Western Hunting Journal, Premiere Issue whj001_premiere | Page 43

The versatility of the 6.5 Creedmoor allows hunters to adjust the bullet
weight and load to hunt a variety of big game animals. WHJ Shooting Editor
Kevin Madison with a Wyoming antelope.
Sectional Density
CALIBER
BULLET WEIGHT
.243 / 6mm
.257
.264 / 6.5mm
.277 / 6.8mm
.284 / 7mm
.284 / 7mm
.308
.308
SD
90g
.218
110g .238
140g
.287
140g
.261
140g
.248
160g
.283
150g .226
180g .271
Throughout the West, big game hunters have plenty of calibers
to choose from when they go afield. Many of the decisions are pre-
determined either through what they know (or don’t know) or what
they’re comfortable with. It’s common to talk with older hunters
who hunt only with a .270 because Jack O’Connor told them that’s
what they should hunt with. Or, the only rifle they own is a .30-06, or
some other caliber. Point being, many hunters are creatures of habit
and subscribe to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” theory. And if that
works and fills your freezer each fall, then more power to you. But
with a little research, people will learn there’s more than one way to
skin a cat. And the 6.5 Creedmoor is another arrow to have in the
quiver.
Take, for example, a typical antelope hunt. Known for spooking
easily, antelope have excellent eyesight and are constantly on the
lookout for predators. Knowing this, antelope hunters are often
faced with taking a long-range shot. It’s not uncommon to shoot a
pronghorn from 300 yards, sometimes longer. Most antelope weigh
between 100 and 120 pounds and hunters want a cartridge that is
flat shooting, can buck the wind, is accurate at long distances and
can quickly and humanely kill the animal. The .243 Remington has
been one of the obvious traditional choices for hunting antelope. It
possesses all the characteristics needed to be successful. It is flat
shooting, has low recoil, and is accurate. The 6.5 Creedmoor shares
all those attributes but wins out every time when compared with
similar bullets. The significantly higher ballistic co-efficiency of the
6.5 Creedmoor bullet is going to be particularly helpful when shoot-
ing at longer ranges and in what can often be windy conditions out
on the plains where antelope generally live. These higher ballistic
co-efficient bullets will shoot flatter and buck the wind better, giving
the shooter a higher margin of error, something we can all use.
madison
game. It’s not unrealistic to expect a 140g .264 bullet to penetrate
better than a 140g .30 caliber bullet as the SD of the .264 is much
higher. This comparison helps in figuring out which bullets might be
most effective for different species of game, as SD gives us a better
comparison of different calibers than the simple weight of the bullet.
For example, the .270 and .30-06 both can shoot a 150g bullet. The
SD in the .270 (.279) is significantly higher than the .30-06 (.226). This
explains why it is popular for elk hunting. It also explains why elk
hunters that opt for a .