6.5G vs .243win for Deer?

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  • #16
    Yes, .300 Mags are great for 600-800yd shots, if the shooter is capable. A buddy of mine who had attended the USMC Scout/Sniper course at Quantico impressed his game guide on Kodiak Island with his Remmy Sendero in .300 Win Mag. I think he took his first shot at an Elk at 500 yds, when the guide doubted his ability...insta-drop. "Hey, try that one out der...!" 700 yds, 800 yds...drop, drop. He was dialing his elevation and windage per his dope, and making first-round hits over and over, or so the story goes. He was a straight-shooter character-wise, and one of the best NCO's I ever worked with.

    .300 WM and WSM is a bit overkill at close distances...more recoil and velocity than needed to get that job done.

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    • #17
      That long ago I don't even remember what bran of bullet I was using. I have recently acquired a long term and short term memory loss due being doped up from a recent spine surgery, or maybe not, I really don't remember.
      Anyways, the reason I stated that it wasn't fmjs was because I at least remember that much. However entry and exit wounds were very similar which to me would scream FM, but as I stated I know those weren't used.
      As for the lack of blood trail, well that still perplexes me to this day. It just doesn't make since to me. I.e.
      1. Deer gets shot in vitals, for the sake of argument we'll say with fmj. 2. It's a clean through and through in chest cavity. 3. When vitals are hit that point essentially becomes a hole in a pressurized pipe. Even with a shot through the heart it will still pump.4. That pressurized system that was just ruptured has to release that preasure at the point, or points in this case, of least resistance. You all see where I'm going with this right? By all rights even if I had put 3 through and through fmjs there should have still been a readable (bubbly at that from lungs hit) blood trail. So to answer your question JA, yes a larger exit means better blood trail, with a clean shot. On the other hand that doesn't mean that a small exit can't leave a blood trail that my 5yo could follow. Just this last year I helped a buddy track a blood trail that he thought was a great shot, so did I until I started to see a lot of brown in the trail. This trail looked like someone had drug a bloody rag through the woods. We get to the doe and sure enough she had been gut shot and still left that much of a bold trail. But here's the kicker, that was all from the entry the marlin 30-30 he was using, there was no exit wound. That one confused me a bit too.

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      • #18
        I voted for the Grendel. When you compare the 6.5 Grendel versus the .243


        1. Barrel life
        2. Less recoil
        3. Smaller and lighter action
        4. Less powder went reloading
        5. Greater BC with the 6.5 bullets
        6.
        Originally posted by gunner69 View Post
        Don't forget #6. Fast Follow-Up Shots a Plus.
        Last edited by Guest; 10-07-2011, 05:44 AM.

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        • #19
          I've taken more than my fair share of deer with a .243. It left uniformly HUGE GAPING exit wounds with 80-100gn pills (mostly core-lokt's). 2" to 5" wide exit holes gave me a lot of faith in the .243. Mostly you could drop a mason jar into the exit hole without touching the sides unless it was a neck shot. The one long range shot I did with .243 was about 450yrds and still got that 2" exit hole with a quartering hit. What matters as far as my results is they're coastal blacktail deer with a maximum live weight of about 150lbs. They're itty bitty. I have yet to take a horned-gopher with the grendel but given the sectional density gains and lower velocity I'm expecting just a hair less dramatic wounding but with much more penetration capability.

          With .243 I find a lot of small fragments in the wound channel. I'm expecting to find much fewer and vastly larger fragments if any at all with the grendel.

          Varoum has all my points for getting into grendel in his numbered list.

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          • #20
            Don't forget #6. Fast Follow-Up Shots a Plus.

            I had some bad luck hunting with my Remington in .243. Shot some 'Yotes and the damn bullets exploded on contact! Not my cup of tea. Bought my 14 year old a 6.5 Swedish Mauser and he killed 3 deer his first season..... all 1 shot kills. The damned military M-38 Husky would shoot under 1" with anything over 139grain bullets.

            I shoot a 6.5 Swed, a 6.5x284 Norma in a Remington 700, plus two 6.5 Grendels. The 6.5 Bullets has did their job in dozens of animals I have shot.

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            • #21
              I will do some range work this weekend and see what works. My fear is that the casting materal fills my r palm so "going south paw" will prevent me from gripping the forstock with my casted hand.Maybe just ballancingeye will work. We will see,
              Last edited by Guest; 10-11-2011, 12:57 AM. Reason: wrong thread

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              • #22
                The last 4 years i took 4 deer with my 19.5" 6.5 Grendel. The first year i used the 6.5 Grendel i took a 4X5 blacktail at 165yds. 129gr. SST Hornaday. / 2nd. deer 3X3 blacktail at 35yds. same bullit. / 3rd. deer forked horn mule deer at 20yds. same bullit. / This year forked horn mule deer, running at 45yds. using 123gr. Hornaday V-Max. All shots were in & out with lots of blood. I have had good luck with my 6.5 Grendel & love this rifle even if a little heavy. Haven't shot any of my other rifle's since i got my Grendel.

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by buckbustn View Post
                  I just recently built a Grendel that I plan on using for hunting wt here in Oklahoma. I used to be in love with .243 because of velocity and BC. That was until I realized there were so many more rounds that outperformed .243. The other reason being about 10 yrs ago I decided to hunt with one. It was a nice rem (model eludes me). Any ways I'm sitting in my blind and out comes a nice 11pt. He quarters away and I fire. The buck never flinched. He did however flag me and run. Looked like an injured run so I waited a bit and then comensed to tracking. This was all done by track tracking due to no blood trail. About 300yds into tracking I find him grazing. I fire again at the same spot I thought my first shot was. He merely looks at me like I'm stupid, and continues to graze. I fire again and this time he runs again. Still no blood trail. After about another hr of tracking I find him dead against a blackjack. At this point I am utterly confused. As soon as I get him field dressed lo and behold there are 3 entry wounds just behind shoulder and 3 exits. Heart and lungs both had been shot but were completely intact. The buck died from internal hemoraging. He was not shot with fmjs either before anyone asks. All I ever shot out of it was soft points. I know people who use nothing but .243 for wt but from that year one I have forever sworn off .243 to hunt with.
                  Sorry for this being so long but I wanted to get my horror story out there for you.
                  Wow, that's a very interesting story. A good reason to go with the Grendel

                  -Brodady

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                  • #24
                    I would think about how you like to hunt and would not rule out other bolt gun calibers if you dont already own the rifle. The 243 is probably the greatest long range varmit / deer/ pronghorn round out there in terms of popularity. If you love to varmit hunt and shoot smallish deer at long ranges with little recoil the 243 is a great gun, your odds of a wounded animal that may or may not be recoevered are higher with a 243 than another hunting bolt gun round like the 270 win, 270wsm, 7mm remington mag and other flat shooting calibers. I think 243 is the minimum calber i would hunt deer with, I would prefer more diameter in my bullets for a primary deer gun, some may disagree, but when i see a monster buck, I want at least 6.5 caliber....

                    If you do alot of long range varmiting then a grendel or an ar in 223 or 204 would be good for fast follow up shots, but i would only shoot deer with the 6.5 grendel.

                    bolt guns are lighter. if you spend alot of the hunt on the foot the extra couple pounds of an ar can add up, but if you have a heavy barrel bolt gun they weight about the same as an ar.
                    ar offers faster follow up shots, anytime I shoot a trophy animal I always shoot it twice. I lost one nice deer that went down to a 308 and i started to celebrate and it ran 500 yards off fast! you only have to have that happen to you once to always rember to shoot trophies twice, wether you use a bolt, a single shot or a semi auto.

                    If you use a laser range finder and a mil dot scope you wont find much difference in the trajectories of the two calibers once you get past the longer point blank range of the 243. the nice thing about the 243 is you can get about a 350 yard point blank range with a deer bullet, where you sight it 3 inches high at 100 and it is still less than 8 inches low at 380 or so. the grendel is going to give you less point blank range perhaps or 325 yards.

                    think about what you will do the most with the gun and get the one that fits your nees the best, and dont be stuck on either caliber 243 or 6.5 grendel, get the right caliber in the right gun for the right job.

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                    • #25
                      Killed a really nice 200lb 8pt this morning in northern Minnesota at 123yrds. 16" barrel with Barnes 120gr TTSX leaving at about 2400fps. DRT. Bullet choice is huge and a 243Win with the right bullet could do the same but with zero style and no one would care. Go Grendel dude!

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                      • #26
                        Oh and its awesome for wild hog! Light, quick, lethal, perfect.

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                        • #27
                          I have a t/c Encore that is a 6.5 grendel.The barrel made by mgm and it works great on deer short light and handles quick

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                          • #28
                            There have been numerous deer fall to my 6MM, a 243, and in the last 2 years a grendel ....
                            The biggest reason I switched from the 6MM or the 243 was the 120 Gr bullet from the 6.5, I felt, gave me a better chance of dropping a deer in its tracks if I had a angle shot and hit the front shoulder ( more energy). Plus the flatter trajectory is a bonus in missed judged distances..
                            Another bonus is the boom is not as ear piercing so now I hear the hit on the deer as well (200+ yd shots) ..
                            Have been extremely pleased in the switch and dont see me ever going back..
                            Thanks
                            Smoke

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                            • #29
                              Smoke,

                              What barrel length are you using in your Grendel?

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                              • #30
                                I have an 18" AA barrel
                                using 30.0 grns of 748 pushing a Nosler 120 ballistic tip ..
                                So far not one deer has run off Other than a 20 MPH 90 degree wind shot ( i forgot to compensate like a BIG dummy) and she only went about 40-50 yds ..
                                Thanks

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