Pick a 6.5 Creedmoor Bullet for Elk

[EmperorMA]

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!

 

[Marble]

I would shoot the heaviest bullet I could in the gun.

Nosler Accubond
Nosler Partition
Swift A frame
Hornafay 143 eld x

Expect a new hunter to make a bad shot and buy a tough, heavy for caliber bullet that will stay together and carry energy. You seem to be on thr right path.

Plan for the worst case scenario and try to avoid it.

This topic will have a lot of opinions so be prepared...

For my two daughters, who both shoot 7-08, they shoot Barnes 145s at deer. If either got an elk tag, I would load up whatever the biggest bullet I could in the gun and let them go to town. Both are killers starting at 12, both neither have killed an elk yet.

 

[ajs04b]

I used 140g Nosler Partition from my 6.5 Creedmoor to take a cow elk last season and would have no reservations of using that same load on bulls out to 500.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[270quest]

139 scenar without hesitation

 

[SkunkCabbage]

Accubond, partition, aframe or ttsx.
Leave the ELDX unless your poking out past the 300Yrd mark

 

[bobbyghunts]

Barnes x or similar. shoot the bullet weight the gun prefers. Sometimes those heavier bullets just wont shoot small groups.

 

[Brado16]

What is the twist rate of the rifle? If its not fast enough, the will eliminate some of the longer, high BC bullet choices.

 

[EmperorMA]

What is the twist rate of the rifle? If its not fast enough, the will eliminate some of the longer, high BC bullet choices.

It’s 1-8” and pretty much shoots everything well...100gr through 147gr have all worked reasonably well enough.

 

[Dusty2426]

1. 140 partition 3 bulls so far inside 400
2. 140 accubond 1 cow elk at 683 and 1 caribou at 70.
Both performed well on animals. Out of my Barrett fieldcraft 18 inch. Golden rule “don’t shoot a target bullet at animals”

 

[bigdesert10]

1. 140 partition 3 bulls so far inside 400
2. 140 accubond 1 cow elk at 683 and 1 caribou at 70.
Both performed well on animals. Out of my Barrett fieldcraft 18 inch. Golden rule “don’t shoot a target bullet at animals”

Dusty has sound advice with experience to back it up. Follow his advice, but then also keep her inside 300 yards the first go around, imo. Guys like Dusty have a lot of success with the 6.5 CM but the margin of error is tighter than with larger calibers. Minimize the risk for your kid having a bad experience, especially if this is her first hunt.

 

[EmperorMA]

Dusty has sound advice with experience to back it up. Follow his advice, but then also keep her inside 300 yards the first go around, imo. Guys like Dusty have a lot of success with the 6.5 CM but the margin of error is tighter than with larger calibers. Minimize the risk for your kid having a bad experience, especially if this is her first hunt.

She has taken a couple of mule deer, a whitetail and a Pronghorn, the longest shot of which was 387 yards. All were uneventful one shot kills using 120gr NBT.

She bangs steel quite well at 800 yards using the 140gr ELD-M.

 

[MT257]

Partition, accubond or triple shock. Whichever you pick. Leave the eldx on the bench I watched a guy shoot a bull with those eldx last year 5 times the bullets did not perform. I personally think they are over rated. Load any of the accubond partition or triple shocks have the shot placed well it’s game over.

 

[adamantine]

Another vote for TTSX/GMX copper bullets (Shot a ton of animals in NZ with them, 25+). As long as velocity is above 2k (~300-400 yds at elk altitudes), they will punch through anything (shoulder blades included) and always leave two holes with a nice expansion. Although any nice bonded lead bullet will do a great job.

This guy has a lot of experience, 260 rem is basically the same thing: https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.260+Remington.html

 

[AZ Ron]

My son used my 6.5 CM last year for his cow elk hunt and mule deer hunt. Shot both animals with 143 gr ELDX.

Cow was 220 yards. One shot kill, she dropped within 20 yards of where he shot her. Bullet was stopped/recovered in offside hide. (Thought I might have a pic of it, but couldn't find it.)

3 pt Buck was 210 yards. Complete pass through. Buck wandered off about 60 yards and dropped. (After the buck was shot my son had to relocate due to a bush being in the way and not giving him a clear follow up shot on the buck. We were getting him set up to take another shot when the buck stumbled, fell, and died.)

Both shots were broadside and in the vitals/chest using factory Hornady Precision Hunter 143 gr ELDX. No complaints using this ammo, yet.

 

[Josh Wright]

I use LRX 127 grains in my wife's gun. I killed a mature 303" bull with it last year.

140 gr accubonds or 142 grain ablr would be great as well.

 

[Northwinds308]

ELD-X is a cup and core bullet. I've heard good things but I will remain skeptical until I see it myself.

Barnes LRX would get my nod, I've personally seen them have awesome performance. Nosler Accubonds- the standard not the LR- would be my next choice. I'd probably keep the range under 400 though just for the sake of keeping the impact velocity high and limiting the Murphy factor.

 

[EmperorMA]

It looks like no clear winner here. I’ve always gone speed over weight but I cut my teeth before today’s long, sleek, versatile bullets were born. I’ve killed about 70 or so game animals with everything from the .25-06 through .340 Wby Mag, with most taken with a 6.5x.284, .270 Win., .270 Wby Mag, .284 Win and 7mm-08. About 40% of these were elk. The only animal that I ever feared losing during these nearly 40 years was a bull elk hit solidly in both shoulders with a 250gr Nosler Partition fired from a .338 Win Mag. This means my personal experience leads me to believe that the .25-06 is a better elk killer than the .338 Win Mag. BTW, I did recover the bull but it took four of the most stressful hours of my life to do so.

I like the heavy, sleek bullets. I also love the penetration of Barnes bullets but in my experience they are less likely to provide a spectacular DRT kill than lead bullets.

I think I’ll load up some 140 AccuBond, 142 ABLR, 143 ELD-X, 127 LRX and maybe even some 120 TTSX/GMX and see how they shoot.

My personal longest shot on game came on the largest animal I’ve ever taken, a huge 6pt bull elk taken at 435 yards. At impact, he hit the ground so hard dust flew up and he never even twitched. This was a non-CNS hit and I’m convinced he was dead before he hit the ground. The death ray was a 125gr Nosler Partition fired from a custom M700 in 6.5x284.

My second longest kill was 401 yards with the same rifle and a 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. Bang flop.

I’m not concerned about her marksmanship skills. She’ll hit what she points at to all reasonable ranges. I just want to make sure we have a reliable bullet that does any elk she might shoot at the justice it deserves.

I appreciate the input very much and am open to more feedback if anyone wishes to chime in.

 

[Northwinds308]

It looks like no clear winner here. I’ve always gone speed over weight but I cut my teeth before today’s long, sleek, versatile bullets were born. I’ve killed about 70 or so game animals with everything from the .25-06 through .340 Wby Mag, with most taken with a 6.5x.284, .270 Win., .270 Wby Mag, .284 Win and 7mm-08. About 40% of these were elk. The only animal that I ever feared losing during these nearly 40 years was a bull elk hit solidly in both shoulders with a 250gr Nosler Partition fired from a .338 Win Mag. This means my personal experience leads me to believe that the .25-06 is a better elk killer than the .338 Win Mag. BTW, I did recover the bull but it took four of the most stressful hours of my life to do so.

I like the heavy, sleek bullets. I also love the penetration of Barnes bullets but in my experience they are less likely to provide a spectacular DRT kill than lead bullets.

I think I’ll load up some 140 AccuBond, 142 ABLR, 143 ELD-X, 127 LRX and maybe even some 120 TTSX/GMX and see how they shoot.

My personal longest shot on game came on the largest animal I’ve ever taken, a huge 6pt bull elk taken at 435 yards. At impact, he hit the ground so hard dust flew up and he never even twitched. This was a non-CNS hit and I’m convinced he was dead before he hit the ground. The death ray was a 125gr Nosler Partition fired from a custom M700 in 6.5x284.

My second longest kill was 401 yards with the same rifle and a 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. Bang flop.

I’m not concerned about her marksmanship skills. She’ll hit what she points at to all reasonable ranges. I just want to make sure we have a reliable bullet that does any elk she might shoot at the justice it deserves.

I appreciate the input very much and am open to more feedback if anyone wishes to chime in.

You're definitely on the right track. My point about limiting range had nothing to do with her marksmanship- 500 is quite a bit further than 400 ballistically and a 6.5 CM is slower than a 25-06. It's a small bullet, small frontal surface area, smaller perminant wound cavity. Personally I wouldn't shoot an elk past 400 with a 6.5 or past 600 with a .284. My personal experience and preference is to use a bullet with a bigger frontal surface area and not rely on getting a CNS kill.

The 127 grain LRX will penetrate better than the 147 ELD-X, the construction is more important than the weight. I always worry about quartering shots on elk so I like knowing I can shoot through a hip or a shoulder. I wouldn't try that with any cup and core bullet. ELD-X, SST, BT's will create super dramatic temporary wound cavities but they rarely exit. I like putting two holes in the animal. They might not go down in 10 steps, but they will go down if the shot placement is on.

Hope that helps explain my thinking a little better.

 

[roosiebull]

since you aren't feeling the Barnes, I would pick the partition, great bullet for about any situation in the elk woods

 

[Sportsman]

partition or accubond. I used accubond last year because I couldn't find a partition in 140's without reloading. Performed well.