Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor for 800 yard hunting

HAHAHA......nah i'm ok with being the dork in the corner no one wants to sit with at the lunch table.

I shoot a 7 Rem Mag..... no WSMs for me.

I know a couple folks who’ve killed elk at 800+.... pretty sure it’s mostly a cock measuring thing.

I’m pretty proficient out to 1/2 mile.... hits are much more frequent than misses. I don’t really care what the reason was, or how big a bull is... I ain’t shooting it at that range. Wounded bull.... is a different story, and having the ability to make hits at extended range may mean the difference between a recovery and a sob story.

I believe it was Mr. Shoemaker who once said “there’s a big difference between picking a fight.... and ending one”.... pretty sure he knows what he’s talking about... and it seems appropriate for this discussion.

Beav......fair comparison here:

6.5 creedmoor: 52-53 gr case capacity
6.5 SLR: 55-56 gr
6.5 PRC: 66-67 gr
6.5 SAUM: 70-71 gr

The PRC has 25% more capacity than a creedmoor, and 5-6% less than a SAUM. In quickload, holding pressure constant at 57k psi in a 26" barrel with 140 hybrids, a 6.5 SAUM (H1000) is about 30-40 fps faster than a 6.5 PRC (H1000), and the PRC is 220 fps faster than a 6.5 creedmoor (H4350).

Run your ballistics on the 270 WSM, I'm sure you can run with anything in sane ranges.....

Yep. This is a big part of it.

Here's a heads up. This is the long range hunting forum. Hunting with binoculars can be more challenging than tromping through the woods and finding your game.

Lot's of illusions in here, too

I've heard this rhetoric so many times. I've also heard, from many of the same guys, "I only shoot to 300 yards, and if I can't get any closer than that, the animal wins." That attitude immediately gives me the impression that these guys are not hunting, in the most raw sense of the word. They're just playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the animal, to see if they can kill it or if the animal will get away. IMO, true hunting is being determined, and using all available ethical and legal means to accomplish the objective. Working to hone one's shooting skills at any distance within the effective range of a given chambering and bullet, is just a way to increase the number of tools in the toolbox to "accomplish the objective." Another arrow in the quiver, so to speak. Most of the guys that frequent the LR hunting forum here try to put on a stalk just as diligently as the next guy, but if circumstances are such that the distance can't be closed any more, we're not forced to pack it in and give up as easily as the guy who limits himself to 300. That doesn't mean that we purposefully try to back up if we're presented with a shot that's "too close." That'd be ridiculous.

All this assumes that a guy puts in the time, money, and round count to be totally proficient at whatever range is his max. LR hunting gets a bad name from guys that don't put in the effort, but still take the hail mary shots.

I don’t have a “limit”.... but it usually takes about 2 seconds to look at a shot, and know if I’m comfortable or not. That comfort level and quick assessment comes from missing... not hitting.

I tend to not shoot at moving critters... I’m just not real comfortable with those shots. I missed a lot of running jackrabbits as a kid.... I know that’s not my pitch to hit. I’m way more comfortable with a 500 yard shot in moderate winds... than a 200 yard shot at a moving critter.

A man has got to know his limitations....

Thanks aalf...I appreciated the info....Beaver

No sweat......

Another cool tool....stick with the 270 WSM, put on an 8 twist, and shoot these:

http://www.extremestore.us/berger-e...277-diameter-170-grain-match-box-of-100/

That'll make your homies sit up and take notice.......

We need a "Like" option.

Most guys who try to make this point maintain that shooting from 800 yards is not hunting because the hunter is defeating the animal's senses using technology, and at 800 yards the animal doesn't have a fair chance to detect the hunter and escape.

They don't realize that you can say the same thing about shooting from 250 or 300 yards. But yet, they don't complain about 300 yard shots. Why is that?

800 yard Shots taken with a smaller cartridge hunting rifle like a 308 or a 6.5 Creedmoor by most hunters are very lucky if they get the elk and yes there are a few exceptions. your odds go way up with good rifle practice,using a bag to rest rifle or a bi-pod laying down, good reliable higher powered scope, and yes a bigger cartridge. go to a 1000 yard rifle range and shoot at that distance at that large paper target, you will be very humbled,with your hunting rifle. don`t forget the the 1000 yard range are usally in ideal conditions compared to being in the mountains ,where its cold,ground is uneven and ruff,trees ,brush,high grass and either rain or snow most of the time.you plan on shooting a small cartridge in a regular hunting rifle at a big elk a long ways out ? ever notice most of the time those TV hunters had expensive rifles ,scopes and a spotter-guide guy and its on private land when its sunny too ? well on public land its not that way anymore !

Well,since this thread is getting long and it seems some haven't read the whole thing I'll update it just to say this.

Buying an 800 yard capable rifle and even practicing at those ranges doesn't mean that I'll necessarily ever shoot at an animal that far. I'll just say this one more time. I'm not a young hunter hyped up on long range TV shows. What I am is a hunter that wants to learn more about long range shooting and hunting so that I can be a better hunter. I have no desire to see how far I can kill something.

I've shot my 6.5 SAUM laying next to guys shooting 6.5 Creeds, and they were left in the dust every single time....at every distance.

I'll be doing it again in a few days....Icebreaker VIII is only a few days away. A full report will follow....;)

[RHClark quote].....
Buying an 800 yard capable rifle and even practicing at those ranges doesn't mean that I'll necessarily ever shoot at an animal that far. I'll just say this one more time. I'm not a young hunter hyped up on long range TV shows. What I am is a hunter that wants to learn more about long range shooting and hunting so that I can be a better hunter. I have no desire to see how far I can kill something.[/quote]

[Beaver10]
RH, I don't think you're being persecuted anymore....You explained 3 times including in your original post kicking off this thread what information you were seeking and what you intended to accomplish with a new rifle. You said nothing that made me think, at any time you were ready to set the forests ablaze, launching missiles at game...Only seeking the capabilities of a few calibers and their potential at a distance of 800 yards. This is, as pointed out, by another poster, the "Long Range Shooting" section...Your OP did morph into a sanctimonious church, with a few people singing from the back pews out of a different hymn book, but only temporarily...Amen. All is right.

aalf and Pat and others, too, provided you some good input of on the 6.5 capabilities...Thanks for starting this thread... I got some good info from it and a few laughs, albeit at my own expense....DogS

Footnote...yesterday while reading postings and replying here, I was multitasking, installing new hinges on a few cabinets in our kitchen....Some of you know I'm experiencing vertigo for the first time in my life... 2.5 weeks with this crap is getting very old...So, I am standing on a kitchen chair holding a cabinet door and my Dewalt power tool getting ready to set screws when vertigo hits me so hard that I fell with my 220lbs body, face first, into our kitchen window. My face, I mean "nose" stopped my fall...I broke my nose, again. Yardsale'd kitchen appliances and dishes all over the place. Scared the hell out of my dog, who ran for cover...No Lassie to my rescue from my fine pet...

Next stop...ENT for face improvements once again....Carry On...Beav

Ice Breaker VIII sounds like Armageddon on small creatures with soft fur...Look forward to your report....I leave next week for our kick-off of carnage on ground squirrels. Beav10

[Beaver10]
RH, I don't think you're being persecuted anymore....You explained 3 times including in your original post kicking off this thread what information you were seeking and what you intended to accomplish with a new rifle. You said nothing that made me think, at any time you were ready to set the forests ablaze, launching missiles at game...Only seeking the capabilities of a few calibers and their potential at a distance of 800 yards. This is, as pointed out, by another poster, the "Long Range Shooting" section...Your OP did morph into a sanctimonious church, with a few people singing from the back pews out of a different hymn book, but only temporarily...Amen. All is right.

aalf and Pat and others, too, provided you some good input of on the 6.5 capabilities...Thanks for starting this thread... I got some good info from it and a few laughs, albeit at my own expense....DogS

Footnote...yesterday while reading postings and replying here, I was multitasking, installing new hinges on a few cabinets in our kitchen....Some of you know I'm experiencing vertigo for the first time in my life... 2.5 weeks with this crap is getting very old...So, I am standing on a kitchen chair holding a cabinet door and my Dewalt power tool getting ready to set screws when vertigo hits me so hard that I fell with my 220lbs body, face first, into our kitchen window. My face, I mean "nose" stopped my fall...I broke my nose, again. Yardsale'd kitchen appliances and dishes all over the place. Scared the hell out of my dog, who ran for cover...No Lassie to my rescue from my fine pet...

Next stop...ENT for face improvements once again....Carry On...Beav













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I didn't really think I was being persecuted. I realize the post might have sounded a bit that way,now more than when I posted it. I appreciate all the helpful input and the expressions of caution and restraint.

I won't be the one eating your dust this year, but only because I can't make the trip. next year we'll both have PRC's to compare (and I'm expecting my share of dust even then....grin)

I've shot several 6.5's at longer ranges, and while the 6.5 Creedmoor surprises shooters who've limited themselves to "normal" hunting ranges with cartridges they assume would beat it at 500+ yards, shooting the same bullets at higher muzzle velocities also makes a difference--whether the cartridge is a 6.5-06, .264 Winchester Magnum or 26 Nosler.

Am going to test the 6.5 GAP this spring and summer, and am looking forward to it.

Rather than considering an 800 yard shot, spend more time improving your stalking skills. While long range is fun and informative, I question the ethics on a live animal.