Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 6.5 CM for white tails. What load?

we don't usually shoot more than 150, sometimes we have opportunities out to 300 but rarely. I shoot the 6.5x55 with the nosler accubonds

Used a Creedmoor for the first time this season. Gave it to my son to draw first blood. ELD X, 143 gr factory Hornaday load. Shots were about 100 yards and 50 yards. Pass through at 50 and found the jacket at the last rib at 100.

I need a bunch more kills, especially at long range to get used to the ELD X since we primarily use Barnes bullets.

Cool thanks for the reply.... the Swede and Accubonds sounds like a solid combo....hard to improve on that

No hunter orange requirement in VT?

120 ballistic tip,125 partition or 130 accubond........done!
good luck,
Big Ed

140 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip!

Pick a load, flip a coin, it just doesn’t matter.

Two of the best photos on this forum...

Bumping this up, as I tested out a couple of 140gr eldm on some cull deer today, and second set we moved into thick woods, instead of the fields we started out in. #1 was 75 yds, and #2 was maybe 25yds. I intentionally shot for double shoulders, as they were smaller deer (100#), and I new they’d die....but I wanted to see if I got exits or not, and what expansion was......both exited, and how. Both began expanding in the first shoulder, and had baseball exits on the off shoulders. Damage was massive. Both deer DRT....neither took a step. Inclinations are it’s good for anything, and likely better at longer ranges, as far as ‘textbook’ performance.....but up close, they act like the old 30cal, 125NBTs we used to run at over 3k, for no tracking. Sorry....no pics, got busy cleaning up and forgot. Anyhoo, if you find a deal on these and your gun likes them, don’t overlook them for woods goat hunting. Just don’t shoot the shoulders if you want to eat them. LOL

Winner Winner!

Drew first blood with my CM yesterday running the ELDM. Shot was about 150yds. Deer never would give me a good look at both shoulders or the base of the neck. I had a decent rest...not what I wanted but felt it was serviceable. Someone took the tall seat out the box stand I was in and left a way short folding stool. I adapted as best I could. Anyway I guess I must not have been as solid as I wanted to be when the shot broke. Bullet entered rib cage just ahead of paunch and then exited again just behind the same side shoulder. There was blood everywhere and the 60yd blood trail was unreal. Like someone just went through the woods pouring it out of a bucket. Upon skinning/gutting we found both lungs destroyed although there was no indication that the bullet even got anywhere near the offside lung. I'll be anxious to find another test subject for the ELDM. However after season I'll start handloading. The 130accubond and the 120ttsx are high on my list

So, which ELD-M were you using?

I shot a buck with the 120 grains BT and recovered the bullet. Muzzle velocity 2950 and deer was 100 yds.


69 grains recovered

What seems odd, is the folks using ELD-X and other stuff that ‘should’ be stouter than the ELD-M, and NOT getting exits, while I double-shouldered those two and got baseball exits with the ELD-M? By all accounts it’s bass-ackwards, and not what I expected when I looked at the fine print before playing with the 140 eldm. Now, maybe a different story if they were quartering, and I went through double the tissue?

absolutely perfect looking bullet bud. could you tell us the particulars as i'd have figured a broadside shot it woulda exited....
Big Ed

The buck was at a quartering angle facing away when I shot him. Bullet entered left ribs , broke 3 ribs through heart and lodged into right shoulder. I'm not sure if it hit bone but I think it went through the softer part of the upper part of the shoulder maybe hitting some of the wide blade. I was surprised to find it also as I have never recovered one.

That's not the first time I've heard accounts of the M doing better than the X, which is counter intuitive...

DF

I was looking for a good exit and better blood trail than my 243 was giving me. Bought a tikka 6.5. It took 4 whitetail this year with factory Hornaday precision hunter with the Eldx. Trying to shoot behind shoulder as we butcher our own and they sometimes turn into a nasty pile of snot!

#1. 248 yards, hole through both lungs the size of a quarter. Ran 30-40 yards and flopped
#2. 35 yards, same damage. Left good tracking material (blood, etc.) 5 food up a tree behind her. Went 10 yards
#3. 170 yards, same damage. Ran 40 yards with great blood.
#4. 75 yards, wife made a back lung/liver hit. Went 60-70 yards and piled up fast. Blood on this one was decent but exit hole didn’t seem to be as defined as others.

I’m happy I went with the new setup

Factory 143 eldx did not exit a 100lb doe, shot broad side at 60 yards. DRT but no exit wound is a bit concerning.

Any bullet on the market, 100 grains or more will work just fine in a Creedmoor, or any other 6.5 mm round... on about any deer that ever walked...anywhere...

translation, if ya are buying factory ammo, there is really no bad choice...

I'm a 260 Rem shooter for the record... and 6.5 x 55 and 6.5 x 57...