Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 6.5 Creed - moose bullets

Yep, and a great price too at less than $50 per 100. It's got the weight, weight retention and wide expansion:

https://ravenrocksprecision.com/norma-6-5mm-264-156gr-oryx-bullets-100-ct-box/

The only moose that i have shot, fell to a 160 Partition, from a 7 mag-shot through the neck at about 175 yards. That being said, I have shot my Creedmoors a lot and have killed loads of deer at all ranges out to past 400 yard. One bullet that does not get much mention, that penetrates and expands well, is the 140-grain Speer Gold Dot. It is a bonded bullet and has impressed me on deer. The penetration, even past 300 yards, has been outstanding with a very good wound channel. I did kill one elk with it, but it was a spine shot, so not really a test. With what I have seen from this bullet, I would have no problem shooting a big animal-if I did not have my 7 mag to use.

I am going to shoot a bison in another week or so. I was really considering the Creed, but just could not pass using my trusty 160 Partitions.

Good Luck with your moose hunt…..and good decision on the cartridge! memtb

I've owned a 257 Wby. In fact, I was with Jordan when we got a dandy buck with said 257 Wby. And, there's a punchers chance that buck would be right there with most of the BIG BUCKS you're always yammering about in northern MN.

It didn't kill any deader, better or faster than the last 10 bucks I've killed with the 6.5 Creedmoor.

The Weatherby is gone, the 6.5 Creedmoor(s) remain.

I wish we had more of those.. less than 20 boxes left. We'll try to get more. We do have some 143gr Bondstrike in stock as well https://ravenrocksprecision.com/norma-bondstrike-6-5mm-143gr-100/

I only read the first couple of pages. Something most responders haven't touched on is the distances at which they got their moose. Since the O.P. is prepared to shoot out to 400 yards I would recommend something bigger than what he is proposing. I've killed a fair number of moose with a .270 and 150 gr. Nosler Partitions but the longest was at 300 yards. At that distance the moose turned and walked away from the shot. I found him not too far away but don't know what would have happened with a lighter caliber.

A buddy killed either one or two with a .243. However, these were called moose shot at under 100 yards. At the time this was a rifle of necessity not of choice.

The majority of mine were also called in and shot at 60 to 70 yards. The quickest one I ever killed was in later years with a .338 Winchester.

I am unfamiliar with why some shooters are hell bent to use light calibers when there are better available. But as O'Connor said "well it's all fun and games." (That may be paraphrasing a bit.)

Jim

Because they don't buy the assertion that bigger is better.

The Swedes have been slaying moose for 100+ years with a 6.5 caliber bullet and they don’t consider it a light caliber.

The Indian and the arrow and all that.

^^^^ This

A short story about moose hunting. My Dad hunts with a group of guys that have money and time. They all shoot 300 or 338 WM because "moose are big and tough". Their last trip, one guy shot one in the hoof at less than 100 yards. They got the moose. Another was shot in the guts. Again, said moose was recovered. I've seen enough animals shot poorly with piss poor shooting. Common denominator? Overgunned + poor shooting skills/mechanics.

As for me, I shoot my creedmoor very well from any reasonable field position. As I do my 308 and 270. When you gack ballistics of the 3 cartridges, their isn't much difference between them.

I'd add that a 150 LRAB or similar traveling at 2700 isn't going to bounce off. I'd opine that it is a better mousetrap than a bigger cartridges shooting "normal/standard" hunting bullets from both a shootability and ballistic standpoint. Having archery hunted almost exclusively for a 15 year period, it's not kinetic energy that kills animals. Most of my kills were with with a simple 2 blade cut on impact broadhead (Zwickey Eskimo). About any expanding bullet will create more internal damage than a broadhead. It's the bullet and associated internal damage that kills animals.

As to distances, good point. I mentioned 400 yards because that is normally the first question asked. 400 yards is my self-imposed limit on animals that aren't wounded. In reality, the shots on this moose hunt will be sub 100 yards.

The majority of the moose killed where I live in Albert are usually inside 150 yards , but some have been shot with what n=many consider small cartridges at distance twice that far.
I have killed them past 200 with a .303 Brit- another cartridge many consider "inadequate" , yet there are still many killed up here every year with them.
The furthest 6.5 Creedmoor kill I can think of off the top of my head would be an elk at just over 400 yards.
Cat

Knew an old boy in Salcha, AK who collected savage model 99s and hunted everything with a 300 savage. Although he did allow he’d used a 250 savage for deer and ‘bou.

Said 308 was too much of a good thing.

Lots of Swedes in Alaska killing moose with 6.5x55s.

Knew another sourdough who hunted moose with a 308 and 220 grain Hornady round nose bullets. “It’s my American Swede!” He’d say. Never lost a moose, but limited gunshots to under 300 yards. “Trajectory like a rainbow, hits like Thor’s hammer.”

When my friend was recently brown bear hunting on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Russian guides used (and he used) old 30-06 Mauser in 30-06 with 220 grain Hornady bullets. The guides claimed bigger was just bigger, and the 30-06/220 combination killed just fine, and was the most boom that just about anyone could handle without flinching.

Wouldn’t be afraid to shoot your 6.5 Creed at Angelo anywhere.

I own a 1903 Mannlicher Schoenauer (the less sought Greek version) that came off the Kenai. It has eleven notches in the stock, all scoring a moose and was fitted only with a peep, suggesting the owner must have gotten close.

It had been rechambered to 6.5/257 Rbts, came to me with dies and a handful of 140 gr. Horn I-lock reloads. The stock is warped pushing on one side of the barrel, but it still shoots OK (pie plate 100 yd accuracy with my eyes). Weighs only about 6 lbs.

I'm not sure I'd have the stones to take it moose hunting, but someone did! Your 6.5 Creed with a 140gr.+ tough pill sent to proper placement can get it done!

Despite knowing that a larger Caliber/cartridge is better, it seems that you are looking for permission to do something g you already have planned.
I would recommend that you contact a reputable moose hunting guide and get their thoughts.

Not sure how you get "permission to do something you already planned to do". I asked specifically about bullets and experiences with 6.5 caliber bullets on moose. Several turned it into a bigger caliber/cartridge discussion.......

I've shot a fair bit of game mostly with 7mm and 30 cal cartridges. I'm relatively new to the 6.5 caliber of cartridges, hence the question. I have zero doubt it will work fine to dispatch a swamp donkey.

I think many are missing the physics involved here and opining based on preferences. I keep seeing people write about some margin of safety or incremental gain by a bigger bullet. I buy that over 35/37 cal and likely heavy for caliber frangible bullets driven by 30 and 338 cartridges on the larger side. Why? Because you do acquire more internal damage by more bullet to do damage - unless you run a 'harder' bullet or stretch the distance beyond the expansion envelope of said bullet.

I don't recall exactly who coined the phrase throttling back the cartridge by going to a harder bullet but I like it. Run a thin skinned bullet (ie "target") through a shoulder at warp speed and penetration will be limited, explosive, shallow but limited.

In my mind there are 2 ways to control expansion - use a 'harder' bullet or slow down the bullet, which can also mean use a smaller cartridge. If a cartridge that drives bullets at warp speed is used, in my mind you need a 'harder' bullet to hold back some of the expansion. I prefer to say match the bullet velocity to the bullet velocity envelope.

Bullets today are excellent and allow for a wider range applications. Like recoil? Use an bonded cup/core or X bullet. Hate recoil? Use a smaller cartridge/more frangible bullet. Something in between? Match the bullet to the bullet velocity window at your expected ranges. I don't think it more complex than that. All a bullet needs to do is sufficiently expand to cause sufficient damage and penetrate to the far side of the plumbing to be effective. Angles add complexity and require more penetration.

Which begs the question: is a 1.5 inch hole through the lungs less effective than a 2" hole? 3" hole? At some point the answer is Yes it does. I personally don't know at what point an X" hole is more effective than a 1 or 2 inch hole. But I do know without a doubt that a 1" hole is effective.

From the 4 animals I shot with the creedmoor last year, the 150 ABLR drive at 2700 drives about a 2" hole and much larger effective damage area around that hole. I pulled the heart/lungs and saw it. Included is a big cow elk shot at 40-50 yards quartering to me. That bullet did not exit but penetrated 20-24" of elk as far as I could see.

As I age, I'm coming around to trying to justify recoil. I'm not hugely recoil sensitive till it gets above 25-27 ft/lbs. Then I need to concentrate more. Apparently that level of recoil puts me in the woos category. I'm way better seved with using smaller cartridges and paying attention to the bullets - ranges - game, than i am to the recoil impulse.

While I personally have no doubt at all that the 6.5 will handily kill a moose, given that you do own more substantial cartridges I do think the question of "Why?" is somewhat fair.

I wouldnt think twice about using a 6.5 over a more substantial round, if it was a question of matching the rifle setup to the parameters of a specific hunt. Other than that however, I'd have a hard time inventing a good reason for it.

The 7/08 seems to have 2 kinds of user, the ones stepping up to it and the ones stepping back to it. The later being more comfortable and content with the decision.

It all comes back to "knowing" what a decent 140grain bullet can do launched around 2900fps. There is more wind from detractors than will ever be found in the field.

What powder are you using Pete?
Factory Specs for the 100 gainer was 3550fps.......

Never shot or hunted moose. Have a few friends who have taken moose (800 lb+). The closest cartridge to your 6.5 CM of those friends who have taken moose was was with a single shot from a 140 grain Rem CorLokt factory 7-08 load at 75 yards. A ~140 grain 6.5 bullet certainly has the sectional density for good penetration.

Wishing you good fortune on your moose hunt.

Exo - fair question on why?

Several:

1. I shoot the 6.5 creed very well from any reasonable field positions. Recoil is light and I find I can pick out a spot, squeeze off a shot, and see it hit. Recoil recovery time is close to zero.

2. I've also had shoulder surgery (torn labrum, torn Bicep tendon, end of the acromium ground off due to bone spurs and arthritis, etc). Less recoil is better.

3. I have confidence in the cartridge/bullet. I have shot quite a few animals with bigger cartridges. At this point in my life, and with the bullets available, I'm struggling to see why I need to endure recoil above about 22-23 ft/lbs or 12-13 ft/sec impulse.

At the end of the day, I buy into milder cartridges, high BC more frangible bullets, modest velocity, and light rifles for equal or better terminal performance than what I've used for close to 50 years. I admit to being influenced by the many posts of guys like Buzz H using 140 gr AB in a 7-08, Brad with various smaller cartridges, and others. I've had longish threads with Jordan on 7-08. He's a sleeper - he doesnt post many pics but engage him and you learn he and his crew are wildly sucessful.

I also reviewed the Rokslide posts dedicated to the 6.5 and 223 kills. I've also watched Randy Newburg and Steve Speck of Exo use smaller cartridges. Speck videod 2 moose kills this past year - 6 creed, 108 ELDM at 2900. His moose was laying down, quartering to. Bulllet broke onside shoulder, destroyed the lungs. I think he shot it twice more but it didn't go anywhere. One of the other guys borrowed his rifle a few days later and shot another.

There is too much evidence to ignore smaller cartridges with correctly matched bullets. I've gacked numbers until I can recite them without looking. Bottom line for me: i can shoot a smaller cartridge with a high BC bullet and arrive at 400+ yards with more of everything: less drift, less drop, more KE than the bullets I've used for 40-50 years. And in rifles that weigh 6.5-7 lbs and without a brake or can. My experience from last year seems to bear out that fact pattern.

Thinking about this a bit, the pushback question I have is: what advantage does more recoil accrue to the shooter or intended target?

Another question would be: for NA ungulates, at what point does bullet size (diameter or weight) and velocity make a discernable difference in terminal performance defined as a dead critter?

I personally have only a handful of examples of 338 and 35 cal cartridges and bullets. I used a 338 WM for a year or 2 using 250 gr Nos PT. On deer size game - no discernable difference between it and anything else I've used from 24 to 30 cal in a bunch of different powder holders. I've heard/seen many times that differences start to show at 375 cal or larger on bigger game. I don't have first hand knowledge of this but it does beg the question of how much and so what. Does the tracking job decrease to 20 yards from 50, or 50 from 100? Most things I've shot through the lungs travel 50-100 yards before they expire from broadheads to the 338/250 combination. I've had deer literally stand where they were shot by a broadhead and bleed out in 15-20 secs, then stumble around, and fall over. I'm not sure what caliber a 1" broadhead is but it must be huge for that to happen. Recoil is very manageable <G>