Is my 30-06 all I need?

[35WhelenAI]

IMO, the 6.5CM at the distances you're talking about with a heavy for caliber bullet of the right construction will do anything the '06 can do.

I prefer larger bores myself. However the evidence is there the right bullet construction makes a lot of smaller calibers punch much higher than their weight.

 

[hereinaz]

I know this is an old thread, forgive me if I should start a new one but I'm thinking about moving from a 6.5CM to .06. Got the 6.5 primarily for deer but now hunt elk, primarily in timber. 6.5 has been lethal for elk and deer but I'd like to be able to shoot an elk through the shoulder if needed.

I'm thinking tikka .06 cut to 18" with a silencer paired with a trijicon huron (won't dial, will use recticle holdover). Would consider holding onto 22" barrel without a silencer but I'd like the quieter field shooting and reduced recoil. Most shots should be in timber under 150 yards, with potential to shoot to 400 yards, shooting factory ammo (1750-180 gr). Am I on the right track or should I rethink entirely?

Is there a specific reason you wouldn’t shoot an elk through the shoulder with the 6.5 creed?

Think about it like this. The 06 is loaded with 140 grain bullets. Why wouldn’t a 140 grain 6.5 do the same as a 140 grain 06? At the ranges you are shooting there is plenty of velocity.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Something that has been lost in conversation at times is the sectional density of the bullet. That's why small caliber heavy/long bullets are as effective as they are. Bullet design for bullet design, all else equal, I look to SD for how real world performance can and should similarly unfold.

140 gr. 6.5mm SD is greater than the SD of the old standby 180 gr from an '06. The 140 gr. 6.5 mm SD is ever so slightly better still than a 190 gr. 30 caliber bullet. IMO, a hunter in the know would not turn down an opportunity for a legit shot through the shoulder with either of those 30 caliber bullet weights of proper construction. Ergo, 6.5 with the right bullet weight and construction, don't sweat it.

 

[MN_kurka]

Is there a specific reason you wouldn’t shoot an elk through the shoulder with the 6.5 creed?

Think about it like this. The 06 is loaded with 140 grain bullets. Why wouldn’t a 140 grain 6.5 do the same as a 140 grain 06? At the ranges you are shooting there is plenty of velocity.

Shot a blacktail through the shoulder this year with a 143gr eldx. Obliterated the shoulder, retained about 50% then stopped at the opposite hide leaving no blood. I have shot 2 spike elk with it at close range but the no blood on the blacktail has me second guessing my caliber choice.

 

[35WhelenAI]

To me the bullet construction is the main factor in what you described above with respect to a blood trail. That bullet isn't meant to maintain more than about 50% of weight as you described. Rapid shedding of weight dramatically slows the bullet and lowers penetration. When you start with 143 grains and lose half of it, most likely early on in penetration, for all intents and purposes it has become a slowed down 70 grain bullet in a 6.5 mm doing the work to get the rest of the way through the animal. It's so hit and miss and there's no idyllic prescription for killing an animal. However sounds like your animals died and I don't see any failure on the bullets part there. You found them and you ate them.