Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting The 6.5 Creedmoor

Bet you could swap that RL-26 for RL-16, if you put the word out...

DF

I got some early R-26, a couple of pounds to try. It is definitely slower than the jugs I bought a couple years later. I was using loads that were over 3% beyond Alliant's data before I got near their speeds. The lot number of the R-26 jugs seems right on with the data.

My R-16 experience is the opposite. I bought a couple pounds right after it came out, and it's burn rate is MUCH faster than the data. I can't even get beyond Alliant's starting loads, and those even look spicy. Velocity was nowhere near what Alliant claimed. I should try another lot number and see how it is.

I'll wait until it's out a few years before I buy the next new powder.

Bought a 6.5 CM because I got a great deal on it. Browning X-bolt. 3 1/2 inch group at 400 yards with factory Federal Premium 135 gr Berger.
My friends rip me for the most part.
“ you hear about the two gay guys that said let’s go in and have sex. We will worry about the Creedmoor’s tomorrow.”
One friend named it the “storyteller”. He says I will come back to camp about noon and tell about one that I wounded that got away.

I have two other friends that have them and love them. I was lucky enough to draw my antelope tag here in Oregon this year and I’m going to take the 6.5!

That's funny right there

We need to get the Creed lovers and the Creed haters together for a tug of war. Losers buy the beer and bbq!!

Funny right there! I could too maybe but I just bought 3 more.

I like the Creedmoor just fine and use one for M-S. I have built rifles in 6.5x47, 6.5 Creedmoor, 260 Rem, 6.5x55, 6.5x57. 256 Newton, 6.5/06, 6.5/284, 6.5 Rem Mag, and 264 Win. It's all just brass. The brass is a powder holder and a gasket. Capacity makes a difference to powder choice but case shape means little. GD

That is not the conclusion I've come to after trying a bunch of rifles (both factory and customs from very good makers) in most of those chamberings, including 8-10 6.5 Creedmoors in both "cheap" factory and expensive custom rifles.

I sincerely doubt the Creedmoor has any advantage over the 6.5x47 Lapua-except for being chambered in some very accurate and affordable factory rifles, and a bunch of very accurate and affordable factory ammo.

As I stated earlier in this thread, I am not a fanboy of the 6.5 Creedmoor. But I have more than enough experience with a wide variety of them to understand why it became so popular
.

Within limits, that is all I have found. 260's shoot just as well as Creedmoors if the rifles are built to the same specs. so do 6.5x55's. 65/06's seems to shoot just the same as 6.5x284's. Now, when rifles are built to different specifications, performance is likely to vary and this is the advantage the Creedmoor has. It was conceived a an accuracy cartridge and all rifles built for it benefit from that. This is especially so regarding ammunition, I suspect. GD

The Creed had the advantage of wise timing. Excellent rifles, great Ammo, fast-twist rifling, and maple mag boxes elevated a proven winner to new heights.

Nothing a determined 260 Rem fan could not have done 25 years ago. And yeah, I own a Creed. Gonna sell the Barrett and buy another .....

Also, ample mag boxes. But maple ones would be cool.

Just finished verifying rifle, scope, and ammo at 400 yards.

Over the counter 6.5 Creed, & factory 143 gr. ELDX ammo - consistently less than 1 moa out to 400 yds.

Time for Elk camp.

Years ago, I purchased a pristine 1917 6.5 Swede because it was still in cosmoline (or equivalent), had a mirror-bore and all matching serial numbers (I seriously doubt it had ever been fired). I thought it was a "wimp round" but the rifle was $199 at Dunham's. I began to research for handloading and found an absolute DIAMOND of a caliber and rifle (printing 3/4" groups at 250 yards). Due to the Mauser not being scope-friendly, I had my gunsmith drill and tap the barrel for a sporter-mount Burris 2-7 handgun scope with phenomenal success.

Then I read GregW's account of taking his little-people to Africa using a .260! I now had the confirmation of my suspicions for the numbers the Swede was turning in. Sadly and aggravatingly, I'm a work-a-holic and never actually hunted with it, just printed groups and made and broke hunting plans.

Now roughly 15 years after the purchase, I've accepted that my real-world fun comes from shooting tiny groups (though they're still with heavier hunting bullets, just in case!!! hahahahaha). I love the Swede, but with the handgun scope, it just ain't cuttin' the LR boundaries. I knew the Creed was taking all of the thunder from other, fantastic 6.5 calibers(!) and began searching for a 700 Magpul in .260. Any other caliber need not apply for less than $1,000 on a good day. The little, forgotten-about .260 was $660 out the door and I raced 1.5 hours away to pick it up (I couldn't wait for shipping!) Long-story short, after break-in, the first 2 shots at 100 yards were in a ragged-hole (from the bench, I actually thought I missed the target and began messing with turrets to compensate!) I'm mostly done with load-development (just messing with seating depths, now) and 43.1 gr of H4350 is getting me 2656 fps and 0.513" group (best of 4 loads in the same vicinity of group-size) with 140 SST's. By the way, all this accuracy with a Tasco 3-9x40 that I had sitting at the back of my safe (I'll be getting a Vortex soon). The reticle covers up all of the bull's eye at 100 yards and I was guessing with every shot whether I was in the same point-of-aim, or not. (I have pictures, but couldn't figure out how to post them here).

So, my question: SOCOM compared the 7.62 NATO vs. the .260 vs. the 6.5 Creed and UNANIMOUSLY picked the Creed. All I have are ballistics charts and, to me, the Swede, Creed and Remi are triplets. My Swede is phenomenally accurate, same with my new .260, so what leap of technological excellence am I missing?

I just tried RL-26 this summer in 90 degree temps, are you saying I need to check them this fall in 40-50 degree temps. What about the 20 degree temps?

yes your right and it also has this neat name CREEDMOOR and its the hot new cartridge so that makes it a little more special and the average guy can find ammo easy ,cheap and the cartridge is accurate. i like it because people buy them from me . GRIN > the Creedmoor cartridges are good for all of us, people buy Creedmoor rifles and shoot them ,we all needed something new and exciting in the world of guns.

ai would not use the ELDX on elk. Just me, but I have read/seen too much variation in their performance. I would take a standard Interlock long before I would take the ELDX.

Have you seen the 143’s flying to pieces out of the Creed? I know they aren’t A-Frames but I wouldn’t think the 143 would have enough stink on it to get torn to pieces at the 2700’ish from factory ammo.

They don't. Except in Nebraska....

I've had a fair amount of deer hunting time (no closed season) with my Tikka T3x 6.5 Creedmoor and agree with sbhooper. Preferred choice for elk (or wapiti as we call them in my part of the world) would be the 140 gr Nosler partition. I've shot quite a few red deer with the 143 gr ELD-X and had a few less than ideal outcomes such as large shallow wounds and also some shots that have hardly expanded and pencilled right through. I wouldn't use that bullet on large red stags which are massive in my area, not far off elk size. The Nosler partition is still, after all these years, one of the most reliable and best killing bullets available. Even so, I prefer my .308 with the 165 gr NP for large stags to the 6.5 CM with the 140 gr NP.

Absolutely correct.