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The 6.5x55 SE was very popular in Sweden because it the military used it from 1894 through the 1980s. Rifles chambered in it are very common. In Canada, the .303 Brit was the most popular big game hunting round for many years for the same reason.
Today, the .308 and .30-06 are more often used for moose, according to those who hunt there, and by the game warden records and ammunition sales. Other powerful Continental cartridges like the 7x64mm and 9.3x62 are often used. �
The reason why a particular cartridge is less important than how effective it is. Data from a few years ago (around 2006/2007) show the .30-06 to be more popular by a slight margin with the second most popular cartridge being the .6.5mmx55. The .308 Win was a distant third. Interestingly the compiled data showed the average number of cartridges used to down the moose was 1.5 for both the .30-06 and 6.5mmx55 while the .308 win washigher at 1.7. Average distance the moose traveled before going down was 43 meters for the .30-06, 41 meters for the 6.5mmx55 and 38 meters for the .308 Win. Clearly the 6.5mmx55 is no slouch when it comes to being able to take moose effectively. Cartridge / # of Moose taken 3006 1,938 6.5 x 55 1,717 308 Win 943 9.3 x 62 306 375 H&H M 265 358 Nor M 192 338 Win M 111 7mm Rem M 75 300 Win M 25 458 Win M 18 416 Taylor 17 270 Win 7 9.3 x 74R 7 9.3 x 64 5 460 Wby M 3
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.
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Coyote Hunter, I remember reading about a friend of Grits Grissom's years ago and his friend called Whiskey, killed all his elk with a .243 Winchester under 150 yards. Not that I would give it a go but it has been done by several hunters in the past.
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Campfire Tracker
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Coyote Hunter,
Thanks for the latest breakdown on Sweden.
Certainly the 6.5x55 or .260 Rem will kill an elk cleanly.
If you think a .270 Win with a 130-gr bullet is adequate, just figure what you think is the maximum range for it, then reduce that by 75 to 100 yards for the .260 with a 130-gr bullet going 300 to 400 fps slower. You can do the same with a 140-gr or a 150-gr bullet.
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Joined: May 2007
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Campfire Tracker
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Thanks for posting the actual data,it pretty much proves that the 6.5x55(and the virtually identical performance of the 260) is plenty of gun elk sized game. And it pretty much proves(for maybe the 260th time) that Lee24 is an idiot. Therefore the 260 is a useful thingy. And Lee24 is useless. 
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Joined: Aug 2004
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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I think the .260 will kill elk fine, although it would not be my first choice. (I have killed a cow with a 6.5-06, as well as having stayed at Holiday Inns, but not last night.)
But I am beginning to have my doubts about the applicability of extrapolating the Swedish moose research data to elk hunting here in the western US. I have had the opportunity to visit Sweden a couple of times in recent years and spent time in their forests (but not hunting). With the exception of shooting from stands over clearcuts, most of their shots are going to be short, and retained energies therefore relatively high. The close shots are a combination of thick forests and very flat topography.
Out here in the West, there are certainly shots that I would be happy to take with a 30-06/300 Win/338 Win that would make me queasy if all I had in my hands was a .260 Rem.
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Joined: Apr 2007
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
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Moose are obviously as large, or larger than, elk. I've never hunted moose so let's get that disclosed up front, but my impression from virtually everything I've read about them is that they "die easy", in the sense that it's typical for them to stand there looking at you, then keel over after a while. Or at least, common. The measly two elk I've killed died pretty quickly, though I hit them with a LOT more than a .260 will deliver. However, looking at the elk killed by guys in my camp in the last 8-10 years, and from what folks say that I talk to in other camps, you can get into some real rodeo's with elk. A determined animal can really make your life hell in terms of recovery. So... just saying that moose and elk are perhaps a similar test of a bullet and cartridge just from a "meat" perspective, but, are they really comparable in terms of the general "hunt"? A question, more than a statement. Thanks. The 6.5x55 SE was very popular in Sweden because it the military used it from 1894 through the 1980s. Rifles chambered in it are very common. In Canada, the .303 Brit was the most popular big game hunting round for many years for the same reason.
Today, the .308 and .30-06 are more often used for moose, according to those who hunt there, and by the game warden records and ammunition sales. Other powerful Continental cartridges like the 7x64mm and 9.3x62 are often used. �
The reason why a particular cartridge is less important than how effective it is. Data from a few years ago (around 2006/2007) show the .30-06 to be more popular by a slight margin with the second most popular cartridge being the .6.5mmx55. The .308 Win was a distant third. Interestingly the compiled data showed the average number of cartridges used to down the moose was 1.5 for both the .30-06 and 6.5mmx55 while the .308 win washigher at 1.7. Average distance the moose traveled before going down was 43 meters for the .30-06, 41 meters for the 6.5mmx55 and 38 meters for the .308 Win. Clearly the 6.5mmx55 is no slouch when it comes to being able to take moose effectively. Cartridge / # of Moose taken 3006 1,938 6.5 x 55 1,717 308 Win 943 9.3 x 62 306 375 H&H M 265 358 Nor M 192 338 Win M 111 7mm Rem M 75 300 Win M 25 458 Win M 18 416 Taylor 17 270 Win 7 9.3 x 74R 7 9.3 x 64 5 460 Wby M 3
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
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Joined: Sep 2005
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If one can shoot an elk with a "bow and arrow" with total confidence why would you hesitate to use something as proven (scandanavian hunters) as a .260?.
Canada by choice, British by Blood
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Multiple dead elk experience including a nice 6 pt. bull with a .260 Rem. - a 140 gr. TBBC will tip them over - period. A couple of them straight down. None lost. They are like the 28 ga. - just kill better than they are supposed to.
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Joined: Feb 2007
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Sure nice to see the good things said about the .260. I have been praising it since day 1 and still there are rumors its days are numbered. Nope, never killed an elk, but we have killed some very large boars (very tough bullet testing material) with the plain 140 CL's.
stumpy
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Joined: Apr 2007
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
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I wouldn't hesitate, remember I hunted 'em with a 7mm-08. But, just for fun, just because a longbow will kill an elk, doesn't mean I won't choose a compound if I were to go bowhunting elk, you know? If one can shoot an elk with a "bow and arrow" with total confidence why would you hesitate to use something as proven (scandanavian hunters) as a .260?.
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
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Over here it is against the law to shoot ANY animal with an "arrowed projectile".This is a terrific topic if you want to get people all het up.I know it is possible to cleanly kill any animal with such as, i know it is possible to do the same with the .260.
Instead of worrying about it and busting an elk then shooting it up the arse then worrying about "shot" placement, just go out and hunt and if you get busted you shouldve looked more and walked less.
Canada by choice, British by Blood
People think there's a rigid class system here, but dukes have been known to marry chorus girls. Some have even married Americans.
HRH Prince Phillip
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I think you are crossing me with Atkinson perhaps? He talks about Texas Heart Shots on elk. I don't. In fact I passed on that shot on the bull I ended up killing a few minutes later, this last year.
Anyway, no fight here. We agree. .260 is going to work within it's limitations...
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
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Joined: Dec 2002
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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140 grain Partition.
I would not use a 120 grain BT, as I have shot a few dozen whitetails with that bullet and have never gotten through/through penetration. With elk, I want a tougher bullet that will hold together, penetrate, and break bone if necessary. I have not shot anything with the 130 grain AB, but if the performance of the 110 grain .257" AB is representative, it would also be a good choice. I have always thought that whoever coined the old saying "small bore, big game, break bone" knew what he was talking about.
Anybody who says that a 260 isn't gun enough for elk, in the hands of a hunter who can shoot, is using a tough enough bullet, and knows where to put that bullet, is full of $hit.
Jeff
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Doesn't Nosler offer a 160 grain Partitian? That's the ticket!
WhenI used to visit Sweden on business in the 1980's, I knew several old timers who used the 6.5x55mm on Swedish Elk (Moose to us). They never seemed to have a problem. Just hit them where it counts.! I like the 156gr or 160gr bullets in the 6.5x55 but the 130-140's in the .260. My 6.5x55 has a faster twist than my wife's 260. Her .260 doesn't stabilize the 160's. Rather than switch between the 120's & 140's depending on what she's hunting I started loading 130gr TSX's for everything. Her 260 shoots them well.
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Jeff_0
No fight here, I was just using the reply function.
Canada by choice, British by Blood
People think there's a rigid class system here, but dukes have been known to marry chorus girls. Some have even married Americans.
HRH Prince Phillip
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Most moose in Sweden are shot at rather short range, compared to elk in the US. Most hunting in Sweden by individuals is from high stands (like treehouses) overlooking clearings and trails inside 100 yards.
Much of the hunting is done in drives, with as many as 70 or 80 men, with a few group permits. The men divide the meat from their quota of moose. The shots are very close.
It is the opinion of a lot of 6.5mm fans that what makes these rifles effective hunting weapons is that they don't operate at high velocities. They seem to work best with 140 grain bullets at 2550 to 2,700 fps muzzle velocity, because they don't expand violently and decelerate quickly, and retain more weight, so they penetrate very well.
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Campfire Ranger
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Sorry i didn't mention it before but those were Montana elk not Swedish ones. ;-{>
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The red stags in Denmark are as large as our smaller elk, like the Roosevelt.
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Campfire Outfitter
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The red stags in Denmark are as large as our smaller elk, like the Roosevelt. Our smaller elk the Roosevelt...? The Roosevelt is our largest NA elk. I used to work with Swedes and Danes who hunted moose and red stag. Lots of the moose hunters now show live video on web cams, so much that work productivity plummets as those who cannot get off to go hunting watch it from their desks.
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If I was out on a hunt, stubled on an elk, and had my 260 or 6.5x55BJAI, I would put a couple through the vitals.
If I were going on an Elk hunt, I would grab one of my 35s...
If a stick and string guy can take an elk, quality bullet would do the same...
I prefer larger dia. holes in my elk, but if it was presented to me.. HELs ya..
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