Pick a 6.5 Creedmoor Bullet for Elk

[MHWASH]

Did it die

Of course it did, doesn’t mean it’s a bullet I’d use again, or trust on a larger animal than deer.
I’ve killed antelope with a Sierra Match King, doesn’t mean it’s a good bullet for hunting, but I won’t be using it again either.

 

[jnordwell]

Speer gold dots.. bonded bullet at half the cost of partitions

 

[magnum44270]

140 Aframe or 120 e-tip

 

[joshf303]

139 scenar without hesitation

Absolutely!

147s wouldn’t scare me a bit after the performance they’ve given me either. My daughter will be packing one of those two on her cow hunt this winter.

 

[Big Mike]

So, if you drew a very favorable elk tag and you had a 14-year-old girl who can shoot the hell out of her Winchester Model 70 Featherweight Compact in 6.5 Creedmoor, what bullet would you use for her to have a crack at a big bull from 25 - 500 yards?

I’ll tune it to her rifle, for sure. Shots will most likely be over 100 yards. I have great confidence she’ll put it where it needs to go from nearly any angle.

What bullet would you choose? Not based on what your rifle likes best, but based on what you’d want up the spout when a true trophy bull makes himself available.

I’m leaning 143 ELD-X because I’ve only heard very good things about its performance, except for those who have made a bad shot then blamed the poorly-aimed bullet for its “lack of performance.”

I can certainly be swayed by experience. Tell me what you’d use if given a choice and no other constraints. Thanks!

 

[EmperorMA]

??????

 

[Big Mike]

Nosler Partition would be my choice

 

[twall13]

I just got back from South Africa and used my 6.5 Creed with 143 Gr. ELD-X's. 7 Animals and the longest tracking job was a couple of hundred yards with the rest being under 40 yards or dropped in their tracks. I blame the longer tracking job on my poor shot placement with that animal but it did still go down. I recovered the bullet from a couple of the animals, most notable was probably the Blue Wildebeast which was quartering away at about 175 yards and I found the bullet against the skin on the offside shoulder. Not quite as large as an elk, but I'd wager they are at least as tough to take down. Their skin is literally 1/2" thick at a minimum. I did have one bullet I recovered where the jacket completely separated from the bullet, not really a surprise to me with this type of bullet. That shot was at 344 yards. All that said, I'm not convinced it's the "best" bullet for elk out of a 6.5 Creed but I also wouldn't hesitate to use it on one.

 

[Josh Wright]

As a user and killer of many whitetails, muleys, and elk; I'm going to need pics on the accubond not working correctly.

At 60 yards, i put one in the chest of a bull. Dead on impact. Part of the bullet was found at the rear of his ham with the rest doing exactly what is was designed to do in the lungs.

I would have a hard time believing that one. Can't wait for the pics.

 

[duckhunter175]

A barnes bullet would not be my choice for this and I love their LRX line-- the 6.5cm isn't a good cartridge choice for that bullet at distance. The creed doesn't give you velocity for expansion or energy at distance.

Why choose something that is marginal when there are much better options specifically for elk like the Partition or Accubond.

 

[brsnow]

A barnes bullet would not be my choice for this and I love their LRX line-- the 6.5cm isn't a good cartridge choice for that bullet at distance. The creed doesn't give you velocity for expansion or energy at distance.

Why choose something that is marginal when there are much better options specifically for elk like the Partition or Accubond.

I don’t want to feed lead to my young kids and the LRX opens to 1600fps.

 

[JuddStrow]

Currently using the ELDX in my 6.5x55 BJAI. 143s at right at 3k. Dime sized groups at one hundo. All my research about this bullet for long range hunting made me decide to build the gun around the bullet.

 

[duckhunter175]

I don’t want to feed lead to my young kids and the LRX opens to 1600fps.

Look at the energy generated by a 6.5cm from a 127LRX at those velocities and tell me if you're comfortable shooting an elk...

300 yards you are at 1500ft/lbs
500 yards you are at 1100ft/lbs but 2000fps

By the time you get to 1600fps you have less than 700ft/lbs of energy... I wouldn't shoot a deer at that let alone an elk.

I'm not arguing with copper as a bullet choice, I'm just suggesting a better cartridge than the 6.5cm for using a Barnes bullet on an elk.

 

[brsnow]

Look at the energy generated by a 6.5cm from a 127LRX at those velocities and tell me if you're comfortable shooting an elk...

300 yards you are at 1500ft/lbs
500 yards you are at 1100ft/lbs but 2000fps

By the time you get to 1600fps you have less than 700ft/lbs of energy... I wouldn't shoot a deer at that let alone an elk.

I'm not arguing with copper as a bullet choice, I'm just suggesting a better cartridge than the 6.5cm for using a Barnes bullet on an elk.

I agree and wouldn’t extend the range past 300 with the LRX. It will be ideal for my daughter’s first elk hunt in the next couple of years. Effective and easy to shoot.

 

[mncoolbeans]

Speer gold dots.. bonded bullet at half the cost of partitions

The Speer Gold Dots is actually what Federal Ammo use for their "Fusion" Bullets...Hence....Federal Fusion Line Up!

 

[Formidilosus]

Look at the energy generated by a 6.5cm from a 127LRX at those velocities and tell me if you're comfortable shooting an elk...

300 yards you are at 1500ft/lbs
500 yards you are at 1100ft/lbs but 2000fps

By the time you get to 1600fps you have less than 700ft/lbs of energy... I wouldn't shoot a deer at that let alone an elk.

I'm not arguing with copper as a bullet choice, I'm just suggesting a better cartridge than the 6.5cm for using a Barnes bullet on an elk.

So what does fit-lbs of energy do?

 

[EmperorMA]

Look at the energy generated by a 6.5cm from a 127LRX at those velocities and tell me if you're comfortable shooting an elk...

300 yards you are at 1500ft/lbs
500 yards you are at 1100ft/lbs but 2000fps

By the time you get to 1600fps you have less than 700ft/lbs of energy... I wouldn't shoot a deer at that let alone an elk.

I'm not arguing with copper as a bullet choice, I'm just suggesting a better cartridge than the 6.5cm for using a Barnes bullet on an elk.

I’d expect a complete pass-through on elk from that Barnes bullet impacting at 2000fps.

 

[Dusty2426]

Look at the energy generated by a 6.5cm from a 127LRX at those velocities and tell me if you're comfortable shooting an elk...

300 yards you are at 1500ft/lbs
500 yards you are at 1100ft/lbs but 2000fps

By the time you get to 1600fps you have less than 700ft/lbs of energy... I wouldn't shoot a deer at that let alone an elk.

I'm not arguing with copper as a bullet choice, I'm just suggesting a better cartridge than the 6.5cm for using a Barnes bullet on an elk.

I use 1000ft lbs energy as my ceiling on any caliber any bullet. Meaning that 1000 ft lbs on target is my maximum range for that bullet caliber selection. 1000 ft lbs energy is way plentry for North America it game.

 

[EmperorMA]

The Speer Gold Dots is actually what Federal Ammo use for their "Fusion" Bullets...Hence....Federal Fusion Line Up!

Documentation? This seems unlikely since Speer lists ver different sizes and weights from what Federal uses in the Fusion lineup.

 

[Josh Wright]

I'd shoot an elk at 500 all day long with the lrx out of a creedmoor.