulder. This is my first kill with the 147 eldm- I have previously used only the 143 eldx. From this sample size of one, the eldm seems to do substantially more damage than the eldx. I am curious to use it more, and see how it compares overall.

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[BigEd36]

hey, no specific pack-out photo contest but every one of those species contents have been won or at least placed with pack-out photos. but we don't have a moose contest (or antelope, or bear...). We're contested out!

Here's @Aeroflot81 winning pic from 2024
View attachment 957774

Awesome pic! I dowmloaded it and made it the homescreen on my tablet!

 

[HGL]

6.5 CM, 147 ELDm, impact velocity about 2,500 fps. Good size doe, 130 lbs. Quartering toward me, hit the top of the shoulder, drt. This makes about a bakers dozen with this combo so far and I haven't had a deer catch the 147 yet, all pass throughs. I continue to be impressed by this bullet.

Left about a half dollar exit, which has been the norm for me.

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Exit close up for scale:

 

[TeaGull]

6.5 creedmoor
135 Dynamic Research Tech.
Sub 100 yards, 2620ish impact velocity, bedded, frontal. Bullet entered the based of the neck and incapacitated the elk. She was still breathing so a follow up shot was required from point blank range. Point blank shot through the Lungs did not exit, but the elk expired within seconds.

 

[Formidilosus]

6.5 creedmoor
135 Dynamic Research Tech.
Sub 100 yards, 2620ish impact velocity, bedded, frontal. Bullet entered the based of the neck and incapacitated the elk. She was still breathing so a follow up shot was required from point blank range. Point blank shot through the Lungs did not exit, but the elk expired within seconds.

View attachment 959638

That is neat terrain.