6.5 Creedmoor.......Love affair???

The 6.5 Creed is a great long-range target round. That said, the .243 Win may be better at varmints and the .270 Win takes care of any larger game I choose to get and at ranges up to 400 yards. I don't shoot at game beyond about 350 yards, but may shoot at coyotes farther than that.

To each his/her own, but just because a cartridge can hit a target at 700 yards, when you can shoot sighters and correct, that doesn't mean it's ethical to shoot at game near that distance.

We see animals that have been shot at close range that were never recovered, either walking wounded, or suffering a long time before dying. It is our duty as hunters to kill game as quickly as possible and to recover as many as possible that we shoot at.
 
all my uses of the creedmoor are for the pure joy of shooting. most of the loads available from hornady are using target bullets anyhow. where I live 50 yards would be a long shot.
 
Picher said:
The 6.5 Creed is a great long-range target round. That said, the .243 Win may be better at varmints and the .270 Win takes care of any larger game I choose to get and at ranges up to 400 yards. I don't shoot at game beyond about 350 yards, but may shoot at coyotes farther than that.

To each his/her own, but just because a cartridge can hit a target at 700 yards, when you can shoot sighters and correct, that doesn't mean it's ethical to shoot at game near that distance.

We see animals that have been shot at close range that were never recovered, either walking wounded, or suffering a long time before dying. It is our duty as hunters to kill game as quickly as possible and to recover as many as possible that we shoot at.
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Exchange 25-06 for 243 and 308 for 270...........I'll give an amen anyway.All four are capable in the situations mentioned above.

I too believe in dispatching game as quickly and humane as possible.It is our job as hunters to be good stewards of our hobby.
 
The 6.5 Creed is a great long-range target round. That said, the .243 Win may be better at varmints and the .270 Win takes care of any larger game I choose to get and at ranges up to 400 yards. I don't shoot at game beyond about 350 yards, but may shoot at coyotes farther than that.
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Right. There are certainly better cartridges for any given application, but the 6.5 CM (and .260Rem and even 6.5 Swede for the most part) offer excellent LR target ballistics, plus the capability to kill any game animal in North America (short of the big bears) at any ethical hunting range, all in a compact rifle with a relatively mild recoil and a decent barrel life. A deer or elk hit with a .270 in the vitals won't be any more dead than if they were hit with a 6.5CM.

It isn't magic, it is just a really good sweet spot of bore size, BC, SD, and packaging (which again, the Swedes have known about since 1894) combined with good marketing so hunters and shooters are now aware of it.
 
reynolds357 said:
No. Maybe "as good" out to 600 yards, but past 600 the creedmoor owns the .308.
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If I am shooting paper usually it's checking a scope or just having fun at 300 and under.I hunt......I shoot to 400 yards on occasion,usually that far it's a varmint.I'll not argue what a 308 or Creedmoor can or cannot do at 600 yards and beyond,frankly I don't care.Under those conditions I stand by my statement.
 
If I am shooting paper usually it's checking a scope or just having fun at 300 and under.I hunt......I shoot to 400 yards on occasion,usually that far it's a varmint.I'll not argue what a 308 or Creedmoor can or cannot do at 600 yards and beyond,frankly I don't care.Under those conditions I stand by my statement.
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You can stand by a wrong statement if you choose. Ignorance comes from rejecting knowledge. You asked "Why the love affair?". The cartridge was developed for 600 yard and 1k competition. It is scary accurate and very efficient. It does not recoil as much as the .308 and it outperforms the 08 at distance.
I bought my wife a 6.5 Creed because she wanted something "bigger" than her .243. I still shoot 6.5x284 and 6.5WSSM AI in 1k competition. Sometimes 284 Win. If the wind is super nasty, 338 Lapua.

The 6.5 Creedmoor can do quite a bit the .308Win. can not do.
 
reynolds357 said:
You can stand by a wrong statement if you choose. Ignorance comes from rejecting knowledge. You asked "Why the love affair?". The cartridge was developed for 600 yard and 1k competition. It is scary accurate and very efficient. It does not recoil as much as the .308 and it outperforms the 08 at distance.
I bought my wife a 6.5 Creed because she wanted something "bigger" than her .243. I still shoot 6.5x284 and 6.5WSSM AI in 1k competition. Sometimes 284 Win. If the wind is super nasty, 338 Lapua.

The 6.5 Creedmoor can do quite a bit the .308Win. can not do.
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I don't exactly have me head in the sand.I have acknowledged that the Creedmoor does things at distance I have no interest in.I have also learned that if you want a 6.5 that kicks like an air gun the Creedmoor is for you.I guess I just have to come out and say it.......I have more faith in 30 caliber and 257 caliber bullets in hunting situations.I have owned a 264 Win Mag........just wasn't impressed with the 6.5 slug on game.To each his own.

I hope all that love the CM have the results they hoped for when they jumped in.Like I said above........my buddy and I are still talking bout getting one,probably in an RAR,to put through the paces.He like me is skeptical........we both rely on the 308 for large game.Where we differ is I use my 25-06 for varmints to deer and pigs,he uses his 243 strictly for varminting.
 
Although the 308 numbers are better to 400,with the exception of windage which the CM edges the 308 by .31 inches,the numbers are so close it's really all irrelevant til you look out at energy.

Anybody that wants to plug in different "HUNTING" bullets go ahead.I ran the bc's of several then decided using one brand and class was the most fair.

My final conclusion is that the CM is a better paper puncher at long range and when it comes to hunting,well let the numbers(energy) speak for itself.I think it's quite obvious.
 
My final conclusion is that the CM is a better paper puncher at long range and when it comes to hunting,well let the numbers(energy) speak for itself.I think it's quite obvious.
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And yet, the higher velocities at longer distances the Creedmoor produces are what make it a desirable long range hunting round. Higher velocities are what produce reliable bullet expansion. Hitting them with a heavier bullet at 600 yds accomplishes nothing if that bullet is moving too slowly to expand.

I don't own a Creedmoor, and I may never. But I can't argue that it has some remarkable capabilities at distance; capabilities that other cartridges lack... or, if they have them, have them to lesser degree. My sister and her husband just moved to north west Montana, and I have a standing invitation to come hunt. The 7mm-08 is great... but... that Creedmoor as a lot to offer.
 
I don't exactly have me head in the sand.I have acknowledged that the Creedmoor does things at distance I have no interest in.I have also learned that if you want a 6.5 that kicks like an air gun the Creedmoor is for you.I guess I just have to come out and say it.......I have more faith in 30 caliber and 257 caliber bullets in hunting situations.I have owned a 264 Win Mag........just wasn't impressed with the 6.5 slug on game.To each his own.

I hope all that love the CM have the results they hoped for when they jumped in.Like I said above........my buddy and I are still talking bout getting one,probably in an RAR,to put through the paces.He like me is skeptical........we both rely on the 308 for large game.Where we differ is I use my 25-06 for varmints to deer and pigs,he uses his 243 strictly for varminting.
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I want you to logically explain to me how, with proper bullet selection, a .25 and a .30 are great but a .26 that falls in between is terrible.
Go back and read your first post. You are contradicting yourself.
FYI, the .264 Win. Mag. earned a bad reputation because handloaders used bullets desigNed for the 6.5X55 and drove them 1000 FPS too fast.
 
Get the garlic and wooden stakes out--look at this batch of 6mm creedmoor I just made!;)

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Tallest said:
And yet, the higher velocities at longer distances the Creedmoor produces are what make it a desirable long range hunting round. Higher velocities are what produce reliable bullet expansion. Hitting them with a heavier bullet at 600 yds accomplishes nothing if that bullet is moving too slowly to expand.

I don't own a Creedmoor, and I may never. But I can't argue that it has some remarkable capabilities at distance; capabilities that other cartridges lack... or, if they have them, have them to lesser degree. My sister and her husband just moved to north west Montana, and I have a standing invitation to come hunt. The 7mm-08 is great... but... that Creedmoor as a lot to offer.
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As I've said like 10 times already.........I'm working within 400 yards.I don't shoot at animals beyond 300 usually but if the perfect situation arises or a varmint pops out at 400 yards.....I just might take that shot.
 
reynolds357 said:
I want you to logically explain to me how, with proper bullet selection, a .25 and a .30 are great but a .26 that falls in between is terrible.
Go back and read your first post. You are contradicting yourself.
FYI, the .264 Win. Mag. earned a bad reputation because handloaders used bullets desigNed for the 6.5X55 and drove them 1000 FPS too fast.
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I suppose in my first post I should have stated "400 yards".At that time I really didn't know this was the newest long range sweetheart.

I never said the 26 was terrible.......I said I didn't get its following.I still don't if you're a hunter.......a long range paper puncher yes.And after my latest research those ballistic tables prove that the 308 is a better big game round.Little to no difference to 400 yards between the two rifles........it all comes down to energy.The 308 is hands down the energy King.

Please remember this all just discussion.I learned a lot here.
1.The CM has a huge following that I now understand if you're a long range shooter,I'm not.
2.Many have convinced themselves that because the CM is a great long range shooter that is also magical in the hunting department.The numbers do not lie.........energy,energy,energy goes to the 308.

Like I said above anyone who wants to plug different "HUNTING" bullets be my guest.
 
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As I've said like 10 times already.........I'm working within 400 yards.I don't shoot at animals beyond 300 usually but if the perfect situation arises or a varmint pops out at 400 yards.....I just might take that shot.
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I was basing my statement only on the verbiage in the quoted box. You stated the 6.5 as being best suited to paper punching at "long range." To my mind, long range is 500 yds+.

400 yds and closer, I have no problem with your assertion. Using the 6.5 at 400 and closer is reinventing any number of perfectly good wheels.
 
Whistlebritches said:
2.Many have convinced themselves that because the CM is a great long range shooter that is also magical in the hunting department.The numbers do not lie.........energy,energy,energy goes to the 308.
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So what?

Yeah, the .308 has more energy, but any of the various 6.5CM/.260Rem/6.5X55 still have plenty of energy at any ethical hunting range. Here is a chart from Federal Ammo, comparing two Nosler Accubond factory loads, plus the .30-30 thrown in for a comparison.

energy_chart_308_3030_65cm.jpg


The .30-30 has probably taken more deer than any other cartridge, and it has less energy at 100 yards than the 6.5 CM does at at 400.

The .308 has a whopping 140 Ft Lbs more energy at 400 yards than the 6.5CM, and the .264 bullet has higher sectional density, so will have better penetration. A hit in the vitals with either will be fatal. If you make a bad hit, that extra 140 ft-lbs isn't going to help you.

The 6.5 Swede has been taking moose in Scandinavia for over 100 years, it is plenty for deer at any ethical range, and the 6.5 CM is ~75 FPS faster in the same bullet weight.

Tallest said:
Using the 6.5 at 400 and closer is reinventing any number of perfectly good wheels.
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Well, the 6.5X55 predates the .308 by ~60 years, and the 6.5 CM is essentially the 6.5X55 in slightly better packaging.
 
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