6.5 Creed for Elk?

I've got a 7mm-08 that I feel is somewhat borderline for an Elk, I usually carry a 30-06 or 300 mag when I'm elk hunting. I think a 6.5CM is doable but it's lighter than I'd want. Just my opinion.

For cow elk, yes, I wouldn't personally go after a bull with a 6.5.

Below is one of two cow elk I've taken with a 6.5x55.

horsemen61 said:

That seems awful hot to me as a load you sure that’s in spec and not what someone somewhere just happened to work up that has no pressure testing equipment like the big boys do?????

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+1 since these are essentially 6.5 PRC, 6.5 Remington Magnum, 6.5x284 speeds

Jerry M said:

+1 since these are essentially 6.5 PRC, 6.5 Remington Magnum, 6.5x284 speeds

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Yup with about 10 grains less capacity.



3000 less PSI:

:
Cartridge : 6.5 Creedmoor Hornady
Bullet : .264, 143, Hornady ELD-X 2635 G7
Useable Case Capaci: 46.285 grain H2O = 3.005 cm³
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.800 inch = 71.12 mm
Barrel Length : 24.0 inch = 609.6 mm

Predicted Data for Indicated Charges of the Following Powders.
Matching Maximum Pressure: 62350 psi, or 429 MPa
or a maximum loading ratio or filling of 112 %
These calculations refer to your specified settings in QuickLOAD 'Cartridge Dimensions' window.
C A U T I O N : any load listed can result in a powder charge that falls below minimum suggested
loads or exceeds maximum suggested loads as presented in current handloading manuals. Understand
that all of the listed powders can be unsuitable for the given combination of cartridge, bullet
and gun. Actual load order can vary, depending upon lot-to-lot powder and component variations.
USE ONLY FOR COMPARISON !

7 loads produced a Loading Ratio below user-defined minimum of 90%. These powders have been skipped.
Powder type Filling/Loading Ratio Charge Charge Vel. Prop.Burnt P max P muzz B_Time
% Grains Gramm fps % psi psi ms
--------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------
Alliant Reloder-26 106.7 48.9 3.17 2944 100.0 62350 10910 1.180

Tell me again how you cant get 2900+ from the creed w143&. 24 inch barrel."and STILL UNDER 63,000 PSI MAX
i dont go by book max never have i use listed loads as a, reference /starting point book max listings, are NOT THE GOSPEL they are a, reference not a defineate i let MY FIREARM tell me not some damn book

BULLET WEIGHT
143 GR. HDY ELD-X
CASE
HORNADY
PRIMER
FEDERAL 210M, LARGE RIFLE MATCH
Manufacturer Hodgdon
Powder Hybrid 100V
OUT OF STOCK
Bullet Diam. 0.264"
C.O.L 2.8000
Starting Load
Grs. 36.8
Vel. (ft/s) 2,433
Pressure 44,300 PSI
Maximum Load
Grs. 43.4
Vel. (ft/s) 2,791
Pressure 61,500 PSI
BULLET WEIGHT
143 GR. HDY ELD-X
CASE
HORNADY
PRIMER
FEDERAL 210M, LARGE RIFLE MATCH
Manufacturer Hodgdon
Powder Suprform
OUT OF STOCK
Bullet Diam. 0.264"
C.O.L 2.8000
Starting Load
Grs. 40.7
Vel. (ft/s) 2,515
Pressure 48,100 PSI
Maximum Load
Grs. 45.8
Vel. (ft/s) 2,795
Pressure 60,300 PSI
BULLET WEIGHT
143 GR. HDY ELD-X
CASE
HORNADY
PRIMER
FEDERAL 210M, LARGE RIFLE MATCH
Manufacturer Winchester
Powder StaBALL 6.5
OUT OF STOCK
Bullet Diam. 0.264"
C.O.L 2.8000
Starting Load
Grs. 39.5
Vel. (ft/s) 2,485
Pressure 43,700 PSI
Maximum Load
Grs. 43.5
Vel. (ft/s) 2,772
Pressure 60,800 PSI

Directly from HOGDONS reloading data
Center
Never said the.creed was the ultimate cartridge
I said its plenty of gun for any north american big game animal, you do not need 1500 ft lbs of energy to kill an elk /1000ft lbs for deer if that was the FACT THEN
Guys shooting sharp sticks handguns, and m/l
Have been doing it wrong all this time
Fact is out to 600 yrds the creed will do anything the big 7& 30 calibers will on elk and out to 700+ on deer size game its been done
Creed is the new kid on the block and the old bullies dont like the fact hes in town and not going away

Gooseman69 said:

Directly from HOGDONS reloading data
Center
Never said the.creed was the ultimate cartridge
I said its plenty of gun for any north american big game animal, you do not need 1500 ft lbs of energy to kill an elk /1000ft lbs for deer if that was the FACT THEN
Guys shooting sharp sticks handguns, and m/l
Have been doing it wrong all this time
Fact is out to 600 yrds the creed will do anything the big 7& 30 calibers will on elk and out to 700+ on deer size game its been done
Creed is the new kid on the block and the old bullies dont like the fact hes in town and not going away

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Somebody get this guy a towel.

I dunno man, 1st you post 2950-2975 with the 143, then you list references that fall short. Either your not quite as good at the whole debating thing or reading comprehension isn't your strong suit. You do realize that every one of those loads you got off of the Hodgdons site is below 2950FPS..right???

Either way, a quickload workup that runs well over the published data doesn't prove your point. You can run the same "over max" loads in the .270 and it will still be faster. There really is no replacement for displacement and you can't "wish away" a 14 grain delta in capacity.

Again the 6.5C isn't freaking magic, it doesn't handle excessive pressure better than any other cartridge. Nobody really hates on it, there really aren't any "old bullies" you're really just having some sort of snowflake meltdown on a gun forum. What folks don't like is chuckleheads posting unsafe BS.

I'll give you a final clue that your parents and teachers should have taught you a long, long time ago: Neither you, nor your preferred cartridge are special, time to get over it.

First, let me say that I am a Creedmoor fan having owned 4 and still have 2 in the safe. Will it take an elk? Sure, but when I pay $600+ for a Bull tag and stack a few thousands more on top of that, I want a caliber that will cover a big bull at any angle at long range and CM will not do it. Not every bull is going to stand broadside in the open. Many will need to be raked at an angle and possibly past 300 yards. I'll stick with my 300WSM as a minimum.

6.5 CM and 260 Rem are basically equivalent to the old 6.5x55 Swede (at least its old loadings), which has killed a bajillion moose in Scandinavia over the last approx 130 years.

jmr40 said:

The 6.5 CM shoots the same bullet weights as 270 (6.8mm) about 150-200 fps slower at the muzzle. But the better aerodynamics of the 6.5 bullets mean it will be impacting at the same speeds, or faster than a 270 at some point beyond 200 yards. It will penetrate a little deeper than 270 assuming the same bullet construction due to the better sectional densities.

In a nutshell a 140 gr 6.5 bullet does pretty much anything a 150 gr 270 bullet does on game. And a 150 gr 270 bullet is considered more than adequate for elk, moose or bear.

The 6.5CM is the smallest cartridge I'd feel comfortable using for game larger than deer, but I'd use it on any animal in the lower 48.

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No- it won’t be faster at 300 yards. I would take a 270 over a creedmore, but long ago put my 270 away in favor of the 300WM, and later the 300 PRC. Why? Because elk are big animals, and even with the .270 I was wishing for more power at any range. A .270 is not more than adequate for elk it’s the minimum in many states. I would highly recommend a more powerful cartridge. I base this on taking many elk with a .270 and all inside of 500 yards which was my limit with that rifle. I don’t like the 6.5 caliber for elk period. Sure it will kill them, just maybe not when you want it to. If I was somehow limited to 6.5 it would be a PRC or WM, but I am glad that I don’t have to.

I built two 6.5CM's for two teen girls that got drawn for youth hunts. So far they have taken three elk with them. None of the elk went anywhere! Like DRT! Ammunition Hornady 143gr Precision Hunter.
Distances were 150-260. Last hunter I know that got an elk at longer distance used Hornady Superformance 129gr SST at over 500.

The guy holding up this cow's head killed her with one shot from a 6.5 CM at a lasered 849 yards. He's an honest to pete heck of a marksman. And maybe just a little bit of a show off. But as they say, it's not bragging if you can do it. Talking about the 6.5 CM of course.

Boattale said:

View attachment 1049126

The guy holding up this cow's head killed her with one shot from a 6.5 CM at a lasered 849 yards. He's an honest to pete heck of a marksman. And maybe just a little bit of a show off. But as they say, it's not bragging if you can do it. Talking about the 6.5 CM of course.

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Got one question. There look like another dead elk in grey truck and what yardage was that shot at?

Maybe 250. We took 4 there in about 20 minutes. The long range one was first. Besides the Creedmoor there was a .270, a 7mm 08 and a .300 win mag. All the elk were the same amount of dead.

horsemen61 said:

That seems awful hot to me as a load you sure that’s in spec and not what someone somewhere just happened to work up that has no pressure testing equipment like the big boys do?????

Click to expand...

My 260 holds a bit more powder than the Creed, but the ONLY time I see 2900 fps is when I am shooting 120 grain bullets (or lighter). I hit 2800 or so with a 130 Accubond. Can't do it with a 140. Probably not even with a 26 inch tube.

HowieG said:

My 260 holds a bit more powder than the Creed, but the ONLY time I see 2900 fps is when I am shooting 120 grain bullets (or lighter). I hit 2800 or so with a 130 Accubond. Can't do it with a 140. Probably not even with a 26 inch tube.

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Don't feel bad, my .260's kind of lame too

Chuck R. said:

Don't feel bad, my .260's kind of lame too

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It's exactly where I want it. I have a 300 Magnum if I feel like punishing stuff on both ends of the barrel. I could write some sci fi like the creed boys tend to do, but I actually like medium mild cartridges.

HowieG said:

It's exactly where I want it. I have a 300 Magnum if I feel like punishing stuff on both ends of the barrel. I could write some sci fi like the creed boys tend to do, but I actually like medium mild cartridges.

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Same here.

Mine's got a 20" barrel to boot. I like it because it's light and compact, great for binds and stands. I even handicapped it further by mounting a 2.5-8x with a plain old duplex.

Boattale said:

View attachment 1049126

The guy holding up this cow's head killed her with one shot from a 6.5 CM at a lasered 849 yards. He's an honest to pete heck of a marksman. And maybe just a little bit of a show off. But as they say, it's not bragging if you can do it. Talking about the 6.5 CM of course.

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Nice to drive up next to that Elk

South Prairie Jim said:

Nice to drive up next to that Elk

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We drove up to all four of them.

Chuck R. said:

Same here.

Mine's got a 20" barrel to boot. I like it because it's light and compact, great for binds and stands. I even handicapped it further by mounting a 2.5-8x with a plain old duplex.

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We seem to have the same tastes. Mine has a 22" tube and walnut. It weighs 7.8 lbs with glass. I have a 2-8 x 36mm Weaver Grand Slam with a plain old duplex.

What did you do in the Black Horse Regiment?

HowieG said:

We seem to have the same tastes. Mine has a 22" tube and walnut. It weighs 7.8 lbs with glass. I have a 2-8 x 36mm Weaver Grand Slam with a plain old duplex.

What did you do in the Black Horse Regiment?

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Mine's being renovated now, new barrel and manners stock, should come in at just about 7lbs full up. I upped the barrel profile a little, then had it fluted. The factory M7 barrel fouled pretty bad, shot sub MOA, but went to crap in about 15rds. I loved practicing with it, but hated cleaning the ^&% thing. It now wears a 20" PacNor supermatch 3 groove in 1:8. Right now it's at the smiths for bedding.

I was 1/11 in Fulda 87-90: Basic branch Field Artillery. Company FSO, Recon Survey Officer and platoon LDR.