buck fever is a real thing. When I quit getting it I'll quit hunting.
6.5 prc enough gun for elk
- Thread starter 808hoghunter
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WYO300RUM
Well-Known Member
That's great ! Private or public? Sorry to hear about your dad. I only killed 3 in D16. Quite a few bucks in D14. I killed a nice buck in X12 2021. My favorite zone. Burned my points. First choice this year. No random tag. Put a second choice this year. D14. Drew it. I'll drive down and visit family and friends and hunt the last week of season. I used my 6.5 PRC there in 2021 with a 124 Hammer. This year taking 300 win. mag with 180 Hammer. Copper copper copper ! I lived in Redlands, Oceanside and Poway . Sorry everyone for getting off track !
memtb
Well-Known Member
I used to get it bad…..after the shot. I can only remember a time or two before the shot! The only one I can clearly remember before the shot was my first bear….maybe because I had dreamed for so long to go bear hunting!
I was shaking so badly, I could see my knees moving inside loose fitting jeans!
I had a tree for a rest, and "jerked" the trigger….I probably would've missed! But….. the rifle was on safe! 
Which was a good thing. That calmed me down….a lot! The actual shot was perfectly placed, the bear never moved…..I had my first bear! 
memtb
WYO300RUM
Well-Known Member
What's strange I've never got buck fever (bull and cow elk) with a bow. Maybe more time to calm down. I don't know. I don't recall getting it shooting anything with a rifle but many times after the shot I'll shake. Adrenaline I guess.I used to get it bad…..after the shot. I can only remember a time or two before the shot! The only one I can clearly remember before the shot was my first bear….maybe because I had dreamed for so long to go bear hunting!
I was shaking so badly, I could see my knees moving inside loose fitting jeans!
Lighten the arrows increase the draw weight, and 400 yds will be your intermediate sight pin setting...or like ancient long bow archers, 500 archers on the high ground, kill elk or Roman soldiers, 500 yds below...tactics and numbers ensured a kill...the high ground, and funneling terrain.
You need to develop some "stalkin" skills ... USMC scout sniper, stock enemy general from an open field, nothing but short grass, guarded by hundreds of soldiers, to close the distance for a killing shot.
Less than a week after rifle season I drove my truck into a herd of feeding elk, the closest cow 15 yds away stopped chewing, we just watched them for awhile,.. a huge bull with a giant rack was noticed about 80 yds with a heavy limp, he could barley walk. Some hunter shot him in the rear leg up high...he would not survive the winter and soon be coyote food...an unfitting end to this magnificent animal.
All public land.
I seem to be doing ok.
I had a deer come in and I was shaking so bad I could not even hold the pin on it. I let it mess around the stand for about five min then I finally shot.I used to get it bad…..after the shot. I can only remember a time or two before the shot! The only one I can clearly remember before the shot was my first bear….maybe because I had dreamed for so long to go bear hunting!
I was shaking so badly, I could see my knees moving inside loose fitting jeans!
WYO300RUM
Well-Known Member
DeepEnd_MT
Member
6.5 PRC would be plenty at reasonable hunting distances. I've killed or seen plenty of elk killed with the 6.5.
I killed a large cow at 320 yds with a 6.5 PRC home built with 156gr Berger EOL DRT, I changed the barrel barrel to 300 wsm not that I needed to but wanted something different. It has a lot more energy out to 500yds and lot more recoil. For me half the fun is developing the load for the those 5in1 shots. The 6.5 will do we will see if 300 WSM can. If not I will switch back to the 6.5. I believe shot placement is more important than terminal energy.
Brad Quarnberg
Well-Known Member
Is the 6.5 PRC enough gun for elk: depends on a bunch of factors, shot placement, bullet performance, and staying within the appropriate distance for the energy/expansion of the bullet are top in my book.
I own a 6.5 PRC, but personally won't go after an elk with it because when it comes to elk, I prefer a 30 cal or bigger. I've shot several with the 270 WSM and with the 300WSM. That difference is bullet diameter, energy and weight just seem to put them down hard. If you hunt in an crowded area (with hunters), the last thing you want to have on your hands is a fight over a nice bull you shot first, that ran in front of another hunter who shot at it (maybe or maybe didn't hit it) and is now claiming it. My 300WSM is my go-to for elk every time I draw a tag.
I own a 6.5 PRC, but personally won't go after an elk with it because when it comes to elk, I prefer a 30 cal or bigger. I've shot several with the 270 WSM and with the 300WSM. That difference is bullet diameter, energy and weight just seem to put them down hard. If you hunt in an crowded area (with hunters), the last thing you want to have on your hands is a fight over a nice bull you shot first, that ran in front of another hunter who shot at it (maybe or maybe didn't hit it) and is now claiming it. My 300WSM is my go-to for elk every time I draw a tag.
h_1ag
Well-Known Member
300wsm is a cool round, but I fail to see how you're really getting that much more out of it than 6.5PRC.
Diameter? +1.1mm.
Energy? Only at closer range. By 400yds they're within 10% of each other and at every distance closer than that the PRC is going to be well above 2k ftlbs of energy, which is 25% more than the conventional minimum. I'm not convinced that the same elk getting hit with 2.5k energy is any less dead than one getting hit by 3k energy. Both are dead animals (shot placement obviously).
Weight? Maybe some consideration there- 156gr vs 200gr is +25%, but a .300BLK also has a 200gr option too and I'd never consider that for an elk at any range. The gain in weight of 300wsm comes at the cost of speed, so your net energy is roughly nullified.
I wouldn't argue the 6.5PRC is a "better" elk round than .300wsm (*exception: recoil sensitivite shooters), but I'm not fully convinced that you're getting a huge step up either. I'd think if you overlayed them both on a vinn diagram there might only be something like 5-10% of shots where the wsm does the job and the prc was insufficient. And virtually all of those scenarios would be poor shots at close range- unlikely for an experienced/competent shooter.
If you can't make a good shot on a huge animal at close/mid range, neither of these are good choices and you should just get a 375H&H and get within 100yds.
