Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting have you seen a 6.5 used on elk

Am looking into possibilities for an elk rifle. Was looking at a 280 AI, but I am not as happy with the platforms available in my budget. So I was looking at platforms, and seeing what chamberings were available. One that keeps popping up is a 6.5 prc. Just wondering about real world experience with any 6.5 on elk. I do handload, and am familiar with matching the bullet to the intended game. I would probably use something in the hammer bullet line. I am open to either good or bad experiences. I am trying to stay away from heavy recoiling guns, so am not really interested in something like a 300 win mag.

What rifles have you looked at? Also, what are the top three features that you are looking for in a rifle? As to the 6.5 on elk, I'll leave that to others. My friend shot a bison 6 times with a .264 win mag before using my 30/06 to finish the job. If you aren't planning on taking potshots at an animal from the next county over why not just use a .308? It is available in pretty much every rifle made, and will put an elk down just fine out to about 500 yards.

Might have.

Buckle up.

Lots of people on here, including myself have nothing but positive things to say about 6.5mm cartridges on elk.

Bullet construction can be a bit contentious in associated conversations, but the caliber generally is not.

Yes. Killed a decent bull at 590 two years ago with a single poke with a 6.5 SAUM spitting a 143 ELD-X. No drama and tipped over about 10 yards from where i shot him.



Watched TDN dump a nice bull on the opener last year at 425ish with his semi-custom 6.5 PRC. Same 143 ELD-X bullets. Bull made it about 30 yards from initial impact spot.



143 Bullets extracted from Tim's bull...




If a guy can't get it done with a 6.5 PRC, golf should probably be his hobby.

Dave

1. Manageable recoil
2. Price
3. 400 yd capability

Was looking at the Mauser M18. Is in my price range, if they had it in 280 I would be all over that. I am not opposed to a 270 either...just like to shoot less common chamberings. But that is neither here nor there.

In that price range you might also check out the Weatherby Vanguard series 2 rifles. I have one in 7mm-08 that was like $650 out the door with a Vortex scope. I would use that to 400 yards no problem. I'm not trying to talk you out of a 6.5 whatever. I love my Swede and it kills FAR above it's paper ballistics. Heck, a Swede or even a Creedmore would work if you aren't going past 400.

I would rate them:

1. .270 gets #1 just because I have killed a bunch of elk with one.
2. 6.5 Creedmore
3. 7mm-08

All three would work. Ammo availability is great for all three and they all have reasonable recoil, although the .270 is noticeably stiffer than the other two. At least in my experience.

I was looking more and looks like in the 700-800 range I would have options in 270 wsm... Tikka Browning winchester etc

I personally have never killed an elk with a .264" diameter bullet, but I have seen it done quite a few times.
Cartridges were;
6.5 Swede. -- 9 times Most were good kills with 2 being not so good. Bullets used were from 123 to 160 grains. The "not so good ones" were thinly jacketed 140s and one time with 123 grain bullets.
264 Win Mag -- 1 time. Winchester 140 grain factory load. Seemed fine.
260 Remington. -- 5 times. 4 different hunters with 3 having very good results and 2 having bad experience with bullet that shattered and didn't penetrate well. Bullets from 130 to 160 grains. All the bad ones were "super accurate" but just didn't hold together.
6.5/06 -- 2 times. One good kill and one poor kill that took 2 shots both hitting the back end of the lungs and we still had to track it for about 1/4 mile.

All did fine when mated with bullet that hold together, but the only bullets I have seen used that gave exits wounds all fired Barnes X or 140 grain Partitions. Even they don't exit about 1/2 the time, so placement is important because if the elk doesn't drop fast you may be in for a challenging tracking job, if you have no exit wound to leave a good blood trail. Hit right with 6.5s the elk don't go far.

If you were going to use a 6.5 PRC for elk I would say Solid Expanding types are what you'd want to look at pretty hard.

T. Inman said it best;
Bullet construction can be a bit contentious in associated conversations, but the caliber generally is not.

Using good hunting bullets instead of "target bullets' I would hunt with a 6.5 with no great concern. I have not done that yet, but tit doesn't mean I would not. As of now I only own one 6.5, and it's the old 1903 6.5X54 M/S. Yet with the 156 and 160 grain bullets I choose to mate it with, I would not even hesitate to kill elk with it. Renowned hunters from about 1904 clear through the 1940s used it and said a lot of good things about it, so a 6.5PRC is going to do everything the old Mannlicjer will do and more. Just don't shoot bullets that break up because they are "more accurate" . Elk are not small.

More deadly is WAAAAAAAAAAAY more important then more accurate.

^^^^^This^^^^^

Yep. I've used a 6.5x55 Swede on a could in my native CO. Tipped them over without any trouble.

One elk 6.5X55, 200 yards, 140 grain Cor-Lokt, one shot ,dead elk, never moved.I am and have been a believer in the 6.5 aka .264 caliber since the mid 80's.

1 elk with the 6.5X55 140 gr. Partition. Taking a 6.5 Creed this season using the 143 gr. ELD-X.

Not expecting any drama.

LOL.

OP,

Please explain why you are thinking you're ready for 800yds.

Thanks.

John, goddammit.

I read that to say 700-800 price range, but I could be wrong.

Just askin.

Guy comes here wondering about bullet diameters and suddenly want to whack bulls at 1/2 mile with an incredibly compromised cartridge.

LOL.

Right or Wrong what a great example of how we all should slow our roll.

Thanks for adding the input.

Sorry meant in the 700 to 800 dollar price range. I am not planning on shooting anything at 800 yards

John, I think he meant in the $700-800.00 price range. In an earlier post he did mention 400 yards. We know the creedmoor or sweed is more than capable of taking elk at that range. I'm surprised you didn't post your YVZ video of him taking that bull at 600 yards. Old Wayne did look surprised the creedmoor worked on that big bull though..

See above.

Slowing my roll.

ETA: Skip the .270 WSM no matter the range.

One of your criteria is low recoil, but you have mentioned two short magnums. .270 wsm and 6.5 prc, which is a necked down .300 Ruger Compact Magnum. Magnums don't usually equal low recoil. I understand that everyone has a different recoil tolerance, and that a properly designed stock mitigates a good deal of the felt recoil, but physics are physics. The faster you launch a projectile, the more recoil you are going to have.

I also would skip the .270 WSM also.

I'm a big 6.5 fan , I think I have 5 of them but don't beat up on a 270 WSM too bad. Good bullets do good things when you put them where they should go, even if they are .013" bigger or smaller than the other.

I haven’t stretched my 7mm-08 to 400 yards on elk but my nephew has. 5x6 bull a couple of years ago, 150 Eldx, 409 yards. Dead in a hurry. My farthest bull with a 7mm-08 was a spike at 346 yards. DRT, not a step.

Take a close look at the 7mm-08. 150 grain bullet, .574 bc at 2790 mv is no joke.



P

have taken elk with both the .260rem and 6.5CM with 140gr partitions all of them under 300yds one shot

Great pics Mike. Hope all is well with you, and good luck this year on your hunts.

So maybe I am not as recoil sensitive as I thought. I was running some reoil numbers, and comparing them to the 45 70 i shot for several years. I had a 420 grain bullet running at 1550 fps which according to what I found should be very similar to a 7mm mag with a 160 at 3150 fps. I was able to handle the 45-70 even though I would not want to shoot more than 15-20 rounds at a time, I could keep from flinching.
The only thing I don't like about the 7 mags is that most in my price range have the 1:9.5 twist.

I have or have had about all the 6.5"s except the prc and was also looking at getting the mauser 18 but got to looking for ammo and couldn't find any so end of story

I usually don't feel recoil when I'm hunting. Have you considered getting either a .270 or 30/06, hunt with it for a year and having it re-barreled into a .280 AI for next year? You could spread your costs out that way.

Just took a large AK moose with my .264 Win Mag last week. Shooting 140 Partitions @ 3,050 fps. High shoulder shot at 80 yds put him down for good. Found bullet under the hide on the far side.

You can grab a Mauser M18 in 6.5PRC here for $429.

https://www.eurooptic.com/Mauser-M18-65-PRC-22-Synthetic-5rd-Mag-Bolt-Action-Rifle-M18065P.aspx

Regards,

SD

I've never seen a 6.5 anything used on elk, that I can recall. Strange. I've seen smaller (243, 6mm, 257 Roberts) and bigger (270, 280, 7RM, 30-06, various 30 cal magnums, etc.). What I noticed is that the animals all died about the same when shot well, and went a ways when they weren't. I have and hunt with folks that have a "shoot until it doesn't get up" rule. Shooting and then admiring the shot isn't allowed.

The most dramatic kills I've seen where the CNS wasn't a factor were from a 257 Roberts and 100gr Partitions at 250 Savage speed from just over 100 yards, a 300 SAUM shooting 190 Bergers at 70-80yds, and a 300 RUM at just over 200 using 180gr Sciroccos. All broadside, and all bang-flop. It really is the Indian, and not so much the arrow, I think. Elk don't want to die, but they succumb fast when hit in the right spot.

Most people don’t feel recoil when taking the shot at the animal. I admit I need to practice so while doing so recoil is noticed. Especially when practicing in different positions.

Yep. Seen a few creedmoors, LOTS of 6.5-284, and quite a few with my own 264 win, which now belongs to a friend that guides with me. They kill Elk just fine.

Only 6.5CM I've seen on a big 5 point elk was a disaster. 420 yards.

Through video on spotting scope looked like good hit. Slight quartering away. Minimal blood. Tracked for too long. Never found it

Guy punched his tag cause he was convinced bull died. Maybe he was right. Seemed like a good hit.

It happens. Could of been a 300 prc and could of happened, but just soured me.

Spine shots drop animals.

I killed two raghorn bulls last year in Colorado and Wyoming (at 150 and 250 yards), both dead right there. Used a Long Rifles Inc. custom Mountain Rifle with Pierce Ti action in 6.5 GAP 4S, 156 Berger at 2850 fps.

Killed my first bull elk last year with a 6.5 SAUM and a139 scenar. Great combo...

Then watched 2 more bulls taken down at over 300 yds with 6.5x284 and 142 ABLR.

I think they work.

No, but hide and watch for my 6.5-300 Bee in the future. happy Trails

Funny, I've been researching the 6.5 PRC. Any experiences with elk at close range with 0.264 bullets? I tend toward a stouter bullet when I'm elk hunting because I've shot most at less than 100 yards and as close as 30 feet.

I've only killed one elk. Cow. .260, Rem 725,140 gr Corelokt, @150 yards or so.

Bang, flop.

It has also worked well on a number of caribou as big or bigger than that cow elk. None got away, or went very far. Even that one I first-round peckershot, but he wasn't moving very fast afterward. I got closer then....

I hope to use it on a moose one day. I have every confidence it is enough gun within reason.

I love me some lengua tacos but might have to pass on that fellas tongue. Her was an azz lickin' SOB!

Killed a bull at 43 yards last year with 6.5-06 156 grain Berger. No drama.

I like no drama. In fact I prefer zero drama

Quite a few for me. Three with the 6.5x284, two with the .260 and one with the 6.5 Creedmoor.

The most impressive kill I’ve ever made was the largest bull elk I’ve ever seen, a massive 6x6 that easily weighed 900 lbs on the hoof. A single shot from a lasered 435 yards plowed through and broke both shoulders. The elk hit the ground so hard that dust flew up. I was using a pet custom 700 in 6.5x284 and a 125gr Nosler partition. Shot two other nice bulls with that rifle. Both of those were bang/flop, as well.

Took a decent 5x5 and a spindly 6x5 with the .260 Rem. Again, no drama and both fell where hit. About 80 yards and about 175 yards, both with 120 TTSX.

Last was a fine 6x6 bull at 290 yards. The 142 ABLR fired from the 6.5 Creedmoor clipped a tiny bit of the near shoulder and absolutely destroyed the off shoulder, leaving a quarter-size exit wound. DRT.

Just finished a cow elk hunt using a 124gr Hammer Hunter bullet in a 6.5 WSM. From my post elsewhere on the elk forum: "The 124 grain Hammer hunter bullet from the 6.5 WSM entered through some muscle on the back of the shoulder, though an onside rib, though an offside rib and scapula, and exited. Meat loss was minimal around the bullet path. One of the petals of the all copper bullet was found under the far side hide. As the gutless method of dressing was used, the internal trauma was not checked."

You can kill them with a 22 Long Rifle as well as a 6.5. There are lots of cartridges out there more suitable for elk. And yes for those who question my background, I have been in on well over 100 elk kills in my lifetime.

When I was guiding, a 100 elk to 'be in on', was about 2 years worth.....

Wow! The math on that if it was a 25 day season means 2/day, every day. That is quite a success story.

Colorado. Late August for archery to mid November. More than 25 days.....

Apparently you're not really familiar with the Ruger Compact Magnum case, or the 6.5 PRC. It basically duplicates .30-06 powder room in a shorter case. The 6.5 PRC is essentially a short-action 6.5-06, with no "magnum recoil" involved.

"Huntsman" I have been on two guided hunts, neither bought me an elk. Would you have been comfortable with all of those hunters carrying a 6.5?. Were all the shots with the elk standing broadside in a large opening away from the timber? How many did you lose to an off place shot? Do you carry a 6.5 ?

Yes. No. 2 in 11 years. Yes.

In that Mauser 18 the 6.5 PRC and 7mm Remington are standouts although they chamber for several other good choices too. The 9.3x62 is a great cartridge if shots are not that long, 400 yards is doable with a 9.3 easily. If you eliminate the 223 & 243 that leaves 10 elk worthy choices in the basic Mauser 18. In the 7RM if you load 50-150 fps short of maximum you will be in solid 280 AI territory. Recoil is not that bad with 160 grain or less bullets especially when under the maximum velocity slightly.

There are lots of cartridges out there that would be better for elk.

I shot my first elk in 1973 with a 264 win mag and my last elk about 2 weeks ago with a 6.5 STW. And probably 20 or so total with 6.5's. Good bullet and good placement works every time.