Are You Getting Bad Blood Trails with the 6.5 Creedmoor?
BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 10 months ago
OL.
For years now we’ve heard from rifle and ammo manufacturers that the 6.5 Creedmoor is their most popular cartridge. It’s an excellent round for open country, and it’s found its way into plenty of Midwestern and Eastern deer camps, too. But there’s one consideration that’s become a head scratcher. A whole bunch of deer hunters are reporting sub-par blood trails from deer—even well-hit deer—shot with their 6.5 Creeds.
Just ask full-time Wisconsin blood-tracker Dean Muthig, who has put his Bavarian mountain scent hounds on 230 deer tracks so far this season. Many of his calls over the years have been from parents who need help recovering deer during the youth rifle season. Not because their kids are making poor shots—Muthig says younger hunters seem to shoot just as accurately as adults. Instead, it’s because they tend to use smaller calibers like a .243—and the 6.5 Creedmoor. It’s not that these kids aren’t killing deer. They just can’t find them.
Consider the 9-year-old boy who shot a nice buck on a Wisconsin food plot this fall. The 8-pointer fled into a stand of pines, which his family searched without finding a speck of blood. When Muthig arrived, his hound lead him directly to the buck. It had run 175 yards before piling up from the double-lung shot. The bullet had not exited, and there was no visible blood on the entire track.
“The kid made a great shot, but it’s just one of those things where the deer didn’t bleed at all,” says Muthig, who’s been tracking for 17 years. “The 6.5 Creedmoor is like a .243 where—they kill deer, don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of people who kill deer with them. But they just don’t leave a blood trail, hardly ever. And it’s just because it’s such a small entry hole … It’s the size of a pencil, and a lot of times the bullets go in and expand and there’s no exit, and nowhere for the blood to go. … Or if it does exit, there’s not a lot of room for blood to get out. Running deer cover a lot of ground fast, so you can end up with really minimal blood in the course of a few hundred yards.”
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But even if you have a higher sectional density with the 6.5 Creedmoor, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get a heavy blood trail on a pass through. So what does this mean for hunters who don’t want to wade into ballistics, and just want to recover their deer? It means they need to choose the right bullet for their desired outcome.
“If you like two leaky holes, and there’s a lot to be said for that, you’re going to want to shoot something like a Nosler AccuBond, a Barnes Monolithic, or a Hornaday GMX,” Snow says. “If you want lots of internal damage but not necessarily a pass-through, look at the Hornaday ELD-X or a Nosler Ballistic Tip—any of those lighter, polymer-tip bullets should fit the bill. Just know that there’s still a chance that it’ll blow through the deer.”
I guess that’s one knock against the bullet. But it seems to me that you want both – expansion and damage + pass-through. Of course, I spoke to one old hunter one time who told me “I shoot the 300 Win Mag and I don’t have to chase a blood trail.”
On December 20, 2021 at 12:04 am, Bradley Suhr said:
Nathan Foster, of New Zealand, has written extensively about the phenomenon mentioned here. It is not unique to the Creedmoor. He has done a lot of research involving cartridge and bullet performance. Most of that information can be found at ballisticstudies.com. It is a good place to start if a person wants to increase their understanding of these things.
Because I am a meat hunter, I prefer to take the behind-the-shoulder “meat saver” shot. Frangible, destructive bullets result in quick kills when used this way, but care must be taken in regards to placement and shot angle. When it comes to controlled expansion bullets, the Nosler Partition is both destructive and yields reliable exits and blood trails, though it tends to kill more slowly than more frangible designs. I suspect it would kill more quickly if driven through the shoulder, but that approach tends to result in more meat damage.
I tend to use the Nosler Partition in more specialized applications. It is a good bullet and I trust it to work. But, I much prefer frangible designs such as the Hornady SST or ELD-X. My objective is to “turn the lights out” on the animal I am hunting. I have found frangible bullets do that more reliably than controlled expansion designs.
FWIW, a lot of people disagree with my thinking on this. My personal ideas about the subject are far from definitive. There is, has been, and will continue to be debate on this subject.
On December 20, 2021 at 12:13 am, Furminator said:
I think the Creedmoor fad is waning. In my gunstore they have loaded up on 6.5’s and though they sell, they are not the “ticket” folks thought they were a couple of years ago and I have piles unsold in backstock. From my conversations, most hunters still want to shoot within 300 yards and at that range the 6.5 Creedmoor doesn’t do anything better than a 07mm-08, .308, 270, or 30-06. It’s a fine cartridge but it’s not a gamechanger for a typical hunter, and there are better new cartridges for the “niche” hunter like 28 Nosler or 300 PRC. IMHO stick with you trusty 30-30, ’06, or 270.
On December 20, 2021 at 5:48 am, Chris said:
I’ve been shooting a 257 rem. Roberts going on 4 decades for deer, as well as whistle pigs at distance. Had to track a few, but it always got the Job done. I don’t know anyone that shoots that caliber anymore.
CIII
On December 20, 2021 at 8:51 am, George said:
.257 Roberts is a fine cartridge. My son took his first deer at age 9 with one
I bought him a Browning XBolt in .257 and he used it to take deer up until he passed from this earth.
I handloaded for him as the Remington factory 117 grain loads are (for some reason) rather mild.
On December 20, 2021 at 9:04 am, X said:
The first few seasons my jurisdiction allowed rifle hunting, I used lighter bullets — 125 and 150 grain — in the 30-06. I thought the light bullets would help with accuracy.
I killed a few deer this way — dead but no exit (or very small exit) and no blood trail. Unfortunately I lost a couple of deer too.
I’ve since switched to a 165 at about 2600 fps and put a Timney trigger on the rifle. Accuracy is fantastic, recoil is moderate, and every deer taken with that load is a one-shot kill with full pass-through.
On December 20, 2021 at 9:13 am, X said:
“I think the Creedmoor fad is waning. In my gunstore they have loaded up on 6.5’s and though they sell, they are not the “ticket” folks thought they were a couple of years ago and I have piles unsold in backstock. From my conversations, most hunters still want to shoot within 300 yards and at that range the 6.5 Creedmoor doesn’t do anything better than a 07mm-08, .308, 270, or 30-06. It’s a fine cartridge but it’s not a gamechanger for a typical hunter…”
Agreed. The 6.5 Jesus is a fad. It’s a great target cartridge, and if you’re shooting at 800 or 1000 yards it will beat a .308 or an ’06 hands down in terms of wind drift. But so will a .260 and a 6.5-06 and a 6.5×55, which have been around for decades.
However, ethical hunters don’t hunt at those distances and even then it is only possible out West. Most Eastern deer are taken within 100 yards, and often within 50. The Creed does nothing for you at those distances.
I’ve killed almost 30 deer, and only three of them have been between 200 and 250. The three animals I took this year were shot at 110, 50 and 50 respectively.
On December 20, 2021 at 11:02 am, Paul B said:
I like 350 legends. It kills deer pretty good. For muzzy I like peer belt bullets with 100 grains of black horn 209 powder.
Only ever had to track one deer using that combo. Track him for about a mile till he crossed the track of a doe. He might have dropped just as he caught her but I did not follow.
Little bullets will work. Just maybe not as well.
On December 20, 2021 at 11:02 am, Paul B said:
Replace peer with power. iPads
On December 20, 2021 at 12:55 pm, billrla said:
The popularity of 6.5 Creedmoor seems to have been driven by ballistic advantages for long range precision shooting, which translated (not necessarily appropriately) into long range hunting, and then, just plain hunting.
At typical deer hunting distances (i.e. not purposely pursuing only long range shots, with gear and cartridge chosen for long range performance), one need not worry too much about longer range ballistic performance.
On December 20, 2021 at 4:45 pm, Coy said:
Can’t say I ever shot a 6.5.
But, this year for the first time in my 50+ years deer hunting I killed 2 deer with a .223 both slightly less than 100 yards with a 62 grain soft point. First one I shot, waited 20 minutes and then proceeded to check for blood. Found nothing, thinking I had missed, scratched my head recounted my shot and went off in the direction the young buck headed, found him about 100ft. in the brush, not a single drop of blood except where he lay, just a slight amount coming out his mouth. He apparently turned slightly to the right as I shot as the bullet entered slightly to the right of my aim and grazed the heart, found a 100% intact nearly perfect mushroomed bullet in the membrane just under his skin in his right side. Small entry wound, no exit and no blood trail.
Rinse and repeat except 2nd deer the bullet passed straight through ribcage, no blood trail again.
I have killed many deer, 30/30 and .308 always a blood trail.
I must admit the .223 did the job, but I will be switching back to 30 caliber next year.
On December 20, 2021 at 6:24 pm, Leigh said:
Both of my daughters use a .243, in a Remington 770 platform. One shoots Federal and the other Winchester – both running 90 grain bullets. Neither of them has had a deer go more than 60 yards and the blood trail has always been visible. The ones that didn’t leave a trail, fell right where they were shot. I credit their Grandfather’s tutelage and good shot placement.
I run a M77 Ultralight in 30-’06. I handload 180 grain Speer Magtips pushing out at a moderate 2600fps. I’ve also used 180 grain Hornady, that looks like was replaced by their American Whitetail line. Never have a problem finding a blood trail.
Leigh
Whitehall, NY
On December 20, 2021 at 8:08 pm, Sandhiller 78 said:
FFS.
How many deer have been taken with 22LR.?
I’ve taken deer with 222, 243, 25-06, 6.5 Creed, 30-06, 300 Win Mag, 45ACP, 45-70, 50 cal muzzleloader, compound and crossbow.
The 6.5 Creed is a fine round. One of many.
Is it a fad, I suppose you could say that. But its deserves alot of the hype.
But to claim its not a good deer round because it doesnt leave a good blood trail is ludicrous. Put it in on target, which by the way, is why it garners alot of the praise, and it will do the job just fine. Throw a suppressor on, and it makes an awesome young shooters deer rifle..
BTW, if you can’t find a downed animal without a bloodtrail Stevie Wonder could follow, then you best work on your fieldcraft.
Sheesh.