6.5 Creedmoor on Elk?

[CoStick]

Yea true. But I’d rather a 200 grain .30 bullet going 2800 fps than the typical 143 grain 6.5 cm goi g 2800

Ultimately whatever you need to have confidence.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I've also heard of outfitters with a .30 caliber minimum rule for their clients, for elk as well as nilgai in Texas. Would I be welcome there with my .308 but not my 7 mag?

Probably wouldn't be welcomed with either of those for Nilgai.

Compared to fishing, sure you can catch big fish with a Snoopy combo rod & reel but nobody advocates fishing with them.

 

[justin davis]

Ultimately whatever you need to have confidence.

Yes forsure.

 

[280Ackley]

Yea true. But I’d rather a 200 grain .30 bullet going 2800 fps than the typical 143 grain 6.5 cm goi g 2800

I prefer a 300 grain that’s why I am building a .338 Norma!!! But I also don’t see anything wrong with the 6.5CM that my son is going to be packing next week on our elk hunt.

 

[Hoosker Doo]

Probably wouldn't be welcomed with either of those for Nilgai.

Compared to fishing, sure you can catch big fish with a Snoopy combo rod & reel but nobody advocates fishing with them.

Your snoopy combo comparison to my 7 mm RM makes me think we need to start a "7mm Mag for Nilgai?" thread and see if can get some good responses from the .223 and 6.5 crowd with some nilgai data. That would be interesting. Anyways, I'll quit hijacking the thread.

 

[Indian Summer]

Yea true. But I’d rather a 200 grain .30 bullet going 2800 fps than the typical 143 grain 6.5 cm goi g 2800

Ding ding!!! He left that part out didn’t he? How about 200 grains at 3000 fps!

 

[specneeds]

I would shoot an elk with my Creedmoor, or my wifes .300WM. I have shot about half my deer and antelope with each. They all died with one shot. I assume an elk would too.

That is a pretty iffy assumption in my opinion but I’ve only been involved in killing & hauling out about 30 elk. I’ve seen a bedded elk absorb a 180 grain bullet from a 300 Win Mag through both lungs top of heart breaking the off side leg stand up & walk 90 yards down hill only 2-300 yards from the ranch border. A spine shot put him down. The marine who shot him was shocked when we cut him up. He thought my spine shot killed him. One look & he knew it was dead elk walking.

I’ve seen a wounded cow show no sign of a lung shot meant to finish her. Many elk take a bullet in the lungs with little sign they had been hit even inside 100 yards. They aren’t bullet proof but are very tough to stop quickly & in elk country 60 extra yards can get to the bottom of a steep canyon. As was mentioned in your hayfield not a big deal, on the edge of s steep canyon it’s a very big deal.

 

[280Ackley]

Ding ding!!! He left that part out didn’t he? How about 200 grains at 3000 fps!

I did that intentionally. It’s shows how stupid it is to say a diameter of a bullet alone determines if it is capable of killing an elk. Because nobody would say a 30-06 with 165gr bullets is not capable of killing an elk. Then we have 10 pages of people arguing that 6.5CM with 143gr bullets won’t. You mean to tell me .036 difference in diameter and 22gr in weight makes that big of a difference!?!?!

Saying all that I be carrying a 300 Norma next week elk hunting and we will use it for anything long range. But I will not hesitate to us 6.5CM my son will be carrying either.

 

[Fatcamp]

That is a pretty iffy assumption in my opinion but I’ve only been involved in killing & hauling out about 30 elk. I’ve seen a bedded elk absorb a 180 grain bullet from a 300 Win Mag through both lungs top of heart breaking the off side leg stand up & walk 90 yards down hill only 2-300 yards from the ranch border. A spine shot put him down. The marine who shot him was shocked when we cut him up. He thought my spine shot killed him. One look & he knew it was dead elk walking.

I’ve seen a wounded cow show no sign of a lung shot meant to finish her. Many elk take a bullet in the lungs with little sign they had been hit even inside 100 yards. They aren’t bullet proof but are very tough to stop quickly & in elk country 60 extra yards can get to the bottom of a steep canyon. As was mentioned in your hayfield not a big deal, on the edge of s steep canyon it’s a very big deal.

Well, you would know better than I as I only hunt deer, but any conversation regarding the 6.5 Godmoor attracts me like a moth to flame.

That said, any shot to the spine would have dropped your example, even a .223.

In my defense, I just finished another round of "Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter." Bell has some pretty strong opinions on caliber and bullet placement. One of the things I caught this time through was his dislike of long and narrow bullets. Tendency to bend being the rationale. 6.5 would qualify as such. He is talking solids of course, which has nothing to do with this conversation.

 

[specneeds]

Well, you would know better than I as I only hunt deer, but any conversation regarding the 6.5 Godmoor attracts me like a moth to flame.

That said, any shot to the spine would have dropped your example, even a .223.

In my defense, I just finished another round of "Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter." Bell has some pretty strong opinions on caliber and bullet placement. One of the things I caught this time through was his dislike of long and narrow bullets. Tendency to bend being the rationale. 6.5 would qualify as such. He is talking solids of course, which has nothing to do with this conversation.

Be my guest to follow old Karmojos footsteps. His contemporaries were using enormously powerful double rifles loaded with cordite or similar. If you think 7mm is the way to go make sure your insurance is paid up if you are married or have dependents.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Well, you would know better than I as I only hunt deer, but any conversation regarding the 6.5 Godmoor attracts me like a moth to flame.

That said, any shot to the spine would have dropped your example, even a .223.

In my defense, I just finished another round of "Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter." Bell has some pretty strong opinions on caliber and bullet placement. One of the things I caught this time through was his dislike of long and narrow bullets. Tendency to bend being the rationale. 6.5 would qualify as such. He is talking solids of course, which has nothing to do with this conversation.

Creedmoor with an ELD-X may not make it to the spine, maybe with an Accubond or a mono.

 

[Fatcamp]

Be my guest to follow old Karmojos footsteps. His contemporaries were using enormously powerful double rifles loaded with cordite or similar. If you think 7mm is the way to go make sure your insurance is paid up if you are married or have dependents.

LOL. The day will never come when such a problem is mine. And yes, his is only the opinion of a man.

 

[Dabouv]

I have taken a Roosevelt cow with 6.5 on a damage hunt. It worked well. I have other choices I would use for a bull or on a hunt where I’d likely have longer shots. It is, in my mind, the low end of an adequate choice. How many elk have been taken with a 30/30:core lokt? I have a buddy whose father in law probably shot 20 over the years, all out the back door in his shorts according to my friend. Subsistence hunting. The 6.5 is better than that.
if I were on a western hunt going for a big bull, I’d choose 7mm mag, 30.06, 300 win, or 338. my Kid has a 7mm08 and thats what he will shoot and if we. Keep his range reasonable, that should be fine too and he can manage the recoil.

 

[Marble]

In the area I hunt elk, it is quite common to have shots way over 300 yards. It is very common to have them even further and if you are really good at shooting long range there is a lot of opportunities for that also.

I have ran into two people in 20+ years in the woods (where I hunt elk) that were not carrying a rifle in that magnum range. Point being, this discussion needs a little context on how far people expect they would shoot their animal at.

I am comfortable shooting a couple of my guns to 600 under the proper conditions. Others I am not. I have made acouple marginal shots at long distance to where if it was a 6.5 creedmore, or another smaller caliber, we would not have recovered the animal. This is why I shoot a big magnum.

I see no down side.

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[Marble]

I've also heard of outfitters with a .30 caliber minimum rule for their clients, for elk as well as nilgai in Texas. Would I be welcome there with my .308 but not my 7 mag?

I haven't heard of them excluding 7mm RM. Seems silly if they did. But basically giving a caliber window trying to keep out several of the short action guns.

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[Marble]

Ding ding!!! He left that part out didn’t he? How about 200 grains at 3000 fps!

Or at 3200? My dad has a 300 RUM that is nasty and devastating at longer range.

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[SwiftShot]

Or at 3200? My dad has a 300 RUM that is nasty and devastating at longer range.

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Headed to the range with my new RUM. Loaded up some 220 Grainers to try out and see if it likes them. I should be pushing those at around 3000 fps.

 

[Short Track]

All you big gun guys are 1/2 deaf from your brakes. I'd rather shoot my 6.5 or .243 and still hear the Elk crash when he drops. All while your ears are still ringing from your brAke.

 

[Maverick1]

Keeping the shot distance within reason, I’ve found that a 425 grain projectile traveling at 290 fps works great on elk………

 

[strattonje2020]

6mm arc is the sweet spot