Who has killed lots of elk with a 6.5 mm bullet?

[westcoasthunter]

During the my spring bear hunt I shot a 400+lb black bear at 550 yards using my 6.5x284, 26" barrel 140 gr vld at 2930fps first shot dropped him he was still moving but not going anywhere so I sent another one he rolled down the hell about 40 yards and that was it. The bullet destroyed the vitals I'm very happy with the set up

 

[bigngreen]

Buddy just got back from Alaska, 6.5x284 and 140 Berger Hybrid one round frontal chest shot just over 300 yards on a bull moose, he took a couple steps then locked his legs and could not move another round in the neck tipped him. Both lungs messed up he said.

 

[greentimber]

Sample of one, FWIW.....

Shot my cow at 725 yds this year with the 127 LRX. Lightly quartering-to shot. Passed through her diagonally. She stood still as a statue. Shot again, just because. She turned around in place and tipped over. The first shot was a killer, but I'm a believer in shooting until they're down. Still, she went nowhere but on the ground. This was out of a .260, btw. MV of 2920fps with 45.6 H4350.

 

[Davehc130]

I shot a 350 pound Arizona Black Bear this year at 600 yards with the GAP extreme hunter shooting the Lapua 139 secar...bullet passed through both shoulders....I love the 6.5 SAUM!!! gun)

 

[bounty hunter 2]

Just one for me. It was this year 2015 season. I even wrote about it here but. I used a 6.5x06 Ackley with a 28" PacNor barrel with 1/10" twist.
The load is 60.5gn AA# 4350 with the 100gn Hornady A-Max at an average MV of 3700 fps.
My shot was at 626 yards and my hunt ended with the single pull of the trigger.
For more details find my thread "" Is 626 yards considered long range""

 

[Stonegoat]

This thread is interesting to me. I acquired a 6.5 Creedmoor within the last year, and have been developing loads for it. I'm probably going to settle on the Barnes 120 TTSX or 127 LRX. All my elk so far have been killed with my 308 with either 150 TSX or 168TTSX. I love the Barnes bullets, especially when hunting in grizzly country, which is where I live.

We rifle hunt elk during the rut here in BC, so most shots are well under 100 yards. Would a 127 LRX out of a Creedmoor have enough energy to break a front leg bone/shoulder on a quartering to shot at close range??
MV ~2750 fps ( I don't load hot)

 

[bounty hunter 2]

I was wrong in my first post. After I posted and went back to filling bullet orders I remembered there was another elk I took with a 264 cal bullet. It was at least 20 years ago so no wonder I forgot.
The rifle was an original first model Newton rifle in 256 Newton. I dont remember the exact load but do remember it uses the 129gn Nosler partition and the MV was 2900 fps.
The rag horn bull was running straight away and not having any experience with the cartridge or caliber I waited until the running bull turned just a wee bit so I could see the yellow flank and that is where I held when I touched off the shot. The range was maybe 80 yards and at the crack of the rifle the bull crumpled. The bullet entered just behind the first rib and ranged completely through the body cavity and lodged about half way up the neck and lodged under the hide on the opposite side of the entry.
The bull struggled for a few seconds and at one point got his front feet under him. Taking aim for a second shot he fell over and was done before I fired.
To say I was impresses by the caliber and penetration of that light bullet is a gross understatement.
I dont know what an LRX bullet is but feel certain that if its as tough a bullet as the Nosler Partition at about the same weight 2750 fps MV is more than plenty.

 

[rjmarine]

i and a good friend and hunting buddy both had a cpl of custom 6.5-284's built on rem 700 actions around 15 yrs ago. so i have had plenty of time to use it on game from antelope to elk and even let a friend shoot i nice size grizzly with it. over those yrs i have also used a few different bullets all in the 140gr and from ranges from 50 yrds out 600 yrds all have been 1 shot kills but the grizzly where he shot him 2 times just because . all of the bullets used from 140 partitions to the old barnes X to a swift a-frame all work very well . as far as the elk the longest was 548 yrds with the x bullet and all were in and out but the swift a-frame which was a cow at 200 yrds
the 6.5-284 can and does take anything in the lower 48 and alaska with now trouble
it always comes down to the same thing everytime
know your limits and the rifle will do its part . good bullets for the job and shot placement wins every time
they also can be some of the best shooting rifles out there. i had my 6.5 built for hunting not the bench so it only has a 24" #2 contour barrel but it would really shoot yrs ago. my best with it was 5 shot at 1000 yrds all inside the 9 ring and a 200 yrd taget that measures .006
all in all not bad for a hunting rifle

 

[bounty hunter 2]

""all in all not bad for a hunting rifle""

Thats way better than just not bad!

 

[jwdoerr]

I actually was fortunate enough to take an elk this year with my new 6.5 Creedmoor. I just had enough time before the season started to get my new rifle out and test some hand loads. It wasn't long before I had one that was the ticket. I was getting 3 shot 0.75" groups at 200 yds so I practiced with that load and was able to take the 2x2 elk at 531 yards. One shot kill through both lungs. I was amazed with how well everything worked as advertised. I am so glad that I practiced as much as I did this year. It paid off for sure. As far as the details of the rifle: I had my Savage Model 10 .243 re-barreled to a 6.5 Creedmoor. I bought a Vortex Viper 6x24 HS LR scope for the glass, excellent choice in my opinion. I used 40.0 grains of H4350 for the powder with Nosler 140 gr AccuBond Long Range bullets. According to my ballistics data and testing I was at about 1400 ft/lbs of energy at that distance. The bullet worked amazing. I was able to retrieve the bullet in the opposite shoulder and took it home for weighing. It held up good at 86% weight retention and expanded to about 3x diameter. Ill try to upload pics for everyone. Not the biggest antlers but I wasn't going to pass up the meat.

 

[Stonegoat]

View attachment 54577

View attachment 54578
I actually was fortunate enough to take an elk this year with my new 6.5 Creedmoor. I just had enough time before the season started to get my new rifle out and test some hand loads. It wasn't long before I had one that was the ticket. I was getting 3 shot 0.75" groups at 200 yds so I practiced with that load and was able to take the 2x2 elk at 531 yards. One shot kill through both lungs. I was amazed with how well everything worked as advertised. I am so glad that I practiced as much as I did this year. It paid off for sure. As far as the details of the rifle: I had my Savage Model 10 .243 re-barreled to a 6.5 Creedmoor. I bought a Vortex Viper 6x24 HS LR scope for the glass, excellent choice in my opinion. I used 40.0 grains of H4350 for the powder with Nosler 140 gr AccuBond Long Range bullets. According to my ballistics data and testing I was at about 1400 ft/lbs of energy at that distance. The bullet worked amazing. I was able to retrieve the bullet in the opposite shoulder and took it home for weighing. It held up good at 86% weight retention and expanded to about 3x diameter. Ill try to upload pics for everyone. Not the biggest antlers but I wasn't going to pass up the meat.

Nice work!

 

[jwdoerr]

"Stonegoat"
How is your Creedmore shooting? Just a few more details on my 6.5 Creedmoor rifle. The barrel I had put on my savage 10 Action was from PAC-NOR. It is a straight taper 26" with Polygonal 1-8" twist rate. The Loads I'm using like I said earlier are H4350 = 40.0 gr. 142 gr Nosler AccuBond LR, Hornady Brass, with Federal Premium Gold Medal Match Primers #210M. My developed loads were shooting .47 inch 5 shot groups at 100yds, and .75 inch 3 shot groups at 200yds. I keep my bullet seated just around .010 back away from the lands with OAL= 2.885". The muzzle velocity is right at 2670 at the muzzle.
Here is a picture of her.
Good luck with your testing with your Creedmoor.

 

[Stonegoat]

"Stonegoat"
How is your Creedmore shooting? Just a few more details on my 6.5 Creedmoor rifle. The barrel I had put on my savage 10 Action was from PAC-NOR. It is a straight taper 26" with Polygonal 1-8" twist rate. The Loads I'm using like I said earlier are H4350 = 40.0 gr. 142 gr Nosler AccuBond LR, Hornady Brass, with Federal Premium Gold Medal Match Primers #210M. My developed loads were shooting .47 inch 5 shot groups at 100yds, and .75 inch 3 shot groups at 200yds. I keep my bullet seated just around .010 back away from the lands with OAL= 2.885". The muzzle velocity is right at 2670 at the muzzle.
Here is a picture of her. View attachment 54584
Good luck with your testing with your Creedmoor.

You have a nice rig! I have a Cooper M54 with a 24" barrel (Wilson owns Cooper). It's topped with a Swarovski z5 3.5-18 x 44 BT. I am still in the load development stage with Barnes 120 TTSX and 127 LRX. My 5 shot groups are about 0.75" and 3 shot about 0.4-0.5" at 100 yards. Not bad for a hunting rig. Hopefully I can bloody it with a bighorn ram next fall.

 

[Blakeb21]

My 13 year old son killed his first animal this past fall, a 6x6 bull with a single shot, using a 6.5x284 with 140 Berger VLD's. The load is a work in progress, accurate as can be, but only traveling at around 2800 fps. Single neck shot and he only went 60 yards or so. It seems to be a good caliber with good shot placement as has already been mentioned. Hopefully we can get the speeds up to 3000 fps and it will really be a good one.