Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Educate me: 6.5 Creedmoor (I'm calling you out Boxer)

Looking to purchase another short-action rifle in the near future and I'm undecided between the 6.5 Creedmoor or the 7mm-08. The platform will be a Tikka SL or the Barrett FC; will probably go with the Barrett based on barrel twist and 3" mag box. The rifle will primarily be used for whitetail with shots being 500 yards or less.

I will be hand-loading for whichever caliber I purchase, but based on the ballistics at the Federal Ammo site, the 7mm-08 can do everything the Creedmoor does and better. What am I missing? Why is the Creedmoor so popular.....why would I purchase a 6.5 Creed over a 7/08?

Enlighten me.

Go find a 7mm bullet with the BC of a 123 to 139 grain 6.5 mm .... the weight will be up in the 160+ range which puts you at a lower FPS... and it’s a longer bullet so finding a factory rifle with the twist rate to spin it is harder.

I.e. - when the Creed chamber spec was written they spec’s faster twist for longer bullets, and shortened the brass for better seating depth of the opt. Bullet.

Most yahoo’s hunt under 300 anyway so that wouldn’t matter... when you get 600 is sure the heck matters.

The .260 Rem is also a strong contender here.....I dont get the 6.5 Creed craze, with all the hoopla Many think this cartridge is the best thing since sliced bread.....I dont see where it is head and shoulders above everything else....Maybe as a long range target shooting cartridge its great but for long range hunting I want a bullet that hits with more energy than the little Creed, ill take My .300 Win or WSM anyday.......Hb

Could somebody please show the new world records the creedmoor has set. Ed k

I think the first step in your education is the spelling of the cartridge. It’s “Creedmoor.”

Have popcorn, will munch.

Carry on,

DD

I don't usually get into this stuff but here it is. I am not sure the Creedmoor is better than any other cartridge for whatever application. What I can say is this I have hunted with both the Creedmoor and it's predecessor the 6.5X55 for most of my life. I came upon the 6.5 back in the 1980's and it did all I needed and then some in the Eastern woods. Moved to the great west and it still did all I needed. It is a flat shooter, accuracy is exemplary, doesn't beat you up, penetrates very effectively, and from my experience kills stuff dead quickly and efficiently. I have tried lots of other calibers over the years both hunting and punching paper and yet when it comes time to head to the woods more often than not (18 out of the last 20 years) I carry a 6.5 caliber rifle. Even bargain rifles (Ruger American) shoot the Creed awfully well with factory ammunition. I just seems like they got everything right.

Mission accomplished.

Why ask questions when you apparently have all the "answers"?

Out to 500-600 yards the best 7-08 and 308 loads will basically do anything the 6.5 CM does. The trajectory and energy numbers are very close. But you have to load the 7/08 with 160+ gr bullets and the 308 with 175-180 gr high BC bullets to do what the CM does with 140-147 gr bullets. Penetration on game is virtually the same with those bullet weights, but the 6.5 does it with less recoil. Closer to 243 than 308. And most people find the 6.5 to be a bit more accurate in production rifles.

Once you get beyond 500-600 yards the 6.5 pulls away. I know most hunters don't shoot that far, but the 7-08, nor 308 don't do anything better than the 6.5 at any range.

I bought a cheap Ruger in 6.5 just to try the round and it lives up to the hype. But I'm heavily invested in 308 with several rifles that I like. I've spent time and money developing loads that shoot well. At this point in my life I'm not selling the 308's and replacing them with 6.5's. But if I were advising someone who was debating between 308, 7-08 and 6.5 CM to go 6.5 and run with it.

All cartridges are equal inside 500 yards... especially on WT deer.

For killing stuff out to 500 yards, I’ll stick with my 257 Wby and 120 gr partitions. Lots of stuff will work but if I was going any larger than 25 caliber, I’d go with the 338 Ultra. With a 180 gr Accubond, it has the same trajectory as the Weatherby.

Sighted at 200 yards :

5 inches low at 300

15 inches low at 400

30 inches low at 500

And with dots or a turret none of that means all that much. Unless you just like recoil...

texas deer must be badassses to need those cannons....

You KNOW they are... they're from Texas.

I guess I'm the odball Texan. The older I get, the more I like reduced recoil. The 7/08 and 6.5 CM really turn my crank.

Pretty much this in a nutshell. Mix them all together and you get 140 grains of something with about a .450 BC going 2,900 FPS.


Saw some 6.5CM 140 gr Corlokts today at Dick's for $15.99, so id say it's here to stay. Ha!

For whatever reason, the 6.5 Creed got real popular, that’s the only reason I would pick one over a 260rem. So many rifle options and factory ammo options available that it’s hard to justify buying a 260rem over the Creedmoor. Same performance but more options.

For as far as I’ll be shooting big game it doesn’t matter if it’s a 300wsm or a Creedmoor.

Thats right, and it will stay the flavor of the month until the next "greatest" cartridge comes along that dont do nothin better than cartridges we already have....whatever floats your boat........Hb

It's so funny you idiots still consider it a flavor....its a successful chambering that doesn't need any aproval. Yes a 300 win mag is much better for a Virginia deer.....laffin