Wanted 6.5 Creedmoor Ammunition Tough Hunting Rounds

[rookhawk]

So I booked a fun summer hunt for my son. It’s a free range Nilgai hunt. I’ve been told that with the heat in south Texas at that time of year its possible we’ll be hunting at night. We have rifles with decent optics for dusk/dawn hunting, but we need to build a night setup.

We’ve got a 6.5 creedmoor and we can buy one of the night vision / day vision optics for it, but we still need ammo. I have no idea what ammo is best for medium sized game in that elk/nilgai category, but that’s what we need.

Does anyone have 5 boxes of ammo they’d sell suitable for this task? Initial sight in, a bit of practice, and then the hunt, I figured 100 rounds would be a good idea.

Thanks for the advice and the offer to sell if you have any.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

I recommend 143 grain Eldx. Pendleton Ammunition has it in stock and has exceptional quality and performance.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I will be the first to say it. Nilgi are tough, I would be using some thing bigger than Creedmoor, 30-06 minimum. Preferably a magnum of some kind. That is unless you are shooting it behind the ear. A lot of ranches have minimum calibers for Nilgi. If you do go with Creedmoor try and find a Nosler Accubond load. You will have better results with it. Only speaking from experience since I live and hunt in southern Texas


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[Tra3]

Try the nolser 142 grain ablr. It is in a Winchester made round. My son used them in Africa and I’ve used them on elk and deer. With a good shot, they work well.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

@rookhawk has the outfitter/guide okayed the use of the 6.5 CM? The places I've hunted Nilgai required 300 WM or larger.

Hendershots is taking orders for custom ammo by phone only and say 4-5 weeks delivery.

6.5 Creedmoor Extreme Custom Ammo

6.5 Creedmoor Extreme Custom Ammo Ammunition. Hendershot's "Extreme" Custom Ammo is your best choice to maximize the outstanding potential of the 6.5 Creedmoor. There are many excellent bullet choices.

hendershots.net

 

[Red Leg]

I personally would not use a 6.5 on Nilgai. Of course it will kill them, but his shot is likely to be out there a ways, and they can go a long way farther even with a lethal wound - think blue wildebeest. They don't bleed much - particularly without a pass through - and there won't be a San tracker within several thousand miles. In other words, a lot are lost. As @375 Ruger Fan notes, most outfitters here require, or at least suggest, a .300 mag or larger. If he needs to use the 6.5 because of his age and size, then I also agree a 140 gr Partition would be a better choice than something like an ELD-X (which I love in 200 gr form for Nilgai from a .300 Win Mag). Penetration will be everything on a body shot.

I have never heard of an outfitter jacklighting them. They are an exotic and thus have no real restrictions in taking them - but hunting them at night would be a different approach for an outfitter. Could also be fun. The observation about the heat is correct. Mid-summer will be toasty. You both may want to prepare by sticking your heads in an oven for a moment or two several times a day - and bring plenty of sunscreen!!

 

[mdwest]

Adding to the dog pile.. I’d definitely be looking at a 300WM... or if recoil is a serious concern, I might consider a 30-06 with a 200gr load..

A few years ago when I was first considering nilgai I was thinking .308 with a 168gr ttsx should be more than enough based on their weight, size, bone structure, etc... I soon found out that I was wrong in my assessment and that I needed to be thinking “bigger”, i.e.300H&H...

 

[sgt_zim]

I second (or is it third now???) the motion: as much as I like all .264 cartridges, that's not something I'd use on Nilgai, even if I were using the Woodleigh 160 gr or Lapua 155 gr Mega (and I hand load them both), arguably 2 of the best bullets made in .264.

Most places I've seen require at least a 300 WM, and some want at least a .32 or .33 of some variety

 

[Inline6]

Do you reload? TTSX is what I would. Killed one with a 6.5 it was a neck shot 140Amax DRT.

My son killed his with a 300WM, it was a longer shot 474 yards. 180 with a MV of 3006 fps. The bullet did not pass through. They are hardy animals but not invincible they are illusive.

 

[Red Leg]

So I booked a fun summer hunt for my son. It’s a free range Nilgai hunt. I’ve been told that with the heat in south Texas at that time of year its possible we’ll be hunting at night. We have rifles with decent optics for dusk/dawn hunting, but we need to build a night setup.

We’ve got a 6.5 creedmoor and we can buy one of the night vision / day vision optics for it, but we still need ammo. I have no idea what ammo is best for medium sized game in that elk/nilgai category, but that’s what we need.

Does anyone have 5 boxes of ammo they’d sell suitable for this task? Initial sight in, a bit of practice, and then the hunt, I figured 100 rounds would be a good idea.

Thanks for the advice and the offer to sell if you have any.

I suspect you already have a good spotlighting setup. Your regular rifle and scope set at the lowest power setting, whether 1.5 or 3, will be just about ideal. I assume the shot would be from the back of a truck, and no shot is going to much beyond 100 yards - probably much closer to fifty.

 

[YancyW]

Norma 6.5 Creedmoor Large Game Ammunition NORM20166442 156 Grain Oryx Bonded Jacketed Soft Point 20 Rounds

Norma 6.5 Creedmoor Large Game Ammunition NORM20166442 156 Grain Oryx Bonded Jacketed Soft Point 20 Rounds

www.outdoorlimited.com

I would use this if using a 6.5CM.

 

[Mark haynes]

300 wmag 180 grain or bigger. Best bullet you can get. 6.5 creedmore good for whitetail and antelope but not nilgai

 

[Inline6]

If it gives you any more confidence my 8 year old son took a Bison with a 6.5CM

My other son took an Elk with a 6XC (little smaller than a 243, 105gr hp)

Bullet placement is key.

 

[JimP]

The problem with the 6.5 is that if you miss that sweet spot or hit a heavy bone then you are going to have a wounded animal on your hands.

 

[Red Leg]

If it gives you any more confidence my 8 year old son took a Bison with a 6.5CM

My other son took an Elk with a 6XC (little smaller than a 243, 105gr hp)

Bullet placement is key.

And Maitland Bell killed hundreds of elephants with his 6.5 Schoenauer. The problem with the I easily killed an elk with my 6.5 analogy is that Nilgai have an anatomy much more in common with African antelope than deer. Everything is placed a bit more forward. Like on African plains game, too many deer (or elk hunters) tend to hit them just a tad too far back, punching a hole through one lung or the liver or worse. The coastal plains are thick and far too many Nilgai that manage to run out of sight end up lost.

The best shot is through, not behind the shoulder. Just like on African game, bigger calibers with quality bullets do that better.

That said, the best rifle for a young person to use is the one he shoots best. Use a premium bullet and do not try to finesse the shot.

 

[rookhawk]

And Maitland Bell killed hundreds of elephants with his 6.5 Schoenauer. The problem with the I easily killed an elk with my 6.5 analogy is that Nilgai have an anatomy much more in common with African antelope than deer. Everything is placed a bit more forward. Like on African plains game, too many deer (or elk hunters) tend to hit them just a tad too far back, punching a hole through one lung or the liver or worse. The coastal plains are thick and far too many Nilgai that manage to run out of sight end up lost.

The best shot is through, not behind the shoulder. Just like on African game, bigger calibers with quality bullets do that better.

That said, the best rifle for a young person to use is the one he shoots best. Use a premium bullet and do not try to finesse the shot.

Thanks everyone for your input. Based on your comments and prior conversations I recalled from @Red Leg I remembered a recommendation to call Lance Hendershot for custom loads.

Just got off the phone with him, says to tell @Red Leg a hearty hello!

Hendershots is loading up some 6.5 creedmoor ammo for my son's ar10 in 120gr Barnes TSX which should be a decent load. We're going to get a tacticool sight for it, one of those ATN night/day vision 3-14x setups. That will be the plan if we're hunting in total darkness and having to take 200 yard shots.

The better scenario we're hoping for is for my ten year old to try out the double rifle we bought on Africa Hunting. He has an O/U 7x65r brenneke Heym with a gigantic 3-9x50 illuminated reticle optic on it. I suspect it was built originally for running boar in twilight conditions in Europe by the size of the optic. Have a case of GECO/RWS hunting ammo for it.

Failing that if the recoil or length of pull is too great, if we are hunting in twilight and don't need to bring out the tacticool gun my kid has hunted everything to date with his custom mauser in 7x64 brenneke that has a 3-9x33mm scope on it. He has a pile of barnes ttsx 140gr ammo for that one.

So, that's the plan after getting all of your feedback in preparation for this hunt.

Only thing left to figure out is where to eat steak, bbq, and seafood in Port Mansfield Texas for 5 days!

 

[IvW]

In 6.5 I would go with a 140gr minimum but preferably a 160gr premium expanding bullet.....but what do I know about hunting a notoriously tough animal with a small bore.....bullet weight would exceed velocity for me....

Do you have anything in the 7mm class?

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

This is quite old, but I think it was a south Texas Nilgai hunt is the dead of summer.

 

[rookhawk]

By the way, wanted to thank all of you regarding the comments about getting the strongest calber my son can shoot well.

Absolutely. He has a 7x64 brenneke that he's taken everything from impala, gemsbok, eland, white tail, pronghorn, and other stuff with. That's his go-to rifle and it was custom fit to his size and he's used it on big game since he was eight.

The 7x65r is just a double rifle version of his 7x64 which he loves so much, we got him a double rifle. It's long stocked for a ten year old kid and it doesn't have a recoil pad so we don't know if he can shoot it proficiently yet or not. TBD.

The whole point of the creedmoor was that its the only tacticool gun we own as a family. It's the only pictatinny railed anything that we can install a night vision scope on. So the thought was to have the 6.5CM if we cannot shoot them without night vision. Not my cup of tea, but it seemed lke a viable plan rather than being skunked on the hunt.

 

[IvW]

Use the 7x64 and change the date for a day time hunt....
Night critters are hunted at night personally I would not hunt a nilgai or eland at night with a spot light......
Civet cats, jackals, african wild cats etc.. are hunted at night