Best Caliber...

[3MTA3]

Your 6.5 CM is just fine so long as you use a 140 grain bullet, can shoot accurately at that distance and have the discipline to wait for the right shot. Without those three things going for you it won't matter how powerful the cartridge.

 

[Siglvr]

.... .308 and be done with it. And I as well shoot 6.5CM.

Well - we finally disagree. Both will down an Elk. The specs for the 6.5 are super close to the .308 and as it a so much better shooting cartridge due to less recoil, you should be (in theory) more accurate. Accuracy is all. The 6.5 has so much less felt recoil that for me, it is the clear winner between these 2. More here: 6.5 Creedmoor vs 308 Winchester Debate Settled

ps, not to call myself out as a hypocrite but maybe I am. I own multiple .308 rifles and no 6.5 Creedmoor yet. I shot a buddys 6.5 and was so impressed that I'll never buy another .308. The military is moving to 6.5 I understand, unsure which 6.5 cartridge, that's what I'm waiting on before I move.

 

[No_Regerts]

Well - we finally disagree. Both will down an Elk. The specs for the 6.5 are super close to the .308 and as it a so much better shooting cartridge due to less recoil, you should be (in theory) more accurate. Accuracy is all. The 6.5 has so much less felt recoil that for me, it is the clear winner between these 2. More here: 6.5 Creedmoor vs 308 Winchester Debate Settled

ps, not to call myself out as a hypocrite but maybe I am. I own multiple .308 rifles and no 6.5 Creedmoor yet. I shot a buddys 6.5 and was so impressed that I'll never buy another .308. The military is moving to 6.5 I understand, unsure which 6.5 cartridge, that's what I'm waiting on before I move.

He might literally be citing a caliber, and not a cartridge. If so, a.308 bullet of similar BC as a 140gr 6.5, stomped into a case with 70+grs of powder, is a killing SOB.

 

[Ura-Ki]

.300/338, might as well boost the big girl up a bit more!

 

[No_Regerts]

I know a guy who shoots nothing but big. His favorite deer rifle is an 8mm Rem Mag. Speaking of that, if there were some slicker 8mm bullets available, the 8mm Rem Mag would make an awesome open country elk rifle.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I know a guy who shoots nothing but big. His favorite deer rifle is an 8mm Rem Mag. Speaking of that, if there were some slicker 8mm bullets available, the 8mm Rem Mag would make an awesome open country elk rifle.

I have been known to use the .375 a time or three, with ballistics almost a dead match to the .270 win, it's perfect for anchoring big Rockies and Coastal Swamp Donkeys!

 

[DeanMk]

Looking for some insight. I am trying to decide on a cartridge that would be good for game as big as an elk. Shots out to 600 yards plus. I currently have a 6.5 Creedmoor and love it as a target rifle but I have read conflicting things on the effectiveness on game out to decent ranges. Any opinions would be appreciated.

7mm Remington Magnum.
Accurate with enough capacity to reach out to obscenely distant ranges while retaining oodles of power.
The guns that usually chamber that one are top notch, too.
...but why 7mm? Why not Giganto slug of the month to put a nice big hole in that elk.
Because of what I wrote here...

I guess there was a lot of discussion about the "perfect" caliber during the 70's and 80's between a number of gun writers.
Eventually, they all agreed the guidelines should be a balance of bc and sd.
Of all the calibers that are/were available, they all concluded the highest instance of the best balance of bc to sd was......…7mm

The research performed were years of "gun reviews" and "cartridge reviews", that were published in those writers respective magazines.
They always noted the bc and sd of all the loads they shot.
Eventually, they correlated everything and that's what they came up with.
I am in no position to argue years of research, so I'm going with it.
Shoot 6.5 Creedmoor if you want, but you asked for my opinion, and my opinion is a powerful 7mm cartridge, like the Remington Magnum.


Dean

 

[No_Regerts]

7mm Remington Magnum.
Accurate with enough capacity to reach out to obscenely distant ranges while retaining oodles of power.
The guns that usually chamber that one are top notch, too.

Dean

And it does all that with relatively mild recoil. I'm a big fan.

 

[DeanMk]

I'm sorry, was recoil an issue with the OP?

 

[USMC-03]

If you're going to stick with with the 6.5mm then a 6.5-284 is something to seriously consider.

Otherwise, I would think one of the 7mm or .300 short magnums could be an excellent choice for the hand loader.

 

[No_Regerts]

I'm sorry, was recoil an issue with the OP?

I don't think so, but I sure appreciate the performance the 7mm Rem Mag provides while having tolerable recoil.

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

I am not one of those people looking for a caliber to "make" me a good shot. I have full confidence in my own abilities. I am just curious on people's first hand experience. I have been away from hunting for nearly a decade and just want to be ready as far as gear goes when the time comes. Trying to be fair to the animal. I love the 6.5 cm and it's potential (range/accuracy).

This is the kind of question where 100 people asked will give 100 different answers.

Off in the other part of the country, Northern Maine, more than one moose has been harvested with the venerable 6.5x55 with a 120 grain bullet but not at extreme distance. The sectional density of the 6.5 is pretty good. That said for Oregon Washington and Idaho big game, big .30 & .338 bullets are very effective especially if its a trophy. You always want to bring enough gun. 338-378 Weatherby ought to do...

In the last 10 years, large heavy for caliber bullets are easy to find. Heavy 6.5CM bullets certainly can harvest game but there are more hunters carrying a larger caliber for game as large as Elk.

 

[FullMetalJerk]

Threeeeeeeeeee oooooooOooooooooooooOoooooooooooooh eightttttttttttttttttttttttttt.

 

[Head Shot]

Erased

 

[OregonTJ]

.308 is my favorite all around caliber......

 

[turq]

Elk at 600yrds. Best cartridge.
How many years no decades have you hunted elk?
Fair question.

 

[oremike]

50 BMG <mic drop>

 

[Buano]

While it's possible to kill an elk with a .223, these are big animals that can absorb a lot of damage without falling over. I've seen an elk take a 7MM Rem Mag 160 grain bullet to the lungs and not even blink. Yes, it would have soon died, but it took more shooting to put the animal down so it wouldn't run off a cliff. While a 6.5MM Creedmoore is a great round, it doesn't bring enough clout to the fight for me to be sure there will be a quick, humane death on a large bull elk. If you can handle it well you should be shooting at least a .300 Win Mag. If you can't handle a .300 Win Mag, use the most powerful rifle you can handle well.

I took my last 2 elk with a .338/.378 Weatherby Mag. Both elk were running through the timber. When I pulled the trigger each tumbled to the ground instantly. I liked that!

 

[orygun]

I have been known to use the .375 a time or three, with ballistics almost a dead match to the .270 win, it's perfect for anchoring big Rockies and Coastal Swamp Donkeys!

Great theory. I used to have a 375 Ruger in a gun that was nearly identical to my 30-06. Trajectory of a 270gr bullet out of the 375 and the 180 out of the '06 were the same. That extra 90gr of bullet weight sure upped the knock down power, though!

 

[DirectDrive]

300 RUM