6.5 elk bullet poll!

[6mm Remington]

My picks would be one of these.

120 gr. Nosler E-tip. Looks like you can get 3300 fps out of it.
130 gr. Nosler Accubond (standard Accubond). Looks like the book says about 3300 fps for it too.

 

[MThuntr]

I'm planning on 124 HH in my PRC. Initial loads suggest 3315 is right where I'm going to end up with a load. I considered the 156 and may give them a try a bit later.

Within 500 yards I don't think it really matters. Beyond 500 I would imagine the 156 would start to gain favor but I've never looked at any ballistic tables.

 

[Steve O]

My goodness. I’d pick the Hammer because big elk are tough. But I’d use my 300WM…

 

[svivian]

 

[Aviator]

Good ole 140 Accubond would be my choice.

 

[ianpadron]

Blazer safety slugs disrupt a lot of tissue. So does birdshot up close. Tissue disruption is great for marketing but doesn’t always translate to prompt incapacitation.

I place great value on an exit wound. Exit wounds usually mean a decent blood trail. Poke decent sized holes in both lungs of an animal and it will die. Monos are great at that, and will do so even when shots are at odd angles, through shoulders, etc.

Yes Berger style bullets are devastating when everything goes perfect, and often knock animals down on the spot. But this is hunting, and unfortunately things don’t always go perfect. Between personal experiences with thin walled, non bonded bullets and anecdotal evidence from others I much prefer the performance of monos.

Add in the lead ingestion concerns, monos are the clear winner for me in the elk woods. YMMV.

There is a trade off of BC and long range expansion, but that trade off is negligible until you are talking about extreme long range (600-700+ yards.)

Are you arguing that an exit wound results in a quicker death?

 

[xsn10s]

My 6.5mm bullets if I had to use them for elk. Inside 300 yards a 140 Partition. When shots are most likely around 200-600 yards the 156 Berger. But an AccuBond, Ballistic Tip, 147 ELDM and a host of others can fit the bill. If I hunted CA or anywhere else they forced me to use a mono I'd pick the highest BC one that shot well from my rifle. Cutting Edge, Badlands, Barnes, Nosler, or Hornady.

 

[ianpadron]

As long as necessary vitals are penetrated, of course wounds with no exit wounds can be just as deadly if not more so. It’s awesome when bullets result in DRT animals, which Berger style bullets often do.

But as any experienced hunter knows shit happens. Animals, especially elk, don’t always drop where they stand even with perfect shots.

Trying to track an elk, even a fatally wounded elk, with only a tiny 6.5 mm entrance wound to bleed from is not a fun or easy thing to do.

That is top tier Bubba-talk.

Shit does happen, and a poor shot is a poor shot...

Exit wound, or lack thereof has far more to do with bullet choice and impact velocity than caliber. Never seen a "tiny" anything on an animal after being hit with a 143 grain ELDX. In fact, wound channels are typically on par with those I've seen courtesy of 300WMs. Heck, the baseball sized exits they leave would be right up your alley!

A 6.5 (and smaller) projectile is every bit as capable, and I'll even go so far as to say MORE capable than heavier/larger calibers... because it's easier to put the bullet where it needs to go...so why handicap that efficacy with bullets that cause narrow wound channels just because you want a guaranteed exit?

Put one in the guts with your mono bullet and your day is likely going to be more shitty than the guy who stings one in the wrong spot with a more frangible bullet.

All of this has been covered ad nauseum, and it continues to be brought up with completely unfounded statements like yours on exit wounds.

Take 10 minutes on YouTube and watch what a monolithic bullet does in gel, and what a Berger does...then ask yourself which one is more likely to exit, and which one is more likely to immediately incapacitate an animal.

I'll be carrying my .243 most of the fall in Montana, will report back on how many exit holes a 90 grain ELDX pokes and how many deer and elk are dead

 

[Felix40]

Back when Barnes was first getting popular my family shot a lot of animals with them. Always had long blood trails and poor expansion. We gave up on them completely.

Everyone says monos are better now.

I watched a friend make a great shot on an oryx from close range with a 7mm Hammer bullet. It turned into a little bit of a rodeo. We eventually got the oryx after some more shooting and tracking. The bullets all failed to expand.

He contacted Hammer and they said they had a bad batch of bullets. Inconsistent performance happens with monos too.

In contrast, another friend shot an oryx with a 6.5 eldx. It went 1 yard. Every other animal I’ve shot with eldxs has been very easy to recover. I actually can’t think of one I had to track.

Monos cost more money, have worse ballistics, and have worse terminal performance. I just can’t see any appeal to them.

I don’t know anything about bergers. I’m too poor for those too.

 

[ianpadron]

Back when Barnes was first getting popular my family shot a lot of animals with them. Always had long blood trails and poor expansion. We gave up on them completely.

Everyone says monos are better now.

I watched a friend make a great shot on an oryx from close range with a 7mm Hammer bullet. It turned into a little bit of a rodeo. We eventually got the oryx after some more shooting and tracking. The bullets all failed to expand.

He contacted Hammer and they said they had a bad batch of bullets. Inconsistent performance happens with monos too.

In contrast, another friend shot an oryx with a 6.5 eldx. It went 1 yard. Every other animal I’ve shot with eldxs has been very easy to recover. I actually can’t think of one I had to track.

Monos cost more money, have worse ballistics, and have worse terminal performance. I just can’t see any appeal to them.

I don’t know anything about bergers. I’m too poor for those too.

This is why I've never understood the "I want a bloodtrail" train of thought.

If I wanted a blood trail I'd use a bow.

If I'm carrying a rifle, the expectation is bang flop, and heavy for caliber, high bc lead bullets deliver exactly that more times than not.

ELDX vs ELDM vs Berger is Ford vs Chevy imho, you're not missing anything with your Hornadys.

 

[Rifleman86]

U

That is top tier Bubba-talk.

Shit does happen, and a poor shot is a poor shot...

Exit wound, or lack thereof has far more to do with bullet choice and impact velocity than caliber. Never seen a "tiny" anything on an animal after being hit with a 143 grain ELDX. In fact, wound channels are typically on par with those I've seen courtesy of 300WMs. Heck, the baseball sized exits they leave would be right up your alley!

A 6.5 (and smaller) projectile is every bit as capable, and I'll even go so far as to say MORE capable than heavier/larger calibers... because it's easier to put the bullet where it needs to go...so why handicap that efficacy with bullets that cause narrow wound channels just because you want a guaranteed exit?

Put one in the guts with your mono bullet and your day is likely going to be more shitty than the guy who stings one in the wrong spot with a more frangible bullet.

All of this has been covered ad nauseum, and it continues to be brought up with completely unfounded statements like yours on exit wounds.

Take 10 minutes on YouTube and watch what a monolithic bullet does in gel, and what a Berger does...then ask yourself which one is more likely to exit, and which one is more likely to immediately incapacitate an animal.

I'll be carrying my .243 most of the fall in Montana, will report back on how many exit holes a 90 grain ELDX pokes and how many deer and elk are dead

”Exit wound, or lack thereof has far more to do with bullet choice and impact velocity than caliber.”

I agree with this statement, and it more or less is in concurrence with my statement you quoted.

I’ve seen a lot of gunshot wounds, both in people and in game animals. Entrance wounds are generally caliber size. Exit wounds are almost always much larger, and result in a large amount of external bleeding while just an an entrance wound can often result in minimal external bleeding.

I’m not sure how that fact is “bubba talk”

All things being equal, I prefer bullets that reliably create exit wounds.

Bubbas talk about “hydrostatic shock” and “energy dumps.” People who use firearms professionally (FBI for example) don’t use those terms. Permanent wound cavity and total penetration are what ultimately matter.

 

[amassi]

U

”Exit wound, or lack thereof has far more to do with bullet choice and impact velocity than caliber.”

I agree with this statement, and it more or less is in concurrence with my statement you quoted.

I’ve seen a lot of gunshot wounds, both in people and in game animals. Entrance wounds are generally caliber size. Exit wounds are almost always much larger, and result in a large amount of external bleeding while just an an entrance wound can often result in minimal external bleeding.

I’m not sure how that fact is “bubba talk”

All things being equal, I prefer bullets that reliably create exit wounds.

Bubbas talk about “hydrostatic shock” and “energy dumps.” People who use firearms professionally (FBI for example) don’t use those terms. Permanent wound cavity and total penetration are what ultimately matter.

Penetration isn’t relevant if it creates a shallow temporary and permanent wound. I’d wager the fbi is concerned with penetration in the respect of barriers and windshields and not penetrating flesh.

Monos will almost always give you an exit( unless they peel the nose over and tumble) but it will be caliber sized to 2x caliber sized depending on distance so not super efficient at aiding in draining especially in fat furry critters like a bear.


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[Rifleman86]

This is why I've never understood the "I want a bloodtrail" train of thought.

If I wanted a blood trail I'd use a bow.

If I'm carrying a rifle, the expectation is bang flop, and heavy for caliber, high bc lead bullets deliver exactly that more times than not.

ELDX vs ELDM vs Berger is Ford vs Chevy imho, you're not missing anything with your Hornadys.

The “I want a blood trail” comes from seeing elk “bang flop” then get back up and run into the timber without a blood trail.

It’s a real shitty feeling and a swing of emotions I don’t wish on anyone here.

 

[Rifleman86]

Penetration isn’t relevant if it creates a shallow temporary and permanent wound. I’d wager the fbi is concerned with penetration in the respect of barriers and windshields and not penetrating flesh.

Monos will almost always give you an exit( unless they peel the nose over and tumble) but it will be caliber sized to 2x caliber sized depending on distance so not super efficient at aiding in draining especially in fat furry critters like a bear.


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You are incorrect

It’s always interesting to see what matters to agencies who are primarily concerned with lethality and not marketing.

 

[amassi]

You are incorrect

“the ‘FBI Protocol’ as it is also called requires a bullet to pass through each of 5 different tactical barriers”


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[amassi]

The “I want a blood trail” comes from seeing elk “bang flop” then get back up and run into the timber without a blood trail.

It’s a real shitty feeling and a swing of emotions I don’t wish on anyone here.

You missed
Monos won’t help


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[Rifleman86]

You missed
Monos won’t help


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Elk don’t tumble down the mountain on a miss. Shoot what you want. I used to prefer good BC over everything else. I now like bullets that are sure to poke holes in the vitals and leave a good blood trail if and when tracking is necessary.

I just don’t want anyone to have a similar experience.

 

[ianpadron]

Penetration isn’t relevant if it creates a shallow temporary and permanent wound. I’d wager the fbi is concerned with penetration in the respect of barriers and windshields and not penetrating flesh.

Monos will almost always give you an exit( unless they peel the nose over and tumble) but it will be caliber sized to 2x caliber sized depending on distance so not super efficient at aiding in draining especially in fat furry critters like a bear.


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Bingo.

 

[Rifleman86]

“the ‘FBI Protocol’ as it is also called requires a bullet to pass through each of 5 different tactical barriers”


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Did you read the whole article?

The whole protocol came out of the 1986 shootout where otherwise fatal hits failed to stop the assailant due to poor bullet performance, namely under penetration.

 

[amassi]

Elk don’t tumble down the mountain on a miss. Shoot what you want. I used to prefer good BC over everything else. I now like bullets that are sure to poke holes in the vitals and leave a good blood trail if and when tracking is necessary.

I just don’t want anyone to have a similar experience.

Haha yeah they do. You missed the vitals. Elk fell and while you were high fiving it got up and ran off.
Let me guess, it was your first elk and first western hunt after a lifetime of shooting whitetails. The lesson should have been to keep shooting and make sure it was dead not that the bullet failed.


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