6.5 Caliber 140 gr. too lite for Elk ?

[79m1a-texas]

Shot a cow elk at 375 yards a couple of weeks back. Used the 140g Acuubonds. My go to 6.5 bullet.

 

[Stgraves260]

In the recent past I have smiled at posts questioning the competence of the 6.5 having enough horsepower to anchor big tough animals such as elk. My son returned last week from a hunt on a public land wilderness area of Colorado which I am attaching photos. This bull was shot with his 6.5Gap4s shooting a Berger Hybrid 140 gr at 3150 fps. The Berger warmed up the elk at 578 yds., it took one step and was DRT. The shoulder was broken, chest cavity organs were turned into a jello smoothie, and the bullet was recovered lodged in the hide on the "off side". The 140 gr bullet retained 80 gr (57%), lost 60 gr. (43%)... typical of expected Berger performance. This big bull scores 364" B&C . Another bull which was bigger was being watched at 1770 yds, but this one walked out of the timber and daylight was going to be an issue as far as getting to the larger bull. No bullet "blowing up" on impact, no excessive destroying of meat, no long-suffering animal, no failure of the bullet to penetrate.

Thanks for sharing this. Congrats to you and your son. I use my 260 Rem on everything with the 140 grain Berger bullets. It's never failed me yet. I would not hesitate to shoot a elk with my 260 Rem out to 1200 yards at 6,000 plus altitude.

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

In the recent past I have smiled at posts questioning the competence of the 6.5 having enough horsepower to anchor big tough animals such as elk. My son returned last week from a hunt on a public land wilderness area of Colorado which I am attaching photos. This bull was shot with his 6.5Gap4s shooting a Berger Hybrid 140 gr at 3150 fps. The Berger warmed up the elk at 578 yds., it took one step and was DRT. The shoulder was broken, chest cavity organs were turned into a jello smoothie, and the bullet was recovered lodged in the hide on the "off side". The 140 gr bullet retained 80 gr (57%), lost 60 gr. (43%)... typical of expected Berger performance. This big bull scores 364" B&C . Another bull which was bigger was being watched at 1770 yds, but this one walked out of the timber and daylight was going to be an issue as far as getting to the larger bull. No bullet "blowing up" on impact, no excessive destroying of meat, no long-suffering animal, no failure of the bullet to penetrate.

out standing bull

 

[BrentM]

So many people don't understand terminal ballistics. Velocity and bullet design put energy on target vs through the target. I don't understand why people struggle with the concept. A pile of elk in my circle have been killed with the 140-143 grain bullets. That's berger, nosler, and Hornady and with creedmoor's.

Congrats to your boy. My neighbor killed a 370 bull in Wyoming a week ago with a 143. 1 and done within a couple feet of the impact.

 

[Hespco]

Have been taking elk with the 6.5 since the mono's came out. Around 1990. They always deliver total penetration. I have taken the majority of my elk at or under 200yds, some under 100yds. I question how a C&C bullet would hold together on a shoulder or angled shot at close range? Congrats on your bull.

 

[NeoConShooter]

In the recent past I have smiled at posts questioning the competence of the 6.5 having enough horsepower to anchor big tough animals such as elk. My son returned last week from a hunt on a public land wilderness area of Colorado which I am attaching photos. This bull was shot with his 6.5Gap4s shooting a Berger Hybrid 140 gr at 3150 fps. The Berger warmed up the elk at 578 yds., it took one step and was DRT. The shoulder was broken, chest cavity organs were turned into a jello smoothie, and the bullet was recovered lodged in the hide on the "off side". The 140 gr bullet retained 80 gr (57%), lost 60 gr. (43%)... typical of expected Berger performance. This big bull scores 364" B&C . Another bull which was bigger was being watched at 1770 yds, but this one walked out of the timber and daylight was going to be an issue as far as getting to the larger bull. No bullet "blowing up" on impact, no excessive destroying of meat, no long-suffering animal, no failure of the bullet to penetrate.

Congrats! In my youth, before the Army taught me how to shoot better, I used Remington factory 140 Gr Core-Lokt 264WinM ammo to collect three young to medium sized elk, the farthest at about 400 yards that bucked once, ran about 50 yards and died. My first and still vivid memory of elk. I learned to get closer and the other two dropped dead on the spot. All three shots in the heart or lungs. I think lung shots with high energy loads work the best and 140 grains is more than enough as a Ute friend of mine used a 243 back then, with 100% results.

 

[ccmain]

In the recent past I have smiled at posts questioning the competence of the 6.5 having enough horsepower to anchor big tough animals such as elk. My son returned last week from a hunt on a public land wilderness area of Colorado which I am attaching photos. This bull was shot with his 6.5Gap4s shooting a Berger Hybrid 140 gr at 3150 fps. The Berger warmed up the elk at 578 yds., it took one step and was DRT. The shoulder was broken, chest cavity organs were turned into a jello smoothie, and the bullet was recovered lodged in the hide on the "off side". The 140 gr bullet retained 80 gr (57%), lost 60 gr. (43%)... typical of expected Berger performance. This big bull scores 364" B&C . Another bull which was bigger was being watched at 1770 yds, but this one walked out of the timber and daylight was going to be an issue as far as getting to the larger bull. No bullet "blowing up" on impact, no excessive destroying of meat, no long-suffering animal, no failure of the bullet to penetrate.

Nice bull congrats to your son.

 

[hpmag308]

Must have been close to a draw trophy unit.

 

[Eagleye242]

I just shot a very nice elk at 355 yards with the 142 LRAB. My 6.5x55AI starts this bullet just shy of 3000 fps. Elk never moved out of it's tracks, dropped like a stone. Recovered bullet weighs 82 grains.

 

[340Wby-4-everything]

Nice bull. Best G3's I've seen in a long time. Congrats. I have shot 4 with .264WM with 140gr Hornady Interbond, not a one ever took a step. Now use that rifle for antelope only using the Berger 140's, have killed in the dozens with it and same result.

 

[JASmith]

How much did that guy weigh on the hoof?

 

[Hookdown]

In the recent past I have smiled at posts questioning the competence of the 6.5 having enough horsepower to anchor big tough animals such as elk. My son returned last week from a hunt on a public land wilderness area of Colorado which I am attaching photos. This bull was shot with his 6.5Gap4s shooting a Berger Hybrid 140 gr at 3150 fps. The Berger warmed up the elk at 578 yds., it took one step and was DRT. The shoulder was broken, chest cavity organs were turned into a jello smoothie, and the bullet was recovered lodged in the hide on the "off side". The 140 gr bullet retained 80 gr (57%), lost 60 gr. (43%)... typical of expected Berger performance. This big bull scores 364" B&C . Another bull which was bigger was being watched at 1770 yds, but this one walked out of the timber and daylight was going to be an issue as far as getting to the larger bull. No bullet "blowing up" on impact, no excessive destroying of meat, no long-suffering animal, no failure of the bullet to penetrate.

I shoot the exact same round from my 6.5SAUM (or GAP4S). I get my Ammo from Copper Creek Ammo. Sound like you might too, as 3150 is their quoted speed. I have shot 3 WT does, 4 Aoudad, and 2 big Catalina goats with it. It has punched completely through every animal, including one goat front to back. Aoudad and the goats are thick, tough animals. I've been impressed with that bullet's performance for sure. I'm in Idaho, right now, hunting elk with a 300WSM, but next year I may bring my 6.5SAUM as it's lighter. I think it would do all I need.

Funny thing how mental biases work. People don't understand or care to learn about physics. If you asked the same people if a 7 Rem Mag is enough gun for elk, most/ all would say "Heck yeah!" They'd probably tell you a .270 is plenty for elk too. But they might claim a 6.5 is too small. It wouldn't have enough "knock down power." Yet they fail to realize that 140 gr bullet going 3150 FPS or so IS a classic 7RM factory load, especially 20 years ago or more. It's a typical load their grandpa or father might have used, and they would brag about how many elk he killed with it. Copper Creek is getting 3000fps from the 153gr Hornady A-Tip. That's even more of a rival to typical 7RM Ammo. The 6.5 SAUM is doing that! And each similar weight bullet will have a much higher BC in 6.5mm vs 7mm. So the 6.5 will outrun the 7 out at distance. It's science. It's undeniable. And it doesn't matter what some guy "thinks."

 

[JASmith]

Redundant -- deleted

 

[nicholasjohn]

I shoot the exact same round from my 6.5SAUM (or GAP4S). I get my Ammo from Copper Creek Ammo. Sound like you might too, as 3150 is their quoted speed. I have shot 3 WT does, 4 Aoudad, and 2 big Catalina goats with it. It has punched completely through every animal, including one goat front to back. Aoudad and the goats are thick, tough animals. I've been impressed with that bullet's performance for sure. I'm in Idaho, right now, hunting elk with a 300WSM, but next year I may bring my 6.5SAUM as it's lighter. I think it would do all I need.

Funny thing how mental biases work. People don't understand or care to learn about physics. If you asked the same people if a 7 Rem Mag is enough gun for elk, most/ all would say "Heck yeah!" They'd probably tell you a .270 is plenty for elk too. But they might claim a 6.5 is too small. It wouldn't have enough "knock down power." Yet they fail to realize that 140 gr bullet going 3150 FPS or so IS a classic 7RM factory load, especially 20 years ago or more. It's a typical load their grandpa or father might have used, and they would brag about how many elk he killed with it. Copper Creek is getting 3000fps from the 153gr Hornady A-Tip. That's even more of a rival to typical 7RM Ammo. The 6.5 SAUM is doing that! And each similar weight bullet will have a much higher BC in 6.5mm vs 7mm. So the 6.5 will outrun the 7 out at distance. It's science. It's undeniable. And it doesn't matter what some guy "thinks."

Guys "think" what they want to think. They also seem to think a lot of things that are not based on any real-life experience. My real life experience with the 30-06, shooting bullets of 150 grains at about 3000 fps, tells me that this is enough juice to turn out the lights on an elk - because I've done it. If your 3000 fps/150 grain package has a different bullet diameter, it will still have the same amount of killing power. The bonus you're getting is that it will maintain that to longer range than the larger diameter bullet of the '06. So, even though I haven't done it, I would expect it to work just as well as the 30-06 has worked for decades. I think it all boils down to how well a guy can shoot, and if you hit them where there's a lot of important plumbing, the elk will come home with the hunter.