Caliber for elk

[maximus]

I'm looking to buy a rifle in 6.5x284 caliber is that good enough for elk?

is anybody familiar with this round?

[.270]

it'll work. it ain't a .270, but it'll work. Lark.

[PRDATR]

WHile it is a very accurate round you really want a heavy bullet for Elk that will retain enough energy out to 300 yards, especially if shot placement is less than perfect. Will it work? Yes. But there are many more better choices for Elk.

[echo co.]

It' will work,if you decide to get one&hunt with,i suggest you go w/a premium bullet like BarnesTSX,hornady,nosler,etc. the 6.5X284 is a good round but one little thing its alittle hard to find a box ammo,say yur out huntn& if you forget or lost ammo& say yur outta town or in small town a lot of little gunshops,walmart don't carry tht caliber so make sure u don't lose that ammo what make,model? are u looking at?is it a savage?

[billrquimby]

Most makers offer 6.5 mm bullets in 120 and 140 grains. Either weight when pushed 2700-3300 fps into the kill zone from any 6.5mm cartridge will kill cleanly any elk on this planet, including the large subspecies in China's Tian Shan Mountains.

 

Don't know why we Americans have mostly ignored this caliber. The Europeans love it, especially in Scandinavia, where the 6.5x57 is the standard for killing that region's moose (they call them "elk"). I have a Remington 700 BDL in 6.5 Remington Magnum and shot my last two mule deer with it. Both dropped in their tracks.

 

Bill Quimby

[rclouse79]

I bought a .270 to use as my only hunting rifle, and some people said it was not enough gun for elk. I have not shot an elk with it yet, but I was encouraged with its performance on my coues hunt yesterday. I shot a buck facing me through the left shouler and out the back end from 300 yards. I would describe the damage from the 130 grain barnes triple shock bullet as massive. I think your caliber will be fine and using a good quality bullet will seal the deal. I have been impressed with barnes for accuracy and terminal performance. Just wish they were cheaper.

[Coach]

If you aren't stuck on that one, I would suggest looking at .270 WSM and .300 WSM. My sons and I have had great success with these two on everything from piggies to coues to elk. Great ballistics, performance and variety if you hand-load. I've shot lots of different guns over the years, and love the stand-by .270 for everything, or the 7MM Mag or 7MM STW.

 

But I really love these two WSM offerings. I really think you can "do it all" with .270 WSM, but stepping up to the .300 WSM gives you a ton of bullet options, without some of the problems a lot of .300 Mags are known for. My "Go To" gun is a really nice Savage American Classic in .300 WSM, and I was "trading down" from a Weatherby SBGM in .300 Wby. I like the WSM better in many ways. Part of the trade was for a Howa 1500 in .270 WSM for my kids (Thanks, Gino). I bought a wood stock on ebay for $12, cut it down and put a limbsaver recoil pad on it. This gun kicks like a .243 and shoots incredibly well with 140 grain Nosler Accubonds on 56.0 grains of IMR 4350. My 12 year old killed an elk in the fall and a javelina in the Spring with that gun.

 

Haven't shot the 6.5 you're talking about, so I can't draw a direct comparison.

[.270]

they kill elk all the time with a bow. ain't it at least as good as a bow? the 6.5x284 is one round that really interests me. Bill, i've shot a .264 mag for about 40 years and killed a lotta elk and deer and all kindsa stuff with one of the several i own. so ain't everbody ignores that bore. my youngest son killed a 400 bull with his sendero last year with a scirocco at around 400. most all mine were with 129 gr hornadys. i've always thought the .284 was a slick round. hotter than a .280 and it will work in a shorter action. to me, it is the original "short magnum". well, after the ones that newton invented around 1900 anyway. ain't nothin' really new. now they figgerd out that if you stick a big long .264 bullet in it with their super BC that they shoot with superb accuracy. which is what matters. they had a whole stack o' ammo for em at cabelas today. and with the new bullets that they make for this incredibly accurate round, you're good to go on any elk there is. i think a lotta guys shoot 165's out of em now. the bullet must be about 4 inches long and they hafta really twist the barrel fast, but they make some ridiculous long shots with em. on the show "long range pursuit" i've seen em drop elk in their tracks at 900 yards with one. remember this, all so called "knockdown" is, is numbers on a piece of paper. it means absolutely nothing. where you hit em does. when you hit an elk he don't go "ow, that bullet really had a lotta knockdown". they don't have a clue how fast it's going. Lark.