(Photo courtesy of Joseph von Benedikt)
June 26, 2025
By Joseph von Benedikt
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Bullet Basics This is probably the single most popular hunting bullet for the 6.5 Creedmoor. One of the flagship projectiles in Hornady ’s ELD-X (Extremely Low Drag, eXpanding) bullet lineup, its aerodynamics have been refined and maximized via Doppler radar testing. It’s long, sleek and bucks the wind well. It’s superbly accurate in most rifles. Ballistic coefficient is an admirable .625 on the G1 model. Thanks to a composite tip and thin jacket up front, it expands instantly and massively even on thin-skinned, small-bodied deer.
Testing Ground My daughter Sophie used the bullet shown here to take a big Idaho mule deer buck . Hornady’s factory 6.5 Creedmoor ammo is superbly accurate in her Springfield 2020 Redline rifle with a 20-inch barrel. Muzzle velocity is about 2,675 fps. Her shot was steeply downhill from about 120 yards. Impact velocity would have been about 2,530 fps.
Field Performance Sophie’s bullet impacted in the high shoulder region, driving down through the vitals. It wreaked havoc on the lungs and shredded the arteries emerging from the top of the heart, drove through the ribs and came to rest against the off-side hide. The buck collapsed on the spot, dead almost instantly.
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Stats Penetration was an estimated 14 inches. As you can see, the lead core separated from the jacket, most likely during the trampoline effect of the hide catching the mushroomed bullet. Weight of the jacket, core and fragments found in the immediate area is 77 grains, or about 54 percent of original weight. Average expanded diameter is .575; exhibiting more than double-diameter mushrooming.
Notes/Observations Although known for core separations such as this, which usually occur at the end of the wound path, the ELD-X bullet tends to kill with extreme effectiveness. In my experience it performs best when impact velocity is 2,600 fps or less. It’s one of my favorite 6.5 Creedmoor bullets for use on deer-sized game.
Joseph von Benedikt
Raised in a tiny Rocky Mountain town 100 miles from a stoplight or supermarket, Joseph von Benedikt began shooting competitively at age 14, gunsmithing at age 21, and guiding big game hunters professionally at age 23. While studying creative writing at the university he began publishing articles about firearms and hunting in nationally distributed magazines, as well as works of short fiction about ranch life. An editorial job offer presented an open door into the industry, along with an eye-opening two years stationed in the Petersen Publishing building in Los Angeles.
A position serving as Editor in Chief of Shooting Times magazine took von Benedikt and his young family to Illinois for four years. Homesick for the great Rocky Mountains, von Benedikt swapped his editorial seat for a position as a full-time writer and moved home to the West, where he's been writing full-time ever since, along with hosting the Backcountry Hunting Podcast.
Favorite pursuits include high-country elk and mule deer hunting, safaris in Africa, deep wilderness hunts in Alaska, and wandering old-growth forest in Europe for stag, roebuck, and wild boar.
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