6.5 choices

C

Conan

New member
OK gentlemen,

I'm vacillating worse than a fat kid at the buffet, trying to decide between the biscuits and gravy or the waffles....

I do don't much rifle big game hunting, but I'm taking my 17yr old daughter for a cow elk this fall. She's somewhat recoil adverse,( I don't blame her) I have a 6.5 CM for her to shoot and a 6.5 PRC. What bullets do I need??

6.5 CM. I'm torn between the 97Absolute and the 112 or even lighter HHT bullets. Is 85hr too light for cow elk sized critters?

6.5 PRC, I may need to use the for Auodad and Oryx , if I can't get into bow range, I'm thinking 125gr HHT.

Thanks for all your advice. I'm sold on the Hammer bullets but haven't even shot one yet, lol. I need to get these ordered and start load development. Both rifle will be shot suppressed as I am not a neanderthal.
 
As for recommendations for bullet that you've never shot before and it being for your daughter..
I'd recommend 110hh or larger hh or hht.
May not be what I'd shoot myself because I've shot deer with most of them(hh, sh, ph, ah). But even that, it wasn't a elk.
 
Im running the 97AH in my 6.5x55 @ 3500fps with very mild recoil which you should be able to achieve similar results with your Creedmoor, I’m very impressed by the velocity and accuracy but I haven’t yet had an opportunity to try it on game, so I can’t say if I would recommend it for cow elk..

I have no experience with the 125HHT but the reports from @Farleg regarding that projectile have been outstanding! Including use on our Buffalo over here! I think that is definitely a great choice for the prc
 
The 125HHT in the PRC suppressed would be very manageable. We shoot the same bullet in a couple buddies 6.5 PRC with brakes and it is less recoil than a .243 w/o brake or suppressor. The Creed would be even less and you could go with the 125HHT or 112 HHT. I like the 125 HHT for elk sized game personally. Should be able to push it at 3200+fps in the PRC and 2800+fps in the Creed.
 
I just worked up load for my adult son for his up coming mule deer hunt and his 6.5 cm using 112g HHT's at around 3100 fps from a 22" barrel and 1/2 moa. Very manageable recoil from a NON-suppressed barrel.

For elk a 6.5 cm wouldn't be my first choice though.
 
alg25 said:
I just worked up load for my adult son for his up coming mule deer hunt and his 6.5 cm using 112g HHT's at around 3100 fps from a 22" barrel and 1/2 moa. Very manageable recoil from a NON-suppressed barrel.

For elk a 6.5 cm wouldn't be my first choice though.
Click to expand...

What powder if you don’t mind me asking. That’s smoking fast!!
 
Thanks for all the recommendations folks, I will get some 112 and 125 HHT's ordered. She hasn't shot any of the rifles yet, she has shot her 350 Legend bolt action ( 170gr factory ammo), so I don't think the 6.5 CM or even the PRC will be more than the recoil of that. I'm anxious to see how these bullets tune.
 
@Conan

You’ve ordered two extremely good pills. I’ll only add to the good advice you’ve already received.

The 125hht has been tested by @Farleg and the hammer crew on buff with extremely good results. The 112hht has not been tested on that large of an animal yet. None that I’m aware of anyway. With that said, when running the numbers (giving the 112 a 200fps velocity advantage over the 125), there’s not much difference out to 500 yards. Both are above 2000fps. I think a 112gr pill is getting on the line of being light for such a large animal. I know it will kill an elk, the question is how well when it hits that heavier resistance.

For comparison near the 112gr weight class, the .277/117hh has had great results killing elk. Between the .264/112hht and the .277/117hh I know the 112hht is much more consistent.

Recoil wise I do think the 125hht will be similar to the 170gr 350 legend. I shoot both but haven’t shot them side by side. Looking forward to your daughter’s hunt results! Good luck

Kneedeep
 
First congrats on taking your daughter on her first hunt. My advice is make it as pleasant for her as possible. The 112 will be just fine out of the CM, as long as you get within reasonable range and she can shoot straight.
I shoot the 124g HH out of my 6.5x284, which is a cousin to your PRC, and I'm hoping to some day use it on an Aoudad as well.

If I were in your shoes, I'd get your daughter out shooting rocks at random ranges and random shooting positions. Practice getting her into shooting position and locating the target in her scope as fast as she can before the hunt and it will save some "game time" frustrations.
I took my son out "rock busting" several times before his first hunt and it paid off big time.
Let us know how it goes.
 
Is this a case of too many great choices? Before my accident, I developed a very accurate load with the 118gr. HHT in my Creedmoor. I'm not sure why it isn't in the conversation. Recoil isn't bad at all in the Tikka Lite without a brake or suppressor. The Doc might not want me shooting the boomers this fall with my broken neck. The Creedmoor might be what I hunt mule deer with this year.
 
Gday Conan
Decisions decisions & not a light one to be taken here yes in more ways than one
Great advice from the guys above & here’s my 2 cents

The first thing is the range your daughter is comfortable @ & really behind cbjr questions
cbjr said:
Has she made any shots with the cm and suppressor combo yet? If so was it too much or just ok? Trying to understand her comfort level from afar before giving recommendations.
Click to expand...
as that will tell us a lot more of where she can start

So my assumptions are based on what I do with kids
Some are good with recoil some are not
Some react to the recoil & some react to the noise

Overall the greatest thing I’ve found is to ease them into it & a 22lr is the greatest tool we have first & don’t know if you started with that or skipped straight to the legend

Regardless of suppressed I would still use ear protection & even ear plugs & muffs as i don’t like the thought of any flinches creeping in due to noise

Next I’d move to pills & id run with the 85hh as it’s the cheapest form to practice with & yes you could go a cheap LIGHTWEIGHT c&c but that may lead to spending more on cleaning & hammers are the easiest pill to tune /group for 99% of people most of the time
So I’d stay with the hammers as in the end the cost difference won’t be really any difference
A box of 50 should suffice but load these way down to say around 2500 as this will be just to build confidence & muscle memory & good habits /repeatability come from that
The last ten I would load to 2800 & then 3000 & use balloons to 50 yard first & finally a 100 on all her shots blow them to around 14i/15 in diameter but put a 2 in black dot in centre of the balloons for aiming point
Now if she is efficient @ that 50&100 you can move out but I’d personally not worry @ this stage & if windy you can tape with sticky tape to stop movement too much

Now the hunting pill of choice
I love the 125hht performance for big critters but in this case I’m torn as potentially it may not be the best pill so I’d hold off until we know how she goes with the 85hh & recoil tolerance

Now if it’s a good alround pill that will have in mind & don’t want to order the 85hh ( if you go that way ) and after very manageable recoil yet a pill that still preforms well the 112hht is going to be the one I’d choose & I’d limit this to a velocity of 3k but 2800 wouldn’t concern me as I’d assume you’ll limit shot ranges & not push the ranges to much

The 112 is just the smaller brother of the 125 as very similar shapecharge

Please keep us updated on her journey & yours also

Cheers
 
Yup, the reason I asked is, the 125HHT will have the most recoil of the bunch. The 125HHT suppressed will have alot lower recoil though, than those 170s unless there is a vast difference in rifle weight. The 125 is the best of the bunch for the bigger stuff, but the 112 would be a close 2nd.
 
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