Joseph von Benedikt vs Formidilosus

[Grundy53]

You know... 6.5 is one of the smaller calibers, right?

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[CMP70306]

You know... 6.5 is one of the smaller calibers, right?

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Technically yes, but I also know I grew up killing deer with 150gr SST out of a 30-06 at 2900 fps and never had one not expire quickly. The 143 ELD-X at 2800 fps in the 18” 6.5 PRC is pretty much the same thing if not better past 200 yards though I haven’t gotten to try it yet on game as I’ve been trying various 109 to 125gr fragmenting monos from 3100 to 3400 fps the past few years.

What I learned is that all monos aren’t created equal and while the Lehigh Defense 145gr Brass Chaos bullets in the 30-06 were incredibly lethal with tons of damage, huge blood trails and near instant death at close range the copper monos in the 6.5 definitely resulted in less reactions, longer kill times, farther runs and smaller blood trails with the smaller projectiles.

We switched over to the 178gr ELD-X last year in the 30-06 and got one instant death, one staggered for a few seconds then dropped and one short 30 yard run, mostly downhill. Much more noticeable reactions on game than the 6.5 monos which had several deer run 100 to 150 yards with little to no blood trail and no indication they were hit. I carried the 6.5 the rest of the season but did not get another shot at a doe to try the 143’s though I would expect the performance to be similar to the 178s.