Ok i finally made a decision and can stop pestering the forum about what rifle. But now all the other questions. I just ordered a Tikka Veil in 6.5 Creedmoor that i hope to use hunting. Deer, hog and whatever presents itself. But i would really like to use it to take an elk.

I know for elk with the 6.5 Creedmoor built construction, shot placement and range are critical. I think i will limit range to about 300 yards and obviously clean shot placement. But i need recommendations about what ammo to use for big game. I will buy several brands and see what shout good. I have read good things about the 140gr Nosler Accubond. But please let me know what bullets you think would be tough enough for big game.

EDIT: My plan is to try to find something cheap it likes good enough to practice with. Maybe the AAC ammo. Then find a bullet it likes thar is suitable for elk. I figure if a round can handle elk it should smoke hogs or deer just fine. I dont want to do any "cheap hunting" ammo for deer or anything. Just two types of ammo to learn. Practice and premium hunting. If i want to shoot hogs with cheap ammo i will shoot them with the practice ammo. The fewer types of ammo that i settle on and "stock deep" the fewer variables to deal with when learning dop and point of impact.

I’ve shot multiple deer with ELDMs. No issues. I’m sure it would dust a hog just fine. Maybe look into a copper solid for Elk? Or 143 ELDX

you want something with a barnes bullet

Thanks. I like the Hornady in my Grendel. I have some ELDX Precision Hunter for the Creedmoor in my cart. They will get a try.

I think that is the one i here a lot of good stuff about. I will keep my eyes open for them.

For my Creedmoor I would use Nosler Partition for Elk

I'm loading 140gr Hot Cores for deer season. Pretty much any soft point should be sufficient to 300yds.

I don’t shoot a creedmore, but my PRC smoked a nice Elk this morning with a 143 ELDX. Dropped in his tracks at 415 yards.

I don’t recommend ELDMs. Watch backfire’s YouTube video about why he regrets hunting with them.

I would choose either the 143 eldx or a Barnes loading. Son shot 5 animals with the 127 LRX last year. Very accurate and very effective!

Interesting that the ELDX gets so much praise here. I really hope it works well becouse i have had good luck with Hornady in other rifles. But when i read about it for elk i see a lot of reports of it not staying together and fragmenting too much on the big game like elk. Any opinions on if the bullet is tough enough for elk?

I know the 6.5 is on the light side to start with. That is why i am trying to find a well desighned bullet.

Federal 140 Fusion is a bonded bullet. You get great expansion and penetration and almost no loss of weight. For big game it would be my choice in 6.5 CM. I also really like the Barnes 127 LRX.

I shoot the 143 gr ELDx.  I've shot whitetail, antelope, and cow elk with it.  
Might try some Barnes solid copper loads this fall on WT doe tags.  

If you go to the Rokslide forum and search "6.5 Creedmoor/260 for Deer, Elk, and whatever else....." you'll find a 32 page thread filled with photos, info, stories, on 6.5 cm bullet performance from woodchucks to moose.

EldX is a good round for lighter game. I use it on deer, antelope etc with good results.  

Elk move up to a Barnes copper or bonded bullet

Have you tried it on elk?

My Tikka loves the relatively inexpensive federal “nontypical” 140gr soft points.  Fusion are also good (they may be the same projectile?)

Norma 140gr soft points are my go-to for whitetail and hogs.  It kills the hell out of them.

If I was going to shoot anything larger I’d probably use nosler 140gr accubond, but they’re expensive.

I have a bunch of 143gr eld-x. Shot a couple of deer with it, and it works.  It’s probably also fine.

I've had good luck with Norma in the past as well.  I just zeroed my new 6.5 yesterday and it doesnt love them, it was my worst group out of the three ammos I tried.  Fusion was a little better.  Hornady 140 ELDM was the clear winner for my gun, half moa at 100 yards, basically one ragged hole.

Mine loves anything 140gr.

The lighter stuff is ok, just bigger groups, consistently. Old pic follows

Yeah clearly.  That federal patterened noicely!  Yesterday was first day with the new gun for me so I havent tried too many things yet.  I'd heard Bergara owners talk about the 140 so that's what i went with for now, happy so far.

Only advice I’d give is to try as many different loads as you can and see what your rifle prefers. The sweet spot for mine appears to be the 140gr stuff.

I have a box of Barnes 127 gr LRX BT. I loke the idea of a solid copper bulet but any concerns with it being on the lighter end of the spectrum? Typicaly i feel loke the larger the game the heavier the bulet for a guven caliber. I know it is just a guidline not a hard fast rule.

Do you think 16 grains is going to make much difference? They are usually lighter because of how long they are. Everything I've read and heard from people that used them is that they perform great in a wide variety of applications.

The difference in muzzle energy between a 127 gr LRX and a 143 gr ELDx is + 65 ft/lbs for the 143.  the 127 LRX has 70 ft/lbs more than a 140 grain nosler partition.  This is for factory loads.

That’s interesting.

What are the energy differences at 100, 200, 300, etc.?  At some point I’d expect those lines to cross (?)…

+1000

I really dont know, it might. Not trying to be a smart ass but people make a big deal about how different 77gr 5.56 is from the 62gr. Also the .308 at 165gr is different from the 150gr. Maybe in those cases is is more about bullet construction and shape. One thing disnt consider is that if the Barns 127gr are all copper they might be lighter for there size. You might get the same long shape at a lighter overall weight. Maybe the 127gr will fly just as good as the  lead core 140gr. I dont really know.

I have shot a lot of animals with all kinds of bullets. Regardless of weight I have never found a bullet the penetrates as well as and retains as much weight as the Barnes bullets. The 127 lrx is lighter than the traditional bullets because it is a copper alloy bullet, no lead. That makes for a longer bullet for weight which improves the sectional density of the bullet. Out of all the elk, deer and bear I have shot with the Barnes I have only ever recovered 1 bullet and it retained 98% of its weight after penetrating an elk length wise out of a 7-08.

FWIW, when shot from a barrel properly cleaned of all cup and core copper fouling the Barnes are as accurate, or more, than even a lot of “match” bullets. The key is getting that barrel clean of old copper before shooting the Barnes. Once it is clean and you are shooting Barnes I don’t clean again until I see accuracy falling off or it’s the end of the season. The rifle I heart shot my deer at 300 yds had @ 30 rounds on it since the last cleaning. The following weekend I shot it at 600 yds and made a first round hit @ 1.5” high. Yes, very accurate.

I have 100% confidence in the Barnes.

Update:
Long day at the range doing some testing. Some good and some disappointing. I tested the Barnes 127gr LRX BT, Federal 130gr Terminal Ascent and Nosler 142gr ABLR.  I ran them all through the chrono and then shot a few groups. Nothing horrible but not as good as i was hoping for. I really think some of it is my shooting. I haven't averaged the chrono numbers yet but they all shoot the speed on the box, the Nosler actually a little faster. Funny thing is my cheap practice ammo shoots the best so fare. at 200yrds i used some big shoot n see targets. when i went home i stacked all my targets together and the adhesive targets ripped up my paper ones. I could get good measurements but the pictures of them are hard to see.

AAC 140gr BTHP $20 a box 5 shot group @ 100yrd 0.46”, 3 shot group @ 200yrd 1.0"


Barnes 127gr VOR-TX (GR LRX BT) $43 a box 3 shot group @ 100yrd 1.3”, 5 shot @ 100yrd 1.6”, 3 shot @ 200yrd 1.9”

Nosler Trophy Grade 142gr ABLR Accubond $63 a box 3 shot group @ 100yrd 0.8”, 5 shot @ 100yrd 1.1” (4shots in one hole 0.6” one flyer), 3 shot group @ 200yrd 1.2”

FEDERAL 130 GR TERMINAL ASCENT $52 a box 3 shot group @100yrd 0.44”, 5 shot @ 100yrd 1.1”, 3 shot@ 200yrd 1.4”

I know i cant complain about a 1.5" group at 200 yards. But my 100 yard groups didnt excite me. The 5 shot .46" group from cheap AAC ammo amazed me. It really does shoot that good in this rifle because i have shot other groups almost that good. It chronos slow at about 2575 but it will be my go to practice ammo for sure. doesent hurt that it is the cheapest stuff i can find.

Barnes, this was a real let down. I wanted this to shoot good because i here so many good things about the terminal ballistics. I still have a few rounds left. I will shoot another group and give it another try. On the chrono it was dead on with the box at 2850ish.

Nosler, after i bought this i was hoping it wouldn't be "the one". $63 a box hurts and from what i read it is a great bullet but nothing cutting edge anymore. After getting home and measuring everything i think this one has potential. The 5 shot group at 100 was only 1.1". But if you look at it there are 4 shots touching and then one shot pulled left. the 4 shots measure 0.6". I am not going to say the gun "shoots 0.6" groups" but in reality, i would bet i messed that one up with my shooting. Then it shoots a 1.2" group at 200yrds which indicated 0.6" at 100 might be about right. Unfortunately i need to shoot more of this. Man the price hurts.

Federal, this was the most recent one i bought. It has really impressive marketing claim for how tough the bullet is. Some gel tests look REALLY good with great weight retention. I can find it online for $45 a box which is reasonable to me. Chrono was right at what the box said at 2800ish. Agan the groups disappointed me at the range. the 3 shot was ok but the 5 shot really sucked at 1.1".  But after looking them over i am not ready to give up on it yet. maybe i will shoot the rest of what i have into a group and see.

like i said my targets got all ripped up on the way home so there are random marks that look a little like bullet holes. But here are some of the 100yrd targets.



the bottom 5 shot group shows the nice four got with one flyer. I dont know if that is a fair way to think about it but it sure looks like it stacked 4 shots nicely.



I got put this one in just because. Like i said my targets got stuck together on the way home. This is the backside of the target.


Just for fun i shot some of the practice ammo at the end of the session. Ther was a a steel pig at 320 yards, steel plate at 385 yards and a steel ram at 500 yards. just as a starting point i look at the bullet drop listed on the Nosler box since it is almost the same weight as the ACC. did the math and turned the CDS dial (still in MOA not customized yet). Literally missed twice out of 20 rounds fired at those three targets at three different ranges. Yes they are big targets but always fun to bang steel. Cant believe how easy it was.

Good day of testing.

FWIW, I have always had the best results with Barnes when I have shot it after cleaning all of the cup and core copper out of the barrel. You may need a couple fowling shots with the Barnes from a clean barrel but they usually settle in fast.

Long and short of it is, shoot what you have confidence in.

Doesn’t that, by definition, make it lousy hunting ammo?

Not at all. We shoot cup and core in the off season and give the gun a good cleaning pre season. From that point on we shoot Barnes. We are cleaning our guns any way so it takes no more work to change over than any othe bullet. Once you change over you don’t have to clean every shoot, with either type of bullet. I loaded 50 rounds of the Barnes pre season and have 10 left with one more tag. Plenty of ammo for the season.

In season I shoot plenty of other rifles to stay tuned up.

Dana:

The 6.5 Creedmoor is fairly mild with regards to its velocity.  As a result, the cartridge isn't "hard" on bullets, and it really does not need a tough, hard bullet in order to be effective.  Rather, its sometime the opposite:  When impact speeds get low, bullets open more slowly, if at all, and dont expand as violently as we would like.  The result is reduced killing capacity due to less internal critter damage...  Its always about a bullet that is matched to impact speed. And impact speed is a function of two variables:  Muzzle velocity and distance.

We used to all use basic, vanilla cup and core old school bullets.  Examples are Remington Corlokt.  Winchester PowerPoint.  These worked okay because we all used cartridges like 30-06, 308, 270.   Most all cartridges used in the 50's, 60's, and 70's fired a cup and core at muzzle speeds of 2600 -2900 fps.  And we usually shot our game at ranges muzzle to 300 yards.  No issues....  

In an effort to shoot farther, we started searching for higher muzzle speeds.  Along came the magnum craze.  And initial speeds were now 3000, 3100, 3200 fps.  Cup and core bullets, especially when used at short range, dont take this punishment well.  So bullet technology started moving to harder, tougher bullets...     The disadvantage of these tough bullets?  They are designed for high speeds. When we use one in a mild cartridge, at long range, we get impact speeds of 1900, 2000 fps and they simply do not open well.  They act like full metal jacket bullets, or if they do open, its not a dramatic "mushroom" of double caliber expansion.  Its a mild rivet-like flattening of the bullet nose.  I'd argue that tough bullets are amazing in magnum-velocity cartridges, but in some cases, the old cup and core soft bullets are actually better if they are used in slow cartridges...  Ever notice, no one really seems to need a all copper TTSX type bullet in 30-30 or 35 rem???

The 6.5 Creedmoor isn't a 6.5 PRC.  While its new and hot and all the rage (and I love it), it performance is modest and mild.    Its slower than a 270 or a 150 grainer in 30-06,  and is very much on the same performance level as the 130 year old 6.5 x 55 Swede....  It really does NOT need a hard tough bullet....  I'd argue that it isn't fast enough to use a hard bullet well....

There is a problem...  All ammo manufacturers tend to over state the muzzle velocity of their factory loaded cartridges. Its almost a joke.  The box says "2750 fps" but the ammo runs 2690 or something.  Its common, and the makers sneakily 'justify' the numbers by stating in small print "26 inch velocity test barrel".  Fair enough...  

The big issue I've discovered in 6.5 Creed is that much of the factory ammo velocity is WAY over stated.  I've been using Hornady's Precision Hunter 143 ELDx load.  Box says 2700 fps.  My chronograph consistently said I was getting speeds in the 2480's.  That way under advertised.  Actually, its so far under advertised that I ran the ammo over two other chronographs, wondering if mine was off kilter.  Nope.  My actual observed average for 20 rounds of factory ammo is 2488 fps....  The issue is, at longer ranges, my impact speed with this ammo started dropping down to 2000 fps in a big hurry.  And then I will not get good expansion.  

I've got no issues with 6.5 Creedmoor on bigger game.  However, remember its a modest cartridge firing bullets at advertised speeds of 2700 fps.  And that those claims may be inflated.  Don't opt for a hard bullet (No way I'd be using a TTSX).  And I strongly urge you to buy or borrow a chrono and actually check your real, observed muzzle speeds.  It's going to make a real difference....

I've got my Creed running a true 2700'ish with a 140.  But again, this is actually a mild muzzle speed.  And at 200, 250 yards, impact speeds are quite a bit milder yet. As a result, I'm using a soft, easy opening bullet, the Hornady 140SST.  No way I'd use this in a fast gun, but its appropriate for the probably impact speeds I could obtain, given all realistic distances in the 6.5CM.  

Don't overthink the 6.5CM.  Just remember its very mild, and simply doesn't run fast enough, ever, to really need a super tough bullet.  It often works best with a soft, easy opening projectile

Interesting post. It sucks that my chrono met with an unfortunate accident.  

As I said before, I have had great results with 140gr softpoints - probably not what I’d shoot at paper at 1000y, but I’m confident out to 500 with them, and absolutely confident inside 300.  Going on a mule deer hunt next week, where my son will be using my CM (140gr nosler).

I hace desided to go with the Federal 130gr Terminal Ascent. It shot well, got great terminal reviews and was affordable enough for me to practice with. This turned out to be important. I have been out to the range the last two days. Rezeroed at 200 yards and practuced hitting steel out to 600. Also practiced some "hunting positions". Prone with bipod, prone of backpack, sitting shooting off trecking poles leaning back against object, sitting with trecking poles and pack infront of me. Also shot off bipod on rock pile at the range. Groups obviously opened up but maintained aboit 2 moa sitting. Prone of bipod was better than sitting at a bench. Prone of backpack is really close and really good. Sitting it gets worse quickly. I dont think i would shoot off hand over 50 yards unless i had something like a tree to brace myself on.

After i tried some of these shooting positions i dont see any reason to shoot off a bench. Prone bipod is so easy. Prone of pack is almost as good. The trecking poles sitting are really good also if you can get the back of the rifle stablized.

Back on track, my hunt is scheduled for Jan 6th. Hopfully it will all work out. If it is successful i will let you know how the round does.

Ps for me the round chroned at 2850fps. Put all that and the g7 numbers into a balistic calculater and instant hits on steel at 340, 400 and 600.

140gr accubond knocked a 300 pound mule deer on its ass today.

Heart was almost in 3 pieces, lungs were puréed.

Deer jumped once and was dead before he hit the ground.

What state are you hunting mulies in late December?

North Texas, on a management tag.



For a sample size of one, I’m already a big fan of the nosler accubond 140gr.

That sucker has a 37” neck. If you’re a trophy mulie hunter, you can see why he’s a cull, but damn if he isn’t a damned bruiser, body wise.  Loading his fat ass in the truck was a chore.

I’m actually really surprised by that hunt. Mule deer are very different from whitetails. The rut makes them stupid, but they’re much more elusive than whitetails in my (limited) experience.   We saw another cull deer I’d have probably shot, but we never saw him closer than about 350y and he was always moving away from us. The dead one took a lot of quiet movement to get a good shot.  He was constantly in and out of the trees and flanked by other animals. I was worried that we’d never get a shot.  In the end he zigged when he should have zagged and gave an easy broadside.  Note that my son made the shot, not me.

Nice!

I’d be quite happy with a lot of ‘cull’ or ‘management’ mule deer.

Update: I went with the Federal 130gr Terminal Assent. Dropped a cow elk at 358 yards through the chest. Did not recover the bullet. Went through two ribs and the front leg. Suprisingly little external breeding but didnt have to track her.

Nice

Congratulations!

Having a cow elk butchered and tucked away in the freezer is a fine, fine thing.

143 ELD-X

All shot through my 260 Rem

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I have used ELD in my Grendel with hogs and it worked great. But i have read some things about it fragmenting too much on big game and i had my reservations about it being tough enough in Creedmoor. But my guide for the elk said he has seen good results with ELDX in 6.5 Creedmoor from his clients. He has way more experience than i do so i trust it is GTG.

Can you tell me what range and what shot placement the moose were? How did it perform?

Inside 100 yards ELDx can fragment a fair amount; at least in the shots I've taken and looked at closely.
Past 100 I haven't had any issues though.

Big bull was 860 lbs and 220 yards broadside. Total pass through, took a chunk out of the heart and pass through a lung. Jacket recovered on exiting skin, slug long gone.

Second moose was 150 yards, and I put it right behind her ear. Broke the base of skull and came out back side of neck.

Whitetail have all been harvested from 80-545 yards. All consistant clean kills with the eld-x going 2820 from my 26" 260 Rem.

Exit coming from a Coyote shot 310 yards away.

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I literally have hundred of photos of dead critters shot with the 143 ELD-X.

I was a 140 AMAX guy long before eld was a thing, and these bullets from Creedmoor velocities are ideal.

I think I've posted this in other threads, but..
This is from one of two deer I've shot inside 100 yards with the 143gr ELDx.
I believe this was a quartering shot somewhere between 80-100 yards.
The core was about 1/4" from poking completely through and the jacket was just behind it.
Of the half dozen big game animals I've shot with this bullet, this is the only bullet I've recovered.
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