So I bench 300, work concrete and have a bazillion bow kills,
All that aside,
I do crop damage for whitetail deer. So I get a lot of experience hunting at distance. Currently have 34 kills over 600 yards with several over 1,000.
Here is what I’ve learned
My longest kill at 1121 was with a 260. All honesty I was running a 142 SMK bullet. It did the job but pin hole in and pin hole out. That caliber (6.5) just isn’t meant for 1,000 yard hunting. Unless it’s maybe a prairie dog or coyote
I’ve shot many deer with a 6.5 CM, 260 Rem (the man version of 6.5 CM), 308, 300 WM, 338 LM and 50 cal
The 6.5 is an excellent target round for 1,000 yards. When it comes to killing power it simply lacks. I’ve shot several deer from 600-800 yards with 6.5 143 ELDX bullets. I haven’t been impressed. The 178 ELDX in 30 cal is much more forgiving. That doesn’t mean 6.5 won’t do the job but there’s definitely better
I’d consider the 6.5/260/308 a decent round for out to 800 yards. Not perfect but decent. Beyond that I’d step it up to a 7mm/300 etc variant
Will the bullet get there, yes
Will the bullet kill the deer, yes
Will you recover the deer, hopefully
Will you be impressed, probably not
Are there better options, yes
There’s I’m sure several people who will tell you the 6.5 CM will kill very well to 1000 yards. Likely they’re basing their results off a single or at least very small sample size of kill shots.
Your taking a life. You owe it to the animal to make it ethical.
You also have a lot to learn. So become proficient before you start shooting at animals. At any distance
Don’t be that guy that shows up, brags his 6.5 can kill at 1,000 yards, fire a pile of rounds, maybe touch the target 10-25% of the shots, then go out hunting at that distance
If you want to kill ethnically with the 6.5. Keep it inside 800 in my opinion. Others will disagree. 6.5 PRC/6.5-284 are the only 6.5 I’d consider for true LR hunting