What cartridge for Alaska and western big game?

View attachment 894477
6.5CM worked fine on these two lil’guys.
Of course it did. Just like the .256 Mannlicher (6.5x54) did for Karamojo Bell. But can’t we call it a .264 Creedmoor or something? (.256 land measurement; .264 groove measurement)

If I start acknowledging millimeters, I feel like the communists have won.

I need to clean my .355 Parabellum.
 
The 30-06 is old and dated... but it's not. It's significantly more powerful than the 308 (though I love the 308) and not far from the 300 Win Mag. On perfect shots, anything will work including 5.56/223. It's those weird shots that you don't get to pick that you're glad you brought something more powerful.

I remember a nice buck (aged at 12 years old, it was a cowhorn spike) on an island hunt about 10 years ago. It came running into a grunt call to about 6 yards from me, head down and snorting. I only had a front shot on it and took it with a Marlin 1894 44 Mag loaded with tough 240 grain XTP handloads right in the brisket. I shot through the heart, lungs, liver, stomach, with the bullet stopping right by the tail. About 4 feet of penetration. The deer ran flat out for a full 20 yards and piled up. The "blood trail" was about 3 feet wide and completely saturated the ground like it was laying blood pavement.

A super fast bullet might have fragmented before reaching the heart on that shot.

I've also had bad experiences in my hunting time. I had a phase where I really wanted to hunt with a 5.56 AR. I shot a 6-point buck 3 times (62gr Federal Soft Points) at about 50 yards (it would run a bit then stop) all aiming at the heart one after another in a 5 second period. The buck ran off and there wasn't a speck of blood or hair where I shot. Never found a sign of that deer. I spent hours looking for that deer, even did a grid search for about 10 acres from where I shot and went back the next year to look for a skeleton. Nothing.

I took my daughter out last year for a meat doe. I shot one at 25 yards with a 350 Legend (Herters 180gr soft points). Had 5 minutes to pick a shot, shot high heart from a tree stand. The doe ran off and we got down 15 minutes later to follow the blood trail. I ironically found a perfectly mushroomed bullet laying right where I shot filled with blood and dark hair. Not a drop of blood elsewhere. Spent hours looking for a trail in the direction I saw the doe run. Nothing. Never found a drop of blood or a deer.

All this to say, I've never lost a deer with bigger rounds, but I've lost them with smaller ones on 3 or 4 occasions. Not once have I lost a deer with 30-06, 12ga slugs, 44 Mag (rifle), 348 Win, or 7mm-08.
I have never lost an animal shooting it with anything. However, the longest I have had to track one was miles and hours. The bull was hit through both shoulders (which were completely pulverized) and heart and lungs were blown apart. The bullet was a 250gr Nosler Partition fired from a .338 Win Mag at under 200 yards. It was probably the best shot I have ever made on a game animal (other than CNS) and it resulted in the longest tracking job I have ever been involved in.
 
I think Aces is Roal-Reaper with a new account. Or Aloneguy. Or Cougar screwing with you guys. Definitely has a drunk uncle vibe.
 
I hate how these topics spin out of control!
Anyway , 6.5cm should be fine on the list of things you want to hunt
Elk , deer , black bear, pronghorn, goats, caribou
I would grab some 140gr fedral fusion or norma tip strike or fedral terminal ascent and get busy or follow the you tube link and pick your favorite poison from a test
 
To the op, the 6.8 western is a heck of a round but ammo is an issue. I would solve that by handloading. If you're going to pick one and hunt everything with it I think Loading your own ammo makes alot of sense. My main western rifle is a 284 Winchester, good luck finding that one the shelf anywhere, ever.

I have a 6.8W and Winchester/Browing offers a lot of different options. I am still trying to decide what load it likes best vs what I want it to shoot.

Having said that, I plan to reload my 6.8W once I make a dent in my 8 boxes of various ammo.

If I get a shot to hunt with it this year, I'll probably use the 1655gr Accubond load which is about 1 MOA in my rifle.
 
I think you should shoot what you use best. Unless of course it is illegal..or irresponsible. Watching the quick responses for attacking smaller calibers was fun.
 
Alright… that’s enough of you.


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So, are you from AK or TX? You were born in one place. Nice hat. Buy a Nightforce, hell a Leupold. Call me when you lose 50 lbs and are ready for the mountains I live in. Thats enough out of you, you disgusting fat body city dweller.
 
View attachment 894477
6.5CM worked fine on these two lil’guys.
Respect. I’d love to see the video. Show us the clean quick kills. What was the range? I am learning to. I just shoot a big rifle very accurately and have never had a problem. I went the route of earning the hunts instead of degrading them into a chris kyle wanna be gadget fest. By all means show me a moose taken with a 6.5.
 
So, are you from AK or TX? You were born in one place. Nice hat. Buy a Nightforce, hell a Leupold. Call me when you lose 50 lbs and are ready for the mountains I live in. Thats enough out of you, you disgusting fat body city dweller.




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