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Sell me on 6.5 Creedmoor

ShhDontMove

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 11, 2013
33
0
Texas
I'm looking to build my first LR rifle and I orginally wanted to buy a 308 rifle, but after looking at some ballistics the 6.5 Creedmoor is looking pretty nice. For those of you that use it, whats your opinion on it and how does it compare to other calibers you're familiar with? And would you consider it a decent hunting cartridge against deer?
 
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Plenty of info on search but to sum it up why I went with the Creedmoor:
1. Newer cartridge design and efficiency over say a 260
2. No mag length issues with seating
3. GOOD brass by Hornady. While not Lapua I'm on my 9th firing annealing every 4x and a buddy of mine got 25+ reloads from his annealing every 5x. Plus its half the price of Lapua
4. Good ballistics. 140 AMAX out of a 24" tube going around 2800fps gets you to 1k around 8.5 mils. Even better if you run Berger
5. Easy to load for - Out of my last med palma Bartlein everything I tried was basically 1 MOA or less of course that has a lot to do with the barrel. Best loads were .25 MOA and most were .5 MOA.
6. Factory ammo. Although Hornady has had some issues as of late the Match ammo is cheap and shot well...around .6 MOA out of my gun. Can be had for around $25 a box or cheaper. I compared reloading 1k rounds versus buying 1k and seeling off my once fired brass it was about $100 more to buy the ammo per 1k. Considering all the time an effort I put into making rounds it's not a bad deal. Of course you save more in the long run by using the brass over and over but it's still a deal and for some people time is money. (I think I figured this with 500 pieces of brass used 2x on the reloading side.)
7. I don't hunt but people that do have told me the AMAX's put a hurting on game.
8. Decently low recoil. Shot last years competitions without a muzzle brake and it didn't beat me up at all.

Of course there are many other cartridge offerings out there that beat the Creedmoor somewhere. It's up to you to decide. I personally find it very easy to load for and shoot. It's a great caliber but so are many others. All depends on exactly what you are looking for.
 
I have several different 6.5s Love them all and I love my creedmoor for sure. For deer with will be great. I have put several thousand rounds through the tubes and they show a lot of great things from bbl life to accuracy to ballistics. Don't be scared of that cartridge. As compared to the 308, both are awesome and have their own pro/cons and I wont be without either for different reasons. I say go for it. You will be happy. FWIW, I have 3 friends with the new savages and all of them have trouble in the 308. The same guys have 260s and they are doing fine. I dnont know if savage let some bad chambers out of not. Pressure is bad, accuracy is terrible, and cases are ruined on firing 1. If you don't want to go custom I would say go 308, if you will go custom, CM is great.


Good luck!
 
6.5 Creedmoor is a great caliber for long-range but not extreme ranges. More than adequate for deer within reasonable ranges. Many more 6.5 bullet choices than say 6mm and also better barrel life. Recoil is less than a 308 and matches or beats a 300win mag ballistics but obviously with less downrange energy. Rifle chambers are consistent and there isn't as much variation in specs as some other calibers. Loaded ammo is cheaper than 260rem.
 
There is not much to sell you on, the 6.5CM speaks for itself. When compared to the 308, there just is no comparison. The 308 is a great round and it will always have its place, I always recommend new shooters go straight to a 308 since it is a great way to tune your fundamentals. Trajectory and wind drift, the 6.5 has a substantial edge, but if you are strictly talking energy withing 500 yards, it is a different story running the heavies in a 308. Banging steel and shooting medium to light game, the 6.5 is a great choice.
 
All the points so far a valid - I am a new "precision" shooter - have shot a lot of .308 in my time - but I really enjoy shooting the 6.5
I just stocked up on factory ammo which I find shoots just fine if I do my part - I will start to reload very soon to see if I can dial it just a bit more.
and then run it out well over a hundred.
What I really like is you can shoot this thing for hours and not get fatigued.
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This was like the 2 or third time out with factory ammo at 100 - 5 rounds.
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Haven't shot my 308 much since I got a 260 rem, once the 308 barrel is done, it will be a 6.5 creedmoor
 
Quite frankly, the key advantage to 308 is the barrel lasts longer. My savage 308 got 6500 rounds through before shitting the bed, but for excellent accuracy, you should expect around half that with a 6.5.

Otherwise, the 6.5 is better in nearly every way. At 500-600 yards there won't be a *lot* of difference, but past ~600 it's night and day in terms of ballistics. On a mild condition day with a light 3-4mph wind that's a bit switchy, it's damn easy to miss a 1moa target at 900-1000 yards a LOT with a 308. Just left, just right, just left, just right... With a 6.5, it's hit, hit, hit, hit.

Some people might say the missing with 308 like that is good "practice". I call it "frustrating". ANY cartridge will require you to dope the wind @ 1000 yards, or even 600. So you won't be cheating yourself out of some kind of fundamental learning by skipping 308. Regardless, to make good hits, you'll need to judge wind and account for it. At least with a 6.5, you'll score some good hits in the process.

Now, comparing all the 6.5mm cartridges out there, the key advantage of the Creedmoor is good factory ammo for reasonable money. Figure ~$27 for 20 rounds. 260 will be much more. If you reload, its kind of a non issue.

Comparing ballistics between the common 6.5mm cartridges is an exercise in futility. They're all basically the same.

Last point, because I know you're thinking about it, as an amateur... the thought of wearing out a barrel and needing a new one sooner might be daunting. Maybe you think its expensive. It's neither. It's a DIY affair for ~$350 on a savage or ~$700 on other rifles for a premium barrel installed by a premium gunsmith. When you figure cost per round in barrel consumption for a ~3500 vs 7000 round barrel, yyou'll see its only pennies per shot.
 
6.5 Creedmoor is great if you want the option of good factory ammo, but if you are handloader I would seriously check out the 6.5x47 Lapua. I have built rifles in both and they all have shot great. The 6.5x47 does tend to be a little more forgiving when it comes to load development. better brass??? Its definitely adequate for deer.
 
Got my .223 rebarreled to a 6.5 cm. Myself and my buddy have gotten hits on steel out to a mile with this caliber. Fairly easy to handload, decent barrel life, great ballistics. Only downside is only Hornady makes factory ammo for it. However if you handload, it is a none issue.

Go for it and don't look back!
 
Got my .223 rebarreled to a 6.5 cm. Myself and my buddy have gotten hits on steel out to a mile with this caliber. Fairly easy to handload, decent barrel life, great ballistics. Only downside is only Hornady makes factory ammo for it. However if you handload, it is a none issue.

Go for it and don't look back!

Winchester is coming out with a factory 140gr match load. FYI
 
If I were to have a 6.5 Creed built, would I be able to use my 6 Creed bushing dies with the appropriate bushing, of course? Not sure if there's enough room in the neck area or not.
 
Nosler also makes factory 6.5 CM ammo, but it's crazy expensive. I suppose the upside is that you get the Nosler brass.
 
If I were to have a 6.5 Creed built, would I be able to use my 6 Creed bushing dies with the appropriate bushing, of course? Not sure if there's enough room in the neck area or not.
My understanding is that the only difference is the neck, so yes, I believe you could run with the appropriate bushings in your dies.
 
"Some people might say the missing with 308 like that is good "practice". I call it "frustrating". ANY cartridge will require you to dope the wind @ 1000 yards, or even 600. So you won't be cheating yourself out of some kind of fundamental learning by skipping 308. Regardless, to make good hits, you'll need to judge wind and account for it. At least with a 6.5, you'll score some good hits in the process."

It's a well designed, readily available, Short action 6.5mm......a real short action caliber as opposed to what is really closer to a long action round shoehorned into a short action.
While the 260 is a serious cartridge, I hate fighting magazine length so if I did a 260 I would go long action but once you have gone long the 6.5 Swede bumps the 260 pushing it out again. Lapua's 6.5 is a step down in performance (a small step) but none the less.
Some day lapua will have to make creedmoor brass despite already running several 6.5s, because I just do not see the creedmoor going anywhere but up.
 
Ive had built 2 custom 6.5 cm and one stock savage. Great guns but i must tell you i like a 1/7.5 twist 243 or 243ai shooting 105-115 bullets alot better not saying it will out perform the cm but it gets close and has no recoil. You can find ammo anywhere most of the time and if you hand load its a plus. Thats just me buts these are freaking lasers