A 29" Swedish Mauser can spit out a 140 grain Nosler Partition at 2825 fps. I measured some Swede-rated loads this morning. At 200 yards, that still carrys 1890 foot-pounds of kinetic energy. The 6.5mm bullet has a high sectional density, and is noted for good penetration. I know that a "normal" elk round would be more like 30 caliber, 180 grains, 2700 or more fps, but do the 6.5mm numbers add up to a satisfactory North American elk round too? Anybody have any actual experience?

I admit that I�ve never shot an american elk, nor did I ever seen one. But they are not bigger than our swedish moose or weaker than our bears. And here in Sweden every some ten thousands mooses an some fifty bears are taken with the 6,5x55. They do the job.

Now, even though six-and-halfs are capable of killing moose, they are IMHO a bit too weak, as they usually don�t leave blood enough for tracking after bad shots. I would rather go with my old 9,3x57 or something else bigger than .30-06.

This said, I nevertheless would not doubt to fire my own 6,5 drilling at an undisturbed moose at stalking. With proper bullet placement the 6,5 is good - but no moore.

So if you like that six-and-half, take it. And take bullet choice in consideration. There is the Barnes X and some other premiums, which would do the job better.

Best regards,

Fritz

I'll agree with Fritz about the 6,5 being marginal on Moose (I know it's done a lot in Sweden but, considering the quarry's size, bigger is better). However you're talking about different animals. An Elk (Cervus Canadensis) is not a Moose but is genetically similar (they may crosbreed) to the European Red Deer (Cervus Elaphus). For the latter, as well as for Elk, I'd start with the 7 mm's as a minimum (my own choices being .300 & .338 Win Mag or 9,3x62.

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Andr�

I know people who shoot elk on a regular basis with 6.55x55 swedish mausers. You are not going to take a 400 yd shot with one necessarily....and again bullet placement is critical. But no one is gonna give the elk in my freezer CPR because I shot it with a .270 win. The swede round will do the job on elk within reasonable limits. My personal opinion is that within a 250-300 yard limit and with proper shot placement....they will drop just as fast as if they were shot with a .347 bullwhacker or whatever magnum is the flavor of the month currently. regards swede

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WyomingSwede

One thing about elk, they tend to not want to die. 6.5 for elk is probably what I would consider the minimum for any decent size bull. A nice size bull can reach 400 KG (900 lb), a little more towards the coast. Around this part of the world, I'd much rather shoot a moose with a 6.5 than an elk. Elk tend to MOVE after the shot, and a bigger hole has to slow them down more than a small hole. Given the "helicopter only" canyons they like to find, I want them to get really, really sick, right now. FWIW, Dutch.

If you will shoot them broadside at up to 200 yds. I suspect the 6.5 will work, in fact I know it will...It won't leave much of a blood trail and elk can sure make a lot of tracks with a lethal hit and you cannot shoot them lenthwise, oh it has the penitration it just doesn't tear up enough stuff for me....

I don't even use a 30-06 these days, as I went to the 338 about 15 years ago and I KNOW its a better hammer...I can punch them from any angle and going stright away....

A little piece of advise for what its worth:
Forget about the guys that tell you to pick your shots and place the bullet right behind the shoulder, thoes days are long past with todays elk in heavily hunted Gov. lands....today your damn lucky to see a bull and he will be making tracks and you need to be prepared to take shots as they come or you'll be playing switch finger throughout the season.....

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Back in the mid 1970s, I had a good friend, who unfortunately has passed on. His favorite elk rifle was a 20 barreled Mexican Mauser in .257 Roberts. Jerry was a great shot and one of the best stalkers I've ever seen. I would imagine, that if he were still alive today, he could use the 6.5x55 or .260 Rem. with just as good results as he got with his .257.
But, and this is a big but, Ray is right. Under current hunting conditions, bigger is better. Jerry was good at sneaking up on and elk and placing his bullet right behind the ear. I'm nowhere near that good, so I'll use either my .35 Whelen or .338 Mag. this fall.
I really would much rather use my 7x57, as the older I get, the less I like getting the slats kicked out from under me. My .338 kicks less than my .300. Go figure.
Paul B.

Ray,very well said! Hunting elk on Public Land today is Very Tough. There is no better shot than the shot you got. I have never had to fire a second shot with my .338,I hope my .350 Griffin&Howe Imp. works as well.

I don't know why not - I've seen several elk killed with the .25-06.

It wouldn't be my first choice (or fifth) but within reasonable range with proper bullet placement will put them down pronto.

But as Ray said, getting the perfect shot is tough especially on public land. A bigger, heavier bullet will put them down better when the distance is long or the angle less than optimum.

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To be old and wise.....first you have to be young and stupid!

I used the 6.5mm 140 Nosler on an elk several years ago. The long, high S.D. bullet penetrates well. On the one I shot, the bullet ended up in the off-side skin, and had done plenty of damage to the internals. The bull went down about 40 steps from where he was shot (he gave me time for one additional shot, but was screened by brush, so that shot went into the abdomen; the first shot went into the heart/lung area, so the second didn't really matter).

Would I rather hunt elk with a larger gun? Yes. Would I turn down a hunt if all I had was a 6.5x55 loaded with Noslers? No.

Denton,
The Hornady 160 grain bullet over 47.0 grains of REL-22 will deliver velocities in the range of 2720-2780 from a 29" swede. This is a load taken from Alliant's top end recommendation. It should be very good at 200 yards.

Scott...

That sounds like a great idea. I've completely ignored the 160, because it's a round nose. But the fact is that the rifle has iron sights, and is on the light side anyway, so it's already a 200 yard machine. The 160's might be perfect.

I lump calibers of 6.5mm through 30 cal as small bores, all will kill with the same authority and consistancy if shots are properly placed. None of them will provide a reliable blood trail on larger species if things go awry. If one wants a factor of safety, then they choose a medium bore, ie .338 through .375.

To those that argue the merrits of various small bores, they are what they are, just to greater or smaller degrees of eachother. There is only so much killing a 140-180 gr bullet can do, don't matter if it started out long and slender, or a wee bit bigger in dia. Go to a 250-300 gr bullet, and you have consistant exits, and a decent blood trail, should it be needed.

I like the 6.5mm, one of my favorite calibers. That said, it would not be my first choice for elk, then again, neither would the -06, or even a 300 mag.

Know the limitations of your round, stick to them, and make your shot count. That is what is required of any round. The benefit of a medium bore is you do away with some of the limitations of the small bores.

I can't add much to what has been said except this- unless you have tracked and recovered an Elk in some of the hell-holes that they normally call home you simply can't appreciate how important it is to put one on the ground as quickly as possible.
On top of that, many times a well hit Elk will mix in with other Elk and make a merry chase of it for quite a while. If you don't have a substantial blood trail, you could be just plain out of luck or spending your entire hunting trip looking for a wounded elk.
The 6.5 x 55 is a fine round and I'm sure it is capable of taking an Elk if all the right conditions are present, but that doesn't sound much like Elk hunting to me. In fact, you can usually count on NOTHING being right when you need it. As usual, Ray has it right- shoot enough gun to stop an Elk from any angle and you will be a happy camper. IMHO, that begins at the .300 Mags and goes up from there.- Sheister

I'd tend to look at 6.5 on elk the same way I look at centerfire 22's on deer- it can be done but eventually you'll be sorry.

Having said that, I don't know if the reason you are posting this is if this is your only gun, and in that case by all means use it! It sounds like you are being responsible and aware, and as long as you know the limitations of your caliber and don't try to do something it cannot do then you should be ok. Like the others, I'd feel better with a '06 or even better with a 338 but sometimes you have to learn to play the hand that life deals you, but just do it with brains and responsibility.

Hi Denton

Year to date I have shot 19 Elk (wapiti over here in NZ) using my 6.5 with the very load that Scott has suggested. No problem here and the beasties didn't know the difference between the 6.5 and any other caliber. I should add all were taken at less than 100 yards but they were all one shot kills. I had plenty of time to make clear shots on all of them. I hope this helps in some small way. I should also point out that I didn't deliberately set out to hunt elk with my 6.5 - they were there when I was hunting deer.

Steve H

MarkWhite--

Actually, I guess I should explain the cause of my question a little better.

I have a 6.5 Swede, and think it is about the coolest gun I own. It is really something special, but I mainly intend to use it for mulies and pronghorn. The only changes I've made are floating the barrel, cleaning up the trigger, and replacing the rear sight with an aperture sight.

It's just that I got looking at the numbers, reading writers that claim that it kills much better than the numbers would indicate, and thinking about some of Steve H's earlier comments. I was really curious what other people's experience has been. The consensus seems to be, "adequate, but not optimum". Makes sense.

What I'll be using this fall is a custom job I put together out of a Mauser and a 24" -06 barrel. I like it better than my Browning, because it has 4" more barrel, and lobs 180 grains at 2775 fps. At my age, I really want a one shot kill, preferrably at an elk that is quietly standing broadside, 15-20 feet uphill from the truck. While you rarely get something quite like that, I'm not about to take a shot that involves more work than I'm ready to do. If it is a 400 yarder, across a creek and a boulder field, I'll just pass, enjoy the day with a couple of my favorite people, and talk about it over dinner.

Denton,

Well I agree with using an '06 instead. ANd again, while a 6.5 is useable there is a world of difference between the two and a big factor will be where you hunt, public or private lands. If you don't feel like doing any extra walking then I think you are making a good choice with the '06.... Or wait that's not true, the walking might be the same but you increase your odds of having to do a lot more running....