6.5 bullets

I have been hunting with the 6.5 cm for the last two seasons. My problem so far has been no blood trails and the deer running off. I started out with 140 grain hornady flat base. Out of 5 one left a decent trail.that was also the only exit. This season I have shot three so far and still no blood trail. I’ve got exits on all three with Speer but the exit is still smaller than my pinky. I use the Speer in two calibers with silver dollar sized exits. They have always provided good blood trails though I only needed it once. It’s not a shot placement issue. Does anybody else have this problem? And what bullet do you recommend? I load my own. The only one that dropped was one I broke both shoulders. It was about 40 yards and still a pinky size exit.

143gr ELDX is what i like. Also heard the Berger hybrids are really good

Do you get good exits?

Those Speer have never let me down until now. I’m getting great penetration but small exit wounds

I shot 5 last season with a 125 gr bullet Winchester . Can’t remember the type bullet . No blood trail on any , not that I really expected much of one . 3 dropped where they were , 2 ran out of the field but were laying just inside the woods where they went in . I was on if it’s brown it’s down hunt for my farmer cousin. I wouldn’t carry my 6.5 if I was expecting a good buck showing up . Looked it up polymer tip bullet .

I just killed one at 300 yards. Hornady whitetail bullet. The cheap ones. They came with the rifle when I won the raffle.
It was a ten point weighed 130 gutted.
It went straight in and out. There was no damage what so ever. Like you would expect. It did kill the deer. Dog had to find it. But. Found it.
I have looked at the gmx and copper federal test on YouTube. They seem to be the best but the gmx is discontinued it looks in that ammo know.
Will watch this this thread for opinions.

Thanks for the input

This has not happened 100% of the time. But this is why i shoot them. We havent lost a deer yet with them. Good exit every time, NO....

I really liked the inter bonds but can’t find them anymore

That’s way better than what I have been getting

Like i said, thats not gona happen every time, but its possible. Ive also had good results with partitions and ttsx out of my 257wbymag, but the ELDX bullets are all we shoot out of our 6.5cm so far

143 Hornady ELX will get pass thru’s. Killed several with them and always had exits holes.

Nosler partition will solve that

140 grain Accubond

I have typically shot a 7mm-08 and have only had the hornadys not exit. I have shot all the big names and rarely had one not exit. I thought I would try the 6.5. Just tired of trying to find deer in the swamp. The Speer have always worked in my 7-08 , 280 and 308. Always leaving a good exit. I’ll keep looking for the right combination. I have only had to track two over the last thirty or so years with those three. And that was operator error. Thanks again for the information. I’ll try the eldx next season.

Barnes 127LRX will give you plenty of penetration and should give a good exit every time.

I’ve read about the 120 ttsx pushed fast. I’ve not used the lax. My shots vary from 40-175 yards. How are they at that short range?

is what I shoot...

Do they leave a good blood trail

Ive heard about less expansion at short distances with high speed. Idont think ive seen any proof of it though. Theres alit that can happen during a shot. Alot of different factors. You cant expect good results all the time. I shot a ptetty good buck with a 257wbymag ttsx, high shoulder shot. No exit wound. No blood. He reared up like a horse and fell over backwards dead. Front shoulder destroyed, back shoulder broke bad, the inside cavity of the deer looked like the bullet had exploded, everything turned to mush, broke ribs. That deer wasnt going anywhere.

I have not tried them, Do they work like the interbond?

Low speed and low surface area. If doing damage is your game there’s better calibers for that.

I’d always heard good things about the 6.5 caliber. I have other calibers, but I’ve got too much invested to put it in the safe. Just looking for better bullet options

Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back?

140g Nosler Accubonds work perfectly! The blood trail is unbelievale! The Hornady ELDX 143g did not leave a blood trail for me until about 40 or 50 yards. On a basic broadside shot behind the shoulder the bullet jacket seperated. The jacket cup was still in the deer. The buck went about 150 yards before he died. The 140g Nosler Accubonds are bonded and do not seperate from my experience. The pass has been perfect.

I'm sure I'll get scolded and corrected for this and I bet I could name who it will come from but, my thinking is the high BC bullets penetrate so well due to the high SD that they are through most Alabama sized whitetails before they can expand to maximum diameter. Hence why the 6.5 140s do so well penetrating moose and elk sized game. The bullets that are softer often times tend to fragment or explode doing massive internal damage without exiting. The light for caliber mono bullets can be driven faster and the Barnes LRX is designed to open at much less speed that the TTSX, therefore it "SHOULD" open easier/sooner. I've often wondered it a traditional cup and core lead nose bullet in the 120-130 grain range would perform better on deer. Likewise, a 200 grain Accubond out of a 30-06 will kill one, but a 150 or 165 grain Accubond will perform better with the same shot placement due to the higher impact velocity and the lower BC & SD allowing the bullet to mushroom sooner and at a faster rate.

Again thanks for the suggestions. I’ll do a little more research on the accubond. I’ve shot the partitions in .243 and several 7mags. If the accubonds work as good as the partitions, that’s probably the way to go

156 Berger for 6.5prc
143eldx for 6.5 creedmoor

My buddy shoots the 140gr Norma sp in his Creedmoor. Never had an issue with pass through sand always a good blood trail when he does his part.

This is the way. I’ve been shooting them for almost 6 years from 50-350 yards on deer from 90 pounds to 230. Absolutely 0 issues.

What kind of load are you using

Fusions leave a good trail for me.None further than 40 yards with the majority looking like you slung it out a bucket with a big paint brush…

Thanks. I’ve got some good options to consider

Same here. Killed 3 this year and trailing was a breeze. None went far and great exit wounds.

If you are reloading, the 140 grain Berger VLD Hunter has been awesome in my .264 Win Mag.

(It's what all the kreedmire fanboys think they are shooting)

I've shot the 120 grain ttsx in 6.5 and have been very happy the 127 should be even better

I don't wanna trail a buck (or any) deer when i shoot em with a GUN ifn i can help it. I Don't care about and EXIT (i wanna hit em like thors hammer) when shooting a gun! Hunting with my Bow yes, gun NO! Alright y'all can have it now 😁

Well my problem is if they run. I got two swamps on two sides. I don’t like trying to find them in that

Naw i understand what you're saying, I've had some experience with with the 6.5 Creedmoor in Hornady eldx and it hasn't impressed me none at all! Now my 6.5 prc is a different story. But i've read on here about some having better luck out of the eldx match out of the 6.5 Creedmoor 🤷🏾‍♂️

I do not shoot a 6.5 CM, but Federal Fusions do very well for me out of my 270 and 308. I have only had 2 cases over the past 12 years or so where I did not get a complete pass through and both were on big bodied bucks shot through both front shoulders. In both cases, the bullet was found just under the skin on the opposite side.

You need a good pass through shot to get a blood trail. If you hit them high in the ribs, it sometimes takes a while to get a blood trail because the body cavity must fill up before blood can exit the entry/exit holes. If you are patient, place an accurate shot in the high shoulder - the deer will drop in their tracks most of the time and there is no blood trail.

If you shoot one through the heart, the deer will have about 8 seconds before they fall over due to lack of blood/oxygen to the brain. They seldom go 40 yards with a good heart shot. Double lung, you will get a good frothy bright red blood trail and find the deer within 100 yards. Only hit one lung, they may go 200 yards.

Gut shot - will typically give a complete pass through regardless of bullet. Blood trailing can be difficult - back out at least 4 hours and then kick yourself for making a poor shot.

High shoulder

One of my buddies was shooting the ELDX in his Creedmoor and wasn’t getting blood trails. He switched to Norma Bondstrikes and is now getting pass throughs and good blood trails on everything he ahot since he switched. Another buddy was shooting the ELDXs in his 7-08 and had the same experience. The deer were dead but no pass throughs and no blood trails. He switched to Norma whitetail 150s and now he’s getting pass throughs and blood trails. I think the ELDX needs more speed to work. Not sure. I was never a fan of any Hornady ammo so...

The only hornady bullets I’ve had good luck with has been the interbond. But haven’t seen them in a while