6.5 Grendel for Elk Hunting

[VikingsGuy]

So IMO if 2 young woman can put down game all day long with these 2 bullets I would assume any grown man can. This is not being a smart azz.
Matt

Not challenging your experience or preference and bullet choice aside, I am pretty sure the bullet, the gun and the elk have no idea about the gender of the trigger puller -- is there an option on JBM that let's me set the gender to male and get upgrade terminal ballistics?

 

[JLS]

If there is an exit wound from the bullet but the animal takes 10 minutes to expire, I would hazard a guess shot placement is much more to blame than bullet design.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

no AR Platform 24" heavy barrel.

Not backpack hunting I take it...

 

[LCH]

Not challenging your experience or preference and bullet choice aside, I am pretty sure the bullet, the gun and the elk have no idea about the gender of the trigger puller -- is there an option on JBM that let's me set the gender to male and get upgrade terminal ballistics?

I was under the impression that you had not taken a lot of elk. Maybe I'm wrong, it's hard to get to know people very well through the internet.

I've only taken one, and it was with an SST. It went about 20 yards. I've also taken probably a couple dozen deer, a couple pronghorn, and maybe a dozen pigs with SSTs. Granted, these were mostly with a .30/06.

I shoot factory ammo and am no bullet expert, but in my small sample size of one elk the SST worked fine. They worked fine on all the smaller critters also. After reading so many negative reviews from more experienced posters on here though, I do believe there are probably better options out there.

 

[wyoboypt]

If there is an exit wound from the bullet but the animal takes 10 minutes to expire, I would hazard a guess shot placement is much more to blame than bullet design.

Perhaps you missed the part where I said I CENTERPUNCHED it through BOTH LUNGS. After 12elk and some other animals I think I know what I’m talking about with that bullet. It’s garbage.

 

[ndhunterman]

Why the F would you do this?

 

[VikingsGuy]

I was under the impression that you had not taken a lot of elk. Maybe I'm wrong, it's hard to get to know people very well through the internet.

I've only taken one, and it was with an SST. It went about 20 yards. I've also taken probably a couple dozen deer, a couple pronghorn, and maybe a dozen pigs with SSTs. Granted, these were mostly with a .30/06.

I shoot factory ammo and am no bullet expert, but in my small sample size of one elk the SST worked fine. They worked fine on all the smaller critters also. After reading so many negative reviews from more experienced posters on here though, I do believe there are probably better options out there.

I have killed exactly zero elk. I specifically said I was not challenging your experience. I was reacting to the “if girls can do it, real men should be able to do it” comment. It’s time to cut the unnecessary “real men and little girl” bs in the outdoors lingo.

As for my earlier post I was merely relating common advice for the benefit of the OP. I do not have to visit Lincoln to tell someone it is the capital of Nebraska. But everybody gets to pick their own cartridge, bullet and gun as far as I am concerned.

 

[JLS]

Perhaps you missed the part where I said I CENTERPUNCHED it through BOTH LUNGS. After 12elk and some other animals I think I know what I’m talking about with that bullet. It’s garbage.

No, I saw that. Not all double lung shots are created equal. I double lunged a muley buck with my bow that took about two hours to die. It wasn’t the BH, it was a shitty shot.

I haven’t used these particular bullets and doubt I ever will. However, I stand behind my statement. If the bullet exited, and there was lung tissue in the exit hole, what more would you want the bullet to do?

Edit: FTR, the mono bullets I use leave an exit hole of about 1/2” from my .243. The only time I didn’t have an elk down in 30 seconds or less was due to poor shot but placement.

 

[AlphaHunter]

Interesting. I haven't met anyone who can load a 140gr to mag length without having issues. Let me know what that recipe is.

try this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXcVtEEtGJQ&t=540s&index=22&list=PLTTrjvDib94lsYdUzKqlh4cjTRb-JJmto

 

[Gunner46]

A 6.5G & a SST for elk.....Bro, that's just a bad situation waiting to avalanche downhill. Sorry, but True.

 

[Mason326]

Y'all making it too complicated.

Yes you can. Match velocity at target to your bullet construction. Determine your maximum ethical distance with this data and some range time testing yourself from realistic rests.

Solid copper bullets suck at lower speeds (relative to bonded lead core). Lightly jacketed bonded bullets can suck at higher velocities or on harder targets (see SST convo).

Determine how far you can practically shoot with it, keep your ft/lbs on target above 1,000, and tailor which bullet you use according to the velocity. I use Barnes VORTX bullets in my 300WM and love 'em. I can whack a 8" plate in wind out to 400-500 off a backpack and it's still trucking along. I never thought about using the VORTX in my 16" 308, but I'd still use that gun on an elk with a different bullet and shorter effective range (100-150yds, remington green box).

 

[grandejuan]

Sorry, duplicate message. GJ

 

[grandejuan]

It's not about which cartridge and bullet will kill an elk when the situation is ideal, it's about which cartridge and bullet combination will kill an elk when it's less than ideal. If it's the last day of an expensive guided hunt and you have an elk quartering away at 300+/- yds at sundown do you have the guts not to shoot or do you go ahead and fire away. Unfortunately, most of us have done it sometime or other with varying degrees of success or non-success. We owe it to the animal to do the right thing by it. I don't wish anyone losing an animal. I've heard enough tales of how coyotes need love too and I'm sick of them. GJ