Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 260 Rem vs 6.5 Creedmoor

I owned a Model 16 Savage Weather Warrior in 6.5 Creed that was really accurate with a Varget load and 120 Barnes or 123 Lapua. Pretty close to .270W in killing power and about .243W in recoil. I never did love it and preferred my .30-06 so I let a lady deer hunter have it for the price of a new one. She also paid new price for the scope and everything else including the handloads. By the way, it wouldn't shoot 140s worth a crap. As to 6.5 caliber in the Grendel. My neighbor who I go on hog patrol with almost every day bought a Grendel in AR. We made a 129 Nosler load and a 129 Hornady Interlock SP load that seems to me to hang with a .308W in trajectory. Haven't shot it through a chrony. The more we shoot hogs with it the more I'm impressed. Not a one has gotten away and we've had several 300+ yard kills resting the rifle on the truck hood. Recoil is minimal and the hogs go down. I know this is limited testing and anecdotal but it seems the Grendel delivers a lot with little recoil and I can't see where the Creed did any better as far as killing game. I'm beginning to believe in the inherent superiority of 6.5 bullets and if I were buying a big game rifle for a kid or lady the Grendel in a bolt gun would be my choice.

The same can be said for my four .223 bolt guns or my 25-06's or my .308's but they are old and not worthy of mentioning anymore.

Rant? From what I've seen in both long range and hunting circles in my area, most shooters of a 6.5 Creedmoor take to much stock in their computer generated ballistics done on their smart phone. Thinking that rifle will make them the best shot in the county. Yeah right

Antelope with a 6.5 Creedmoor? Antelope ? Really ? I've shot all mine with a .223. An antelope is hardly IMO opinion "big game". Big gopher maybe

Hey now, be nice. Thar ain't nuthin' TAC can do that H335 and a couple quarts of bore cleaner cain't do just as well.....

Bitter old white guys clinging to their God and their guns.....

and their .260s😛

As a certified bitter old white guy, I fully understand such feelings, but appreciate new stuff for the advantages offered, and don't naysay obvious progress. There can be good solid reasons for sticking with what's been working for you without having to piss and moan about new stuff.

When I started itching all over for a new, light .24, I bought a 6 CM, but then turned around and bought another "outdated" .243 because I got a great deal on a compelling rifle. Plan to use both to their best advantage, and mine.

My first rifle was a .260 and what I learned to reload with.

Same/same but if starting anew the Creed checks many more boxes....

Have a great fall...

[quote=260Remguy]

EDIT: As launched and for many years afterward, Remington made their 260s with a 1-9" ROT, marginal for many bullets weighing over 130 grains.[/quote
more than just marginal more like plain inadequate. My SA M700 with a ss 260 Rem barrel off a Mountain rifle has the 1in 9 twist and plain doesn't shoot much over 100 grs with a damn. MB

7mm-08, bitches!

My old Mountain Rifle shoots 140 Amax, 140 Partitions and 140 Hornady SP’s excellent. The main 2 bullets I shoots are the 129 Hornady and the 120 Nosler BT.


I wonder if your barrel is a 10 twist.

More nomenclature panty waddin.

I did the same thing to mine to run 140gr VLDs (also modified the bolt stop) before the Creedmoor craze, and don't feel the need to change.

Dude, it’s a fuggin creedmore, it just has more ump and magical powers no other cartridge has ever had nor is capable of having!

Drifting off topic. My brother and I were talking about going for antelope. I was thinking a fast twist 22-250 would be the ticket. I was thinking a 65 gr. SBT GameKing would work well.

I'm still waiting for Shrap to chime in...

"The 257 Roberts is my Creedmoor. It's better because it's older."

Close enough?

recoiljunky,

Where did this come from? It certainly wasn't in my post. "Antelope with a 6.5 Creedmoor? Antelope ? Really ? I've shot all mine with a .223. An antelope is hardly IMO opinion "big game". Big gopher maybe."

While the 6.5 Creedmoor certainly works on antelope (I've used it myself), have also seen it work fine on big mule deer and bull elk. This isn't surprising, since the 6.5x55 (and similar 6.5's like the .260) have been doing the same thing for quite a while.

I hope the trend continues.


Personally I would like to see some more light weight .264 offerings.


120 grains and down.

What's missing in those weights that you'd like to see?

I would like to see a cup and core offering in the 100 grain range that is cheaper and easier to find than the 100 grain Ballistic Tip.


Heck....a 90 or and 85 grain hunting bullet would be good too.

One more general observation: Where were all you guys when the .300 WSM became the screaming rage after it was introduced in 2001?

I joined the Campfire in 2001, and hardly saw any rants about how all the .300 WSM did was duplicate the ballistics of the .300 H&H, which had been around almost as long as the 6.5x55. Why not? Were you only 50 then, so hadn't yet the old man's tendency to rant about anything new?

Might also note that while the .300 WSM is still around 18 years later, the big sales boom only lasted a few years., and I believe the .300 Winchester Magnum is outselling it now.

But 6.5 Creedmoor sales have been growing since it was introduced in 2007. Partly that's because it did NOT appear 2-3 years ago as many people seem to believe, and there was NOT a bunch of publicity surrounding its introduction, as there was with the .300 WSM, because it was introduced as a target round. It wasn't until hunters started trying it and began reporting how well it worked that rifles companies started introducing many hunting models, and the round really took off.

I bought the first hunting rifle chambered for the 6.5 Creedmoor that I ever laid eyes on, a new Ruger 77 Hawkeye with a (gasp!) walnut stock. It was in a local sportings goods store, and the guy who ran the gun department (whose idea of a new-fangled rifle cartridge is the .280 Remington) told me other folks were reporting great accuracy.

But I didn't just go ahead and buy it. Instead I phoned one of my magazine editors and asked if he would be interested in an article on the 6.5 Creedmoor. He was, so I bought it, and some factory ammo. The very first group it shot at 100 yards, with that ammo, was .6 inch--and that was FIVE shots, on three.

That editor eventually (like some of you guys) eventually grew sick of hearing about 6.5 Creedmoor, so decided not to run any more articles on it unless he absolutely had to. However, about a month ago he called me and ASKED me to include some 6.5 Creedmoor results in an upcominhg article on some new bullets. Why? Because readers had started complaining that they weren't getting enough 6.5 Creedmoor information in the magazine.

So no, the 6.5 Creedmoor's popularity wasn't due to an intense PR campaign to turn it into the latest fad. Instead the interest grew from people who started using it for hunting, and unlike many other rounds that did turn out to be fads or semi-fads, sales continue to grow 12 years after it appeared. This many not make you happy, but so far I haven't heard of anybody FORCING shooters to buy 6.5 Creedmoors.

Never bought one. Why? because a 300 Weatherby, Winchester or H&H are better and they no feeding issues. As to the Creedmoor, I don't have one because EVERYONE now does...Even if it is arguably the best cartridge introduced since the 257 Weatherby