Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What cartridge is a clear step up from the 6.5 Creedmoor

I'll go with the 7 mag as well. Give it the same high BC bullet for caliber that the creed has going for it & they have some great long range numbers along with a considerable "step up" in power.

Thanks, I only have four rifles, and I'm not looking to start a very large collection. My perspective would definitely be different if I had dozens or hundreds. And as far as letting strangers on the internet make decisions for me, that's something I read on here every now and then when people ask for advice. I have no intention of letting anyone make these choices for me, but I do like to learn from others and factor the things I learn into my decisions.

Both.are are correct and excellent reasons to buy one.



Caliber and initial velocity (case size, generally speaking) are only two components of terminal performance. Bullet construction and range are a couple more. Hodgdon and Nosler list 2889fps and 2953fps respectively as max for a 130g bullet. Hodgdon also lists 3066fps as maximum for the Swift Scirocco II in the 6.5PRC. My 6.5-06AI runs the 130g Scirocco II at 3161fps. All those velocities are based on 24" barrels. Using the Scirocco II with those velocities and velocity and ft-lbs energy as the yardstick for destructive potential at 7000 feet altitude.

2889fps ==> 2302fps, 1530 ft-lbs @ 500 yards (6.5 CM, Hodgdon velocity)
2953fps ==> 2303fps, 1531fps @ 550 yards (6.5 CM, Noslervelocity)
2066fps ==> 2317fps, 1549ft-lbs @ 625 yards (6.5 PRC, Hodgdon load)
3161fps ==> 2313fps, 1545fps @ 700 yards (6.5-06 AI, my rifle)

Daughters .270 Win runs a Nosler 150g ABLR at 2912fps. That gives it a calculated 2132fps and 1515ft-lbs at 700 yards. My .300WM pushes a Barnes 175g LRX at 3036fps for 1974fps and 1514fpe at 825 yards and my .338WM runs a Nosler 225g AB at 2778fps for 1744fps and 1520ft-lbs at 925 yards. (These are also calculated for 7000 feet altitude.)

There is no clear-cut answer to your question, as there are simply too many variables. Comparing destructive potential (retained energy at whatever range) provides clues but the rapidity and efficiency of the transfer of that energy to the target play huge roles that cannot be ignored. Thuds bullet construction matters a great deal and one cannot assume a given bullet type with significantly different diameters and weights (say 140g 6.5mm and 225g .338" Accubond), given equal energy, will behave identically on impact.

Creedmoor=Impeachment.

Sick and tired of hearing both.

30-06 or 300 WSM on the upper end.

if your talking reloading ammo yourself and bench shooting a Norma 6 mm B.R. is better.

if your talking buying only 1 other hunting rifle a simple 30-06 with a 24 inch barrel

otherwise what other posts above me have posted,the 300 Win. Mag. is another great choice too. good luck,Pete53

If you use the 6.5CM as the basis for an "upgrade" I'd say you might want to quantify your parameters for the "step-up". You could use some mathematical benchmark such as ft./lbs of energy at 300 - 400 yards. What would be acceptable over the CM - 20% more? Would you consider a SD comparison too? Then factor in if you are capable of mastering the "upgrade"? What good is more "hitting power" if you anticipate the recoil? But as we have seen here many times, standard "deer cartridges" take larger N.A. big game quite effectively. Good luck.

I figured people can interpret the question how they want. I'm still learning about ft/lbs energy and whether or not that is an effective measurement of killing power. From what I've been reading, what makes a cartridge effective is a combination of velocity and bullet construction - pretty much whether a bullet can do what it's designed to do at its velocity when it hits game. I'm still figuring out what role the caliber of a bullet plays in this whole thing. I know that "bullets matter more than headstamps," but surely caliber matters as well?



That's why I put "6.5 Creedmoor" in the title - so that people don't have to click on it. So far, this discussion has been a little more insightful (for me, at least) than some of the other threads about the Creedmoor, but I get that it feels like this topic is being done to death and there's nothing new to be said.

A clear step up in my opinion is a .280 Rem or .30-06 with a high BC bullet. My choice for a real upgrade is a 7mm Weatherby. Happy Trails

223AI

It depends on what you mean by "clear step up". If you mean that the upper end of the useful range of capability is noticeably above that of the Creedmoor, then somewhere around 7 mm Mags shooting 150 gr bullets faster than 3000 fps. If you mean no overlap between the top of the useful range of the Creedmoor and the bottom of the range of the other, then I would guess somewhere around a 338 Win Mag.

Amen

Maybe there should be a 6.5 Creedmoor sub forum. Or even two - one for fans, one for haters.

6.5 Creedmoor did nothing for me and I tried to like it after owning a couple. IMO the 6.5 PRC is what the CM should have been from the beginning. 3000 ish FPS with 140 class high BC bullets in affordable factory ammo in a short action with little to no recoil is pretty damn impressive. And easily exceeding 3000 FPS with same or even heavier bullets when reloading is where it’s at. I expect many more flavors of factory ammo in it available this coming year as well. I’ve still got several 30 cal rifles but they are boring and unenjoyable to shoot. The PRC is a tack driving SOB that you could shoot all day.

What about the Creedmoor made you not like it after owning one? Did it let you down on a hunt?

Who cares, life is too short for such trivial matters. I say shoot what you want and the rest will fall into place.

SD

It just seemed blah to me, I didn’t feel like it really outperformed so many other cartridges. Factory ammo at 2570 with 147’s , 2720 with 143’s reloaded , just didn’t horn me up if that makes sense. No knocks on it if it works for others but it was just boring to me personally.

.264 Win Mag or a 7mm Rem Mag.

The various .338s from Federal to .338-378 are a very noticeable step up.

I bought a Fieldcraft 6.5 CM a couple years ago and like everything about it. Been telling myself over the past year I should sell off a bunch of rifles that don't get used much, buy a Fieldcraft 30-06 and call it good for all the hunting I do. Seems to be a consensus here along that line of thinking...