Elk season prep — what are you running?

Good choice on the 6.5. I'd recommend topping that Savage with something in the 3-15x range - Leupold VX-5HD or Vortex Razor LHT would be my picks. Don't overlook your turret setup either... if you're shooting handloads you'll want to verify your drops out to 400-500 yards minimum. What glass are you running on there?

6.5 CM is solid for elk, just make sure you're using appropriate bullets - 140gr or heavier. I'm running my Tikka T3x in .300 Win Mag this year with 180gr Nosler Partitions. Been using that combo for 15+ years and it's never let me down. Handloads are great but make sure you're getting good velocity and accuracy before you head out. What bullets are you loading?

6.5 CM will work fine on elk with good shot placement. Up here I mostly run .300 Win Mag or .338 for moose but that's probably overkill for most elk hunting. The handload thing is smart - factory ammo has been hit or miss for accuracy in my experience. Just make sure you're chronoing those loads and keeping good data.

Not much of a hunter myself but good luck out there! Sounds like you've got a solid setup. I'll stick to my coin shows and leave the elk to you guys... though I do have some old silver dollars that might be worth more than the ammo you'll be shooting lol.

Agree 100%. Had the exact same experience with my setup.

Great info here. Bookmarking this thread for later.

Appreciate the honest review. Most people just hype everything up.

I had the opposite experience honestly. But everyone's different I guess.

That's a steal at that price honestly. I paid way more for mine.