Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Drinking the Creedmoor Kool-Aid?

All true. Along with tighter tolerances.
With that said I would wager the average Creedmoor aficionado isnt even cognizant of these factors.

John: I don't think it's so much a comprehension matter but rather a combination of personal preference (the coke v pepsi syndrome) downright "contrarianism" and the Jim Jones cult like adoration. In my view the 6.5 Creedmoor is arguably one of the best designed and efficient calibers to come down the pike and if if sucked, it would not sell. I just have other calibers that (more or less) fill the same niche. Then there are some who tell us it's "Excalibur-like" qualities render all other calibers obsolete and we are idiots for not worshipping on the "Creedmoor altar." Great cartridge, does everything well or better than most, but I refer back to the personal taste angle. Most think Raquel Welch was in her day THE most desirable woman extant. I myself didn't think so, much preferring the likes of Anita Eckberg. Then again I'm one of those guys who generally thinks the more recoil, the better it kills....

Cheers

I certainly don't hate it having witnessed my SIL work up loads and bag several deer however since I've been shooting various 6.5's since Washington crossed the Delaware it fills no niche that hasn't been well covered..

This summation is spot on IMO whether you drink the kool-Aid or not.. " 4-reasons-to hate-the 6.5-Creedmoor"

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2019/7/19/4-reasons-to-hate-the-65-creedmoor/

I don't think the Creedmoor is magic just as no other round is magic. I know shot placement means more than what is on the head stamp of the brass. That being said, I am glad that we can have more than one chambering to play with and shoot what we like. To me, this thing with the Creedmoor is just a new rehash of 50-60 years ago, (30-06 vs 270) with the names changed. Shoot what you like and be happy.

Ben, nothing wrong with the 7-08 on elk. I like it. I doubt it does anything the 6.5CM does, but a guy has got to be comfortable with what he's using. I'll be 60 this year, and I can see my interest in backpacking into the mountains for extensive elk hunting waning. Ditto handloading. Nice thing about the Creed is excellent, affordable factory ammunition is available at about a 10:1 ratio over the 7-08. But you do know how much I like the 7-08!

You still have "my" 300 WSM?

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There are some who tell us it's "Excalibur-like" qualities render all other calibers obsolete and we are idiots for not worshipping on the "Creedmoor altar."
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I haven't run into any of those people. In fact, have mentioned before that I haven't yet run into one of the Creedmoor advocates that somehow seem to annoy other people. Instead I keep running into those who say it has no point, because the 6.5x55 or .260 (or both) do the "same things."

In fact know one guy who, for a year or more, spontaneously broke into an anti-Creedmoor rant as soon as he ran into other shooters--even people he'd just been introduced to. Eventually some of his friends started avoiding him.

Definite CDS, probably with comorbid CBHS.

This isn't a caliber or a velocity debate. It's about standardized tight reamer specs and standard 8-twist barrel, so that ammo manufacturers have tighter tolerances to work with and an impetus to make long, high-BC, high-SD bullets standard for the cartridge. It's ready out of the box to go and shoot a PRC match, with a $300 rifle and factory ammo. Which cartridge, exactly, was also known for this, before the 6.5 CM came along? What, exactly, requires the drinking of the metaphorical Kool-Aid?

My one and only big surprise was when an old feller (well, least he was older than me) from behind the gun counter damn near went apoplectic on me when he overheard me say I was gonna go shoot an elk with the CM for the first time using the factory ELD-X ammo. You'd thought I'd just advocated for slow, tortuous death of big game by way of pellet guns.

Probably didn't help when I told him he needed to get out more from behind the counter.

And that is an advantage. It's a shame tighter reamer specs were not a thing accross the board.
With that said I have. Ever had problems getting guns like the 270, 25-06,7mm-08, etc to shoot well.

I love the Creedmoors for shooting small groups.

I use my .338's for big game hunting because they DRT when hit in the vitals.

I will try the CM's for antelope though. They are kind of "medium" game.

Voted Tikka/Redding with my wallet. Again.

UncleAlps,

Have killed a LOT of big game with the .338 Winchester Magnum, and with broadside lung shots have yet to notice a meaningful increase in DRTs on over small caliber cartridges--and I've kept careful notes on every big game I and my companions have taken for decades, The exception is with bullets lighter cup-and-core bullets.

Which is why I eventually came to the conclusion that various .338s DRT most often when their bullets are put through an animal's shoulders--which is also true of any other caliber with bullets capable of doing the same thing.

Mule Deer,

I agree the shoulder shot is a stopper. Not my favorite and perhaps I'm resistant to ruining meat but it's better than having a hard time retrieving game in rough terrain.

My lung shot results have been much more successful with the .338 WM than with the 7mm RM. 210 partitions vs 175 grand slams. If I switch to shoulder shots it may be just as you say. Just have to reprogram my brain first.

Have seen lung shots work just as quickly (if not quicker) on various animals with much smaller cartridges than the .338 and 210 Partitions--and that includes a much wider variety of bullets than 7mm 175 Grand Slams. One of the stars is the 150 Partition in the .270 Winchester, but there are plenty of others.

More fertilizer is spread at gun counters than at dairy hay fields.....

Well if all the cartridges out there had half the development work and variety of loads coupled with great rifles the creed has no one would need another gun. Hornady and Ruger did a damn fine job of bringing the creed out. Mb

[/quote] . In fact, have mentioned before that I haven't yet run into one of the Creedmoor advocates that somehow seem to annoy other people. Instead I keep running into those who say it has no point, because the 6.5x55 or .260 (or both) do the "same things."

In fact know one guy who, for a year or more, spontaneously broke into an anti-Creedmoor rant as soon as he ran into other shooters--even people he'd just been introduced to. Eventually some of his friends started avoiding him.
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I haven't run into any of those people. Down here in Georgia at the hunt club, it's a smattering of 06's 270s and 243s, then therr's odd ball me with a 303 Brit, 300 savage, 348 Win and such My experiences, especially here are 180 deg out from yours. Same for the 45/70 crowd, particularly when they insisted it could match or even out perform heavier 'Express" cartridges and those who used more appropriate calibers for big, dangerous game were of the "if it recoils more it kills better crowd" which is of course, nonsense. Regarding the smaller calibers kills just as well as the larger (the 338 postings above), even though I have maybe one tenth of your experience, with the exception of the 257 Weatherby (with the 100gr Hornady0, I've experienced a noticeable difference when shooting similar animals with larger and faster calibers. Jorge

PS: why do I get the feeling i'm about to be skewered, but again for the record, in my opinion the 6.5 Creemoor is arguably the best designed and proven cartridge in the last 100 years..

My friends and I killed a few Elk back in my youth with the 270 Win and Rem Core Lock bullets without a problem. I for some reason, I can't explain bought a Ruger 77 in 338 Win Mag for my Elk rifle. I packed that heavy SOB around for a couple of years, shot one bull and friend I hunted with borrowed on one of our hunts and shot a bull. Example of two, but enough for me, went back to the Mod.70 270 FWT with 150 Noslers. Done! I don't think there'd be a whole lot of difference with a 140 grain bullet at 2750 FPS.

just scoped up my new 6.5 Creedmoor Browning BLR , yes i do like the Creedmoors and believe this cartridge will kill deer just fine, but you may have to track a wounded deer more often too ?. but i have noticed this in my very small world in deer hunting bigger bucks when shot by me ,friends , son and daughter over 30 some years . many times a a faster cartridge bullet shot thru the rib cage seems to put a bigger buck down sooner and this year i used Berger 115 gr. VLD 25 caliber bullet shot thru my 257 Weatherby mag. with a 27 inch barrel at around 3400-3500 fps the smaller buck that dressed 170 lbs. weighed went 12 feet stone dead shot right behind shoulder at 150 yards kinda centered with a 3-4 inch hole exciting rib cage shot on Nov.7th buck had plenty fat on his skinned body. now the 2nd buck shot on Nov. 21st and dressed 205 lbs.weighed . with same rifle and cartridge at 100 yards went almost 40 yards and tipped over stone dead too, i blew his heart in pieces had a 5-6 inch hole exciting rib cage this old buck had no fat on his skinned body. i have never used Berger bullets until this year. i did shot a doe at 80 yards with a 256 Newton which is a 6.5 bullet so i used a 140 gr. Berger VLD bullet rifle shot about same speed as a 6.5 Creedmoor went thru center of ribs 2 inch hole leaving rib cage deer went 60-70 yards layed down and died in an hour or so. our family we will use Berger bullets again next year just to see what happens ,i assume the same thing ? hope you all had a great deer season too and things were safe too. i am impressed with these Berger bullets accurate and seem to kill deer easy. Pete53