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No matter what you read in the sporting press or hear around the gun counter, the 6.5 Creedmoor is not a giant killer. It’s not Thor’s hammer or a Storm Trooper’s blaster. What the 6.5 Creedmoor is, is a very flat-shooting, light-recoiling rifle cartridge capable of handling non-dangerous game all over the world. That makes it well-suited to all sorts of hunting and all sorts of hunters.
The 6.5 Creedmoor works astoundingly well on varmints, feral hogs, pronghorn, whitetails, mule deer, black bears, and even on animals as large as kudu and elk. It will even work for moose, and if you doubt that, consider its ballistics are very similar to the 6.5×55 which has been killing moose in Europe for more than a century. Here are five of the best factory hunting loads currently offered for the 6.5 Creed. I’ve field tested every one of them and can tell you from experience that they will work when and where it really counts.
- Hornady V-Max Varmint Express 95-Grain
- Hornady Outfitter 120-grain CX
- Lehigh Defense 120-grain Tipped Controlled Chaos
- Nosler Trophy Grade 140-Grain Nosler AccuBond
- Hornady 143-Grain Precision Hunter
Read Next: Why the 6.5 Creedmoor Might Be the Best Factory Rifle Cartridge Ever
1. Hornady V-Max Varmint Express 95-Grain 6.5 Creedmoor
Best Use: Varmints and predators
Load Specs: 95-grain V-Max bullet, 3300 fps muzzle velocity, 2297 ft-lb. muzzle energy, 0.365 (G1) ballistic coefficient
It was so cold and about 15 minutes was all we could stand at each calling location. As it turned out, we only needed 10 minutes. We saw the two coyotes coming from 300 yards out, and when then they stopped across a narrow Wyoming canyon at about 150 yards, the 95-grain V-Max bullet just about exploded the big male. The female ran but made the mistake of stopping to look back and the second V-Max dropped her stone dead. The 6.5mm 95-grain V-Max bullet might seem a bit large for varmints and predators, but with impact velocities higher than 2800 fps from this Varmint Express round, it is ultra-explosive. It won’t leave your pelts looking pretty, but it will put predators down instantly, with light enough recoil to help you make those fast follow-up shots.
Read Next: The 6.5 Creedmoor Lover’s (and Hater’s) Gift Guide
2. Hornady Outfitter 120-grain CX 6.5 Creedmoor
Best Use: All big game.
Load Specs: 120-grain Hornady CX bullet, 2925 fps muzzle velocity, 2280 ft-lb. muzzle energy, 0.428 (G1) ballistic coefficient
In 2022 Hornady began phasing out their lead-free GMX bullet in favor of a new bullet they call the “CX.” Like the GMX, the CX bullet is an all-copper—actually, guiding metal—bullet. The CX bullet includes the same heat-resistant tip Hornady uses for their ELD-X bullets, which prevents ballistic coefficient (BC) erosion at distance. But Hornady also optimized the CX bullet’s groove geometry to maximize in-flight performance. This optimization also reduced the bullet’s bearing surface which helps keep pressure down and reduce copper fouling in the barrel. My testing in Clear Ballistics showed you can expect the 120-grain CX bullet to penetrate to more than 2 feet and upset with a frontal diameter of almost a half inch. It punched clean through both shoulders of a whitetail doe I shot recently, and she didn’t take a step.
3. Lehigh Defense 120-grain Tipped Controlled Chaos
Best Use: All game, big and small.
Load Specs: 120-grain Tipped Controlled Chaos, 2800 fps muzzle velocity, 2089 ft-lb. muzzle energy, 0.475 (G1) ballistic coefficient
One of the most overlooked big-game bullets is the Lehigh Defense Controlled Chaos. These bullets are all-copper, lead-free bullets, but unlike most hollow point or tipped copper bullets that retain all their weight and open wide, these bullets are engineered to create vicious wounds through the dispersion of shrapnel. The more animals I shoot with them, the more impressed I become. When the Controlled Chaos bullet impacts, the petals that peel back on most all copper bullets, separate from the Controlled Chaos bullet and radiate forward and outward from the wound track creating massive tissue damage. But the bullet’s core continues to deliver deep penetration. It’s like the best of both worlds when it comes to big-game bullets.
4. Nosler Trophy Grade 140-Grain Nosler AccuBond
Best Use: All big game.
Load Specs: 140 Nosler AccuBond, 2650 fps muzzle velocity, 2183 ft-lb muzzle energy, 0.509 (G1) ballistic coefficient
Designed to deliver terminal performance on par with the famed Nosler Partition bullet, while being as flat-shooting and accurate as the company’s Ballistic Tip, the Nosler AccuBond is one of the best all-round big-game bullets ever made. With a core bonded to the jacket, the AccuBond retains weight very well for deep, bone-crushing penetration. Yet it deforms with a wide frontal diameter to create massive wound cavities. Federal used to offer the 140-grain AccuBond in a 6.5 Creedmoor factory load, and it helped me collect a nice woodland caribou at 250 yards, a 350-pound black bear at 65 yards, and a bull moose at 318 yards, while completing my Newfoundland Grand Slam. The Federal load has been discontinued but Nosler and Sig Sauer both offer the 140-grain AccuBond in 6.5 Creedmoor factory loaded ammunition.
Read Next: 6.5 Creedmoor: The New King of Cartridges?
5. Hornady 143-Grain Precision Hunter 6.5 Creedmoor
Best Use: Long-range hunting for deer-size animals and up, including African plains game.
Load Specs: 143-grain Elite Hunter Tipped, 2700 fps muzzle velocity, 2315 ft-lb. muzzle energy, 0.625 (G1) ballistic coefficient
The crosswind was upwards of 20 mph and the blesbok was just on the other side of 500 yards. My wind call was off, and the bullet passed just in front of the big ram’s nose. I gave my son an adjustment, and he held accordingly and pulled the trigger. Six-tenths of a second later the ram was lying in the red dirt of Africa. The Hornady ELD-X was one of the first bullets specifically engineered to deliver extreme accuracy and good terminal performance up close and at distance. The magnificently high BC allows the bullet to reach distant targets sooner, allowing less time for gravity and wind to deviate its course. The tapered jacket and lead core help guarantee wide expansion at muzzle velocity and when impact velocities are as slow as 1600 fps, making it a highly versatile option. Federal also loads the 143-grain ELD-X bullet for the 6.56 Creedmoor at the same muzzle velocity.
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