260 rem vs 6.5 creedmoor for HUNTING

[Jeremybj]

Hello to all,

I wasn't sure where to post this question, so I picked here. Basically I am looking at getting a very factory Savage lightweight hunter that I plan on using for antelope and deer. I have narrowed it down to either 6.5 Creedmoor or the 260 Remington. I am assuming accuracy will be basically the same between the two calibers so that isn't what I'm interested in.

My question is if any of you folks can recommend one or the other caliber as far as terminal ballistics and what not. I am a hand loader, so ammo wont be an issue, I will either use an SST, LRX or an Accubond. Probably more in favor of the SST because I will be using it on thin skinned critters.

Thanks in advance,
Jeremy

 

[blackblue]

Basically twins no measureable difference IMO.

 

[BillyGoatMachine]

I believe there are more options for hunting rounds in the 260, but that's nullified as you will be rolling your own. Either one will suite you just fine.

 

[RyeDaddy]

Flip a coin if you're going to handload. I've used the 140 Accubond, 140 Amax and both the 130 and 140 VLD's to hunt deer-size game with the 260. All were dead with one shot. The two calibers you're considering are so close to identical it's not worth stressing. Seriously. 260 brass is easier to come by, and easier to form from 243 than it is to buy 6.5 Creedmoor. That's about it.

Personally I've owned 2 260's and my newest rifle I built in 6.5 Super LR just to do something different, but I imagine performance will be the same.

I would pick whichever one you can get cheaper and/or easier if there's any difference at all.

 

[coldboremiracle]

.260 has more options, but yes they are twins and indistinguishable from the dowrange experience.

 

[AKONA]

I found Zak's comparative to be well written and very accurate...

6.5mm Shootout: .260 Remington vs. 6.5x47 Lapua vs. 6.5 Creedmoor

 

[JSF]

A positive for the 6.5 cm is the factory 140 amax is very accurate. It is under 1/2" 5 shot groups out of my Surgeon. I know you said you will be hand loading, but if you ever get in a pinch it's a nice option. Other than that, flip a coin.

 

[Papagallos]

If you don't reload, pick the 6.5 Creedmoor. Your only challenge is to find factory ammo.

 

[dukguy]

I have killed 4 or 5 whitetail deer and probable 10 wild hogs with my 6.5 Creed. All DRT with Hornady Superformance. Neither has ammo that is commonly found on the shelves of most sporting goods stores so you will probable be buying it online. My research has shown Creed ammo to be a little cheaper. Honestly if I was buying a gun just for hunting I would just go with the much more common 7mm-08. I doubt there is little real world difference in killing ability between the 3.

 

[trailrider121]

I'm currently using a 260 rem,and if I was to pick between a 260 or 6.5CM, I would probably go with the 6.5CM. Buy 6.5CM ammo online, and plus has great selection from 120-140 gr.

 

[Jhnmdahl]

I just made 1000+ 6.5 creedmoor cases out of some old Lake City brass I had lying around. It's not rocket science to make it from most any .308-based cartridge, and there's very good Hornady and Nosler brass available commercially. My real reason for picking 6.5 Creedmoor over .260 recently is that one caliber appears to be on the way up, and one appears to have peaked, but it's still nice knowing I can make 6.5 Creedmoor brass pretty easily.

 

[AKONA]

I just made 1000+ 6.5 creedmoor cases out of some old Lake City brass I had lying around. It's not rocket science to make it from most any .308-based cartridge, and there's very good Hornady and Nosler brass available commercially. My real reason for picking 6.5 Creedmoor over .260 recently is that one caliber appears to be on the way up, and one appears to have peaked, but it's still nice knowing I can make 6.5 Creedmoor brass pretty easily.

Exactly! that is an important factor. Any offspring of a 308w boltface/brass is going to have the advantage that there is a steady supply of brass including once fired civilian and military brass.
Same thing with some of the 5.56 offsprings. So one goes with 260, creedmoor or 6x47 or even a BRX can be easily formed from the parent brass. Even the parent 300 savage can be a donor
for lower pressure light loads. Even the 22-250 could be formed in slightly shorter. So possibilities are endless.

 

[bohem]

I found Zak's comparative to be well written and very accurate...

6.5mm Shootout: .260 Remington vs. 6.5x47 Lapua vs. 6.5 Creedmoor

Zak's article is well written, but the foundations for his conclusions are 5 years old and the brass availability issues are largely gone at this time.

I hunt with my 6.5CM and the cases are ballistically equivalent. Pick your poison as a hand loader and don't worry about it.

If you want factory, high quality, hunting ammo at reasonable cost then the 6.5CM is far and away the better choice due to Hornady and Nosler ammunition offerings.

 

[greentimber]

Zak's article is well written, but the foundations for his conclusions are 5 years old and the brass availability issues are largely gone at this time.

I hunt with my 6.5CM and the cases are ballistically equivalent. Pick your poison as a hand loader and don't worry about it.

If you want factory, high quality, hunting ammo at reasonable cost then the 6.5CM is far and away the better choice due to Hornady and Nosler ammunition offerings.

There are 22 offerings for the .260 on Midway. There are 7 for the Creedmoor. Federal makes Gold Medal Match .260 (though it's been as rare as anything during the last year). 260 brass is offered by Remington, Lapua, Nosler, SSA/SWA, and can be made with a single pass through a sizing die from any 7-08 brass on the market. Creedmoor brass is made by Hornady. Supposedly Nosler is coming out with some, too.

They are both great cartridges, but the only place I can find all these negatives about the .260 are on internet forums. They just don't exist in reality, especially for a hunting rifle.

 

[BoilerUP]

the only place I can find all these negatives about the .260 are on internet forums.

I don't think anybody has posted any "negatives" about the 260, simply realities about the availability & pricing of Creedmoor match ammo and components. IMO that isn't a "con" against the 260, but it is a "plus" for the Creedmoor.

I can speak from experience that a Nosler 120gr NBT is hell on a whitetail deer, though it doesn't matter if it comes from a 260 or 6.5 Creedmoor or even a 6.5 SAUM.

As for Federal 260 FGMM...I've yet to actually see it 'in the wild' in person or online, other than (IIRC) Terry Cross posting a picture here a year or two ago with multiple cases in it...and its street price is a full $0.50/round higher than Hornady 140gr A-Max ammo for the Creed.

Again, no knock on the 260 (I own two)...just reality.

 

[bohem]

There are 22 offerings for the .260 on Midway. There are 7 for the Creedmoor. Federal makes Gold Medal Match .260 (though it's been as rare as anything during the last year). 260 brass is offered by Remington, Lapua, Nosler, SSA/SWA, and can be made with a single pass through a sizing die from any 7-08 brass on the market. Creedmoor brass is made by Hornady. Supposedly Nosler is coming out with some, too.

They are both great cartridges, but the only place I can find all these negatives about the .260 are on internet forums. They just don't exist in reality, especially for a hunting rifle.

While those points are aimed in the right direction, there's quite a bit of slant to it.

The FGMM 260 ammo is also about 50% more expensive than the 6.5Creedmoor ammo is and it has been unobtanium for 3 years, it's not just hard to find right now in the "crunch"

Of all the offerings on Midway's website for 260 ammo, how many of those 22 are both
1) In stock
2) Priced within +/-10% of the Hornady for the same type of ammo and bullet weight

I took a look at Midway and found this:

22 offerings for 260 is actually 24 offerings
4/24 are actually In Stock
The cheapest "In Stock" is over $50/20rd of hunting ammo
The cheapest overall offering is Federal "Fusion" (aka, trash) hunting ammo for $29/box and it's Backordered
The cheapest "Match bullet" offering is listed as "Coming Soon" from Federal 142 SMK and it's $38/box

7 offerings for 6.5CM
4/7 are in-stock, of the 3 out of stock 2 of them are from Nosler not Hornady
The 140 Amax ammo, which is the flagship match ammo and well known to be 1/2MOA or better is $26/box and it is in stock
There is 120 Amax match ammo, again in stock, and again only $25/box
There is 120 GMX ammo for hunting, in stock, for $28/box

So, the very high grade Hornady hunting ammo is cheaper than the garbage grade 260 hunting ammo
The match ammo is IN STOCK and it's 35+% cheaper than the OUT OF STOCK 260 Match ammo

When the apples are held to apples, it's a little brighter for the 6.5CM than you seem to make it.

I've burned out a number of barrels in both calibers since 2010, I've seen the 260 falling consistently and the 6.5CM gaining consistently for the frequency that it's chosen by fellow competitors. And, lastly, since the OP is reloading the entire discussion about what ammo is currently available is moot. Bullets, powders, and primers are common between them and the Hornady brass has proven itself to me (with 30+ reloads on hundreds of cases) to be high quality, consistent, and accurate.

 

[bkw1911]

I shot a buck this weekend with a creed 140 amax, it blew the heart up and it dropped stone dead. My brother shot his deer with a 260 and a 140gr berger vld and dropped it in its tracks. Same velocity. Creed brass is cheaper

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

[greentimber]

While those points are aimed in the right direction, there's quite a bit of slant to it.

The FGMM 260 ammo is also about 50% more expensive than the 6.5Creedmoor ammo is and it has been unobtanium for 3 years, it's not just hard to find right now in the "crunch"

Of all the offerings on Midway's website for 260 ammo, how many of those 22 are both
1) In stock
2) Priced within +/-10% of the Hornady for the same type of ammo and bullet weight

I took a look at Midway and found this:

22 offerings for 260 is actually 24 offerings
4/24 are actually In Stock
The cheapest "In Stock" is over $50/20rd of hunting ammo
The cheapest overall offering is Federal "Fusion" (aka, trash) hunting ammo for $29/box and it's Backordered
The cheapest "Match bullet" offering is listed as "Coming Soon" from Federal 142 SMK and it's $38/box

7 offerings for 6.5CM
4/7 are in-stock, of the 3 out of stock 2 of them are from Nosler not Hornady
The 140 Amax ammo, which is the flagship match ammo and well known to be 1/2MOA or better is $26/box and it is in stock
There is 120 Amax match ammo, again in stock, and again only $25/box
There is 120 GMX ammo for hunting, in stock, for $28/box

So, the very high grade Hornady hunting ammo is cheaper than the garbage grade 260 hunting ammo
The match ammo is IN STOCK and it's 35+% cheaper than the OUT OF STOCK 260 Match ammo

When the apples are held to apples, it's a little brighter for the 6.5CM than you seem to make it.

I've burned out a number of barrels in both calibers since 2010, I've seen the 260 falling consistently and the 6.5CM gaining consistently for the frequency that it's chosen by fellow competitors. And, lastly, since the OP is reloading the entire discussion about what ammo is currently available is moot. Bullets, powders, and primers are common between them and the Hornady brass has proven itself to me (with 30+ reloads on hundreds of cases) to be high quality, consistent, and accurate.

What's in stock on any one day right now is irrelevant. I've bought two and a half cases of GMM .260 during this year's panic for $24.99 per box.

Since there is zero difference in the ballistics between the two (the OPs original question) we can only look at other aspects of the cartridges. I see Creedmoor shooters bringing up all these supposed negatives about the .260 that just aren't based in reality (that's more of a general statement than one directed at anyone here, btw). If I can choose between two ballistically identical cartridges where one has at least four case manufacturers and dozens of factory loads or the other that has two case manufacturers and seven loads.... It makes no sense to choose the Creedmoor. Now, if I want the newer cartridge that was developed by Hornady, definitely more cool points than Remington when it comes to ammo, or I have the unavoidable need to shoot 140JLKs from a really short magazine, that's fine. The Creed does have a sharper shoulder angle which may help me reduce brass trimming, too. The option to buy 140 AMAX ammo for $25 is great, but it's been as unobtanium as GMM for most of the year from what I've seen. This discussion (while fun) always comes down to mostly irrelevant/non-issues with the .260 and $25 AMAX ammo for the CM. I like them both, but it just irks me slightly when the same line about there being few choices in factory .260 ammo keeps getting repeated. Five years ago, yes. Now, not so.

The "trash" Fusion shoots sub half out of my 22" GAP and drops deer like lightning, btw! As for the .260 "Falling" and the 6.5 "Gaining consistently"... If the .260 is falling it's to the newer 6mm cartridges recently. The creedmoor is gaining because it's coming from ZERO! What other trajectory could it have when it was just invented a few years ago.

In the end, we're fortunate to have the enjoyable distraction of arguing about minutiae. I'll keep launching 140 AMAX at 2800 from my .260 and you keep launching 140 AMAX at 2800 from your creedmoor & we'll see who gets there first.

 

[mkollman74]

Same : Same

 

[bbcellars]

I'm have the same dilemma. I am going to run a pretty short barrel ( by hunting rifle standards ) and was told I would lose less velocity going with the 6.5 Creedmoor. I really wanted to go with 260 since I already have brass and dies, but I trust the gentleman I got the information from...

6.5 Creedmoor it is....

 

[Cobracutter]

If you don't reload, pick the 6.5 Creedmoor. Your only challenge is to find factory ammo.

Not really, plenty of places sell it.. and if you use a place like Southwests reloading service it comes out to around $1/rnd.

Just bought 500 rnds of 142gr smk blems from them for around $14 a box.... Beat that.

 

[greentimber]

I'm have the same dilemma. I am going to run a pretty short barrel ( by hunting rifle standards ) and was told I would lose less velocity going with the 6.5 Creedmoor. I really wanted to go with 260 since I already have brass and dies, but I trust the gentleman I got the information from...

6.5 Creedmoor it is....

That's total BS. The effect will be identical. Use your .260 supplies.