Best whitetail bullet for a short barreled 6.5 CM?

[35remy]

Just curious what bullets people are having the most success with out of short barreled 6.5CM’s? One of my father’s box stand guns has a 16 1/2” barrel, is super light and handy, and has been killing fine under 100 yards for a few years. He has been wanting to sit in a few new stands that have 400 yard shot possibilities and I have been thinking about changing his ammo. His rifle is sighted with factory 125gr deer season xp’s and have had great results on closer shots. The last deer I took with that ammo out of a 22” barrel had perfect shot placement but failed to pass through. Deer ran 75 yards with little blood. I would imagine less velocity with a short barrel would create a worse situation at distance. I reload (novice) and have been thinking about trying a heavier ELD-M or ELD-X bullet (140-143) or maybe an LRX in a lighter weight. All opinions are appreciated.

 

[sram9102]

I have thought about chopping mine down more than it already has been. My 20" 6.5 keeps 130 class bullets above 1800 fps to just over 600. Bergers/ELDs in my experience have never failed to exit on whitetails. Most of our deer are in the 250 to 350 yard range. I would try 120/130s you're not going to notice the difference in BC at 400 compared to the 140/3 and they have been much easier to find recently.

 

[sndmn11]

85grain hammer?

 

[pdub]

accubond gets my vote

 

[chutinlead]

I ran the 142gr ABLR last year out of my 18" 6.5CM and dropped a decent mule deer buck at 550yds. My thoughts on those is that they are designed to expand down to 1300fps and are a little softer that standard Accubonds. Maybe the 129gr ABLR in a 16" to not drop too low on velocity.

 

[4ester]

85grain hammer?

I just picked some of these up, hoping to push them to 3400 and give them a chance


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[woods89]

I'd be looking for some 130 Sierra TMK. I used them on a couple deer with a 22" Creedmoor. They were pretty catastrophic, but killed very quickly. I think they would be really good with moderate velocities.

 

[sndmn11]

I just picked some of these up, hoping to push them to 3400 and give them a chance


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I did 3430 from a 20" and 3530 from a 24".

 

[carsonkeys]

All these critters were killed at various distances with a 147 ELD-M out of an 18.5” creedmoor - the exposed shoulder was the offside front shoulder of a cow elk. Either of those two bullets (143 ELD-X or 140/147 ELD-M) will do what you want them to, with authority.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

The only animal I've killed with mine was a 10pt with the 143gr ELD-X, it died within 20 yards but I had a hard time finding it in the coastal overgrown marsh as there wasn't much blood. This year I picked up a couple boxes of Norma's Bondstrike to try and see how it performs.

 

[Kimber7man]

129 ABLR
130 Berger hybrid

 

[Kyle K]

I have had good luck with the horandy superformace 129g sst, but I also have a longer barrel.

 

[LightFoot]

Any hunting bullet in the 129-156 weight should be fine for Whitetail.

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[mxgsfmdpx]

129 Grain SST. Hit vitals and watch them die instantly.

 

[KenLee]

No problems so far killing whitetail deer with 120 gr NBT from a 14 inch barreled Creedmoor pistol. Sample size of only 3.
50 yards, 90 yards, 150 yards.

 

[Unckebob]

I ran the 142gr ABLR last year out of my 18" 6.5CM and dropped a decent mule deer buck at 550yds. My thoughts on those is that they are designed to expand down to 1300fps and are a little softer that standard Accubonds. Maybe the 129gr ABLR in a 16" to not drop too low on velocity.

I understand some 6.5CM rifles struggle with lightweight bullets; however, I have not tested the theory with light, lead bullets.

I am testing handloads of 127 Barnes bullets this year. Compared to the 140-143 grain bullets I usually shoot, the accuracy with initial loads seems a littler worse, not unexpectedly so.

 

[General RE LEE]

This thread is right up my alley. With a 16.5” 6.5 CM, I’m considering 123 grain SST to shoot faster, but plugging the data with a slower 143 ELD-X (2650 vs 2550), the higher BC of the 143 ELD-X makes it a wash at 500 yards.

I’ve already got the easy button 41.5 grains H4350/143 ELD-X loaded up in an ammo box for this rifle with twenty thou jump.

Probably will just shoot the ELD-X.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

This thread is right up my alley. With a 16.5” 6.5 CM, I’m considering 123 grain SST to shoot faster, but plugging the data with a slower 143 ELD-X (2650 vs 2550), the higher BC of the 143 ELD-X makes it a wash at 500 yards.

I’ve already got the easy button 41.5 grains H4350/143 ELD-X loaded up in an ammo box for this rifle with twenty thou jump.

Probably will just shoot the ELD-X.

I got 2825ish average out of factory Superformance 129gr SST in my 18" Bergara on my chrono. If you're loading you might could get better than that 2650.

 

[mi650]

This thread is right up my alley. With a 16.5” 6.5 CM, I’m considering 123 grain SST to shoot faster, but plugging the data with a slower 143 ELD-X (2650 vs 2550), the higher BC of the 143 ELD-X makes it a wash at 500 yards.

I’ve already got the easy button 41.5 grains H4350/143 ELD-X loaded up in an ammo box for this rifle with twenty thou jump.

Probably will just shoot the ELD-X.

I've shot 1 deer with a 123 gr SST, Grendel not Creedmoor. Turned his lungs and top of his hear to goo. He still made it 70-80 yards, blood trail was awful without an exit hole.


Anyway, wasn't why I popped in this thread. I got a RA 6.5 CM for my dad, he's not happy about the recoil of his 30-06 at his age. He wanted a CM, and I'm going to try to get him on a deer with it next year. He's hunted small game his whole life, but never killed a deer.

It will be a fairly short shot, so I was hoping to get info.

 

[Long Cut]

6.5 CM CVA Scout 20” Barrel

140gr Nosler Ballistic Tip
Lapua Brass SRP
CCI 400’s
Viht N555

One buck ran 10 yards and dropped. The other buck ran 49 yards and dropped.
That’s a piece of lung from the second buck. Blew out on the exit.
Blood trail on the buck that ran 49 yards you could follow standing upright.