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

[UnckleBob]

I took our 3 year old hunting this morning just getting him out in the woods. We own a little 60 acre tract about 15 minutes from home and its loaded with deer, you'll see an average of 10 deer every sit usually closer to 20. He's three and loud AF, at one point this morning I laughed and said dude let me hold you, you whisper loud.

About 7:15 this spike walks out and he must have been blind and deaf. Little dude said Daddy shoot that deer and I wasnt arguing with him. I've got 2 shooter bucks in there regularly but who cares.

Anyway. 6.5 creedmoor suppressed shooting some norma whitetail soft points that were in the truck. (I left my ammo box with the ELDX at home on our kitchen island this morning. I keep ammo in the truck and it paid off.)
50 yard shot
Hit him right in the crease of the right shoulder, exit in the point of the off side shoulder. He crumpled.

Little dude was excited and so was I. Little side note here we said a prayer to Jesus and Granddaddy this morning, my dad died October 15th of this year. When we got in the truck the radio was playing "I wish grandpa's never died" and it played at the funeral, it had me crying and laughing at the same time. Anyway sorry for the long post.

Is an Eldx really needed in your situation? It looks like the cheaper Norma ammo did a good job.

 

[SC HUNTER]

Is an Eldx really needed in your situation? It looks like the cheaper Norma ammo did a good job.

Absolutely not. Its just what I sighted that particular rifle in with before the season. I know that the Normas shoot right there with the ELDX and I have a case of the Norma ammo to shoot as practice ammo.

This is the first deer I've shot with the Norma ammo out of a creedmoor and it worked perfectly fine. I'll shoot more with those normas to test them out on a few more, I was impressed. When we got home little man said "mama, daddy go pew and the deer go bop on the ground." 3 year old approved.

 

[frasier2122]

Once you get to KS, try to find a longer range and true the velocity as described in the thread linked below. Use the box velocity as a starting point. Once trued, pay attention to lot #'s of factory ammo as both zero and velocity can vary lot to lot.

Thread 'How to use a mil/mil scope-reticle, turrets and proper usage'

Jul 1, 2023

I have gotten a bunch of requests to write up a "how to" for using mil reticle scoots. In this case the SWFA Milquad reticle. It is the 6x42mm SS with MQ reticle in the pictures, however the process and use is the same as long as you have a scope who's reticle matches the turret adjustments- mil/mil or MOA/MOA. Mil/mil has some advantages, but the system works regardless.



The set up-



Tikka T3 SL in 223
SWFA SS 6x42mm MQ
Pic base and rings
Blackhills 5.56mm 77gr SMKs


Also a Leupold Mark4 12-40x60mm spotter with H32 reticle. This is not...

• Formidilosus
• Replies: 77
• Forum: Optics

• 

If you can't measure the muzzle velocity directly and can't back into it by shooting at longer ranges and measuring the drop, 250 sounds like a reasonable limit to me.

I have recently experienced lot to lot variation in factory load muzzle velocity as much as 100-150 FPS or more different from what's on the box. You could plug a velocity 200fps lower into your calculator and see where it becomes impactful.

Thank you both. That thread is incredibly informative.

 

[Timplant]

220 yd 143eld-x to the throat. I will dig the bullet out of this deer and the last and add a data point.

 

[Broken Twigg]

206yds, 6.5cm, 140ELD-M, lung soup, fell over.

 

[Broken Twigg]

424yds, 6.5cm, 140ELD-M, went 20yds, fell over, lung soup.

 

[MTlan66]

6.5 Creedmoor, 143 eldx, 95 yards. Plenty of gun

 

[pattimusprime22]

6.5 Creedmoor w factory 143eldx out of tikka 20". Bull was quartering away at about 35 yards. Ran maybe 10 yards then tipped over and he coughed up lung while he expired. I think the bullet was caught in offside hide, but made it through both sides of ribs.

 

[Fatcamp]

Sighted in my rifle after barrel chop and suppressor install. Such a great tool.



We leave to hunt Wednesday.

 

[elkhunter505]

Here’s a data point for copper ammunition even though it’s a magnum. 6.5 PRC factory Hornady 130 CX. 330 yards. Bullet directly through the shoulder on one side, exited behind the shoulder on opposite side. Heart absolutely demolished, did not look at lungs.

 

[43.6N]

Here’s a data point for copper ammunition even though it’s a magnum. 6.5 PRC factory Hornady 130 CX. 330 yards. Bullet directly through the shoulder on one side, exited behind the shoulder on opposite side. Heart absolutely demolished, did not look at lungs. View attachment 970926View attachment 970927View attachment 970928View attachment 970929

Looks like a stud buck.
Can you give one one more shot but head on?

 

[elkhunter505]

Looks like a stud buck.
Can you give one one more shot but head on?

Pictures make him look bigger. He’s probably between 135-145 or so

 

[43.6N]

Pictures make him look bigger. He’s probably between 135-145 or so View attachment 970945

Maybe so, maybe so.
But I love how the closer you look, the funkier his rack gets.
Great job!

 

[nm.otter]

Here’s a data point for copper ammunition even though it’s a magnum. 6.5 PRC factory Hornady 130 CX. 330 yards.

Impressive. Possibly 2300 FPS impact?

 

[elkhunter505]

Impressive. Possibly 2300 FPS impact?

Not sure, never chronographed the rifle. Would guess MV at 2900 or so. That would put it somewhere around 2350. I’ve had to take a couple follow ups at close range this year and I have seen them shed the petals at the super close ranges <75 or so. Really good when you hit em right, not so good when you spine them. Not really enjoyable putting em out of their misery after walking up. Gonna likely try Hammer or Macguire next year.

 

[Chris in TN]

My oldest got her fourth deer - her largest and her first 'solo' deer (I was hunting with our middle child, we didn't see anything) this afternoon.

20" Tikka. 147eldm, mv 2610', shot was ~70 yards so impact speed was about 2510'. Deer was quartering away - it was drinking from a water hole I built a couple years ago since so much of our deer season is in dry weather most years. It has really paid off. She had to wait for it to raise its head before she could decide to shoot. It was quartering away and she got the back of the ribs, low on the right side, but well ahead of the diaphragm. Quarter-sized hole in the near ribs, good damage to the near lung, major damage to the off lung, 2.5"+ hole in the off ribs with another 1" hole from a fragment. What was left of the bullet lodged in the back of the off shoulder after doing what I'd call devastating 'I ain't eating that' level of damage. I didn't dig it out because the shoulder was a mangled mess and I wanted to get done. On the one hand, she hit it maybe 4" further back that I would have liked. On the other hand, she was able to call her shot - she told me where she hit it before we recovered him.

He turned at the shot and ran maybe 15-20 yards uphill from the water hole, stumbled all the way back down the hill, landed in the water hole, and almost completely sank. When I got to her she told me where he was and I almost didn't believe her, because he was almost fully submerged. I've never had that happen in all of my years of hunting. I poked the little brown blob in the water hole with a stick and was able to move it. Wow, that really *is* a dead deer. So I fished it out.

It's hot here - in the high 60's - so I had to hang him and fully debone him immediately.


Entrance wound. Note that the deer was likely facing sharply downhill and this isn't as 'low' as it seems.



Where the major and minor fragments exited the ribs into the shoulder. I think his leg was probably cocked back a bit . Whole thing was a bloodshot mess, even up into the blade meat on the other side


Forgive the badly backlit picture. I forgot about how this area is lighted when setting up the photos. But this is the damage in the lower half of the on-side lung.



Damage to the far side lung:



I realize that '147 eldm at 2500' kills fast' is hardly some new revelation here, but I'd say the deer ran less and died faster than a whole lot of deer I've hit better with 'sturdier' bullets.