http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthr...pics/1481797/5
bullet impact porn ;-)
newbie from gr, mi.
Ive seen quite a few tests like that over the many years ive been interested in this stuff.
milk jugs filled with water, phone books, wet paper etc. theres usually always a disclaiming statement.
i guess if you can walk out your back door and shoot an elk thats one thing. if your going to drive for 2
days each way then pay somebody to show you an elk that might be another thing. ruining some meat
dosent bother me much.
Proper shot placement is critical even for the the biggest cartridges and bullets.
Any lead-free hunting bullet weighing more than 100 grains should be adequate for an Elk hit in the vital zone. While many Elk have been taken with 130 to 140 grain classic bullets, the same methodology suggests those bullets should weigh more than about 160 grains for reliable harvesting of Elk. Intermediate weight bonded and partition bullets should work fine too.
Read more here: Ideal Bullet Weight.
Matrix makes a 150 and 160 gr 6.5 pill as well. My 6.5-284 puts the 160 gr pills out at around 2850 fps. The 150 at 2950. With a BC of .675 on the 150 and .685 on the 160 they retain a lot of velocity and energy at extended ranges. Not that steel is the same as flesh and bone but I have poked holes clean through a farm disc at 1100 yards. If I shoot the 140 VLD it mainly dents and cracks the plate. I recall missing the plate once on a bad wind read and putting a hole through the galvanized fence post I use for brackets.
I don't about you guys but poking holes in steel disc plates at 1100 yards is pretty impressive in my mind.
I know a cow elk has been taken by 6.5 grendel at over 400 yards with i believe a 123 grain bullet. It was posted in the grendel forum and the shooter was the owner of larue tactical.
There are several youtube vids, one from Gunwerks, taking elk at 900 plus with a 6.5. At 1000 yards in the Idaho mountains a 140 VLD at 3025 fps muzzle puts down 1900 fps and 1110 lbs energy at 1000 yards. More that enough energy to do the job.Originally Posted by Oxn316
For the last three years I've only used a rifle with a caliber of 6.5. I have 4 now. Two 260's , one 260 improved, and a 6.5-284 Norma. I have a 300 wm I'll never shoot again!
My 6.5x47 pushes 140 Bergers at 2900 fps; I wouldn't hesitate to put that on an elk given the proper shot presentation and a steady rest. Plenty of velocity, energy, and a devastating bullet.
Just to throw out some other ideas since you seem to like the 30s, take a look at 30/06 with the 215 Bergers. You should be able to get 2600 FPS out of them. Assuming 1000 ft elevation, that leaves you at 1700 FPS with 1400 FPE all the way out to 800 yards. The .696 BC makes it VERY flat shooting. The lower MV actually helps performance with the Bergers.
If I remember correctly, that was a 6.5 Grendel.
Good point here for sure from Tarheel. At some point the bigger pills begin to equal or better the 6.5 for certain applications. There is always a trade off in every relm of this process. If you look at the experts view of the 6.5 from 140-160 grain pills the sectional density of these bullets is very impressive. That SD is one thing that helps the bullet perform well on game. If we use the 140-160 line of bullets and look at G1 from .613 to .685 you can see that these carry some decent numbers. There is no debate that the bigger the pill launched at a higher velocity is going to be better. The question is if the 6.5 is enough for elk? It appears it is and in europe it is the primary caliber for everything, including moose. I think the main issue is how far to do truely expect to shoot an elk then pick the caliber and chambering that gets you safely into that range.
Agreed. I think the 6.5 is enough if you consider all the limitations of it and pick your shots/placement accordingly. I know I've seen people shoot elk with a 6.5-284 out to near 1000yd and drop them with 140 VLDs, but that's just not what I would choose to do. Nothing wrong with different opinions.
On that same note, I think it is more responsible to poke a bigger hole in an animal that large when possible. 30/06 is not obnoxious recoil wise. If ranges are going to be close, I like .308 better than 6.5s. Frontal area is very often overlooked in the quest for BC/SD. Yes, those are both important, but BC is pretty meaningless out to reasonable hunting ranges; well, not meaningless, but VERY much over valued. BC really matters at range for wind.
I honestly don't see enough of a difference in 6.5s running at 2800 fps and the 270 he already has buzzing along over 3000FPS. I could be overthinking everything though. Just seems like I would want to go up to 7mm (280 AI in LA or 284 in SA) or up to a 30 cal if I wanted something built specifically for elk. I would not go DOWN to a 6.5 if elk was the main reason for a build.
Last edited by Tarheelpwr; 10-24-2014 at 10:26 AM.
I know this an older post but the Matrix 150 (preferred)/160 VLDs are getting very good reviews and actual results afield in the LRH side.
do you have info on the 150/160s? I'm only showing 129, 142, and 160 on the site. At a surface glance, the 160's don't get enough of a BC boost to outweight the speed drop.
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