Is the 6.5 Creedmoor too "light" for 1,000+ yard hunting?

[surgeon260]

If you can't make the shot with a smaller cartridge you can't with a larger one.

I am not sure how to interpret your quote above other than the way I did. There are plenty of times when a 338 will enable you to take a shot you can't make with a 6.5, so how can you possibly make the statement above? Are you simply referring to recoil and shootability? Again, that is not universally true in the age of brakes, cans, bipods, etc.

 

[Timnterra]

The point of my statement is that a bigger gun will not compensate for knowing what you are doing. If you can't judge wind well enough to hit what you are aiming at with a creedmoor then you can't judge well enough to attempt taking a shot no matter the caliber. Yes better bc bullets and faster speeds help, there is no denying that, but it ultimately comes back to the shooter.

 

[yobuck]

The really good wind judgers at the 1000 yd matches (where they have flags), have determined that the best way to judge it, is to get all 10 shots off in less than a minit.
DUHH i wonder why? lol
I'll call the expert wind reading claims, especially in mountainous terrain, for exactly what they are, B/S.
Take it to the bank that even they don't actually believe that (repeat), B/S.
As for experience/ shooting ability consider this, a very high percentage of the many L/R deer taken at our camp over many years, have been by young kids or adults with very little experience.
Fact is simply this, if it were as hard as some project it to be, very few of us could actually do it even at the distances the vast majority of all animals are taken.
Opinions are one thing, but the argument over lighter bullets vs heavier bullets for L/R hunting, only exists today because there are many who are still uninformed as to having actual real time experience using them, and watching them being used. And the further away the target, the more obvious the differences become.
And that fact has nothing to do with any opinions.

 

[Prieto9000]

The Davidson brothers make it look easy because they dont film their misses!

 

[Tesoro]

The really good wind judgers at the 1000 yd matches (where they have flags), have determined that the best way to judge it, is to get all 10 shots off in less than a minit.
DUHH i wonder why? lol
I'll call the expert wind reading claims, especially in mountainous terrain, for exactly what they are, B/S.
Take it to the bank that even they don't actually believe that (repeat), B/S.
As for experience/ shooting ability consider this, a very high percentage of the many L/R deer taken at our camp over many years, have been by young kids or adults with very little experience.
Fact is simply this, if it were as hard as some project it to be, very few of us could actually do it even at the distances the vast majority of all animals are taken.
Opinions are one thing, but the argument over lighter bullets vs heavier bullets for L/R hunting, only exists today because there are many who are still uninformed as to having actual real time experience using them, and watching them being used. And the further away the target, the more obvious the differences become.
And that fact has nothing to do with any opinions.

Interesting school of thought. I might consider trading all my technical kit, ballistics books and my puny 6.5 for a 300 weatherby and just keep shooting till they drop. Thats the way they did it in the 70's anyhow and lots of bucks and elk were killed using that method. I remember well the sounds of opening day in the e. oregon steens mountain canyons. It used to make me feel bad because I would say to my self why is everyone shooting deer but me?

 

[Greyfox]

The really good wind judgers at the 1000 yd matches (where they have flags), have determined that the best way to judge it, is to get all 10 shots off in less than a minit.
DUHH i wonder why? lol
I'll call the expert wind reading claims, especially in mountainous terrain, for exactly what they are, B/S.
Take it to the bank that even they don't actually believe that (repeat), B/S.
As for experience/ shooting ability consider this, a very high percentage of the many L/R deer taken at our camp over many years, have been by young kids or adults with very little experience.
Fact is simply this, if it were as hard as some project it to be, very few of us could actually do it even at the distances the vast majority of all animals are taken.
Opinions are one thing, but the argument over lighter bullets vs heavier bullets for L/R hunting, only exists today because there are many who are still uninformed as to having actual real time experience using them, and watching them being used. And the further away the target, the more obvious the differences become.
And that fact has nothing to do with any opinions.

It's easy to understand this viewpoint. Just about every other aspect or variable associated with long range shooting can be measured and accounted for. Wind determination is variable and subjective, depending solely on the shooters specific knowledge and judgement. People tend to reject what they can't control or understand. I know many that attempt to horse their way through with light bullets, and high velocity. This can work up to a point, but physics eventually take over and a dead end is inevitable. Learning to read and account for wind is a never ending process, and I can assure you that those make the commitment to study and account for wind, understand the ballistic principals and apply them, will be more accomplished long range shooters/hunters then those that reject or dismiss it. IMO.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Everyone knows that guys shooting 6.5 Creeds know how to pick the appropriate bullet for the task at hand. Big magnum guys have now idea what bullet to choose and therefore the Creed shooter has the advantage.

C'mon

Steve

 

[Bravo 4]

Dang Steve! That's harsh, considering I'm shooting your bullets.

 

[gohring3006]

Let's not kid ourselves, 1000 yard game shots are always risky. Time of flight time and wind...
But a marginal hit with a 338 Lapua with a 250 @3000 fps muzzle velocity or a 300 grain @2900, has a better chance for recovery, than a 6.5 Creed and a 140. Anyone who says they have never made a marginal hit at 1000 plus, just hasn't shot enough at that range yet.

 

[yobuck]

Interesting school of thought. I might consider trading all my technical kit, ballistics books and my puny 6.5 for a 300 weatherby and just keep shooting till they drop. Thats the way they did it in the 70's anyhow and lots of bucks and elk were killed using that method. I remember well the sounds of opening day in the e. oregon steens mountain canyons. It used to make me feel bad because I would say to my self why is everyone shooting deer but me?

Well I was there in the 70s, not that it makes me any better in any way because it certainly dosent.
First off terrain type makes a lot of difference with wind. Time of year also makes a difference due to thermals. What keeps those large preditor birds up there without flapping their wings as they glide along those valleys? Every fall hang gliders jump off at places like Hyner mountain which is only a few hundred yards above the river below. What keeps them up there for as long as they desire to stay?
As you look across some of those valleys you could be looking at a ridge running parallel to the stream below, with a different ridge running in the opposite direction with a valley on each side of it also. So now weve got the valley were looking across at a ridge with 2 more valleys both converging into the main valley. In other words 3 different wind systems converging, not counting the thermals. So now weve got some guy holding a devise with a little propeller going to figure all that out?
The old guys would be apt to say, so what do you think about the wind Bill, and Bill would say add 10 upstream and send one over there, i'll be watching. lol