6.5 bullets on game

[26Reload]

Recap of last year's two deer...
First at 329yd....bullet hit about as exacting as i could shoot it...
Deer bedded...put crosshairs just outside of neck junction on quartered deer facing slightly downhill...bullet entered about one inch right of where i had hope..caught front edge of shoulder and proceeded thru body and to outer skin behind off shoulder...so left to right thru body...perfect mushroom...deers head flopped back no movement....
Second...262yd...
deer extreme facing away...had to slip this one along body behind last rib and thru into chest cavity...again..one inch right..caught edge of hip bone..but even having hit the bone the bullet traveled theu the area I wanted it to and stopped just in front of right shoulder....did not find deer til next morning...bullet opened up perfectly other than the slight deformation of hip bone(very slight)...
65284...142lrab...2975fps....both bullets held together as much as possible in my opinion.....ready for another season...maybe i will point a little left.......maybe not.....

 

[Caveman0101]

We've taken 20 or so elk and a ton of deer and antelope with the ABLRs in the past 6 years. Mostly with 142 and 150 grain out of 260 and 280 rem. From 50-700+ yards all DRT, no tracking. It's all I shoot any more.

 

[L.Sherm]

accuracy good enough for hunting

What is good enough for hunting?

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I load the 142gr LRAB bullet for my buddy's 6.5 Creed. He shot a large whitetail buck in the neck as it faced him from 100yds.
The buck took a few steps and dropped. The bullet entered the front of the neck and blew a peach size exit hole out of the side of the buck's neck. Probably the most exit damage I've seen on a whitetail regardless of what it was hit with.
I've got a bunch of 124gr Hammers loaded up for this years hunt. Can't wait to see how they perform on whitetails.

 

[Lrreloader]

What is good enough for hunting?

Just ment didn't have to be same hole accurate if it meant choosing a different bullet that might be more effective on game than paper

 

[Lrreloader]

I load the 142gr LRAB bullet for my buddy's 6.5 Creed. He shot a large whitetail buck in the neck as it faced him from 100yds.
The buck took a few steps and dropped. The bullet entered the front of the neck and blew a peach size exit hole out of the side of the buck's neck. Probably the most exit damage I've seen on a whitetail regardless of what it was hit with.
I've got a bunch of 124gr Hammers loaded up for this years hunt. Can't wait to see how they perform on whitetails.

I am interested in those hammer bullets also, will be waiting on field report!

 

[Dosh]

A friend killed a Desert Bighorn at 612yds with the 140 VLDH. One shot, dead right there. So often shooters forget to check Berger bullet tip to make sure it's open.

 

[Lrreloader]

A friend killed a Desert Bighorn at 612yds with the 140 VLDH. One shot, dead right there. So often shooters forget to check Berger bullet tip to make sure it's open.

Do you think Berger bullets would benefit from a metlap cutter with hollow point uniformer?

 

[Dosh]

Most use a 3/64 or 1/32" bit. The trimmer is kind of harsh on the Berger tips. They just need to be inspected and opened if needed.

 

[Lrreloader]

We've taken 20 or so elk and a ton of deer and antelope with the ABLRs in the past 6 years. Mostly with 142 and 150 grain out of 260 and 280 rem. From 50-700+ yards all DRT, no tracking. It's all I shoot any more.

What do think minimum ftlbs of energy needed for elk?

 

[memtb]

I think that the choice of bullets used, should be dictated be the game being hunted! My "only" experience with the 6.5 Creed is with the 143 ELD-X.....I'm "not" impressed. Maybe if game were deer/antelope sized....but "not" for elk.

I know that many, perhaps most, do not agree with 1 gallon water jugs as a bullet test medium....but I think that in a head to head bullet comparison it can give some insight into expected performance.

I used my granddaughter's rifle, firing into water jugs at 25 yards. The bullet only penetrated 2 jugs, with small fragments interring the 3rd. The bullet "completely" disintegrated!

Many want that type of bullet performance on game.....but thanks, I'll pass!

While "not" a "head to head" comparison to the "Creed".....a 140 grain TSX from a 270 Win. using identical set-up, penetrated 7 jugs. The recovered bullet, showed the "classic" Barnes expansion and weighed 139 grains. IMO this would be a far superior bullet on game, especially larger big game! memtb

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I think that the choice of bullets used, should be dictated be the game being hunted! My "only" experience with the 6.5 Creed is with the 143 ELD-X.....I'm "not" impressed. Maybe if game were deer/antelope sized....but "not" for elk.

I know that many, perhaps most, do not agree with 1 gallon water jugs as a bullet test medium....but I think that in a head to head bullet comparison it can give some insight into expected performance.

I used my granddaughter's rifle, firing into water jugs at 25 yards. The bullet only penetrated 2 jugs, with small fragments interring the 3rd. The bullet "completely" disintegrated!

Many want that type of bullet performance on game.....but thanks, I'll pass!

While "not" a "head to head" comparison to the "Creed".....a 140 grain TSX from a 270 Win. using identical set-up, penetrated 7 jugs. The recovered bullet, showed the "classic" Barnes expansion and weighed 139 grains. IMO this would be a far superior bullet on game, especially larger big game! memtb

We have killed several elk with the eldx bullet. If you are expecting it to perform like a bonded or mono, you will be disappointed. It is more like a berger in my opinion, the eldm is even better on elk at long range.

 

[Caveman0101]

What do think minimum ftlbs of energy needed for elk?

IMHO, I think 1000 is good, but today's bullets are designed to perform down to a given velocity so I pay more attention to that. The only elk I've ever lost was shot with a 30'06 at less than 100 yards, shooting bullets that performed well in deer but not so much for elk. I'm sure those bullets delivered much more energy but did not get the job done. I started using partitions and accubonds and solved the problem, but when my son's came of age we started shooting rifles with less recoil and all they have done is drop elk where they stand time after time and frankly, I haven't taken my magnums out of the safe in several years, no need to. Bullet placement is far more important than velocity, energy or anything else, so if you shoot what you can hit the right spot with everything else will do its job.

 

[Lrreloader]

IMHO, I think 1000 is good, but today's bullets are designed to perform down to a given velocity so I pay more attention to that. The only elk I've ever lost was shot with a 30'06 at less than 100 yards, shooting bullets that performed well in deer but not so much for elk. I'm sure those bullets delivered much more energy but did not get the job done. I started using partitions and accubonds and solved the problem, but when my son's came of age we started shooting rifles with less recoil and all they have done is drop elk where they stand time after time and frankly, I haven't taken my magnums out of the safe in several years, no need to. Bullet placement is far more important than velocity, energy or anything else, so if you shoot what you can hit the right spot with everything else will do its job.

Thanks I was thinking 1,200 ftlbs on elk and 800 on deer.
I'm getting a 260 Rem for wife to upgrade from .243 and she already is asking about elk hunting. So getting some thoughts on bullets, etc.