Close range 6.5 Creedmoor ammo

Joined
Jan 5, 2025
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I hunt white tail in the woods mostly within 100 yards and never beyond 200 yards.

I am looking non-lead bullets.

If lead, I prefer polymer tip (to avoid tip getting damaged) and something that retains nearly all of its mass.

Any suggestions?
 

Dustin B.

FNG
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Apr 5, 2023
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I hunt white tail in the woods mostly within 100 yards and never beyond 200 yards.

I am looking non-lead bullets.

If lead, I prefer polymer tip (to avoid tip getting damaged) and something that retains nearly all of its mass.

Any suggestions?
I had good luck with the Barnes vor-tx in my 6.5 creedmoor. I also liked the Hornady American whitetail although they have an exposed lead tip. I just reloaded some swift Scirocco bullets but I haven't shot anything with them yet. Nosler accubonds would probably work good. Do you reload?
 

MT-nuffgun

Lil-Rokslider
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Jan 24, 2023
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Man, if never beyond 200, a mangled tip will mean nothing. If it were me, the bullet of choice would be the 140 nosler partition at those ranges followed by the 143 eldx, 130 tmk, 147 eldm, 140 sst. I’m not of fan of Barnes bullets personally.
 

Dustin B.

FNG
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Apr 5, 2023
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Man, if never beyond 200, a mangled tip will mean nothing. If it were me, the bullet of choice would be the 140 nosler partition at those ranges followed by the 143 eldx, 130 tmk, 147 eldm, 140 sst. I’m not of fan of Barnes bullets personally.
The eldm and tipped match king may not always have reliable expansion. Definitely great for long range target shooting though.
 

rookieforever33

Lil-Rokslider
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Aug 23, 2024
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200
Most non lead will expand about 1 1/2 time original diameter at that range. Get a box each of Barnes ttsx, nosler e-tip, federal trophy copper. See which shoots best. Others may know more about fragmenting non lead options like drt or cutting edge. Might be harder to find those but worth investigating from what I've read
 

Macintosh

WKR
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Ive used barnes and federal copper in 6.5cm and 7mm08, which are pretty similar. Have personal experience with about a dozen deer and antelope taken with either of those, plus more with other cartridges. Ive never seen a bullet from those cartridges that didnt expand at those closer ranges, you’ll have plenty of velocity well past your stated maximum range. The only animals that werent incapacitated within a few seconds was a clear bad hit, cant blame the bullet for that.
I personally have been using the barnes factory loaded LRX in my 6.5cm. The lrx is supposed to expand at a bit lower velocity than the ttsx, but I dont think its possible to have too much velocity with those. They are plenty accurate in my rifle.
I personally stopped using fragmenting lead bullets because the wounds were too big and I lost too much meat, and have been blissfully using copper since. Folks on rokslide diss copper because people here by and large are heavily influenced by long-range hunting—where copper is not as good. At close ranges like you are talking about I havent had those problems. Pick a popular offering, and if it shoots in your gun, use it.
 
OP
C
Joined
Jan 5, 2025
Messages
11
Thanks for the suggestions. Since someone asked, I don't reload. I just want to buy factory ammo that will have good expansion at this range. I have read that some of the copper options don't expand well at short range, but I like the idea of copper.
 

prm

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TTSXs hitting at close range with good velocity are excellent. A 120 TTSX, or even the 100, would be great for what you describe. A 100 at ~3200 FPS would be deadly. A perfect scenario for a mono.
Edit: just saw you’re not reloading. I’d go 120 TTSX or one of the Hornady 120 CX offerings. Try a box of each and go with whatever shoots the best.
 
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Dustin B.

FNG
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Apr 5, 2023
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Just saw you’re not reloading. I’d go 120 TTSX or one of the Hornady 120 CX offerings. Try a box of each and go with whatever shoots the best.
This is probably the best route if you're not reloading. Both Hornady and Barnes seem to be reasonably priced on Midway.
 
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