Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters So JB, why does the 6.5 CM get more attention than the 7mm-08?

“It’s the boolit, not the head stamp…”

Now where have we heard that?

Good stuff regardless of the source.

DF

Ditto, and I don't even have either....but -

I'm going to have to puzzle this out.

I was looking for a 7-08 barrel for the Rem 725SA and came up with a .260 instead.


Hmmmmm.

No... No... Nooooo.....

As a young child of the 60s, the only rifles I knew anything of were what my Dad and uncles carried. Which, as a matter of record included three 30-06s and one .257 Roberts.
In 1967 my Dad started talking about a mystical, magical cartridge called .243 Winchester. We had recently moved and a new family friend carried a .243 for spot and stalk red fox shooting (which is an addiction), and also used it in Colorado yearly for mule deer and elk.

I can remember the day I first heard the words ".243 Winchester" uttered. We were first timers at the barber shop near our new home, and the sound of the cartridges name drew me. Maybe because it was spoken of with reverence. We made a couple of lifelong friends that day, including the barber, who is (still) one of the biggest names in bird dogs in that area. Also the family friend who introduced us to fox shooting.

In early '69 Dad brought home his model 700 .243. And it was everything it had been described as. In my mind I knew the cartridge was great the first time I heard it's name spoken.
In fact, I wanna postulate that the term "Mic Drop" came about as a result of mention of the .243 Winchester cartridge ending rifle conversations.

I wanna vote that we end all of this "bullets matter more than headstamps" nonsense...

I’ve seen a handful of small, hill country whitetails shot and not recovered after being hit with a 22-250. I’ve never fired a 22-250 personally, but I have two buddies who were smitten with them for a time. My godfather was another, but he only took head and neck shots. The deer I saw get away were shot in the shoulder/ribs.

I routinely shoot deer and pigs with a 223 and a 70 grain Speer with great results, but I’m the shooting/handloding guru in my group. My friends were using factory ammo (neither of them reload) that I’m certain was designed for varmint hunting. Those were obvious cases where just any old bullet wouldn’t do, even on small Texas does that may have weighed 100 pounds on the larger side, probably less.

So in my non-gun writer, Elmer Fudd experience, yes, there are bullets that I would not use for deer. Furthermore, I’d say the 22-250 is a prime example of a cartridge that would best be left to handloaders if deer hunting is the objective. The slow standard twist rate and high velocity lends the cartridge to varmint hunting, a point often overlooked or missed by folks buying whatever 22-250 ammo they happen to find at the local sporting goods store.

The launch and continued push regarding 6.5 CreedMoor was successful to to the following:

1. Great ammo choices for both hunting AND match shooting from major manufacturers @ fairly reasonable prices. Ammo manufacturers have typically left everything except 223 and 308 match ammo to hand-loaders exclusively.

2. Twist rates that corresponded to where current projectile tech was with an eye toward the future and where projectile R&D was headed.

3. Chamber dimensions created with projectiles AND magazine confines taken into account.

4. Ubiquitous LRF's, easy to use ballistic programs, holdover reticles and/or turrets that allow the previously uninitiated to do that which they've never done.

There's nothing "magic" about any particular chambering, but, very few chamberings offer all the options, data. and components OTC (pre-current scarcity) @ one's fingertips.

A much shorter way to say it would be that the 6.5 CreedMoor is the most properly executed and supported launch of a new cartridge to date. It's the 1st "Turnkey" option for hunting and match shooting from a single platform w/factory available options.

Kids whack a fair number of deer every year with the .223.

Grown ups, not so much. Need more gun.

Did someone say something about the boolit???

Hmm…

DF

It’s called a “bullet” by functional adults… but yes, killing things isn’t especially difficult.

I wonder how many deer get away wounded with the 223. I have shot quite a few over the years with .22 caliber rifles. Never lost one in probably 70+ kills. But never had a great confidence in them either.

Shot for shot, I bet not as many as with the 22-250!

Every deer I have killed with my 223 (9) has been a complete pass through and all have had similar looking exit holes that showed good expansion. Even still, the best blood trails of those 9 have been anemic compared to our “standard” deer cartridges.

Good post. Imo

Hmmmmmmmmmm.............................70 for 70 with 22 cal rifles & yet no confidence?

What would it take to make you feel confident?

MM

Succinctlier, society demands instant gratification, and the 6.5 Creedmoor delivers.

Proponents of bigger rounds say things like the 243 or 250 Savage or 6.5 Creedmoor are fine for women, kids and men of small stature. I'm worried they'll quit working for me.

My money would be on whatever cartridge is mostly shot at deer results in the most wounded deer getting away.

And when you’re really in the know, it’s called a “pill”.

Thanks man

You might be on to something there.

Except for the 6.5CM. I’ve heard you can’t miss with a creed.

You can miss with anything, but a Creedmoor is so easy to shoot well that if you miss it's really bad for you.

You saying it's not a good "excuse" or "alibi" round....?

DF

Good question.

100% success rate during 70 opportunities, would make me pretty confident in my ability to hit my point of aim, the rifles' collective accuracy potential, and the bullets' collective expansion and penetration potential.