6.5 Creedmoor for cow/calf elk

[Litehiker]

This year I got two tags to hunt busk mule deer and cow/calf elk in northern Nevada.

I'm taking my 6.5 CM Ruger Amer. Predator bolt gun. A 143 gr. Hornady ELD-X bullet should do the job, even on a large elk cow. The bullet is made with a jacket that taper thicker as it goes toward the base and has an inner jacket ring to hold the lead core. This construction should hold together on an elk cow. It will definitely do for a buck mule deer.

The lead core is not "bonded" B/C it would require much softer lead to do that, defeating Hornady's goal of a tough bullet.

Anyone else using a 6.5 Creedmoor for deer or elk this year?

Eric B.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

The 143 eld-x should get it done just fine. Im in the process of developing a load with the 143 eld-x in my custom built 6.5 Creed on a Savage action. This will be used for whitetail and black bear. In the past my go to bullet for whitetail has been the 140A-max. Nasty bullet on whitetail

 

[Browninglover1]

I loaded a 140 Berger hunting VLD in my rifle and my buddy used it to kill a nice muley buck at 402 yards; the deer was dead right there with a jellied lungs and a nice exit home out the back side.

I used the same rifle but loaded with 130 Berger Hybrids to take a calf elk at 175 yards and it took two steps and tipped over dead. I love my little creed.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I loaded a 140 Berger hunting VLD in my rifle and my buddy used it to kill a nice muley buck at 402 yards; the deer was dead right there with a jellied lungs and a nice exit home out the back side.

I used the same rifle but loaded with 130 Berger Hybrids to take a calf elk at 175 yards and it took two steps and tipped over dead. I love my little creed.

I love mine..... fun gun to shoot. How did those 130s do and what was your velocity on them? Ive got some 130 hunting vld that i might give a try. Torn between those and the eld-x.

 

[Browninglover1]

The calf was quartered away and the bullet entered behind the near side shoulder and lodged in the tip of the offside shoulder under the skin and weighed around 50 grains. Muzzle velocity was 2960.

 

[Litehiker]

Thanks gents, I feel OK now using this cartridge for deer & antler-less elk.

Eric B.

 

[WildRose]

Thanks gents, I feel OK now using this cartridge for deer & antler-less elk.

Eric B.

As long as you are using a quality hunting bullet at reasonable ranges and you can put it where it needs to be you have nothing to worry about.

Just don't try punching the shoulders and it should do the job just fine.

Remember, the 6.5x55 which is ballistically very similar has been used all over the world very effectively for close to a hundred years to take up to moos sized game.

 

[Chopperguy]

As long as you are using a quality hunting bullet at reasonable ranges and you can put it where it needs to be you have nothing to worry about.

Just don't try punching the shoulders and it should do the job just fine.

Remember, the 6.5x55 which is ballistically very similar has been used all over the world very effectively for close to a hundred years to take up to moos sized game.

Good advice.

I took Tahr and Chamois in New Zealand mountains this past June. Both animals one shot bang flop. Chamois at 210 yards and Tahr at 285.

Both were taken with the factory Hornaday 143 ELD X. Very accurate in my rifle. Before the hunt we shot some steel out to 660 yards and I had a group of 2.4" from a bipod prone.

I was trying to decide what to take on my upcoming Wyoming pronghorn and mule deer hunt. Then I thought about the NZ animals taken and decided it was foolish to worry about the cartridge selection as the ELD X will do as well.

Norma does have a new American Hunter 6.5 Creed load waiting to get on the boat from Sweden. Its a 130 Swift Sirocco II bullet. That'll be a very interesting load also as the 130 Sirocco II has been one of my favorite 6.5x55 hunting loads for pronghorn and deer hunting around the USA.

Good luck!

 

[WildRose]

Good advice.

I took Tahr and Chamois in New Zealand mountains this past June. Both animals one shot bang flop. Chamois at 210 yards and Tahr at 285.

Both were taken with the factory Hornaday 143 ELD X. Very accurate in my rifle. Before the hunt we shot some steel out to 660 yards and I had a group of 2.4" from a bipod prone.

I was trying to decide what to take on my upcoming Wyoming pronghorn and mule deer hunt. Then I thought about the NZ animals taken and decided it was foolish to worry about the cartridge selection as the ELD X will do as well.

Norma does have a new American Hunter 6.5 Creed load waiting to get on the boat from Sweden. Its a 130 Swift Sirocco II bullet. That'll be a very interesting load also as the 130 Sirocco II has been one of my favorite 6.5x55 hunting loads for pronghorn and deer hunting around the USA.

Good luck!

The Sirocco is a very soft bullet and I and others have had it do some really weird things with over expansion at high velocity.

I shot a white tail buck a few years back with my 260 and the 130gr Sirocco at just over 100yds. Hit him just above the sternum (a bit low) and it flattened out to about a half dollar size flipping up through the heart/lung area and burying in the spine.

Shooting them from the 300wm in Africa I had them make some other near 90 deg turns.

I much prefer the Hornady Interbond or Nosler Accubond for terminal performance although I love the way the Sirocco's fly.

I'm going to give the ELD-X and Perigrine VRG-4's a workout this year.

 

[Chopperguy]

Never had any of those issues with the Sirocco II bullets. The original ones were reported to have some over expansion issues.

The 2nd version is well bonded, has a high BC and shoots exactly the same as my 130 VLD Hunting loads. I have several recovered bullets from game shots that showed excellent controlled expansion and 85% weight retention. All were recovered from under the off side hide. Ranges on the killing shots from 70 to 487 yards.

The 140 Sirocco IIs are a bit too tough for smaller pronghorn sized animals. I've witnesses others using them in a 6.5 and had little expansion and compete pass through on that she game.

YMMV, however I'll not hesitate to use them on deer sized game at any time.

 

[WildRose]

Never had any of those issues with the Sirocco II bullets. The original ones were reported to have some over expansion issues.

The 2nd version is well bonded, has a high BC and shoots exactly the same as my 130 VLD Hunting loads. I have several recovered bullets from game shots that showed excellent controlled expansion and 85% weight retention. All were recovered from under the off side hide. Ranges on the killing shots from 70 to 487 yards.

The 140 Sirocco IIs are a bit too tough for smaller pronghorn sized animals. I've witnesses others using them in a 6.5 and had little expansion and compete pass through on that she game.

YMMV, however I'll not hesitate to use them on deer sized game at any time.

To be clear, I have had no issues with them breaking up, just flattening out like they were stood up and mashed with a hammer mushrooming out to between a quarter and half dollar.

When they do that, they go flipping off at angles you'd never believe if you didn't see it for yourself.

Let me look up my threads on the Africa Trip and I'll post a link to where I described what happened with them. My PH and outfitter got so concerned with the performance they flat refused to let me shoot anything else with them on the trip. Francois runs one of the biggest gun shops in the country and talked me into some other ammo with the Peregrine Plainsmaster Bullets and man was that an eye opening difference. Of course you'd expect a South African made bullet to perform well on African game but I was really impressed with them particularly on my Kudu and Black Wildebeest.

Here you go.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/im-back-157841/

 

[bigngreen]

The creedmore is a nice little rifle and for elk, put a 130 or 140 Berger or an eldx or a couple rounds with a Accubonds and they'll not argue much. I used to shoot Accubonds and Bergers but ended up shooting most of the Accubonds shot game a second time with a Berger I just started shooting them once with a Berger and be done with it.

 

[toddc]

I have had the Sirocco do some over 90 degree turns. Really wild even unbelievable stuff. Wild Rose commented the 6.5 was used up to moose, well there has probably been more elephants killed with a 6.5 than any other. Not common now but back in the day it was very popular.

 

[Jerry M]

Elephants killed with 6.5 Mannlicher by Bell and others were reported using 160 FMJ (and .303 British FMJ) Military surplus ammo at tag-you-are-it ranges were very cool-headed shooters. The idea of shooting an elephant and running up his back to shoot others in the heard is no longer practiced, as it was at that time. This is really not relevant in current hunting practices.

The Elk guide I was with in Montana would not let one hunter use his .260 Remington or .25-06 as they were too light for bull elk in his opinion. The only elk killed that week was a bull at something like 367 yards, with a .338 Rem Ultra Mag. I believe that is too far to be shooting at elk with .260 Rem, 6.5 Creedmoor, or 6.5x47 etc.

Buy a bigger rifle, you have a perfect excuse.

Good luck

Jerry