Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting The 6.5 Creedmoor

Who uses Berger target bullets when hunting. What does it shoot with hunting loads?

That is an excellent hunting bullet

I don’t get it.

Anything the 6.5 CM can do, the 7mm-08 can do better, at least inside 700 yards. Recoil is comparable.

Plus, the Mighty -08 can shoot bullets heavier than 156 grains. Dunno why you’d want to, but you could.

I like the 120 Barnes in mine. Kills deer and pigs DRT

Anything the 7-08 does, the 6.5 CM does just as well, inside of 700 yards. And a lot more beyond about 700. 6.5CM recoil is closer to 243 than 7-08. Factory 6.5 ammo is much more available and cheaper than 7-08. And I'd bet money that 8/10 rifles will be more accurate firing 6.5CM. Especially with factory loads.

I was skeptical too, but bought a Ruger Predator in 6.5 just to see if it lived up to the hype. It was the cheapest way for me to experiment with the round. It's a $350 rifle that outshoots everything else in the safe. I always thought that my rifles and cartridges were more accurate than me. That I was the real limitation to accuracy. That may still be true, but I've been able to shoot this combo better than anything else. And I haven't even had an opportunity to really stretch things out past 400 yards yet.

Berger 135 grain Classic Hunter bullet. For those who have to read it on the box. it’s a hunting bullet.

The reason I went with the 6.5 is ammo availability.
Even though I reload, The cost of some ammo is about as cheap as reloading. S&B 140 gr FMJ for 10.99! And MOA.
Can the 7-08 do that?.....asking for a friend lol

They're the same thing. No need to nit pick. And as you know, I love the 7-08...

I use the Berger hybrid in 6mm for hunting about everything. They perform very well.

It's all about the bullet. The 7-08 has higher-BC bullets available, but it starts them off slower. So in the best case scenarios for both, the 6.5 Creedmoor has an initial velocity advantage, while the 7-08 has the BC advantage. Velocity is a diminishing quantity but BC, like a diamond, is forever (roughly speaking). That is why the 6.5 Creedmoor may have the initial advantage in impact velocity, drop, wind drift, but beyond a certain distance the 7-08 takes over.


That really depends on the load used in each. Using a rifle weight of 7 lbs for all three, Hodgdon data for consistency in load data between the three, and the JBM recoil calculator, .243 recoil ranges from about 7.4 ft-lbs/8.3 fps to 14.5/11.6, the recoil of the 6.5 Creedmoor ranges from about 11.1/10.1 to 17.2/12.6, and finally the 7-08's recoil ranges from about 11.3/10.2 to 19.8/13.5. So you can see that depending on the specific load used in each the 6.5 Creedmoor can be closer to the .243 or the 7-08, but assuming the most ballistically efficient load in each (heaviest, highest-BC bullet) we're looking at the top end of the recoil range for each. Then the .243 would generate 14.5 ft-lbs at 11.6 fps, the 6.5 Creedmoor would produce 17.2 ft-lbs at 12.6 fps, and the 7-08 would have 19.8 ft-lbs at 13.5 fps. So the 6.5 Creedmoor is basically smack-dab in between the .243 and the 7-08, but just slightly closer to the 7-08.



Agreed.

Other than availability of factory ammo, factory rifles, and brass options.

If Lapua et al had marketed better then they'd be in the driver's seat.

This conversation just keeps raging on and it seems like somebody lights a fuse every time it comes up. I don't see enough difference in these two rounds to be worth arguing over. IMO, pick one that sounds cool to you and use and I'm betting you won't see an ounce of difference between them - and that's only if you've used both in similar situations...

What I really wonder though,is how long the 6.5 CM will need to be out before it is just accepted like most other rounds have been over the years that may or may not have the same capabilities of the CM....

and real primers. grin

I was talking performance.....of course you knew that.......

Yes, it's nice to have the option of SR or LR.