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Coyote bullet with the 6.5 Creedmoor

09 Apr 2024
@ 08:03 am (GMT)

Daniel Schindler

Greetings.

Am taking my first steps into LR target work with a 6.5 Creedmoor. Zeiss S3 4x24x50 MIL scope. MIL is totally new to me. Looking forward to learning.

The rifle has 2 equal purposes - target and Coyote hunting.

I'm reasonably confident with my early purchases of target bullets - the 143 ELD X and Sierra 140 TMK.

New to the 6.5 - I'm not sure about the 90 to 120 gr for Coyotes. To better manage the wind at longer ranges I purchased some Sierra 130 gr TMK's. Had very good experience with 165 TMK in my .308 on Deer. Thought the 130 might be a good start for LR Coyote?

Any thoughts you wish to share on a Coyote bullet for this rifle would be appreciated.

Cheers.

Replies

05 Jun 2024
@ 07:59 am (GMT)

Quote this

Nathan Foster

Re: Coyote bullet with the 6.5 Creedmoor

Hi Dan, this is actually a trick question noting the components involved versus your description. Probably a good question as it will help others.

The ELD-X is a hunting bullet, not match, but can be used for match. It does however have a rather thick jacket which can limit performance on thin skinned animals at very long ranges.

Sierra do not currently make a 140gr Tipped Matchking. They do produce a 140 grain Tipped Gameking. Whats the difference? Nothing. Having said this, there are some bullets labelled Tipped GameKing but within the manufacturing blurb are described as being of Gamechanger construction. It is important to understand the differences. Where the word Gamechanger is mentioned, one needs to understand that the jacket is thick along with increased antimony content. In a low energy cartridge such as the 6.5 Creedmoor, this could limit the downrange energy exchange. Having said this, there are currently no Gamekings in 6.5 caliber featuring Gamechanger construction. Instead, we have new 140 and 145 grain Tipped Gameking projectiles of the same construction / terminal performance as the TMK.

To put it bluntly, Sierra have botched their marketing, backing themselves into a corner in their attempt to separate tactical bullets from hunting. Ideally, it might be better is they started over with rebranding, though this could simply result in another idiot with a degree in marketing causing further confusion. All of this aside, Sierra make some very good bullets. For now, its up to us to navigate their products, reading the item description carefully while also trying to read between the lines.

As to your question, your current 140gr TGK will be fine for general Coyote hunting. But if you intend to shoot at very long ranges, a thin jacketed ELD-M of a heavy weight would help to ensure maximum energy delivery on target.