Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 6.5 Creedmore or 243 Winchester for deer hunting ?

2 winters ago my son was short 243 ammo (I'll not get into it - ex-FIL) on the day of season.

That said - I hit up 4 different places looking for 243 ammo - not a box to be found till the last place. Mom an Pop in a town of about 400 people. Sitting there on the shelf next to 6.5 Creed and 375 H&H Ammo.

243 may be more available but what is available might not be exactly what you want. To a lot of people it's still a varmint gun and that even extends to a few store managers.

Yeah, the 243 is likely more available, but it is absolutely more popular, and every Tom, Dick and Harry, who bought one box last year, used 9 rounds to confirm zero on their Simmons/Tasco and then shot three at running deer will be back this year looking for another box.

If you run the 243, you can be smart and buy a hundred rounds or so and get zeroed, but you can do the same thing with the Creedmoor.

I think that your recommendation of buying one hundred rounds of the same brand, bullet weight, and production lot number is a good one for folks who don't load their own or who don't load for a cartridge that they don't shoot a lot. I don't (yet) load for either the 25-06 or 270, as I have found the Hornady and Winchester/Olin factory ammo most satisfactory.

I tend to look at things differently, if I buy or build a rifle it's to have the rifle in the caliber I want to work with or play with. Hunting deer is such a non-demanding activity, every rifle I have ever owned was fine and worked well for that, and there have been hundreds.

So I'd say to pick the caliber you find interesting that's available in the rifle you really want to own. There are a lot of rifles available in the 6.5 Creed now, with the right twist, that seem to perform well right out of the gate...so add that to the list of the other hundred calibers that will effectively handle a deer.

Curiosity in the 6.5 CRM prompted me to buy one of the new Howa Alpine rifles and it seems to be a nice unit. Initial playing with the little cartridge indicates the the rifle and clambering will be a nice combination.
It weighs exactly 7 lbs. scoped with a 3X9 Leupold perhaps a tad heavier than what some might consider for a dedicated mountain rifle, but still a very nice package especially considering that it wears a Bansner stock, a favourite of mine.
Hopefully if it ever stops raining, I can do some load testing....

I have a .243 and a 6.5x55. Much as I hate to admit it there is a cool factor to .264 caliber cartridges that appeals to me. For my needs the .270 I've owned since 1972 will do anything my Swede will do. The Swede does have less recoil though. Buy what appeals to you. I don't hunt deer with my .243 but could if needed. I use it for coyotes but don't keep the fur.

Ammo availability to me is a moot point. You can find pretty much anything you want online and can stay stocked up.

I've been eyeballing the exact same rifle at my local dealer for a couple months I'd be really interested to hear how yours shoots.

Creedmoor. Buy ammo it likes buy enough and remember the ammo when you go hunting.


Do you fellas jumping up and down about availability actually rely on being able to run in k-mart and buy a box of "shells" ?

I knew a guy in Colorado who went to town each year to pick up a box of 6mm's to hunt elk. He didn't care about the bullet "They're all the same." He said, "You shoot 'em enough times, they'll fall."

I think I would go Creedmoor also. Both the Hornady factory loads of 120 GMX and 129 SST are extremely accurate and the 6.5 bullets ballistic coefficient are better than the 6mm. Both will work fine, but for that 400 yard shot, I would pick the 6.5 Creedmoor.

if you can't kill a 150 pound deer at 400 yards with a 243, then neither of the other rounds will help you either...

Just FWIW.

I"d take whatever of the bunch floats your boat, to me, none are exponentially better than the others.

I was once invited to hunt with group that included the grandson of one of the members. The young man had a Winchester 100 in 243 and I think that he fired close to 100 rounds before he tagged a deer. I think that he had to make 2 trips to Wal-Mart to buy more ammo. Needless to say, it wasn't one of those hunting trips that you remember for the shooting skills and general sportsmanship of your fellow campers.

I'd go with the 6.5 CREEDMOOR and a Howa 1500/Weatherby Vanguard. The Weatherby Vanguards I've seen and had have been reliable and the design is very good. They are the best rifle for the $, bar none. Forged bolt and receiver with an integral bolt handle and recoil lug. Their only shortcoming is they are a little heavier than some of the other rifle actions out there.
I'd take the 6.5 CREEDMOOR over the 243 WIN as the 6.5mm bullets retain velocity better than the 6mm bullets in most styles. Current selection of 6.5 CREEDMOOR isn't as good as 243 WIN, but what is there is great for deer hunting (not the target loads of course).

Any of those calibers would work fine, I went with the Creedmoor because I thought it would be something a little different than what everyone else was shooting.

As for ammo, I can't remember the last box of ammo I bought in a gun store, I like the idea of buying it and having it show up at my front door. I find the round the rifle likes, buy 6 or 7 boxes online and I'm set for awhile.

Either will work, but I'd probably go Creedmore for a little more oomph on bigger deer, provided I could it in a rifle I liked. Rifle choices abound in .243.

CM

I have hunting rifles chambered for each, and I carried each this past season. Either will work well. If I'm choosing one, I choose the Creedmoor. It is more versatile, the heavy bullets have much better penetration, and the Creed in general is that much less likely to give you a splash impact that doesn't kill (not that I claim those are common on 150-lb deer).

If you're not a planner (meaning, for example, you stop at the store on the way and pick up a box of whatever ammo is there), the 243 may be a better choice.

I am a .243 Win guy so I am biased. But to me with the bullets available today, I think its time people start admitting that a .243 driving 90gr Accubonds, or 80-85gr TSX, is not your grandpa's .243win.

I agree, dang it guys find what it shoots and buy some online and be done with it. Do you purchase your ammo on the day you go hunting or what? If this is really a problem then maybe you need some tips on planning your trips. Get the Creedmoor, buy some 140grain Amax and you can thank me later! Elk

6.5 for me