6.5 Creedmore as general purpose hunting caliber

[Certaindeaf]

Does walmart carry it? And what's a half millimeter between friends (gigity).. I'll stick with my .243 Win.

 

[orygun]

I looking to get an idea of the masses opinion on using 6.5 Creedmore as general purpose hunting caliber for non-dangerous game in the lower 48 states up to and including elk. The 6.5x55 is basically the Euro 30-06 and has slain a lot of beasts on that continent.

I plan on getting a precision rifle in 6.5CM and thought about getting a hunting rifle in the same caliber. What do you guys think?

If you mean to imply that the 6.5x55 is the equivalent to the '06, you must be implying by popularity, not by power...

But, the 6.5 has a great reputation for taking game up to the size the OP is asking about. While I'm not all a googly over the CM, it's popularity isn't a fluke. A little marketing hasn't hurt, but it is a good, compact cartridge.
I picked a 7mm-08 for my wife because it's won't knock her shoulder off and has a good following of hunters. I waffled between it and the 260... Like the 6.5, it really is a little light, but a good hit is a dead elk. (a fact she proved)
One of the biggest advantages with the 6.5CM that I see is cartridge development. It's fairly new and it is the hot item right now. There is a lot of energy, time and money being invested by the rifle and ammo companies. There should be plenty of ammo/bullet options. Nothing is worse than trying to find ammo for your new gun, only to come up short.

 

[orygun]

Does walmart carry it? And what's a half millimeter between friends (gigity).. I'll stick with my .243 Win.

Another good cartridge, and the bare minimum for elk in this state. The biggest drawback with the 243 is bullet weight. Add some, which would increase bullet length, and you'd pick up a bunch of penetration. That's why the 6.5's and 7mm's seem to work out of proportion to their case capacity.

 

[oli700]

Inuit kill Polar Bear with 22 mag all the time .......

 

[orygun]

Inuit kill Polar Bear with 22 mag all the time .......

I wonder if they have a clue how balsy they are?

 

[oli700]

I wonder if they have a clue how balsy they are?

I spent some time with a group , and no....its every day life to them . The one that's real impressive is rowing out on the Bering Sea in seal skin boats to harpoon whales ......I'll take the bears

 

[74bronco]

Another good cartridge, and the bare minimum for elk in this state. The biggest drawback with the 243 is bullet weight. Add some, which would increase bullet length, and you'd pick up a bunch of penetration. That's why the 6.5's and 7mm's seem to work out of proportion to their case capacity.

last year my elk tag was filled via a 6mm bullet, in a cartridge that starts with a 243 case, called the 6mm SLR. driven at 3100fps muzzle velocity , at a range of over 375 yrds, 1 shot 1 kill dead right there. the 6mm burger vld 115gr hunting bullet devastated that elk, a fairly high double lung hit with fragments taking out some spine made it dead right there,
yes bullet placement and bullet performance are key, last year I also saw another big cow take 4 hits with a 300wm with 180gr bullets , took a headshot to finish her, 4 poorly placed hits with a big gun will not make up for 1 well placed hit from a lesser gun.

im a firm believer in using what your comfortable and ABSOLUTELY confident in making good on target hits with regardless of size or caliber within the limits of the bullet, i.e retained energy/velocity make a good hit with any reasonable hunting bullet within its velocity window of proper expansion/performance you have meat in the freezer.

the 6.5 creed with 130-143gr hunting bullets is perfectly adequate for all lower 48 big game animals within the above stated limits of enough retained energy for the bullet to perform as intended on a properly placed hit.

edit , I'll add I'm hunting elk this year with a psa 10 in 6.5 creed, it really likes the sierra 130 tgk , and i have complete confidence in the gun and bullet out to 500 to 600 yrds on elk, if i can find some berger 130 vldh bullets for it i hope it shoots them as well as it does the sierras , getting under 1/2 moa out of that cheap psa build with the sierras.

 

[titsonritz]

If you mean to imply that the 6.5x55 is the equivalent to the '06, you must be implying by popularity, not by power...

Yes, that's exactly what I was implying.

But, the 6.5 has a great reputation for taking game up to the size the OP is asking about. While I'm not all a googly over the CM, it's popularity isn't a fluke. A little marketing hasn't hurt, but it is a good, compact cartridge.
I picked a 7mm-08 for my wife because it's won't knock her shoulder off and has a good following of hunters. I waffled between it and the 260... Like the 6.5, it really is a little light, but a good hit is a dead elk. (a fact she proved)
One of the biggest advantages with the 6.5CM that I see is cartridge development. It's fairly new and it is the hot item right now. There is a lot of energy, time and money being invested by the rifle and ammo companies. There should be plenty of ammo/bullet options. Nothing is worse than trying to find ammo for your new gun, only to come up short.

I agree with everything you said here. A Savage 10 youth model in 7mm-08 was the what I bought my son when he was in his early teens.

 

[titsonritz]

Does walmart carry it?

I honesty wouldn't know, I don't go there, let alone buy ammo there.

Now is it gong to on the shelf next to the ought-6 and thurddy-thurddy at some hick gas station in BFG? Doubt it. Do I care? About as much as I do whether Walmart carries it or not.

 

[titsonritz]

I spent some time with a group , and no....its every day life to them . The one that's real impressive is rowing out on the Bering Sea in seal skin boats to harpoon whales ......I'll take the bears

They probably clank when they walk you just can't hear it under all those skins keeping them toasty.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I honesty wouldn't know, I don't go there, let alone buy ammo there.

Now is it gong to on the shelf next to the ought-6 and thurddy-thurddy at some hick gas station in BFG? Doubt it. Do I care? About as much as I do whether Walmart carries it or not.

you and nobody else
lol

 

[Rudedog]

BS. You don't need a 338 to kill an elk. A 6.5 will handily do the job, if you put the right bullet in the right spot. I've seen elk taken down with a 243, so I know better.

Like I said I killed an elk with a .223. A 30-06 or better in power is a better idea. I have also used a bow and shockingly, it worked as well. However, a hunting rifle should be matched to the game.

 

[FishnhuntOR]

223 is little light for elk but I don't see why it can't do it. Especially with right bullet and shot placement. I wouldn't want to, but if it is legal in your state, so be it. That is why Oregon has 24 cal as a minimum..... such as 243 win for someone who doesn't know.
I've never shot the 6.5 but I carry 270 win with TTSX in my tuck as a back up to my 06 shooting TTSX. my daughter will be using it next week for her any bull tag! Im bring the 9.3x62 as a back up.
You also don't need a 338 win mag.
270,7-08, 280,7mm, 308. all plenty of rifle for elk.
Proper bullet and shot placement over displacement if you cant handle the recoil.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

The 6.5 has been the hot chick the last 6 years or so. Like the short mags. I ask my self this now at almost 45 years old. Which bullet will have the best chance of knocking the animal down on a average shot placement. How motivated am I to pack an animal out of a hell hole....?

There's a fair amount of sheep hunters that shoot cannons to knock the sheep down, rather than the sheep falling off a cliff. Anything lower 48? 30 caliber...

 

[olyroller]

I certainly wouldn't feel undergunned with one, and I like caliber commonality.

Although, if I was hunting in an area where long range opportunities were probable and had the skillset to take long distance shots, I'd want something bigger, especially on elk.

You may be missing part of the point of the 6.5 creedmoor. Because of its ballistic coefficient, it keeps more kinetic energy at long range than many other larger calibers, such as the .308.

 

[slimmer13]

You may be missing part of the point of the 6.5 creedmoor. Because of its ballistic coefficient, it keeps more kinetic energy at long range than many other larger calibers, such as the .308.

Yes, high BC bullets allow it to stay SS longer. That doesn't necessarily mean it delivers high enough KE to take an elk cleanly and accurately at those ranges.

 

[olyroller]

Yes, high BC bullets allow it to stay SS longer. That doesn't necessarily mean it delivers high enough KE to take an elk cleanly and accurately at those ranges.

True. I wouldn't want to use 6.5 Creedmoor on elk at any range. I was just pointing out that distance isn't the most important factor here. If you think a .308 will do the job at distance, a 6.5 C will likely do just as well because of the retained KE. But we are talking about >1000 yds. Who tries to take an elk at >1000 yds? Wait. What was the original question?

 

[osprey]

If you would be willing to use a 308 on Elk you should have no issues with the 6.5CM as they both carry about 1500 ft/lbs of energy out to 325 yds or so. Most people won't be shooting at Elk past that and if they do plan on shooting further than that, neither chambering is really up to the task in my opinion. On the other hand the CM makes a great medium to longer range deer rifle out to 600 or so.

 

[Blowgunner]

I wouldn't hesitate to take anything on this continent with 6.5 creed. Within reasonable range of course. Shot placement is the most important factor. How many elk and moose do you think were dropped with .30-30's when that was the hot ticket?

 

[orygun]

Anything lower 48? 30 caliber...

"There ain't much a man can't fix with $100 and a 30-06."
Well, $100 doesn't go as far as it used to, but the '06 sure does. It wouldn't be my first choice for brown bears or prairie dogs, but it would get the job done.

Shot placement is the most important factor. How many elk and moose do you think were dropped with .30-30's when that was the hot ticket?

And bear and sheep and ... Within 10 years the 30WCF was eclipsed by many other bottle necked, smokeless powder cartridges, but it's soldiered on for over 100 years because it works. Put the bullet where it needs to go and the hunt is over.