I’ve taken deer with everything from a .243 to .338 Win Mag with about a dozen more in between. With all that, I’d find it very hard to argue against the 6.5 Creedmoor as the best deer cartridge.
East or West, 6 - 600 yards (even with the same bullet!), mild recoil, bucks the wind.
Great factory ammo with tons of different bullets is widely available at good prices. It’s an accurate little bugger, and handloaders can get just about any bullet to shoot well in one.
If I was an Eastern or Midwestern hunter, I’d choose something like a 120gr Ballistic Tip or TTSX, or maybe a 129gr SST or 130gr AccuBond for a little extra zip within 300 yards. Out here, I like the 142gr ABLR and 143gr ELD-X for a bit more velocity retention and wind bucking in case a longer shot becomes necessary. There are plenty of other 6.5 bullets that would get the job done but these seem to appeal to me and my rifle the most.
What could be a sadder way to end a life than to die having never hunted with great dogs, good friends and your family?
