Anyone try this caliber with the 140 grain Partition. It seems like it would be pretty good medecine at around 2950fps.
opinions welcomed

Primetime,

I personally wouldn't hesitate to use it, but I would consider it equivalent to a .270 in this regard. Know its limitations and restrict your shots to high percentage broad-side type angles.

I was wondering when someone might try this twist on the ole "Is the .270 enough for elk" thread.

Canuck

It would depend on where your elk hunting, how much time you have, how much patience you posess, how many elk you see , are you seeking a 300"+ bull or do you have a cow tag to fill, etc. I would consider the 6.5-06 as a "light" round for elk. If you wait for the right angle, the best range available, etc. It will surely work. Then again..... A .222 Rem with 50 grain bullets will work, given the proper situation.

Too bad most of todays elk hunts don't allow that sort of "pick & choose". Some hunters seldom see an elk. When you do, whatever the situation,THAT was YOUR shot of the trip. Take it or leave it. Thats the reasoning behind elk calibers taking such a ride upward. Thirty calibers seem to be the starting point. With .338" mags about just right. Both are good medicine for bad angles, heavy bones and long shots.

FN

Good post Frank. I'd agree with you on the 6.5-06 being well towards the bottom of the barrel for elk calibers. The sheer penetration value of a 140gr. Partition is about the only thing that qualifies it in my mind. I've killed elk with a .264 Win Mag and that bullet, and it behaved just fine on broadside shots, but I certainly wouldn't try to rake a bullet from the south to north on a bull!

6,5 x 55 mm mauser have been used for moose-hunting for about 100 years in Scandinavia. Using good bullets to ensure PENETRATION (Nosler or even better, Swift) the 6,5-06 will do very well on elk!

Many hunters do not shoot very many shots for training before they go hunting. In my opinion a great part of these would do better with a 6,5 mm with low recoil, than f.eks. a .338 mag, just because they are shooting better.

"I personally wouldn't hesitate to use it, but I would consider it equivalent to a .270 in this regard. Know its limitations and restrict your shots to high percentage broad-side type angles."

Yes, know the limitations of the cartridge, and decline shots that stretch those limitations.

But it would be a great cartridge to get a kid or a lady started elk hunting with.

On public land where I hunt with very limited seasons, I wouldn't even think of it. I can't afford to wait for a perfect shot. I want a bullet and caliber that I KNOW will get the job done regardless of the angle. That marginal shot will likely be the only shot I'll get all season.

Leave those 140 grainers for deer size game.

[This message has been edited by Crosshairs (edited 12-19-2001).]

Frank N. pretty much covered this. I hunt as a non-res. so I can't afford the luxury of waiting for a perfect shot. My choices would start @ the .30-06 w/ good prem. bullets & go up to the various .30mags & .338s. Good bullets in the right palce get it done but bigger, better bullets get it done w/ a bit of insurance.

I managed to take 5 "meat" sized elk with a 6.5x57. I did it in heavy timber, where you had to wait for the proper shot on game that didn't know you were there. That was on private property, and I only recovered one 140 grain Partition. I probably would want a stopper if hunting the Olympic Pensuila's Roosevelt elk, with hundreds of other guys around waiting to put their tags on my game.

YOu have got to be kidding if you think the 6.5-06 is the "bottom of the barrel" for elk calibers. Elk are NOT hard to kill, nor are they bullet proof. I have been killing everything with mine for years! I use 140 grain Hornady flat base spire points on the big stuff. I put one end to end through a 30+ inch 300 lb. mule deer two years ago at 60 yards. The bullet OBLITERATED the pelvic, creamed the liver, stomach, lungs, heart and exited out the brisket. If that wont kill an elk, NOTHING will. The sectional density alone allows for raking shots, broud side shots etc. "Limit range and pick your shots carefully" hogwash. You don't need to pick them any more than you would with any other caliber. A bullet in the lungs or heart is a a dead critter no matter if it weighs 10 grains more or is .200 larger in dimeter. It doesn't make any difference. I have taken 500+ lb. hogs, deer at over 400 yards and everything in between. The 6.5-06 is WAY underated, especially by people who read more than they shoot. That should ruffle some feathers (grin).Flinch

Flinch-
shoot me an email. I'd like to discuss load is the 6.5-06.
angler74@epix.net
thanks

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Flinch:
"Elk are NOT hard to kill, nor are they bullet proof."

Flinch,
Go back and view Frank Nowakowski's topic titled "Tough ElK!" on this forum. I don't know how much experience you've had with killing elk especially big bulls but a mule deer buck they are not!! sure-shot

Flinch,

Yep, I'm a real reader, read all the time. I elk hunt very little, in fact if they aren't on the side of the road for me to shoot from the seat of my Chevy, then I just don't give a damn I guess I don't have the vast experience with old cervis elaphus that you seem to.

I was always under the impression that the 6.5/06 would be the long thin version of a 6.5/284, more suited towards coytoes and antelope at a distance than a timber gun...oh well

------------------
When in doubt, do a nuclear strike.

Color me lucky I guess. I haven't had a problem knocking elk down right where they stand. All but two were mature bulls. Let see, that makes two spikes, two 4x4's, and two 5x5's. I am not very old, but I think that is enough elk kills to tell me that they are not hard to kill. I guess I need to read more. Dang, dang, dang, I guess I am just another lamer that doesn't know what he is talking about. Jim Zumbo, please help me understand what I am doing wrong. I guess I need a big magnum to kill elk, especially big elk, since I have no experience with the "big ones". (Tongue firmly in cheek). I guess the 8 bulls my friend has killed with his .257 Roberts weren't bullet proof either. I will tell him he is WAY undergunned as well. It is all about bullet construction and bullet placement. Flinch

Come on guys, relax! I am just pouring gas on the fire to liven this place up. Sure there are better elk calibers and the 6.5-06 is not a "north to south" elk caliber, but that is a risky shot at best, regardless of caliber. ANY chest shot angle will easily be handled with the 6.5 and good bullets, just like any other reasonable caliber. Most guys can't shoot .300's nor .338's to save their cans. So, a reasonable "tweener" round is a good start to make better shots without Flinching. They can learn how to shoot them better. Okay, sorry to ruffle feathers.(big grins) Flinch

Six immature bulls, yep you're the new authority, sorry I questioned you.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Skelly. I should be asking you, instead of Jim Dumbo. It is good to have so much expertise here. I guess it must be nice to get guided to big six points on private property. I wouldn't know anything about that. Flinch

Okay Flinch, now I am really pissed! Just kidding I'm ready to call a truce, how about you? This little exchange has run it's course with me. If I offended you, please accept my apologies, just busting your balls, if you knew me you'd understand. Cyberspace is a little different and I forget that some true feelings don't really play out very well in such an unpersonal manner.

Flinch,

We can kill elk with a 22LR also.

It's all about bullet placement.

I know the "Whats the minimum for elk" thing will never die but heres something to think about. Spoke with a buddy from Helena who told me a very interesting tale. Seems one of the big Ranches that allows hunters on to fill cow tags has had a real problem with wounded animals. This results in fewer hunter afield per day, the ranch hands having to track game and fewer animals killed per day. SO what they did was inform the hunters ahead of time that they were allowed ONE animal, be it a cow or bull, whatever they were allowed to hunt that trip. Heres the kicker......"If WOUNDED and lost, THAT is your alloted animal, NO exceptions".
Apparently in a very short time there were few .243's, .22-250's, etc, and marksmanship improved vastly.

I am looking for some absolute truth to this and will post it when I get it. If this is true its a very interesting turn of events.

No doubt MANY of us here could, if pushed to it, cleanly take an elk with a .22 Mag or really even a pistol caliber. May take some time, but its surely possible. Problem is that the vast majority of hunters don't have the expertise, time to be afield, knowledge of anatomy, as well as a mess of other required skills to pull it off.

Frank N.

Back when I was a teenager ('70s) I carried a .243 for elk. Only shot one. A one-shot-kill. With 100gr Remington Corelokt "green box" ammo. Most of my friends carried .243, 257 Roberts, 25-06, .270. We all killed elk. And we were a bunch of rank novices.

The 6.5-05 will work just fine if the operator understands bullet choice and bullet placement. I guess that bullet placement is still important even if you are shooting a .416 Remington. No???? MM

I agree I think a 6.5x06 would work fine on Elk. Use a good bullet and good shot placement. This is the same for any caliber you shot. I have a Freind who uses a 243 for Elk all 10 was 1 shot kills

MM & PD,

Have you considered a 7x57 for elephant?

It works quite well when conditions and shot placement are perfect.

500, I don't get your point. Never have or will shoot an elephant. If 7x57 is your choice, have at it. MM