new rifle/caliber

[KurtB]

Seekins Element or Havak. Grab a set of Seekins rings and a Nightforce. Easy button. Cartridge is pretty irrelevant as anything from 6mm creedmoor to 300 prc will do fine.

Good luck on the sheep tag. Buddy killed his this year with a 6mm Creedmoor at a good distance.

 

[Nickwild]

Back in 1995 I built a 6.5x308. A few years later Rem brought it out as the 260 Rem. That rifle along with the then Barnes 120gr "X" bullet accounted for several elk. All one shot kills. I also now own a couple Savage rifles in 260 Rem. Again they have taken elk , cleanly , one shot kills with Barnes , & Hammer bullets. This past season I took my elk with my Savage 260 with a Badlands Precision, 125gr copper mono. One shot. Also have taken elk cleanly with the copper mono's & 264mag , 6.5x55, & 6.5x06. All elk were one shot kills. Different brass cases, same end result. I only have my many years of hunting experiences as shown, to rely on. For what it is worth to you. In my younger days I have used the .338 mag & 30 cal. mags. They all worked . As I got older I didn't care for the heavy recoil & found the 6.5's worked , dependably, also. Hope this may be of some assistance to you.

 

[Nickwild]

Back in 1995 I built a 6.5x308. A few years later Rem brought it out as the 260 Rem. That rifle along with the then Barnes 120gr "X" bullet accounted for several elk. All one shot kills. I also now own a couple Savage rifles in 260 Rem. Again they have taken elk , cleanly , one shot kills with Barnes , & Hammer bullets. This past season I took my elk with my Savage 260 with a Badlands Precision, 125gr copper mono. One shot. Also have taken elk cleanly with the copper mono's & 264mag , 6.5x55, & 6.5x06. All elk were one shot kills. Different brass cases, same end result. I only have my many years of hunting experiences as shown, to rely on. For what it is worth to you. In my younger days I have used the .338 mag & 30 cal. mags. They all worked . As I got older I didn't care for the heavy recoil & found the 6.5's worked , dependably, also. Hope this may be of some assistance to you.

thanks for getting back, your advice has been stored in the noggin. out of curiosity, what ranges were you shots at? if you were to approximate

 

[buzby]

I'm inclined to favor it but... but what about shorter barrel life, plus somewhat difficult to find/expensive factory ammo and releasability issues? I'm just nitpicking here

These issue, are all solved with the 6.5cm you already have . Do you realistically plan on shooting at game past 500yds?

If not, the extra 200fps of the PRC isn't going to offer much. Bullet dependent, but say 1900fps as a floor for reliable expansion (more important than energy), will get you to 600yds with the CM. PRC will get closer to 800yds.

If so, then then 6.5prc on up will suit you much better. But this comes with the cost of ammo prices, shorter barrel life, and more to significantly more recoil.

Higher ammo cost and more recoil, almost always means less training rounds fired. More game is lost to poor marksmanship than not enough gun. I don't know how good of a shot you are, but would you be more deadly with a new rifle, or a case of ammo worth of training? If you're already a hell of a rifleman, then shoot whatever you like!

 

[Nickwild]

These issue, are all solved with the 6.5cm you already have . Do you realistically plan on shooting at game past 500yds?

If not, the extra 200fps of the PRC isn't going to offer much. Bullet dependent, but say 1900fps as a floor for reliable expansion (more important than energy), will get you to 600yds with the CM. PRC will get closer to 800yds.

If so, then then 6.5prc on up will suit you much better. But this comes with the cost of ammo prices, shorter barrel life, and more to significantly more recoil.

Higher ammo cost and more recoil, almost always means less training rounds fired. More game is lost to poor marksmanship than not enough gun. I don't know how good of a shot you are, but would you be more deadly with a new rifle, or a case of ammo worth of training? If you're already a hell of a rifleman, then shoot whatever you like!

thanks for the insight buzby.

just to clear up a trending confusion topic, 6.5 creedmoor seems to have found a little niche for itself among multiple shooting applications. however, there are the 300win mag nuts and others that insist that the 6.5 cm is "a fringe caliber at best." which although is not put in context, seems to be a viable concern. Don't get me wrong... I know that countless caribou have been killed by the relatively small 6.5 swede in Scandinavia, among other prominent game with similar .264 bullets.

so in short, it would be great news to hear that I could to anything with what I currently have but see the reason to step up a notch to improve success and probability

 

[Hespco]

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thanks for getting back, your advice has been stored in the noggin. out of curiosity, what ranges were you shots at? if you were to approximate

Longest shot I made on an elk, 347yds. Another around 300. The others over the years have all been under 200yds. Several under 100yds. My elk last year was under 35yds. You just never know. Also many of these elk were shot at very acute angles , from both front & back. Deep reliable penetration is a must on these angled shots. Can't strees this enough. As always , a tough deep penetrating bullet , properly placed. Most shots resulted in complete pass thru. I learned early on of the ability of the copper mono's, like the 6.5 120gr Barnes, to penetrate . Having shot heavy for cal. traditional cup & core bullets from my early days, I was truly surprised at the penetrating capability of the lighter weight copper mono's on elk. With deer & the 6.5 , traditioal 120 to 130gr bullets work well. I stress the elk hunting I have done because we hunt, for meat not horns. Significantly less blood shot meat with the coppers.

 

[Montucky Roamer]

Bullets matter more than headstamps. So whatever case you want that shoots a 140 eldm at over 1800 fps or higher at the range you wish to reach. A Tikka in 6.5 cm is way too easy and way too easy to shoot a pallet of ammo thru. Put a SWFA 6x or 3-9 on it mounted extremely solidly and try shooting the barrel out. It'll do everything you ask to 500 yards.

 

[TheSouthpaw]

I killed my elk this past year at 571 yards with the 6.5cm shooting a 130g TMK. Zero drama, the elk died in under 6 seconds and 15 yards from impact. The replies above are sound. Shoot good rapidly upsetting bullets at a distance that ensures velocity above ~1800fps, and practice a bunch from field positions.