I am looking for info from experienced shooters of both calibers. As far as recoil goes is there a noticeable difference between the 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 win? Thinking about a new purchase and I have shot a 308 before but never a 6.5. Trying to get some good info so I can make an informed decision.
6.5 Creedmoor vs 308
- Thread starter ReloadKy
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Recoil on the shooters end is a subjective topic; some folks are just more sensitive than others, however, as far as the physics go the 308 does produce more rearward thrust when launching heavier bullets than a 6.5 Creedmoor. How much more depends on which two loads from each caliber you compare and how weights compare in each of the two rifles.
I shoot both calibers and neither bother me but both my rifles are pretty heavy. I would describe the recoil of my moderately heavy Ruger Hawkeye Predator in 6.5 CM as about on par with shooting a "typical" 243 caliber hunting rifle(say a 6 1/2 to 7 lb. gun).
There seems to be online calculators for everything these days, perhaps you could find one to input your specific values and do a comparative evaluation.
I shoot both calibers and neither bother me but both my rifles are pretty heavy. I would describe the recoil of my moderately heavy Ruger Hawkeye Predator in 6.5 CM as about on par with shooting a "typical" 243 caliber hunting rifle(say a 6 1/2 to 7 lb. gun).
There seems to be online calculators for everything these days, perhaps you could find one to input your specific values and do a comparative evaluation.
Recoil from a 7.5 lb rifle. These are my actual loads calculated with an online recoil calculator.
6.5 Creedmoor/143gr ELD-X @ 2650 fps 12 ft lbs recoil
308/178 gr ELD-X @ 2620 fps 18 ft lbs recoil
I don't own a 243, but typical recoil is around 10-11 ft lbs.
30-06 will be in the 20-22 ft lbs range.
With 150 gr loads a 308 will be around 15 ft lbs recoil, but the 178's are a more fair comparison since the BC's and on game performance are closer.
The difference in there, but it may not be as noticeable as the numbers show. Most people can't tell any difference until they see 4-5 more ft lbs difference. The 308 isn't really considered a hard recoiling rifle and I'm sure a lot of people couldn't tell the difference between a 140 gr 6.5 load and a 150 gr 308 load. Most people don't have much issue with recoil until they get over 20 ft lbs.
At least for a few rounds. If you start shooting 50 or more rounds in one session even small differences in recoil start becoming more noticeable.
I like the 6.5 a lot, but other than recoil there isn't much difference until you get out to about 600-700 yards. After that the 6.5 starts pulling away.
But the 6.5 is enough better that it is the cartridge of the future. The 308 will never go away, but will gradually be surpassed by the 6.5 Creedmoor. Even the military Special Forces are moving that way
http://soldiersystems.net/2018/03/23/ussocom-adopts-6-5-cm/
6.5 Creedmoor/143gr ELD-X @ 2650 fps 12 ft lbs recoil
308/178 gr ELD-X @ 2620 fps 18 ft lbs recoil
I don't own a 243, but typical recoil is around 10-11 ft lbs.
30-06 will be in the 20-22 ft lbs range.
With 150 gr loads a 308 will be around 15 ft lbs recoil, but the 178's are a more fair comparison since the BC's and on game performance are closer.
The difference in there, but it may not be as noticeable as the numbers show. Most people can't tell any difference until they see 4-5 more ft lbs difference. The 308 isn't really considered a hard recoiling rifle and I'm sure a lot of people couldn't tell the difference between a 140 gr 6.5 load and a 150 gr 308 load. Most people don't have much issue with recoil until they get over 20 ft lbs.
At least for a few rounds. If you start shooting 50 or more rounds in one session even small differences in recoil start becoming more noticeable.
I like the 6.5 a lot, but other than recoil there isn't much difference until you get out to about 600-700 yards. After that the 6.5 starts pulling away.
But the 6.5 is enough better that it is the cartridge of the future. The 308 will never go away, but will gradually be surpassed by the 6.5 Creedmoor. Even the military Special Forces are moving that way
http://soldiersystems.net/2018/03/23/ussocom-adopts-6-5-cm/
Mostly shoot 308. I have shot the 6.5 a bit.
Its more like a 223.
Lower push, you can shoot all day without any recoil issues (and trust me, after shoot 30 caliber stuff 308 and bigger for 7 hours it does have an affect)
Both reach out a long ways with advantage out at 1000 and more to the 6.5.
So it really depends on what you are after.
If I was not into 30 caliber stuff, 6.5 would be a choice. I might go with an exotic like 260 Remington or 6.5 Sweed, but 6.5 yes.
Shooting wise they use it in Scandinavia extensively for Moose.
You can take anything up to a moose then, elk as well. Might come up shy on a bit AK moose and not a choice for Brown bears but all else......
Its more like a 223.
Lower push, you can shoot all day without any recoil issues (and trust me, after shoot 30 caliber stuff 308 and bigger for 7 hours it does have an affect)
Both reach out a long ways with advantage out at 1000 and more to the 6.5.
So it really depends on what you are after.
If I was not into 30 caliber stuff, 6.5 would be a choice. I might go with an exotic like 260 Remington or 6.5 Sweed, but 6.5 yes.
Shooting wise they use it in Scandinavia extensively for Moose.
You can take anything up to a moose then, elk as well. Might come up shy on a bit AK moose and not a choice for Brown bears but all else......
I prefer the 6.5 CM over the .308. I've been shooting .308 in ARs and a bolt for many years. It's hard hitting and easy to load. But I find it a beast due to the recoil. Have started shooting 6.5 in the last year and like it. So much so, that I plan to replace on my .308 bolt to 6.5 Creedmoor.
Well I have a .308 and a 6.5 Creedmoor, both Mausers.
I dont know physically that Ive felt a huge difference in Recoil, generally speaking I shoot more 7mag, .270 win., and 6.506, 7×57 mauser, then the Creedmoor or .308, so they are quite a pleasure to shoot.
The Steyr 1912 is heavy enough to absorb some of the recoil, and my Creedmoor is a tad heavier than a commercial Creedmoor rifle package, say like a Savage or Ruger American...
I dont know physically that Ive felt a huge difference in Recoil, generally speaking I shoot more 7mag, .270 win., and 6.506, 7×57 mauser, then the Creedmoor or .308, so they are quite a pleasure to shoot.
The Steyr 1912 is heavy enough to absorb some of the recoil, and my Creedmoor is a tad heavier than a commercial Creedmoor rifle package, say like a Savage or Ruger American...
I have a lot of 308s and a couple 6.5 CMs. I dont find the recoil of the 308 objectionable, but it does recoil a bit more then the 6.5s.
Best compairson is shooting each in the same gun. My wife has a RPR in 6.5 CM, my son has a RPR in 308. The RPR is heavy, there didnt seem to be much recoil shooting son's 308, that is until you shot the wife's 6.5 CM. There is a big difference.
Regardless, you can put a brake on either or both.
Best compairson is shooting each in the same gun. My wife has a RPR in 6.5 CM, my son has a RPR in 308. The RPR is heavy, there didnt seem to be much recoil shooting son's 308, that is until you shot the wife's 6.5 CM. There is a big difference.
Regardless, you can put a brake on either or both.
Recoil difference isn't noticeable enough to me when using "similar" weight bullets to be a driving factor.
You should make the call based on your application .
Do you handload? If not- you're going to pay a lot more for factory 6.5 than some of the .308 that's available, including surplus for "plinking".
Barrel life...how much do you shoot? A lot of variables- but barrel/throat life is significantly less with the 6.5 than the .308, (somewhere around 1/3 to 1/2) a fact which is often ignored.
If all your shooting is inside 500-600 yards, I see only downsides to the 6.5 as there's no significant ballistic advantage that would outweigh the " minuses ". The 6.5 Creedmoor is a great round, but don't buy into the marketing hype that its a " magic bullet" for everyone it's not...
You should make the call based on your application .
Do you handload? If not- you're going to pay a lot more for factory 6.5 than some of the .308 that's available, including surplus for "plinking".
Barrel life...how much do you shoot? A lot of variables- but barrel/throat life is significantly less with the 6.5 than the .308, (somewhere around 1/3 to 1/2) a fact which is often ignored.
If all your shooting is inside 500-600 yards, I see only downsides to the 6.5 as there's no significant ballistic advantage that would outweigh the " minuses ". The 6.5 Creedmoor is a great round, but don't buy into the marketing hype that its a " magic bullet" for everyone it's not...
Hunter Customs
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Before long you can add 6mm credmore to the mix as it seems to be gaining in popularity.
Don Fischer
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What anyone else thinks of recoil makes no difference at all. If you could fine someone with those cartridge rifle's maybe you could get them to let you try them. That's the only way you'll really know. Case's are both about the same size but bullet dia and weight goes up. That usually means more recoil. Good hunting wt bullet in 6.5 is 129/130 class bullet's, I use 140gr bullet's. In 308 I mostly used 165gr bullet's. Depending on how much recoil bother's you felt recoil will be greater in the 308. Go t a 150 gr bullet in the 308 and felt recoil will come down some. Only way to really find out is get someone with those rifle's to let you try them. But for myself, neither has bad recoil and I don't care for recoil!
Good point, not owning one I miss on that.
2500 rounds maybe. If you shoot a lot then you want a Savage that allows a lower cost barrel change than most other brands (lots of pre fits available from a lot of mfgs) - unscrew em, screw on the new one, head space it and off you go.
You can gain longevity if you reload and don't push them to the maximum.
Whistlebritches
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Depends......are you looking for a hunting rifle for medium to large game?If so the 308 is the obvious choice regardless of what the Creedmoor cheerleaders tell you.
Are you punching paper out to 600 yards and beyond?Then the Creedmoor is your friend.
Are you punching paper out to 600 yards and beyond?Then the Creedmoor is your friend.
Whistlebritches said:
Discussed in great detail here.
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=593867
The short version:
There are certainly better cartridges for any specific 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 or .308 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 the Swedes have known about since 1894) combined with good marketing so hunters and shooters are now aware of it.
The esteemed Mr Whistlebritches would have you believe that because the .308 has a whopping ~14% more energy at 100 yards than the 6.5, that it is useless as a hunting round, even though the 6.5 has as much energy at 300 yards as a 30-30 has at 50 (and shoots a little flatter and has a little less wind than the .308)
Love the guy above!
And it should be your mission to Ecaliberize those fools in the Scandinavian countries who have been highly successfully shooting moose with a totally inadequate caliber since 1894!
Cretins, they live in Northern Latitudes and their brains must have frozen over.
I sure the Vikings needed larger swords as well.
And it should be your mission to Ecaliberize those fools in the Scandinavian countries who have been highly successfully shooting moose with a totally inadequate caliber since 1894!
Cretins, they live in Northern Latitudes and their brains must have frozen over.
I sure the Vikings needed larger swords as well.
stagpanther
New member
Ah jeeez...not again!
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