6.5 Creedmoor Tactical/Target

[SFree]

Gentlemen,
First contributing post at THR, so for my "inquiring minds" thought for the day is this
Now that the 6.5 CM has been out a while are there any shooters here that have used it in factory and/or handloaded form? Has anyone competed with this cartridge?
Having read Zak's "Shoot off" with the 6.5's and his "6.5 Creedmoor, What the .260 Should have been" articles I was interested if a more well rounded cross section of shooters had put this cartridge through it's paces?
Yeah, I drank the kool-aid and am building one...

 

[Greebe]

I'm interested too!

Greebe

 

[rangerruck]

not to dampen your entusiasmsss, enthusiasms....( DeNiro reference), but I don't see the need for the creedmore(moor?) or (moore?) Not that i don't love any 6.5, which I do, I would marry any 6.5 cartridge, if I was metalic, but i really think the creed is designed to be a 1000 yd shooter. Now if you wanna load up some softpoints as well, and go hunt anything from coyotes, to antelope, and mountain goats, this would be a great round as well; cuz some of these critters would be a long way off to get off a shot.
Otherwise, any of the other 6.5's will get you 600 yd shots, very accurately and easy, with less powder and recoil. Heck, even a Grendel will get you to 500 pretty zippy.

 

[skinewmexico]

Must have been some Kool-aid.

 

[peyton]

My concern for this round and a lot others is "Where does the ammo come from?? I have not heard what companies is loading this round and how much demand is there for it.

 

[Will Fennell]

Hornady

Hornady is the only maker for the Creedmoor, and the only supplier of brass. With the possible exception of being better suited for working in a AR style rifle, I know of no advantages of the Creedmoor over the .260 remington. At least with the .260, you have Remington, Nosler and Federal making ammo, and Remington and Nosler making brass. I'm VERY pleased with my .260's.....

 

[Runningman]

I can see this mostly as a AR platform round. All though I do see Ruger is coming out with a long barrel 77 HB bolt gun in it. I'm a 6.5 fan and hope for the best for it. But it seems like it going to face a very long up hill battle in a higher round volume platform like the AR. Considering the much higher price to shoot it a bunch compared to a 5.56.

The 2nd problem I see with it is a possible brass hardness issue. My own long range bolt gun is chambered in the 6.5x284. I tried some Hornady brass in it when it 1st came out but was not to impressed with the quality of their 6.5x284 brass for long range work and it was kind of soft to boot. Was glade their was better quality brass available for my 6.5.

I've tried Hornady brass in a 308 Win & 300 Win Mag in the past and it was also softer than necessary compared to other choices. So this begs the question does the 6.5 Creedmoor have another source of proper brass available. If it does not I won't be jumping on it anytime soon myself.

 

[SFree]

My reasons for my choice for this cartridge are as follows:
1. Full manufacturer's support
2. Factory MATCH rounds for same or less cost than most other factory fodder
3. Standard reamer from PTG, not several different variations of the same.
4. Reloading components AND the load information supplied by the manufacturer.
5. Fits more easily into magazine fed rifles (AICS/AW mags)
6. Accuracy from this round in different platforms is on par with most all others.

I'm not polyannish about this as I know that limited availability from one manufacturer could pose a problem as well as assumed brass quality, but those who are reloading this brass 3-4 times are not having any issues at this time.
Hey, variety is the spice of life!!

 

[Smokey Joe]

Interested as well...

Will be building (rather, having built) a tack-driver myself, and was thinking of using a 6.5mm. The 6.5 CM is described as "boringly accurate," among other praise. Boy, in that case, boring would be a Good Thing!

Anyhow, will be watching the 6.5 CM--as well as the .260 Rem--with great interest.

FWIW, prolly will be using a Savage target action, and maybe even Savage's Palma stock as well. Why not just get a Savage Palma and be done with it?? Palma shooting is restricted to .308 win--they even restrict what bullet you can use, so the gun is designed with the 155 grain SMK in mind, and nothing else. Not being a Palma competitor, that seems a little too restrictive for me.

 

[SFree]

The .308 is probably the ultimate training round and a blast to use as far as Palma, but for tac shooting and comps I feel it's inadequate. 6.5's and .243's rule. Low recoil.
Also, though not as long lived as the .308, the 6.5 Creed has a good barrel life to approx. 5000 rnds. We'll see. Good working pressures and a great choice of other match pills to pick from if one so desires something besides the A-max.

 

[Smokey Joe]

We need a report!!

SFree--

Yeah, I drank the kool-aid and am building one...

A 6.5 CM, that is--Please favor us with a progress report, and a range report as soon as project is done!!

Pictures are always nice, too!

 

[SFree]

Smokey,
Will do mang! My 'smithy bud is doing one for himself as well. I'll be doing factory loads as well as playing with the Berger 130's...
This is going to be a blast! I'm more pumped about this project than I was my 7 wizzum...

 

[Howard Roark]

Troy Lawton came in 5th at Camp Perry last year shooting the 6.5 Creedmoor out of a T2K. He has cleaned every yard line with it.

The factory load didn't shoot in his rifle so he traded them off and only shoots his reloads.

The 6.5 Creedmoor was developed by Dennis DeMille. Dennis is the GM of Creedmoor Sports. He wanted a proprietary factory round he could sell the Tubb 2000 chambered in. This way people could buy match ammo from him or anyone that sells Hornady ammo.

I shot a 597-26x out of 600 today with my .260 in our 3X600 yard match. Sheri Hurd shot a 795 out of 800 yesterday with her .260. I think I'll stick with the .260.

 

[SFree]

Thanks, Howard for the info!
Always good to hear what 6.5's are doing out there.
Another reason for my decision is to have that wiggle room in my AICS mags, of which I'm confined to, and be able to chase throats a little.

 

[SFree]

Howard,
By the way, and if you don't mind my asking, what are your loads for your .260?

 

[Howard Roark]

Use at your own risk:

I use 41gr. IMR 4350, Rem or Lapua brass, Fed 210M primer, 142 SMK or 140 gr. Berger.

The Bergers shoot about 1.5 min flatter than the Sierras.