6.5 creedmoor for bigger game?
- Thread starter Mikejfh709
- Start date
Just like in the 243 thread that’s riling people up still.
Bullets kill animals, not headstamps.
Make sure your animal is within the performance window of your preferred bullet style.
If u do that, a 6.5 will kill a moose just fine.
Bullets kill animals, not headstamps.
Make sure your animal is within the performance window of your preferred bullet style.
If u do that, a 6.5 will kill a moose just fine.
The 6.5 Cred is just a glorified 6.5 Swede. I have both. The Swede has been taking large game for years and worked very well with proper bullets. In a modern action performance can be equaled. The Swede is down loaded due to weaker older rifle designs. 140 gr bullets will work well on deer or bear. I would use the 160 gr on moose without any hesitation in either caliber.
Determine the energy from a ballistics chart. No less than 1500ft/lbs for large game and 1000ft/lbs minimum for small game. This rule has worked well for me.
In your instance that means elk & moose inside of 300 yards and deer up to 500 yards with the 6.5 Creedmore.
After a recent shoulder replacement I picked up a 6.5 CM and I might shoot the 6.5 PRC with a brake. The magnums are gone now.
It isn’t really. The 6.5 Swede has more case capacity and is more powerful. 6.5cm is based on the 308 cartridge, similar to how the 243 is a necked down 308 case. When 6.5cm first started getting popular I remember thinking what’s the point of another sized-down 308, we already have a bunch of those available. I would basically say sure, if someone were willing to use something like 243 or 270 for moose or black bear then 6.5cm is more or less in the same class as those. My grandpa used to hunt moose with a 30-30 because it was what he had but if you already have a 308 or 30-06 why not use that?
The 6.5CM has a bit of a reputation as an accuracy geek cartridge, so you have that to live up to and shot placement neatly into the moose's off switch will do a lot more than the broad-side-of-moose accuracy standard of some of the overpowered cartridges of yesteryear.
None of the animals you shoot will be able to tell the difference between .270, .308 or 6.5CR. With the appropriate bullet the 6.5 is fine for any of those.
Mark
- Location
- West Central Alberta
Would a Federal Terminal Ascent 130gr be good to use or would a 156gr Norma be better?
Just asking because I have a 6.5 creedmoor but it's still a virgin.
Just asking because I have a 6.5 creedmoor but it's still a virgin.
Depends of the range. The Norma bonded 156 is an absolute angel of death. I’ve used the Sako factory loads as well as my hand loads with the Norma bullets. The Sako factory was about 2675 FPS. My hand loads were about 2725 FPS. That’s out of a 26in barrel.
They’re very accurate but the BC is really bad and past 250 yards they drop a lot and they get affected by the wind a lot.
That being said for short range hunting they’re unbeatable. My wife shot her first 4pt and he was DRT at 80 yards. Lung shot. Bullet stayed together, no fragmentation or meat damage.
For longer shots I’d go with the Barnes Vortx LRX 127 and even the 147 eldm is a well known killer at distance with proper shot placement.
Also bears are easy to kill and quite soft if you know where to aim. I’ve killed bears with a 16in 308 with Fed Fusion 150. DRT.
Nowadays I favour the 7mm. The 145 LRX has been very good to me. I have both a 7SAW (which would be effectively a 7mm08AI) and a 7SAUM. Short range kills get the 145LRX. Long range gets the 162ELD. It’ll kill anything on the continent inside of 600y with ease. Anything further I don’t bother. That’s my personal limit. Remember that just because you can shoot a 3in group at 600 yards at your local range with no wind and concrete bed off a led sled, doesn’t always translate that well in the field.
And the guys will always tell you about the time they got an incredibly long range kills but never about they time they ####ed up and lost the blood trail.
Nowadays I favour the 7mm. The 145 LRX has been very good to me. I have both a 7SAW (which would be effectively a 7mm08AI) and a 7SAUM. Short range kills get the 145LRX. Long range gets the 162ELD. It’ll kill anything on the continent inside of 600y with ease. Anything further I don’t bother. That’s my personal limit. Remember that just because you can shoot a 3in group at 600 yards at your local range with no wind and concrete bed off a led sled, doesn’t always translate that well in the field.
And the guys will always tell you about the time they got an incredibly long range kills but never about they time they ####ed up and lost the blood trail.
Absolutely it'll work !! Bullet placement and construction are paramount, as is with any caliber !!
Your 6.5 Creedmoor will work fine on moose and black bear.
As always bullet placement is key.
And with these animals, based on the ammunition or handload you are using, and is most accurate in your rifle, if you maintain 1500 ft lbs of energy on the moose and 1000 ft lbs of energy on the black bear, you'll get reliable penetration with regular bullets, and even better with bonded or mono-metal bullets. (The one note I would mention here, is if thee bear you ae hunting is the the average 150-200 lb animal most people shoot, 1000 ft lbs of energy will suffice. BUT, if you are hunting a 350-500 bear, I would recommend sticking with the 1500 ft lb energy rating on this larger, heavier muscled/boned animal.)
While I have not taken black bear with my 6.5 CM (or 6.5 Swede basically the ballistic twin of the Creedmoor, but does not have the ability to seat long, high-BC bullets as well without encroaching on powder space), I have taken moose, caribou, red stag, and elk with both the CM and Swede over the years, ranging from 20 to 370 yards. I have used Hornaday ELD-X, and Terminal Ascent ammo in the CM for moose, red stag, fallow buck, and caribou, from 20-296 yards with one-shot kills.
With the Swede, I have used Barnes X, Nosler Partition, and Berger VLD Hunter bullets for moose, caribou, elk, whitetail and Stones sheep, from 85-370 yards, with one-shot kills on all but the cow elk at 370 yards. (She took a couple of follow up shots; I wouldn't shoot an elk at this distance again with either cartridge as the retained energy isn't quite sufficient for this tough and tenacious animal at this distance. I have more elk-suitable cartridges/rifles available for this.) The bullet that I was least impressed with was the Berger, as it fragmented inside the animal with the main part of the bullet turning and ending up in front of the offside rear leg. The animal did die from the one shot, but it ran about 400-450 yards before expiring, without presenting an opportunity for a follow up shot.
The Nosler 140 gr AccuBond bullet/ammo is a great performer in this cartridge and I wouldn't hesitate to use it on either moose or bear.
I have been very impressed with the performance of the Federal Terminal Ascent ammunition in my 6.5 Creedmoor rifles.
It produces 0.291" groups in my LH Browning X Bolt All Weather rifle, and 0.599" groups in my Winchester 1885 High Wall rifle. It also produces 0.420" groups in my wife's LH Browning X Bolt Hunter rifle.
We took my X Bolt to New Zealand last year and I took my red stag @ 296 yards with one shot, and fallow buck @ 267 yards, also with one shot. Both shots were complete pass throughs. My wife took to Arapawa rams @ 121 and 122 yards, again both one shot kills with complete pass throughs. I took a caribou bull @ 43 yards. Another clean pass through. The red stag and caribou were of similar body size and weight at approx. 450 lbs on the hoof.
We had planned to take my X Bolt to Africa this year, but couldn't due to a permit snafu with the Canadian gov't. We had planned to use it on springbok and sable formy wife, and kudu, nyala and bushbuck for me.
The PH's son uses their 6.5 CM for kudu and wildebeest with no issues with well placed shots (they use S&B ammo). Many of their clients use the 6.5 CM for many animals each year, and he has been most impressed by its performance on plains game, but most shots are limited to approx. 300 yards and less.
(Unfortunately, due to the hard synthetic thumbhole stock on their Creedmoor that was lefty unfriendly, we ended up using their suppressed Ruger Mk II in 300 Win Mag for our hunt. The 6.5 CM would have worked just fine as we took these animals at distances ranging from 77 yards (warthog) to 235 yards (kudu and springbok).)
The Federal Terminal Ascent 130 gr ammo produces 2855 fps from my Browning's 24" SS 5R Benchmark barrel, which means that I am retaining 1500 ft lbs of energy out to 376 yards, and with a 200 yard zero, drops 17" at this distance. My WInchester 1885 High Wall with its 28" factory barrel produces 2911 fps and retains 1509 ft lbs of energy out to 400 yards and drops about 2.5" more at this distance. (This is closing in on 6.5 PRC velocity). My wife's Browning has a 22" factory barrel and is producing 2755 fps and has 1519 ft lbs of retained energy @ 300 yards, and has dropped 7.7" at this distance with the same 200 yard zero.
The question above as to which is better, the 130 gr TA, or the 156 RN bullet: depends on which shoots better in your rifle, and what, where and how you hunt. And more importantly, which you are more confident in/comfortable with?
For a general all-around big game hunting bullet, I would rate the 130 TA as about tops in the 6.5 CM. (The other would be the Nosler 130 or 140 gr AccuBonds)
If you are stand hunting moose or black bears from a stand over bait or a mineral lick, in the thick black spruce swamps/muskeg where shooting distances are often less than 50 yards, then the 156 bullet would be a great choice. While this bullet is tops for penetration, it is not flat shooting. And if your rifle isn't equipped with a sighting system where you can identify the appropriate hashmarks for specific yardages, you will want to know your holdover, and restrict shooting distances accordingly.
Hope both the new owners of 6.5 Creedmoor rifles enjoy this cartridge! I know we are enjoying our rifles chambered to this round!
As always bullet placement is key.
And with these animals, based on the ammunition or handload you are using, and is most accurate in your rifle, if you maintain 1500 ft lbs of energy on the moose and 1000 ft lbs of energy on the black bear, you'll get reliable penetration with regular bullets, and even better with bonded or mono-metal bullets. (The one note I would mention here, is if thee bear you ae hunting is the the average 150-200 lb animal most people shoot, 1000 ft lbs of energy will suffice. BUT, if you are hunting a 350-500 bear, I would recommend sticking with the 1500 ft lb energy rating on this larger, heavier muscled/boned animal.)
While I have not taken black bear with my 6.5 CM (or 6.5 Swede basically the ballistic twin of the Creedmoor, but does not have the ability to seat long, high-BC bullets as well without encroaching on powder space), I have taken moose, caribou, red stag, and elk with both the CM and Swede over the years, ranging from 20 to 370 yards. I have used Hornaday ELD-X, and Terminal Ascent ammo in the CM for moose, red stag, fallow buck, and caribou, from 20-296 yards with one-shot kills.
With the Swede, I have used Barnes X, Nosler Partition, and Berger VLD Hunter bullets for moose, caribou, elk, whitetail and Stones sheep, from 85-370 yards, with one-shot kills on all but the cow elk at 370 yards. (She took a couple of follow up shots; I wouldn't shoot an elk at this distance again with either cartridge as the retained energy isn't quite sufficient for this tough and tenacious animal at this distance. I have more elk-suitable cartridges/rifles available for this.) The bullet that I was least impressed with was the Berger, as it fragmented inside the animal with the main part of the bullet turning and ending up in front of the offside rear leg. The animal did die from the one shot, but it ran about 400-450 yards before expiring, without presenting an opportunity for a follow up shot.
The Nosler 140 gr AccuBond bullet/ammo is a great performer in this cartridge and I wouldn't hesitate to use it on either moose or bear.
I have been very impressed with the performance of the Federal Terminal Ascent ammunition in my 6.5 Creedmoor rifles.
It produces 0.291" groups in my LH Browning X Bolt All Weather rifle, and 0.599" groups in my Winchester 1885 High Wall rifle. It also produces 0.420" groups in my wife's LH Browning X Bolt Hunter rifle.
We took my X Bolt to New Zealand last year and I took my red stag @ 296 yards with one shot, and fallow buck @ 267 yards, also with one shot. Both shots were complete pass throughs. My wife took to Arapawa rams @ 121 and 122 yards, again both one shot kills with complete pass throughs. I took a caribou bull @ 43 yards. Another clean pass through. The red stag and caribou were of similar body size and weight at approx. 450 lbs on the hoof.
We had planned to take my X Bolt to Africa this year, but couldn't due to a permit snafu with the Canadian gov't. We had planned to use it on springbok and sable formy wife, and kudu, nyala and bushbuck for me.
The PH's son uses their 6.5 CM for kudu and wildebeest with no issues with well placed shots (they use S&B ammo). Many of their clients use the 6.5 CM for many animals each year, and he has been most impressed by its performance on plains game, but most shots are limited to approx. 300 yards and less.
(Unfortunately, due to the hard synthetic thumbhole stock on their Creedmoor that was lefty unfriendly, we ended up using their suppressed Ruger Mk II in 300 Win Mag for our hunt. The 6.5 CM would have worked just fine as we took these animals at distances ranging from 77 yards (warthog) to 235 yards (kudu and springbok).)
The Federal Terminal Ascent 130 gr ammo produces 2855 fps from my Browning's 24" SS 5R Benchmark barrel, which means that I am retaining 1500 ft lbs of energy out to 376 yards, and with a 200 yard zero, drops 17" at this distance. My WInchester 1885 High Wall with its 28" factory barrel produces 2911 fps and retains 1509 ft lbs of energy out to 400 yards and drops about 2.5" more at this distance. (This is closing in on 6.5 PRC velocity). My wife's Browning has a 22" factory barrel and is producing 2755 fps and has 1519 ft lbs of retained energy @ 300 yards, and has dropped 7.7" at this distance with the same 200 yard zero.
The question above as to which is better, the 130 gr TA, or the 156 RN bullet: depends on which shoots better in your rifle, and what, where and how you hunt. And more importantly, which you are more confident in/comfortable with?
For a general all-around big game hunting bullet, I would rate the 130 TA as about tops in the 6.5 CM. (The other would be the Nosler 130 or 140 gr AccuBonds)
If you are stand hunting moose or black bears from a stand over bait or a mineral lick, in the thick black spruce swamps/muskeg where shooting distances are often less than 50 yards, then the 156 bullet would be a great choice. While this bullet is tops for penetration, it is not flat shooting. And if your rifle isn't equipped with a sighting system where you can identify the appropriate hashmarks for specific yardages, you will want to know your holdover, and restrict shooting distances accordingly.
Hope both the new owners of 6.5 Creedmoor rifles enjoy this cartridge! I know we are enjoying our rifles chambered to this round!
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