Bullet failure 130 grain nosler partition with 6.5 creedmoor

richhymas

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Not sure if anyone else had this problem, but my son almost lost a cow elk yesterday due to bullet failure. He hit his cow elk low in the front shoulder smashing the bone above the elbow. Bullet appears to have completely come apart and did not enter the chest. Follow up shot smashed the same shoulder high but also failed to penetrate the chest. All this at 325 yards with a 6.5 creedmoor and a 130 grain nosler partition. We came back the next day and found the cow bedded in trees. She got up and ran off. Ultimately he killed her with a 270. So should I blame the 6.5 creedmoor as being too light for cow elk or the 130 grain nosler partition??? Anyone else kill elk with a 6.5 creedmoor with a solid shoulder shot? If so, what bullet did you use because my 11 year old daughter has a tag next month and can't handle the recoil of much more than my creedmoor.
 
Not bullet failure, rather failure to aim with the bullet and velocity. I would never intentionally try to break down an elk with a 130 grain bullet on the shoulder. I remember Broz, or one of those with lots of elk kills saying an elk shoulder would stop a rapidly expanding 30 cal 180 grain Barnes.

Get off the shoulder and hit them where they live with a 130 Partition and you will not have a failure. A lot of elk have been killed by a 130 partition in a .270.
 
I have a hard time believing this. Even if it was the 125 gr, the partition itself prevents it from totally breaking apart. Deflecting after hit on solid bone is a possibility, but I don't think there are many other bullets, regardless of maker, that would do better on solid bone. If you're going to purposely shoot for bone to break them down, go with monometal design like Barnes, Nosler E-tip, Hammer Hunter, etc. If you're sure that it was a 130gr load, then I could believe that maybe it's an Accubond, and I would believe that it might've pancaked on impact.
 
It's not humerous to hit the humerus. I've had the same thing happen with a 30-06 and a 165gr accubond on the arm of a white tail deer.

This doesn't mean the 30-06 is too small for deer, or that the accubond failed.

This is a problem with shot placement, not bullet performance.

I've learned to be very careful when shooting upward angles at game above me.

Also, the near elbow will raise up every time the animal steps. Timing can be a factor too.

As for the shoulder, if you need to shoot bone, try a monolithic for the 'high shoulder shot of dreams'. Im suprised a partition didn't make it into the chest cavity on ther second shot, but I believe it.

Small calibers can be effective on elk with careful placement. On the other hand, muzzle brakes can make formidable cartridges quite pleasant to shoot.

Sorry to hear things didn't go as planned for you guys, glad you were able to recover the animal!
 
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You will never get a consensus about a 6.5 Creedmoor being suitable for Elk but there is nothing a cartridge can do beyond providing the energy to disintegrate the bullet.

This is SO true. A bullet doesn't know or care which rifle or cartridge sent it on its way. A 6.5mm 125 grain Nosler partition going 2800 feet per second doesn't care if it came from a 6.5-.284 or a 6.5 CM. A twist rate difference of 8 or 12 might matter tho. If I was in a postion where the bullet might hit bone, I'm thinking I'd want a partition or some other solid single metal bullet, otherwise most available bullets would suffice. Shot placement is key.
 
My mistake. 140 grain partition. As far as shot placement my son knows to aim for the crease but he is 13 and in the field it's hard to complain that he hit the front shoulder at 325 yards. I know some of you don't believe this. I have seen similar posts about other bullets and didn't believe them either. My daughter had great performance on a deer and antelope this year with the same bullet. With perfect shot placement a 223 will kill an elk, but in the field things are not always perfect as in my sons case. I just expected penetration at least through the ribs with a partition bullet. And it's not like the creedmoor has such high impact velocity to destroy the bullet on impact.
 
Did you recover the bullets?
If not, then: More than likely deflected on the first shot, which would be commensurate with failure to penetrate the chest.
2nd shot on the same shoulder, where was the impact? Shoulderblade, or in the actual humerus? Did you recover that bullet?

I would chalk it up to poor placement (it happens, no denying, nor throwing stones) and fluke performance of a benchmark bullet. I would think that you could be presented with the exact same situation again and it would work just fine.
 
We quartered it out gutless. First bullet may have deflected low. Second bullet was centered on the shoulder (scapula I believe). The quarters are on ice. When I cut and wrap after my deer hunt I will look carefully for the bullet or fragments thereof. I will give it one more shot next month with the 6.5 but will probably use a different bullet. I will also instruct my daughter to stay behind the shoulder. Hopefully she doesn't stay too far back and get a gut shot. Any recommendations for a good bullet choice for a 6.5 on cow elk out to 400 yards?
 
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