6.5 Creedmoor for hunting

[Mauser78]

Ok, i do know there are other calibers that can do the same, that the Creed is a target round ext. no i do not plan to have a man bun, or wear a bra.
I needed a rifle for Springbuck and Blesbuck hunting in South Africa for up to 400-500 meters.
I am loading 130gr Sierra GameChangers, and the rifle is a Mauser M18.
What have you hunted with a creed? What will you be comfortable to hunt with it?

 

[JimP]

I'll bite.

The 6.5 will be quite capable for any of the medium size plains game animals. Personally I wouldn't use it on a gemsbok or kudu on up. Some have and they have killed the animals but it is no different than taking a smaller caliber on any hunt for large game animals. Will it work? Yes, it will. Should you use it on larger game animals I vote no.

 

[Mauser78]

I'll bite.

The 6.5 will be quite capable for any of the medium size plains game animals. Personally I wouldn't use it on a gemsbok or kudu on up. Some have and they have killed the animals but it is no different than taking a smaller caliber on any hunt for large game animals. Will it work? Yes, it will. Should you use it on larger game animals I vote no.

Thank you, it is intended for small game by me, but I have a feeling i miight go up to Red Hartbeest if shot under 250m. Will see after I use it on Springbuck in 3 weeks time.

 

[CoElkHunter]

OK, but no Bud Light either. LOL

 

[Russ16]

I think the 6.5 creed hype is strange. I also think the hate is strange. It is essentially has similar ballistics to the 6.5x55 Swede which has a long and storied history of taking game. Lots of good bullets out there. Pair the bullet with the game you’re shooting and don’t ask it to do more than it can.

 

[Mauser78]

OK, but no Bud Light either. LOL

I live in South Africa, all our beer is real, no beer flavoured water over here

 

[franzfmdavis]

Shot placement would be very critical and more challenging at the 400-500m ranges.

Candidly, I have been disappointed in it as a hunting round. I did not find it acceptable on Texas hogs or painted desert rams. They both eventually died, but a better caliber would have done it quicker.

In retrospect, I would have preferred the .275 Rigby (7x57 Mauser).

 

[Mauser78]

I think the 6.5 creed hype is strange. I also think the hate is strange. It is essentially has similar ballistics to the 6.5x55 Swede which has a long and storied history of taking game. Lots of good bullets out there. Pair the bullet with the game you’re shooting and don’t ask it to do more than it can.

Agree, i used a 6.5 x 57 as a child growing up, but it was only on Impala and blesbuck up to 150 yards. I did actually shot one Kudu as well at night, Still had open sights. S&B 130gr box ammo I think, but it was 30 years ago, before the animals knew that a 6.5 is not for hunting.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I joke around on here a lot with the Creedmoor and even .243 WINCHESTER owners/hunters, but the reality is that I’m sure they both work fine with good bullets on smaller to medium sized game animals at REASONABLE distances.

 

[Mauser78]

I joke around on here a lot with the Creedmoor and even .243 WINCHESTER owners/hunters, but the reality is that I’m sure they both work fine with good bullets on smaller to medium sized game animals at REASONABLE distances.

243 win is actually the most popular caliber for local Springbuck driven hunts. On these hunts there is usually only Springbuck available. So I am fine with that.

 

[JonathanG]

My daughter used a 6.5 for; impala, blesbok, springbok, zebra and kudu. She shot it because she shoots it well and the 140 gr. Swift A-frame performed flawlessly.

 

[CoElkHunter]

243 win is actually the most popular caliber for local Springbuck driven hunts. On these hunts there is usually only Springbuck available. So I am fine with that.

Long story short, but I shot my first African game animal, an Impala female cull, with my PH’s .243 Howa rifle with a 87gr Hornady V Max bullet that he uses for head shots when culling. One shot in the frontal chest at about 80yds dropped her right there. Needless to say I was IMPRESSED!

 

[Shootist43]

My favorite rifle and caliber is a 6.5 X 55 Swedish Mauser. Properly loaded it will take all of the deer sized Plains Game in Africa including the Hartebeest. If you don't handload, Norma's 156 Gr. Oryx is a very good bet.

 

[ActionBob]

My condolences on it being a Mauser 18

As for the Caliber, very capable for what you are asking about. I used it in Africa on a variety but especially Springbok and a red hartebeest. This was about 10 years ago and 129 grain Hornady accubond was the best available. Blew right through both shoulders on a big red hartebeest standing roadside at about 150 to 200 yards. Saw a nice blood spray through the scope because no recoil. Ballistics are that it carries twice the energy at 500 yards as a 243. My best shot was 524 yards at a broadside springok which flopped like he was hit by Thors hammer.

Just go outside some clear full moon night and look at the holes in the moon..... Those were made by a 6.5 Creedmoor

 

[CoElkHunter]

My condolences on it being a Mauser 18

As for the Caliber, very capable for what you are asking about. I used it in Africa on a variety but especially Springbok and a red hartebeest. This was about 10 years ago and 129 grain Hornady accubond was the best available. Blew right through both shoulders on a big red hartebeest standing roadside at about 150 to 200 yards. Saw a nice blood spray through the scope because no recoil. Ballistics are that it carries twice the energy at 500 yards as a 243. My best shot was 524 yards at a broadside springok which flopped like he was hit by Thors hammer.

Just go outside some clear full moon night and look at the holes in the moon..... Those were made by a 6.5 Creedmoor

Dang, I thought those moon craters were made with a .338 WINCHESTER MAGNUM? Oh well. LOL

 

[Mauser78]

My condolences on it being a Mauser 18

As for the Caliber, very capable for what you are asking about. I used it in Africa on a variety but especially Springbok and a red hartebeest. This was about 10 years ago and 129 grain Hornady accubond was the best available. Blew right through both shoulders on a big red hartebeest standing roadside at about 150 to 200 yards. Saw a nice blood spray through the scope because no recoil. Ballistics are that it carries twice the energy at 500 yards as a 243. My best shot was 524 yards at a broadside springok which flopped like he was hit by Thors hammer.

Just go outside some clear full moon night and look at the holes in the moon..... Those were made by a 6.5 Creedmoor

I really wanted the M18,
I was looking for a Tupperware gun to make my dedicated Springbuck gun. Looking forward to try it this year. The 375H&H with 230gr @ 2950fps was a bit of overkill last year

 

[Daisy]

Will work great imo.

Reasonable distance isn’t a guess. Just look on any ballistic calculator with your projectile and MV and stay within range of the minimum upset velocity of your bullet.

With what you have proposed 5-600 yards.

That said, make sure you have practiced rigorously at shooting that distance in field conditions. I wasn’t offered a shot over about 200 yards while in South Africa. My guess is any game you want to take can be taken much shorter than your maximum shooting range.

 

[Jäger_Ivo]

The three key elements to consider are the type of bullet, the energy at the target, and shot placement. The name doesn't matter.

In my opinion, the excessive hype and hate surrounding the Creedmoor caliber stems from people overestimating their abilities. They think that if they have an ultra-precision caliber, they can kill "an elephant" if they hit it right in the heart from 400 meters away. However, many people cannot...

For a number of years I have also had a model M18, 308win, and I am extremely satisfied with it. However, I hunt trophy red deer with a .300 win mag....

 

[Kevin375]

I have hunted almost 60 big games in Africa with the 6.5 Creedmoor and in Europe, a good number of roe deers and several wild boars dropped with this caliber. I don't count jackals and foxes.

In Africa, warthogs are definitely the game I have hunted the most with this caliber, but many waterbucks, wildebeests, red hartebeests, kudus, springboks and impalas died well with it. I have also killed a hyena and even a donkey (for meat) with it. I had a fail with an eland cow but it's my mistake and a bigger caliber would not have changed anything.
I prefer to use bonded or lead-free bullets if big games are hunted, but for springboks and blesbok, it's not needed. A good cup and core will do the job.

 

[375Fox]

I think the 6.5 creed hype is strange. I also think the hate is strange. It is essentially has similar ballistics to the 6.5x55 Swede which has a long and storied history of taking game. Lots of good bullets out there. Pair the bullet with the game you’re shooting and don’t ask it to do more than it can.

I don’t hate the cartridge as much as the marketing. Look at the ballistics and bullet weights and it looks like a great rifle for up to medium sized game, but it isn’t a 300 magnum. It’s not appropriate for a lot of the hunting scenarios and ranges it gets recommended for. For the OP though, anything a 270 win will do with 130 gr bullets the 6.5 creedmoor will too. Just make sure it’s a hunting bullet designed for expansion on game and not a paper target bullet.