Rifle familiarity is probably the key. You might be real comfortable using holdover off of sticks at 350 yds and giving up 3". I apparently am not.
6.5 Creedmoor past present future
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dranrab
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I don't have any animosity toward the 6.5 Creedlord. I own 2. I do find some of its sycophantic fans who think it can defy physics utterly insufferable. It's a nice mild cartridge that was done exceptionally well from the drawing board, to the launch, to the initial and continuing support. It is fantastic for the recoil sensitive among us, women and children. There's a whole lot of reason to choose it if you are going to buy a new rifle in anything from 24 to 28 caliber.
Trey Veston
Member
Both my stepdad and my brother went to it for their hunting rifles and swear it is a very soft-shooting round, which is critical for dad with a plate in his neck and 70 years old.
But is it really that much better than the .308? Been going back and forth on it and .308 in an AR-10 and a bolt gun. Keep leaning towards the .308, but am reminded of the painful recoil of my light, composite-stocked .30-06.
But is it really that much better than the .308? Been going back and forth on it and .308 in an AR-10 and a bolt gun. Keep leaning towards the .308, but am reminded of the painful recoil of my light, composite-stocked .30-06.
Gtscotty
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I have yet to see anyone claim they can defy physics in this thread, so what's your driver for contributing several snide, sarcastic comments and nothing else? So many folks are just looking for something to get triggered over these days...
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rayatphonix
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Danrab, you obviously have a lot of animosity toward the Creedmoor, or perhaps it’s animosity toward those that enjoy it. Read your post again.
Has been killing game for decades.
A long time serious deer hunting fellow at work bought a 6.5 Creed last year (He picked the gun/caliber, wanted to see what the buzz was, and took my advise on the scope), and likes it for deer. He has a .270, a .280, & a .308 that I know of and maybe others, that he has used over the years and he has been very happy with his Creed. If it works for him, that's all the data I need, at least for Alabama sized deer.
I'm sticking my my .35 Remington (Talk about not much of a following yet very capable) and my .308.
But for anyone in the market the 6.5 Creed is a very viable choice for mid sized game, along with a multitude of other choices, and isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
The .243 has been a good choice for how long now? I don't see many people bad mouthing it. And in it's favor, the 6.5 Creed comes ready to shoot heavier bullets than the .243, with greater sectional densities, which is one thing that makes the 6.5 Swede such a good game killer.
Nature Boy
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Really the 6.5 CM fixes any perceived issues the .243 Win (to small), 6.5x55 (Old Rifles) and .308 Win (To much recoil).
How much of those issues were real doesn't matter. Perception is reality.
The .30/06 was a great round in it's day and US Military Adoption sealed the deal. The .270 Win got there with lots of promotion and a Magnum bullet trajectory without the associated recoil. I believe the CM will take it's place with these as a top 3 hunting rifle. Add in its place in the shooting sports and I fail to see how it can't become the most popular.
PS That's from a guy whose only 6.5 CM is a cheap TC Compass I won as a door prize. I'm into more traditional rounds and even I can see it's allure.
How much of those issues were real doesn't matter. Perception is reality.
The .30/06 was a great round in it's day and US Military Adoption sealed the deal. The .270 Win got there with lots of promotion and a Magnum bullet trajectory without the associated recoil. I believe the CM will take it's place with these as a top 3 hunting rifle. Add in its place in the shooting sports and I fail to see how it can't become the most popular.
PS That's from a guy whose only 6.5 CM is a cheap TC Compass I won as a door prize. I'm into more traditional rounds and even I can see it's allure.
Llama Bob
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It's massively outselling both in hunting configurations. It's closer to "replace" than "take it's place". When you get right down to it there's little if any reason for the .270 anymore. It's a nominal long range cartridge crippled by a twist rate too slow to allow decent bullets. That's a pretty hard sell. The .30-06 is at least twisted right, but unless you're looking for a bear/big game crossover rifle (very few people) the .30-06 has little to offer you in terms of reach or game addressed for the extra recoil and weight. The 6.5s work just fine on elk, moose, etc.
The magnums are retaining market better since they actually do offer slightly increased reach over the 6.5CM.
dranrab
Member
My animosity is most assuredly not geared toward the fine round that is the Creedmoor. It is absolutely reserved for those who have ascribed magical, physics defying properties to it. Oh, and those who get defensive about anything other than worship of the cartridge from bended knee.
dranrab
Member
You mean that old cartridge designed for women, children and men of small stature?
And men who have had 5 surgeries on their shooting shoulder to include a failed total joint replacement. I am so grateful for mild, enormously capable cartridges like the Creedpuff.
Skeptic13
Member
I could not read through all 11 pages of comments so if this a repeat thought sorry.
For target shooting especially at longer ranges I think he 6.5 is a great choice. Probably better than most of the others listed in these posts. However as far as hunting goes I think it depends on your specific application. If I want to shoot heavier bullets in the 200 gr to 220 gr I will want to choose calibers like the 30-06 or a 300 Win Mag. If I want to shoot bullets in the 150 gr to 180 gr I will probably go to the .308 or the 30-06. If I want to shoot bullets 150 gr or less then I will consider the 6.5 CM or stick to the .308.
There is no perfect cartridge. Every caliber has it's strong attributes and its faults. I chose to shoot .308 because it gave me the a very wide range of applications and large choices for rifles and bullets. It is not a great long range cartridge for hunting but I do not take a lot of shots over 250 yards. At those ranges it will take most North American game animals. If I hunted in Alaska I might make different choices but an elk is about the biggest animal I shoot at. For elk I prefer the 165 gr or 180 gr bullets. Not a bullet weight available for 6.5 CM.
For target shooting especially at longer ranges I think he 6.5 is a great choice. Probably better than most of the others listed in these posts. However as far as hunting goes I think it depends on your specific application. If I want to shoot heavier bullets in the 200 gr to 220 gr I will want to choose calibers like the 30-06 or a 300 Win Mag. If I want to shoot bullets in the 150 gr to 180 gr I will probably go to the .308 or the 30-06. If I want to shoot bullets 150 gr or less then I will consider the 6.5 CM or stick to the .308.
There is no perfect cartridge. Every caliber has it's strong attributes and its faults. I chose to shoot .308 because it gave me the a very wide range of applications and large choices for rifles and bullets. It is not a great long range cartridge for hunting but I do not take a lot of shots over 250 yards. At those ranges it will take most North American game animals. If I hunted in Alaska I might make different choices but an elk is about the biggest animal I shoot at. For elk I prefer the 165 gr or 180 gr bullets. Not a bullet weight available for 6.5 CM.
<*(((><
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There's wisdom in this assessment.
+1
There are 160gr 6.5 bullets available, tho id probably want more powder behind them than the CM can deliver. I shot one feral bull of about 650-700lbs with my 6.5-284 and 143ELD-xs, and dropped it within 50yds, while I want a harder bullet were i to do that again, it worked just fine.
I looked at the Hornady ELD X promo vid in slo mo and was not impressed with the break up of the bullet through the gel. Looked like a target bullet going in, looked like a buckshot load coming out. these manufacturers need to value the fundamental things that hunters appreciate: Consistent Accuracy, Value, Dependable Performance. Make an affordable basic bullet, make it right.
Also make a nice sleek bonded bullet.
Back to 6.5: It is not for my uses, but if I were to use it, for my purposes it would be with the 129 gr. class bullets handloaded.
Also make a nice sleek bonded bullet.
Back to 6.5: It is not for my uses, but if I were to use it, for my purposes it would be with the 129 gr. class bullets handloaded.
Gtscotty
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I've used 140gr Accubonds and 127gr LRX for everything thus far. I really like how Accubonds perform on game, so they would usually be my preference, but I suppose I've actually killed more animals with the LRX. I used the LRX for this year's cow at ~375 yds, which is further than I'd prefer to shoot, but we were on a rocky ridge and couldn't get any closer to the herd. Performance seemed to be good, with exits and good expansion, although I hit some bone, and I think that helps copper bullets open. Even though the LRX have worked well for me, I guess I just have more of a warm fuzzy with bonded lead bullets and the kind of wound paths they give. I might give the 142gr Accubond LR, Federal TBBC/TLR, or perhaps even the new Speer Impact bullets a try this next year.
I do know folks at my range who have used the 143gr ELDx quite a bit on muleys and elk, including one guy who plunked a bull at 725 yds, but personally I prefer a tougher bullet and a closer shot.
I do know folks at my range who have used the 143gr ELDx quite a bit on muleys and elk, including one guy who plunked a bull at 725 yds, but personally I prefer a tougher bullet and a closer shot.
dranrab
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I do apologize for not posting with sensitivity toward your issues.
Gtscotty
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Another lame and irrelevant post, at least you're consistent I guess.
I believe the guy who took the 725 yd shot, said it exited but it's been a few years since the conversation. My coworker who's shot two cows (and a pile of muleys) with the 140gr Gameking said that he got exits on his shots and the elk didn't go anywhere after being shot, so no blood trail.
Some of the folks I've talked at the range who hunt with the 6.5 use Berger's, I'd guess they are not getting exits with those kinds of bullets, but I didn't ask.
Of the 3 6.5 bullets I've put into elk (1x140gr Accubond and 2x127gr LRX) all have exited.
The cow I shot two years ago got one Accubond though the lungs, a bit higher than I intended from about 140yds. It went about 20yds after the shot without much blood trail and was dead in a decent pool of blood when I got to it. Pretty much what you'd expect for a higher lung shot.
Here's the entry to the chest (bullet hit some shoulder first):
There wasn't all that much blood shot meat but thats the side it ended up lying on, so the blood pooled
Exit:
It was dark by the time I got this year's cow disassembled, so I don't have any wound pictures. The 127gr LRX did a good amount of damage, the first shot angled down through the top of the shoulder, shocked the spine and dropped the cow on the spot. The second shot was through the neck, so no surprise that it exited. The cow didn't go anywhere, so no blood trail to speak of, but plenty of chest soup poured out while I was cutting it up.
For comparison, here are the entry holes in last year's cow, shot twice with 180gr Accubonds from my .30-06 at 320 yds:
The first bullet made a mess after plowing through the shoulder, I found it under the opposite hide weighing 109gr. The other bullet hit about five inches higher and to the right, but the shot was more angling. I thought the second bullet had exited, but I actually found it in a tenderloin last week, lol. The cow didn't go anywhere this time either, so no blood trail.
Recovered .30 cal bullets, first shot on the left:
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11 pages of bickering seems like more than enough.
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