I'm trying to decide on which bullet to use for our elk hunts. I have the 140gr Berger vld hunting and 142gr nosler accubond lr dialed into my 6.5 creedmoor and can't decide on which bullet to use. My fiance has a bull hunt next month and I have a cow hunt in November. Anyone have experience with either bullet?

You shouldn't shoot Elk with any caliber other than one that starts with 3!!

This guy knows what he is talking about. For 6x55 Swede as it is almost the ballistic equal of the 6.5 Creedmore: "The 140 grain Partition is without a doubt the most effective all around projectile for the Swede. Nothing else comes remotely close. This is a bullet that time after time, produces a deep, broad, violent wound resulting in fast kills. The Partition exits medium game at speeds fast enough to ensure complete disruption of vital organ pressures. Light and lean or large and tough, this is the go to bullet in the Swede, reaching its limit (wide wounding) on game weighing around 150kg (330lb) although it is adequate for use on Elk - unless you are sold on the idea that 450kg (1000lb) body weights are what the Swede was designed for. Wounding is wide down to velocities as low as 2200fps (310 yards) becoming moderate as velocities approach 2000fps or 430 yards. For those who use the Swede and have not hunted with this bullet, try it. The Partition should be driven into the major bones of the forwards chest cavity on game of all weights, not because of the bullet design but due to the power limitations of the Swede. Used this way, the Swede is brought to optimum performance."

"You shouldn't shoot Elk with any caliber other than one that starts with 3!!"  I believe is true.

Since the first post is wrong and the 2nd doesn't answer your question, the accubond bullet is fantastic. Keep your shots under 300yds and know the biology of your animal and you'll be fine.

It's 2018, not everyone hunts with a caliber that starts with a 3.

Thanks. Both shoot great out of my rifle so I'll probably just use the accubond lr for her bull hunt and use the Berger vld hunting for my cow hunt to see how both bullets do.

I'll go ahead and disagree with everyone in here so far. 6.5 Creedmoor is capable of taking elk at many distances, including over 300 yards.

Do the ballistics on your load to learn at what distance the bullet gets down to 1800fps, that's your farthest effective range. Bucket construction might move that number a bit, and I've also heard long range hunters say 2000fps is all the lower they want to go.

For my rifle, 2000fps is about 550yds and 1800fps is about 700yds. In theory the bullet will perform as designed at 1800, with 2000 yielding more consistent expansion.

I know that didn't answer your question directly, just addressing other stuff. I've heard good things about both bullets, but I'd try the ABLR.

Thanks. I still need to chrono the load I have worked up for the accubond LR.

That's definitely a very important piece. Knowing muzzle velocity, and confirming dials at range are my first steps. Take that information and get an app like strelok and you'll have a good idea of what your bullet is doing at extended ranges, and what your effective hunting range is.

Attached File


This is my dope chart from strelok pro earlier with the Berger vld hunting. Need to get the accubond LR chrono'd so I can get a dope chart for it.

Out os the 8 elk I have killed only one was killed with a 3 anything so I will disagree with the 1st post.

I do agree with BofR, the Accubonds is a great bullet. I would not hesitate to use it in 6.5 on elk at any reasonable range.

If you can achieve good accuracy and velocity go for it. If the Berger is more accurate, use it. But remember, we are talking minute of elk not ground squirrel...

Both loads shoot one ragged hole at 100 yards. I need to see how the accubond shoot at longer distances since I've already taken the Berger to 725. Right now I'm leaning towards the accubond but we'll see how they do.

Killed two elk last year with 147 ELD M. I think Im going to go 143 ELD X for my elk this year.

Full disclosure here:  I have not personally used the Berger VLD Hunting......  However, I've done a metric ton of research and I'm very much of the opinion that this often tends to be a "fragmenting" bullet.  I wouldn't hesitate to use the Berger on anything from a coyote thru antelope up to a fair sized deer.  However, I have very real concerns about its tendency to come apart and its potential use on a bigger 400+ lb animal like an elk.  My very real fear is that the bullet won't make it cleanly and clearly through the vitals in the case of a less-than-perfect hit.  I love the Berger reputation for sterling accuracy, and that is a huge draw.  But fragmentation and elk aren't a combination that work really well...

You've got a bullet that works well apparently:  The Accubond.  Given similar profiles and weight, this should act very much like the Berger in terms of speeds, retained velocity, trajectory, etc.  However, the Accubond has a really BIG thing going for it:  While the nose may well wipe away, but worst case is you'll typically always end up with about 60% of the bullet remaining as a single cohesive unit (even out of a fast rifle like some variety of magnum) that will penetrate even after a shoulder shot.  This is a big deal on a big critter.

Velocities are relatively mild in 6.5 Creed.  Even if you are hand loading well in excess of published data and have a long barrel, max speeds are often running a modest 2800 fps, perhaps a bit more.  This isn't "fast" by modern bullet standards.  More than likely, if your loads are relatively sane, you'll likely end up with 2700'ish fps.  I would very much expect the majority of the Accubond to expand well, loose very little material except perhaps the plastic tip and remain intact.  You'll likely get full penetration by most of that bullet.

Hands down, no real debate in my case:  Accubond all the way in this case....

In future, if you are conducting additional testing, give a 140 Nosler Partition a chance too.  I wouldn't except quite the same gilt edged accuracy as the Accubond, but bullet performance within the expect velocity window of the 6.5 Creedmoor is EXCELLENT.

Pay VERY close attention to impact speeds....  You might be one of those rare individuals who can shoot very well at very long ranges.  If so, congratulations.  The problem is this:  Bullet performance is totally different at low impact speeds.  Imagine if you will the you are able to cleanly hit your elk at long range, and do so.  Only he trots off relatively unaffected.  The issue?  Impact speeds were not sufficient to really expand the bullet dramatically, and as a result you got something akin to a non-expanding (or perhaps minimally expanding) "FMJ" type bullet strike.  Its a small narrow hole, with little damage.  It may well kill that elk, but likely do so many minutes or hours later. Its not good....  I know the Nosler Accubond has a supposed minimum impact velocity of 1800 FPS to ensure expansion.  In my experience, this is optimistic.  I wouldn't shoot it at anything at any range where impact speed would drop to less than 2000 fps....

I've seen this personally.  I've used a 350 Rem Mag (definitely a LOT more gun than a 6.5mm Creed) on moose and deer.  Its a real hammer!  However, its absolute max range in my opinion is 300 yards, and thats really pushing it.  I could hit targets farther away, but impact speeds would drop to about 2000 fps.  I did take moose at 292 yards, and this sledgehammer of a cartridge was actually fairly feeble at that range despite very clear and clean hits.  The cause?  Longer range and attending velocity drop mean bullets were not expanding as violently.  Complete through and through penetration, but limited wounding....  To clarify, initial muzzle velocities were approx 2700 fps, or pretty much identical to the 6.5 Creed.  Better BC's on the 6.5 will give you some additional range, but impact speed thresholds are still a real issue...  Beware:  The bullet that works WONDERFULLY at 100 yards is often a totally miserable failure at longer ranges....

Fro

Thanks for the feedback. I'm still working on the accubond to see if I can get them to group better at longer distances. 500 yards would be the max for me to feel comfortable at shooting an elk. My chrono took a shit on me so I'll have to order a new one and see what my velocities are.

147 ELD M spike elk at a touch over 500.

Quartering forward?

Ya he was coming down hill towards us but it didnt seem like he was as quartered as much as the bullet makes it seem.

Nice. Did it drop in it's track?

Have seen more than a few Elk taken with Hornady ELDX 143 gr 6.5CM most over 300yds, some more than double.

6.5x55 has been killing moose for a long time.

And I guess I should trade my 45-70 in for a caliber that starts with a 3, maybe a 30-30 of 300BO.

No it wasn't a spine shot. Stood there for about a minute and keeled over.

127gr Barnes LRX for elk. Berger and Accubond are fine for deer.

The Accubond and Accubond LR are very good bullets. I use the LR in my .270 Win. and have never had a problem on deer. I have not hunted Elk, yet, but I plan on using the AB or the ABLR...possibly the Hornady ELD in my 7mm Rem. Mag if I ever get the chance.

127s over something in the 140 range.....

I used my .28 nosler for my bull this year - ttsx , worked great

Just shot a big Mulie with my creed , 143 eld x , animal was straight ahead
Facing me. Bullet entered front of chest , and passed all the to the asshole
150 yards.

Gonna try it on cow this upcoming weekend!

Yep.

Why would you do such a blasphemous thing.

No kidding.

I'd be going with a 143 ELD-X.

I completely forgot about this thread but I ended up shooting a cow elk with the 140gr Berger vld hunting bullets. One shot at 347 yards in the front shoulder and it dropped dead. My fiance missed a bull at 411 yards on the last morning of her hunt. I don't know where to host the pictures or I'd post some up.

I use imgur.com to host my pics then just copy and paste the forum sharing code from imgur into your posts here on ARFCOM.

That said, I'd like to hear more about your cow and Berger results. Did you recover the bullet? Was the shot broadside or quartering to/away? Factory round or handloaded?

What led to your final decision to use the VLD over the Noslers you were considering, or an ELD?

Don't mean to interrogate you but I'm working through this exact scenario myself (leaning towards the 143 ELDx though). Congrats on the successful harvest!

Thanks! The cow was broad side across the canyon when I shot her. Bullet penetrated the front shoulder blade and exploded so there was no recovery. I think part of the bullet fragmented before penetrating the shoulder blade cause I had quite a bit of meat wasted on the front quarter.

These were hand loads with 41.5 gr of h4350 with Peterson's srp brass with an average speed of 2715 fps. I ended up using the Bergers because they shot .5 moa out to 600 yards. I couldn't get the 142 gr nosler accubond lr's to group that good. Got them right under 1 moa at 100 yards buy they'd open up to 2-3" at 200 yards. It would of been minut of elk but I didn't want to risk it.

Nice cow! Elk is freaking delicious.

I shot an antelope with my 6.5 and a 130 grain VLD Hunter. It blew through and left a big hole.

Thanks! This was the first elk I ever shot.

I'm old and set in my ways. If I want it to be dead I pick up my 300WM with 180 grain Nosler Partitions.

When I want something dead I shoot it in a spot that will kill it.

Thanks for the additional info.

I'm doing a whitetail management hunt in a few weeks with a friend. Just bought a 6.5 TC Compass and haven't started reloading yet.

My buddy will be shooting the 143 ELDx and I'm using the 140 ELDm (both factory loads). I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform side-by-side essentially.

I've heard a lot of good things about both bullets. I'm gonna keep using the Bergers for my 6.5 and start load testing some barnes 145gr lrx projectiles for my 7mm-08. That tikka t3x ctr is too heavy to carry while hiking around.

It has been years since I loaded for my 7-08. My go to bullet was a 140 tsx. When I got bored with it I was working with the 120 tsx that was showing impressive ballistics for my needs. The 140 was money for elk.

I got a box of the 145's to try out. If I can't get them to group, I'll grab a box of the 140's and try them. I'm only loading the barns because I'm gonna be putting in for hunts in CA with my dad. Need a lead free bullet.

Clean well with copper remover before using. In my Weatherby Ultralight the 140 tsx was @ .75-1” all day. Dropped a cow in her tracks at 315 yds didn’t recover a bullet. The only Barnes I ever recovered was from an elk shot lengthwise with the 7-08. Very impressive performance.

Thats good to know. Thanks for the tip.

Well said. Not an elk hunter (yet, lol), but this maxim applies from shooting squirrels to bull elephant.

He's the Great White Hunter.

You flatter me but we both know I'm not great, white or a hunter.

They take some convincing that they're dead.

I just killed one with ELD X. I found the jacket in the skin. No lead. No retention of the core like the box of ammo said..

If its dead..