Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 6.5 CM for pronghorn

After shooting over 40 antelope with just the 243 and the 25-06 I decided 100 grain bullets in a 25-06 is to much of a good thing. I like eating antelope most of all and a lot of bloodshot meat isn't at all needed. Step up to 117 &120 gr bullets and less blood shot meat. Better yet 95-105 gr .243's at 2900-3100 fps is easier on the carcass. I hardly ever take anything but a double lung ribcage shot on them. I don't hunt in a crowd and the 25 -100 yds they go after a double lung shot bothers nothing. Yeah the Swede ,the Creed and 260 would be good choices to. MB

From all I have gleaned about the 6.5 Creedmoor, it’s probably a perfect cartridge for speed goats. They aren’t hard to kill, just hit ‘em in the vitals. Not tough as larger deer and elk. Good hunting! Happy Trails

Maybe aim a little lower?

At 16 years old, I'd be trying to have him figure out what he thinks he wants for a gun to keep for life. Then get that and let him hunt.

He just needs to find one factory load that will shot well in his .25/06 and he is in business. I counted 7 factory loads that feature a 100 grain bullet and I am sure one of those will shoot good enough in his rifle.

Our NM jackwabbits are a whole different ballgame.

As posted above the 6.5mm CM is a no brainer for a new hunter.

Ammo selection is great and will only get better and he will never outgrow the round.

Thanks all!

I do have the ability and all the equipment to reload I just don’t always have the time. That’s another craft I’d like for my son to learn and enjoy. I’m pretty set on the 6.5cm so he’ll have a nice rifle for hunting and if he decides to shoot long distance silhouettes it should work well also. He really enjoys the outdoors hunting, fishing and shooting!

As posted already, excellent round that he’ll not out grow.

I’m a seasoned reloader and have been amazed how accurate factory ammo is. I have to work to beat it.

DF

I think a 6mm Remington or .243 Win. are both enough for a kid shooting goats and muleys. And you can get a Rem. 700 ADL Synthetic at Academy for under $400. put a Leupold VX-3i 3.5-10x40 on it and you've got all he can shoot. or shop around on Gun Broker and some of the other sights and you can find it cheaper. I bought four VX-3i 3.-10X40s and paid anywhere from $265-$319.And remember with Leupold scopes you have a life time warranty. I think you can find a rifle used for $300.00 or under.

Uh oh, the voice of reason. We can’t tolerate that type of input here.

Welcome to the Fire.

Don't overlook the 6mm Creedmoor..... it is twisted right.

Have numerous 6.5 s

Succumbed to pressure and picked up a tikka ctr in 6.5 cm

For antelope in 2018

Shot great . 400 plus yards boom 10 yards and down in 40 mph winds

Mike,

What’s your favorite 6CM load?

DF

True, but I have seen very few inexpensive rifles that will not shoot well enough to hunt with. That was my point. An expensive rifle and dog scope is useless, whereas, a cheap rifle and decent scope is a winner.

If the son shows that he really likes hunting, then get him a quality rifle and a quality scope. No "throwaway" rifles/scope combos, etc. I have seen plenty of "very good", quality rifles out there. I even find excellent , well made "older rifles" ( my latest is a 1980 Mod 700 Classic, looks brand new) on gunbroker, etc. If girls/video games have a greater influence, then get him a Savage scope/combo and enjoy just being with him.

Buy the young man a 6.5 CM of his own and a decent scope, he will be thanking you for it 50 years from now.

Me, too. I'm a life-long .257 fan and have a solid stockpile of bullets 'n' brass. I don't need both, but if I were to find my .257 stolen, I'd replace it with a 6.5CM in a heartbeat.

Tom

I would suggest, right now, if you haven't already, get him a good 17 HMR rimfire with a decent scope. Have him practice a lot and shoot varmints,etc. sniping squirrels, etc will really help develop his skill set. Aim small, miss small works just as well for a 50yd squirrel as a 300yd pronghorn! It will also work swell in a prairie dog town if you can swing a trip in early summer. the great thing about prairie dogs and antelope is the boy "will see a lot of animals"! That is so very important for a youngster. We old guys sit around and day dream and we can sit on a ridge all day ( well, a big part of the day!) but a kid "needs" action. Good luck to you pard!

I'll agree a rifle with a broken scope that won't hold zero isn't worth much as a combo. Just had a Burris FF-II 3-9x replaced by Burris as unfixable. Even then the rifle was holding 2-1/2 MOA, which is good enough for most hunting situations. Had a rifle that shot bug holes until it started shooting patterns (sold it), SIL had a rifle that wouldn't feed reliably (repaired), I had another that decided not to eject (repaired) and hunted with a guy who, at the end of the hunt, informed us his safety wasn't working so he kept his finger "off the trigger" (never hunted with him again). GIve me a reliable and reasonably accurate firearm and just about any scope that holds zero and I'll make it work.

Guess that's a long-winded way of saying "I have seen very few inexpensive scopes that will not work well enough to hunt with."

Granted, long range shooting has different requirements, but that applies to both rifle and scope.