6.5 creedmoor white tail hunting in the south

A

altereddezignz

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Myself and my wife both picked up new 6.5 chambered rifles a couple months back. Mine is a ruger Predator and hers is a t/c compass.

The first deer shot was with hers at about 10 yards max using Hornady 143eldx and it blew a baseball side hole in the entry with no exit.
The second was my deer at 110 yards with pin size entry and pin exit with no blood at all for first 50 yards and ran about 120 yard.
Second was my deer at about 100 yards with pin entry no exit but i shot high and hit lower of spin and she dropped in her tracks.
Next was shot with hers at about 50 yards and made a pin size entry and very small exit with blood starting at about 35 yards.
Next was mine at about 30 yards and no blood for about 50 yards and ran almost 250 yards.

All shots where placed just behind the shoulder all perfect broadside hits. All using the same batch factory load 143 ELD-X ammo.

My question is even tho all harvests were recovered i am very leery of the blood trails and the recovery's. I am curious if i would be better with a different round for deer hunting. We only have a few fields i could shoot out to about 300-350 or so and most are 200 or under with a vast majority being around 100 or under. I look to one day being able to bear hunt as well as hog, larger deer and maybe just maybe an elk hunt but i have a 300wm for that but i think the 300 is a little overkill for white tail deer.

I am just looking for knowledgeable information here to help myself and my wife along in our hunting journey. I would like to do this without having to buy a different caliber rifle bc if i do i would be buying 2 as my wife and really myself like us both having the same caliber that we hunt with the most being the same as it help with ammo and issue that may come about.

Thanks in advance!!
 
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What kind of bullet were you using for the others shots?eld x for all? Or just the first
I’d say tired something else a see it it works better for you,
 
Sorry, Yes all where 143 eld-x
I thought about trying the federal non typical as i have read several reviews about them shooting very well and accurate with great results out of these 2 rifles but gun season is over now so i have a while to test. Just looking for knowledge.
 
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I'll qualify these comments with the fact that I do not own a 6.5 CR. My only experience 6.5 is observing and listening to a pals comments regards the .260 Rem he hunts.

But in reviewing your data from this past season, I wonder if you really need the premium ELD-X "long range" type bullet for what appears to me woodlot hunting for average size whitetails. You don't mention internal damage on your kills, but the small exits make me wonder if you couldn't stand some more velocity and expansion courtesy of lighter, "softer" bullets.

Were I to hunt a 6.5CR, I think I would explore the midrange weights in the 125-130 range, provided accuracy was acceptable.
 
bamaranger has the right idea, concerning bullets. I use a Creedmore a lot, but mostly all of my shooting is with the Hornady 123 SST bullet. I have shot a lot of deer and hogs with that bullet with no problems. It does pretty massive damage within the animal, and I haven't had to track one over about 20 yds so far. I shoot hogs through the middle of the front shoulder generally, or up in the neck area if possible with very good results....they generally drop right on the spot.
 
While i'm not shooting a 6.5, i have read of spotty performance with the ELDX on other forums.
I usually use the Hornady SST for range practice. Although i've read of exceptional performance with them on game in certain calibers. (The 117gr in 25 caliber for example)

For hunting i usually use Nosler Ballistic Tip, or Berger VLD Hunting.
Both perform very differently.
The Ballistic Tip will mushroom, quite well, and usually stay together and have an exit wound.
The Berger will penetrate about 3" then open up. Rarely an exit wound. Usually find jacket under offside hide. At closer ranges that you state, 10 yards, this may be an issue for this bullet.

Another option, should you decide to go lead free, is the Cutting Edge Raptor.
Expensive. But good accuracy. Penetrate about 3" then 4-8 petals break off, while base continues through. Extremely devastating on internal organs.

Good luck in your research!
 
Fads are not my thing but I.ve used a 6.5x55as my primary deer rifle since 1970 I have no complaints using typical 140 gr hunting bullets .Only the last few years I've used premium bullets . Try some 140s .It doesn't take all that much to take a deer .
 
I also have used a 6.5X55 Swede in the past. The CM is about 98% to 99% of the Swede if you have the same barrel length and the same pressure. So I'd say my results are going to be the same as yours will be if you use the same bullets.

I had excellent luck with the 125 Grain Nosler Partitions as well as the 140 grain Hornady Spire Points and both the 160s round nose bullets by Hornady and Sierra. Sierra dropped theirs now, so you can't use them. But PPU makes 156 grain that I hear good things about.

I also used some Remington Core-Lokts 140 grain bullets and had good results with them too, but they were less accurate then the Nosler and Hornady bullets. Still plenty accurate to kill deer and antelope with, even out to several hundred yards in Nevada, Idaho and here in Wyoming. Out of my old Mauser they would shoot about 1.5 MOA. The others I listed shot well under MOA from my rifle.
 
The ELD-X is the hunting bullet, ELD-M is the match bullet. I've not shot any game with either, in any caliber. But lots of people have reported the results online.

So far I've not read of anyone not finding game after being hit with one of these bullets. I'm talking about all calibers. The biggest concern is that they tend to expand more than some guys like, and penetrate less than some would like. But they just seem to work.

Your experience is the 1st I've read of bullets exiting with no apparent expansion, the bigger concern is just the opposite. The other observations seem typical. A small entry hole and no exit isn't a bad thing. In reality they don't seem to perform much different than any old school cup and core bullet of the same weight. And since all of them are heavy for caliber they usually penetrate deep enough even though they do expand a lot.

The trend today is shooters wanting full penetration, but bullets that stay inside tend to put game down faster. I've seen too many positive results to write off the bullet. Maybe you just got a bad batch. But with those results I might be willing to try something else.

And your 300 WM won't kill any animal in North America any deader than your 6.5. Just do it a little farther away,
 
I read a lot of threads about which bullets are used, and why.

For a long time, all I've used are Sierra Game Kings. All but a very, very few of my kills have been bang-flops. I've never had to track a buck.

Mostly neck shots. A couple of head shots. A couple of coup de grace. A couple of bad hits where a quick second shot ended the affair.

Somewhere around four dozen bucks, during the two-a-year limit in Texas.
 
Wyosmith said:
I also have used a 6.5X55 Swede in the past. The CM is about 98% to 99% of the Swede if you have the same barrel length and the same pressure. So I'd say my results are going to be the same as yours will be if you use the same bullets.

I had excellent luck with the 125 Grain Nosler Partitions as well as the 140 grain Hornady Spire Points and both the 160s round nose bullets by Hornady and Sierra. Sierra dropped theirs now, so you can't use them. But PPU makes 156 grain that I hear good things about.

I also used some Remington Core-Lokts 140 grain bullets and had good results with them too, but they were less accurate then the Nosler and Hornady bullets. Still plenty accurate to kill deer and antelope with, even out to several hundred yards in Nevada, Idaho and here in Wyoming. Out of my old Mauser they would shoot about 1.5 MOA. The others I listed shot well under MOA from my rifle.
Click to expand...

THIS ^^^.

Out to ~ 300 yards in the field, the 6.5 CM - is just a 6.5 Swede or 260 Rem.

Use game bullets designed to work in that envelop, and forget the 6.5 CM's very long range magic trick.




Red
 
I use the 140 grn Accubond for my Creedmoor on deer and it works fine, I do load 125 Partitions for it also but haven't tried those on deer yet.
The 129 grn Hornady Interlock is also another decent hunting bullet coupled with the speeds a 6.5 Creedmoor can muster, I'm still testing these.
 
If you can get them in enough bulk to be worth it, the 129 Hornady Super Performance Interbonds (discontinued) are excellent for Whitetail. Good SD and great mass retention. Last deer at about 80 yards had a pinhole entry and a plum sized exit. Was a heart shot, so it ran 40 yards, but the trail was Michael Myers-esque.

You can still get them online for $25-30/box. (I'm hoarding them whenever possible.) Not 100% sure why they discontinued, but my hunch is that they were clearing out competition for the 143 eldx.
 
I agree with a lot of the recommendations, especially the ones that mention the Nosler Partition.

I have also had great penetration, expansion and exiting from the Federal Fusions. Granted, mine are 7mm-08, but I don't see you encountering a significant difference going to 6.5CM. For informational purposes, they are used on white tail ranging approx. 90-140 lbs.

Indeed, I would like to see that bullet sold for reloading.
 
My lattest re-loader magazine has a good article on ballistics and the results.

Too close and the velocity is too high, too far and its dropped off.

2500 fps was sort of a good spot. But that depends on the type of bullet form a FB LT to BT types, bonded and non bonded.

Lead core jacketed shed weight and lower penetration above 2500 fps

Under penetration was better and they would mushroom correctly.

Your best bet is per Art E, use a bullet that has been proven by hunters with the results not just I got it.
 
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