6.5 Creedmoor Ammo Opinions

[MNDucksNBucks]

Hi all,

Looking for some opinions on some different 6.5 CM loadings. At the local store they have the Hornady American Whitetail 129gr Interlock, and Federal Power Shok 140gr Soft Point. Out of those two, which do you prefer? I noticed the Federal loading has a lacquer sealant around the primer while the Hornady does not.

Additionally, I have found Winchester Expedition Big Game 142gr Accubond Long Range, Federal 130gr Barnes TSX, and Remington 129gr CoreLokt Tipped all for roughly the same price as the options listed above. Are any of these really good loads?

Lastly, I found a couple boxes of Sig Sauer 130gr Elite Hunter Tipped.

I would primarily be utilizing this cartridge for Whitetail Deer, in addition to Mule Deer and Antelope if the opportunity arises. I have a .300 win that I would utilize for Elk, Moose, and Bear hunting opportunities, however, I would bring the 6.5 along for a back up rifle.

Any insight on these factory loadings would be very much appreciated!

 

[HingleMcCringleberry]

140gr eldm is the easy button in 6.5 creedmoor

 

[Steve300xcw]

I'm in the eld or bthp camp for most my rifles.

Ammo is also one of the things that dont often make sense to buy local. Order a case online an save a few bucks

 

[jrowl2282]

Our ruger american prefers the 129g whitetails

 

[SDHNTR]

The gun tells you what it likes, not the other way around.

 

[Suera]

Hornady eld x and Barnes TTSX, the ammo you mentioned I will choose accubond long range

 

[Desk Jockey]

Welcome.

How far are you shooting?

My primary 6.5 Creed is a tikka. It groups best with heavier bullets at around ~140 grains. ELDX works great. However, I prefer to shoot copper monos that are about 120 grains.

Punching deer at closer ranges , they are plenty accurate. However, I limit myself to 400 yards and all my shots have been under 300. If I were banging steel or punching paper at 1000 yards, I would go with the heavier bullets for tighter groups.

 

[a_noob_hunter]

The gun tells you what it likes, not the other way around.

If you want the most accurate load possible, then handload your own rounds and figure out what the rifle likes

Sent from my LM-G850 using Tapatalk

 

[General RE LEE]

Hornady Precision Hunter 143 ELD-X

 

[ElPollo]

ELDM or ELDX for hunting. Use whatever is cheapest for range practice.

 

[Kurts86]

The easy button for 6.5 creedmoor is Hornady 140 eld-m’s. If it won’t shoot that load it’s borderline broken. The 143 ELD-X is a close second.

 

[need4sneed]

Just did this in a factory tikka veil 6.5CM - like everyone else said 140 M
140M was the only true 9rd 1” group I got
147 m &143 x were 1.3 ish over multiple sets
I really wanted SST’s to shoot but no such luck and if I hand-loaded I would go straight to that heavier (140? I think) SST and try and get that tight

 

[Macintosh]

I’ll be the odd guy out, and suggest you narrow in on what terminal performance you want from the bullet and based on that choose the TYPE of bullet you want, and only then start looking at options.
Outside of coues whitetail in az or some western areas (is that you?), odds are for whitetail you are shooting a max of 300 yards, and probably much closer than that. Do you want a bullet with maximum wounding potential, then go with the eldm or another softer fragmenting match-type bullet. Sst’s, ballistic tips probably the next step down, followed by the various standard “pointed soft points” like core lokt, hornady whitetail, etc. Accubond or another bonded lead bullet will have a slightly smaller wound than those, and a copper mono like a ttsx or lrx will create the smallest wound, but likely wont carry enough downrange velocity to use at very long ranges. Even though they arent popular on this site, I personally like copper monos because I dont need the longer range and I find the smaller wound channel allows me to eat significantly more of the deer if I hit a shoulder. If you are shooting at longer range or you shoot 16 deer every year, maybe you have different priorities and would be better off with a different type of bullet. Once you figure out what TYPE of bullet you want, then try a couple of those options and see which is most available and shoots best in your gun, and go with that.

 

[Roor]

I really like the norma 140grain soft points.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

My Bergara 18" seems to eat anything well, plan to shoot the Superformance 129 SST's out of it mostly but also have other options it shoots well. 18" is giving me average of 2820 fps with that round. My other rifle in that caliber is full sized and it absolutely loves the 143gr ELD-X but I'm also going to test the 147gr ELD-M and probably shoot that assuming good accuracy to take advantage of the higher BC.

You can save quite a bit of money if you buy online. I haven't bought 6.5 CM ammo locally since I bought the first rifle. That helps expand options as well.

 

[MNDucksNBucks]

Thanks for all of the replies! Does anyone have opinions on the 130gr TSX Federals? The more research I’m doing the more im intrigued by the monolithic bullets, and have found that loading for roughly the price of the 129gr Interlocks. My only concern is, would the 130gr tsx have enough steam to expand properly in a 24” barrel 6.5 creedmoor out to 400yds on deer, antelope, and the like? Would shots have to be shoulder hits or would you recommend still targeting the “V” right behind the shoulder? Thanks!

 

[Macintosh]

If you are interested in shooting a mono to 400 I would look at LRX, not the TSX.

 

[Kurts86]

Thanks for all of the replies! Does anyone have opinions on the 130gr TSX Federals? The more research I’m doing the more im intrigued by the monolithic bullets, and have found that loading for roughly the price of the 129gr Interlocks. My only concern is, would the 130gr tsx have enough steam to expand properly in a 24” barrel 6.5 creedmoor out to 400yds on deer, antelope, and the like? Would shots have to be shoulder hits or would you recommend still targeting the “V” right behind the shoulder? Thanks!

The TSX is a horribly dated design and is probably the worst common mono as far as expansion besides the Hornady GMX. The TSX has been improved twice with the TTSX (Tipped TSX) and LRX.

If you want to shoot a factory loaded Mono the 127 LRX is the top of the heap by far.

 

[Time2fish]

For what it’s worth, the 127gr LRX grouped best in my 65cm. I really wanted the ELDX, or M to group well but they aren’t at the moment. Shot a decent buck at 300yrds with the 127gr LRX double lung and he took ten steps and face planted
130gr Terminal ascent shoot very well out of my rifle so I’m gonna try them next this year just for something different.

 

[BradArnett]

I've shot deer with factory 147elds, 130 berger, 140 fusions. All worked fine. Currently shooting handloads w/147elds but have the 130 tmk here to try also this season.