6.5 Creedmoor on Elk?

[Short Track]

Many guys use a little bow & arrow, and chase an Elk for 2 miles .... I'd say a 6.5CM will work better.. but that's just me.

 

[Indian Summer]

There's a reason competition shooters aren't using magnums. Lower recoiling rifles are easier to shoot accurately. If you really need to prove your manliness go ahead and use your uber magnum. Stop getting your panties in a bunch when smaller non-magnums kill just as well as your big manly rifle.

Lol.. yes there’s a reason. It’s because to them the most important thing is putting bullets through the same hole. Not killing shit!

 

[specneeds]

There's a reason competition shooters aren't using magnums. Lower recoiling rifles are easier to shoot accurately. If you really need to prove your manliness go ahead and use your uber magnum. Stop getting your panties in a bunch when smaller non-magnums kill just as well as your big manly rifle.

When I shoot matches that require 40 rounds I use a 22-250 or 6.5 depending on distance. I’ve shot silhouette guns in 6mm-284 mthat weighed 16 lbs. None of that applies to elk hunting where you have 1 shot at a 700 lb animal. If you got participation trophies as a kid I understand that mental toughness & a little discomfort might be something you need to avoid. A 300 of some flavor is a better tool for elk than a pedestrian 6.5 cartridge. A Mini Cooper will get you back & forth to work efficiently but I wouldn’t choose it for towing.

 

[Bighorner]

I have two legit questions. What round is too small. I know several states do not allow .22 cal for big game. This is with a good bullet of coarse.

And a hypothetical one. Last evening of the last day. You get a split second shot on a bull just starting into heavey timber. It is a heavey 35-40 mph wyoming cross wind. It is a heavy quartering away angle with the classic last look over the bulls shoulder to see what it was that spooked him. You are in a kneeling position. This is not an easy shot or easy conditions. Does the capability of the round come into play in this scenario vs broad side, feeding at 250 yds with a light wind?

 

[Bighorner]

Many guys use a little bow & arrow, and chase an Elk for 2 miles .... I'd say a 6.5CM will work better.. but that's just me.

Just to play devil's advocate. That little arrow is around 500 grains with an inch and a quarter cutting diameter. Albeit moving much slower. But it's not really at all apples to apples.

 

[Gila]

Seems like the “6.5 creedmoor” for elk threads go on forever. Same things are always mentioned. Never heard of so many recoil afraid shooters till I started coming around here. They make big guns for big animals. My .270 win Tikka seems to kick a bit more than my 300 win mag but it is 2lbs lighter and still has the old T3 original recoil pad. Personally, I don’t have any use for a muzzle break. Generally it is the shooter’s abilities more than caliber ballistics anyway. I’d say know your limitations and understand your rifle‘s ballistics. Practice at different ranges and and shooting positions. Then go out and take the shot that is right for you, and harvest many an elk.

This article is one of the best I have seen on the subject: https://www.fieldandstream.com/12-best-rifle-cartridges-for-elk-hunting/

 

[specneeds]

I have two legit questions. What round is too small. I know several states do not allow .22 cal for big game. This is with a good bullet of coarse.

And a hypothetical one. Last evening of the last day. You get a split second shot on a bull just starting into heavey timber. It is a heavey 35-40 mph wyoming cross wind. It is a heavy quartering away angle with the classic last look over the bulls shoulder to see what it was that spooked him. You are in a kneeling position. This is not an easy shot or easy conditions. Does the capability of the round come into play in this scenario vs broad side, feeding at 250 yds with a light wind?

If you are willing to limit your shot distance to under 100 yards lots of cartridges work. But just my opinion 264 win mag, 6.5-300 wby, 270 Win, WSM &wby, 280,284,7mm-08, all 7mm mags, most modern 30 calibers are normal hunting range elk hunting guns 140 grain & up generally. I agree the most gun you can shoot accurately up to & including 358 STA, 8mm RM, 338-378 Wby big but all are fine elk cartridges.

Q2
Wind 35 mph makes 300 a no go but at 250 a fast heavy bullet can still make a good hit. I like one knee but would need to make up my mind in real time. I only hunt with guns that don’t limit my shot selection.

 

[enbhunts]

My wife shot her first bull last year at 300 yards with her 6.5 CM Weatherby Vanguard Camilla. Dropped him. Used 143 Gr ELDX, like many others on this post have.

Many folks have been saying it's about the bullet, or the caliber, or the cartridge. Truth is it's all of it.

Do the research and it will show you what an ethical shot for any cartridge and any caliber is. For us, anything below 1500 lbs of kinetic energy at the point of impact is too low.

Figure the distance with what caliber and cartridge and be ethical.

 

[Sled]

105s are for women and children. 155 is where it gets close to sufficient for the nearly immortal elk.

Why bother with the 155 when HIMARS is the new hotness.

They only let me touch the Korean war era tools. If the standard rifle calibers aren't enough I'd prefer a 75mm recoilless over the howitzer. Easier with direct fire and less meat loss with the Hept.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

My middle son shot his bull last year with his 6.5 CM and 140gr Accubonds. I'll reply here just like I told him, if that's the only rifle you got then get the best projectiles you can and get after it but if you have something bigger why not use it. If the why not use it has to do with being recoil shy then why do you own it? He only has the one rifle, went out and bought two boxes of Accubonds for $80/each and killed himself a bull with it. I was actually impressed with the bullets' performance.

 

[Hnttillmt]

starting the 1000th thread on this …. I clicked for entertainment , and am ashamed

 

[Gila]

My middle son shot his bull last year with his 6.5 CM and 140gr Accubonds. I'll reply here just like I told him, if that's the only rifle you got then get the best projectiles you can and get after it but if you have something bigger why not use it. If the why not use it has to do with being recoil shy then why do you own it? He only has the one rifle, went out and bought two boxes of Accubonds for $80/each and killed himself a bull with it. I was actually impressed with the bullets' performance.

Accubonds are awesome bullets....I only wish that Nosler would make more of ‘em.

 

[ZAK13]

I've talked to a lot of guides over the last 2 years, and everyone of them, flat out said, they don't want 6.5 anything in camp for an elk hunt, that it causes more problems than it's worth. didn't matter if it was 6.5crd or 26 Nosler. They all said, .270 or 30-06 as minimum would be preferred.

 

[SwiftShot]

I have two legit questions. What round is too small. I know several states do not allow .22 cal for big game. This is with a good bullet of coarse.

And a hypothetical one. Last evening of the last day. You get a split second shot on a bull just starting into heavey timber. It is a heavey 35-40 mph wyoming cross wind. It is a heavy quartering away angle with the classic last look over the bulls shoulder to see what it was that spooked him. You are in a kneeling position. This is not an easy shot or easy conditions. Does the capability of the round come into play in this scenario vs broad side, feeding at 250 yds with a light wind?

Exactly, there are a lot of pasture shots in this discussion. Elk in your hay field are different than one about to pony express it through the deepest nastiest country around.

 

[specneeds]

Seems like the “6.5 creedmoor” for elk threads go on forever. Same things are always mentioned. Never heard of so many recoil afraid shooters till I started coming around here. They make big guns for big animals. My .270 win Tikka seems to kick a bit more than my 300 win mag but it is 2lbs lighter and still has the old T3 original recoil pad. Personally, I don’t have any use for a muzzle break. Generally it is the shooter’s abilities more than caliber ballistics anyway. I’d say know your limitations and understand your rifle‘s ballistics. Practice at different ranges and and shooting positions. Then go out and take the shot that is right for you, and harvest many an elk.

This article is one of the best I have seen on the subject: https://www.fieldandstream.com/12-best-rifle-cartridges-for-elk-hunting/

I understand the fascination with accuracy & the contention that a perfect heart shot with a slow 6.5 is better than back of lungs with a more powerful 300+ boomer magnum. I’m looking for both in an elk rifle. Good stock fit, excellent recoil pad, a little more weight & a brake if needed make appropriate elk cartridges more shooter friendly.

Everyone has a tolerance that limits what they can shoot but assuming that 5 shots is a maximum in the field you don’t need to be able to shoot your elk rifle all day long practicing on a bench. Lighten your boots, your pack, your clothing & everything else before you put your elk rifle on too strict a diet. It’s much harder to shoot a 6lb gun well than one that is 9 lbs.

I prefer this guy’s opinion https://www.chuckhawks.com/elk_cartridges.htm

 

[Indian Summer]

I have two legit questions. What round is too small. I know several states do not allow .22 cal for big game. This is with a good bullet of coarse.

And a hypothetical one. Last evening of the last day. You get a split second shot on a bull just starting into heavey timber. It is a heavey 35-40 mph wyoming cross wind. It is a heavy quartering away angle with the classic last look over the bulls shoulder to see what it was that spooked him. You are in a kneeling position. This is not an easy shot or easy conditions. Does the capability of the round come into play in this scenario vs broad side, feeding at 250 yds with a light wind?

I understand the fascination with accuracy & the contention that a perfect heart shot with a slow 6.5 is better than back of lungs with a more powerful 300+ boomer magnum. I’m looking for both in an elk rifle. Good stock fit, excellent recoil pad, a little more weight & a brake if needed make appropriate elk cartridges more shooter friendly.

Everyone has a tolerance that limits what they can shoot but assuming that 5 shots is a maximum in the field you don’t need to be able to shoot your elk rifle all day long practicing on a bench. Lighten your boots, your pack, your clothing & everything else before you put your elk rifle on too strict a diet. It’s much harder to shoot a 6lb gun well than one that is 9 lbs.

I prefer this guy’s opinion https://www.chuckhawks.com/elk_cartridges.htm

He’s afraid of recoil and…. He called 300 yards “long range”! Lol!

 

[zrodwyo]

I’ve been tempted to elk hunt with my 6.5s but I just can’t bring myself to do it. The inefficiency of magnums bugs me. Twice the powder for a debatable performance difference on game.

I like to shoot bullets that fragment in the vitals because it’s easier to find game when they drop in their tracks. Bigger bullets have more fragments that make stuff die faster. That’s my logic at least. My wind reading skills aren’t good enough to launch a 215 Berger from a non-magnum cartridge so I run a 30 nosler.

 

[woods89]

Exactly, there are a lot of pasture shots in this discussion. Elk in your hay field are different than one about to pony express it through the deepest nastiest country around.

My bull last year was rooted out of the dark timber at 50 yards. I had a matter of seconds to kill him. I used a 10 lb Creedmoor with a heavy barrel, a Berger with a bc in the high 600s, and a scope with what some would consider too busy a reticle for timber hunting. I made the shot and watched him drop.

The reason I was able to get him killed quickly is that, due to that rifle being mild and fun to shoot, I had shot hundreds of rounds through it in the past couple years. Some of those were doing drills starting with a pack on and getting a shot on target as fast as possible. I personally will take familiarity over having a rifle tailored exactly to the shot at hand. And if I need to lay down over a pack and shoot one at 400 yds, that rifle is well capable of that as well.

I can tell you that I would not shoot a bigger rifle nearly as much. I hate breaks and dislike recoil.

 

[WRchinook]

Shot placement key and good bullet expansion under 400 yds should be key imo

 

[isItFallYet]

Exactly. I have asked how a 30 cal (for example) might be a better tool for the OPs job. So far I have been given an example of a 300 Magnum at 1000 yards. Somehow, I don't think that's the OPs goal. I have also had people tell me that margin of error is the reason, but haven't been able to give an example of margin of error.

Because a podcast said so…