That's what I ment, Jordan, thanks.
I know you have a bunch of experience with the 243 AI so I'd like to hear your thoughts.
I've never had trouble killing deer with a 243 but I like the idea of being able to run hunting bullets in the 120 to 130 grain weight range.
For your stated purposes, I don't think you could go wrong with either. The .243AI is plenty for the kind of shooting you'll do, given an appropriate bullet, so I wouldn't fret the 10 or 20gr of bullet you'd gain with a 6.5 shooting 120's or 130's. I've seen many, many deer-sized critters get absolutely hammered with .243 and .257" bullets out to beyond 500, so no worries there.
In my mind the 2 chamberings have the following pro's and con's:
.243AI
Pros
- cheaper bullets
- less recoil
- easier to spot your own shots
- excellent quality brass available and easy to find
- OAL with longest bullets works well with factory Rem700 S/A or AICS mag box
- nearly no brass trimming
6.5 Creed
Pros
- increased barrel life
- excellent quality, heavier bullets available
- excellent factory ammo available
- factory rifle options
- no fire forming
I've run the numbers, and at least around here the barrel life "cost" and the differential in bullet prices between .243" and .264" seem to about cancel each other out, so shooting cost is about identical. So at that point you need to decide if the reduced recoil, excellent brass, lack of trimming, and easy compatibility with common mag options of the .243 is more important to you, or the heavier bullets, lack of FF brass, factory-chambered barrels, and great factory ammo of the 6.5 Creed is. IMO, the heavier bullets don't offer a realistic advantage, as they aren't needed for killing deer-sized game out to longer distance than you've mentioned. If you were thinking elk or moose I might change my tune a little on that.
So if you're planning on having a rifle built, then I'd be thinking about recoil, brass availability, trimming, FF, and factory ammo when making the decision. If you don't intend on using factory ammo, hate trimming, and don't mind using FF loads for hunting or targets, then the decision is easy.
