6.5 Creedmoor vs. 7mm-08

I trim .243 win brass down to 1.910 and then run through my Creedmoor full length die, and Bobs your uncle, Creedmoor brass....cannot tell any significant difference so far...
 
Ridiculous

Buy both if you can't decide after a couple of years sell the one you don't use looks to me like either one would serve your needs well
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Creedmore does sound cooler. I'm going to start calling mine the 7 oh 8 Hawkeye. Then it'll be cooler. Just because I shoot 150grn bullets in mine.
 
I have 2 7-08's, had 3 but traded 1 for another 223. I have shot a few deer with my model 7 and with my Ruger Hawkeye. I dont have a 6.5 but before I got my x bolt 08 I was going to get a 6.5 and posted my thoughts here on TFL. What I got most was unless I was going to long range target shoot I was better off with the 08 which I already load for. My new x bolt is a real shooter, 1/2" groups at 100 yds, today I was even shooting at and hitting a golf ball at 100 yds consistently. Unfortunately I am limited to 100yds at my range.
 
I am not a target shooter, and I like the 7-08, but no deer on the planet will ever know the difference between the 7-08 and the 6.5 CM. All else being equal neither will a target most likely, both are fully capable of the jobs, along with some other calibers.
 
The 6.5 Creedmore is based upon the .308 Ruger case.

My wife hunts with her custom Browning in 6.5mm Swede. My sister-in-law hunts with a 7mm-08. Both rifles are short and handy plus quite accurate. They kill animals quite well indeed. I suggest buy the rifle for the cartridge in which ammo is most readily available within your area.

Jack
 
Marketing.
Remington introduced the .260 twenty years ago and promptly let it languish. It's only become popular again due to the growth of the LR shooting sports.

In contrast, when Hornady rolled out the 6.5 Creedmoor ten years ago it was with a huge marketing campaign and relatively affordable, match-grade factory ammo.

6.5 or 7mm.? Depends on conditions for me (own both). Windy days I prefer heavy, 7mm., 162 grain VLDs in my 7-08. It always comes down to a choice of lighter/faster and heavier/higher BC.
 
Only difference between the 6.5 CM or 260 Rem and 7mm-08 is the heavier bullet's each has avaliable. You can get 160s in 6.5 but I think theyare all round nosed. You can get 175gr spitzer's in 7mm-08. Take a 140gr bullet in each and the 7mm-08 should drive it a bit faster but not enough to make any great difference!

I am a fan of both but lean toward the 6.5.
 
If I were to buy a rifle in which I could choose one of the two shells named , I would take the 7-08 because I live in Wyoming where my common game is elk and deer are in 2nd place for me. Not that the 6.5 lacks anything there, but I can use 160 and 175 Grain 7MM Bullets that I used years ago in my old 7X57 Mauser at the same speeds from the 7-08, and I know how well they work. There is nothing new to learn for me with this combination.

I hope to learn about the effects of the 160 gr RN Hornady 6.5MM bullet this season, as I am going to hunt with my 6.5X54 Mannlicher, but it will be my 1st elk kill with a 26 caliber rifle if I am successful. If that bullet, leaving at 2250 FPS is good enough I bet it's good enough leaving at 2400 or 2500 too from the Creedmore (or the 260 Rem)

But the only 160 grain bullet I know of that's available today in 6.5MM is the Hornady. Sierra quit making them, and Hornady don't make a lot of them. So 160s in 6,5MM are rare.

160 and 175 Gr 7MM are common and very good on elk.

Now if some reason I were a Wyoming hunter and didn't want to hunt elk I would choose the 260 Rem or maybe the CM, because both would be super good for antelope, another animal we have in abundance.

But to be 100% honest, I would only buy such a rifle because I liked the rifle, not because of it's cartridge. I own a few 270 Winchesters now and the 260, the CM and the 7-08 all fall short of the 270s Not enough to worry about, but buying a CM as an antelope rifle when I own five 270s doesn't make a good argument.
Buying a rifle because I like it,,,now that's a good argument.

Kragwy said something I really like
Slaves get what they need.
Free men get what they want"

I could not agree more!
 
I use Hornady 160 grain because as you said, it is the only game in town. Even the foreign heavy 6.5's are always out of stock. I use the Hornady in a 6.5 Arisaka I re-cut to 6.5x55. It is an early barrel and 160 grain is all it will handle. I used to load up with Sierra semi point 160's and I think they were better (In my gun anyway). They seemed to hold together better if you hit bone. It is the American way of doing business. If the consumer won't buy our new junk, we just cut off the parts for the old model.
 
I have one 7-08 and several 6.5 CM's. Right now no one markets a 7-08 in a LR configuration. Remington had a LR model years ago in a 26 inch barrel but dropped it. I've been thinking of doing something silly and having one built just for fun. 7mm bullets are very good when it comes to BC's. A 7mm-08 in a heavy barrel would be fun in a match up with the Creed. :D
 
I still shoot the 308 Win and occasionally the 223, have not seen much of a need to change over. However I am a terrible wind reader and pretty much avoid 1000 yard matches, I will shoot 600 yard matches.

My F Class buds, the ones shooting unlimited, I am seeing a migration to 7mm. Not 7mm-08 but weird and strange straight walled 7mm wildcat cartridges that are fat as heck and push a 7mm bullet close to 3000 fps. Currently, someone makes a 7mm match bullet that has a super ballistic coefficient. So, those who used to be shooting those old hat 6.5 mm rounds that used to have a super ballistic coefficient bullet, now they are all chasing the 7mm.

Its like soup du jour. I don't know how many bullet fads I have lived through, hopefully, I can live through an equal number in the future. It takes time for these things to wash out and in the mean time, bullet manufacturers make a lot of money every time they publish optimistic bullet coefficients for their latest and greatest bullet.

As a cartridge, I have heard good things about the 6.5 Creedmore. Barrel life is acceptable, around 1200 rounds. All depends on how much powder you put behind the bullet. The 7mm-08 is also an outstanding cartridge, Mitch Maxberry won the National Matches with that cartridge, and then some 6.5 mm bullet came out with a super ballistic coefficient and all the "smart" people changed their barrels and started firing 6.5 mm's.

Of course, from what I have learned on the internet, animals can tell the 0.020" difference between a 7mm bullet and a 6.5. The most informed individuals have said that a 6.5 bullet will bounce off a deer's hide, but the 7mm will penetrate. It must be true or there would be no reason to own a 7mm.
 
If paper only at long range, the 6.5 may do you better. 7-08 is probably... No is... More versatile (bullet weights) for hunting. If you do a mix of the two??? Pick your poison. 7-08 can be a thousand yard round though, so how much further do you wanna shot? 6.5 may shoot slightly flatter, but heavy projectiles in 7-08 will likely deal with wind better. My choice would be 7-08 for the heavier projectile lineup and ability to get super cheap brass by resizing 308, but I reload and that's just me.
 
As a cartridge, I have heard good things about the 6.5 Creedmore. Barrel life is acceptable, around 1200 rounds.
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Where did you hear this? Must be laser gun comp guys--who I'm surprised don't toss a barrel after each shot. lol
 
stagpanther said:
As a cartridge, I have heard good things about the 6.5 Creedmore. Barrel life is acceptable, around 1200 rounds.
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Where did you hear this? Must be laser gun comp guys--who I'm surprised don't toss a barrel after each shot. lol
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I assume the 1,200 rounds refers to barrel life with optimal accuracy, i.e. the accuracy needed for benchrest and/or F-class competition.

Still, 1,200 for the Creedmoor seems overly pessimistic. The match-grade barrel life for the .243Win and .260Rem is guestimated to be around 1,500 and 2,000 rounds, respectively. The 6.5CM and .260Rem are essentially identical, so I'd put the 6.5CM's 1,200 closer to 2,000.
 
Any more I think the main difference between cartridge's from 6.5 to standard 30 cal rifles ie the bullet's available and recoil.
 
My F Class buds, the ones shooting unlimited, I am seeing a migration to 7mm. Not 7mm-08 but weird and strange straight walled 7mm wildcat cartridges that are fat as heck and push a 7mm bullet close to 3000 fps.
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7mm Shooting Times Western. Unlike others like the Dakota, Mashburn, Practical (you name 'em) factory brass is available.

140 grains near to 3500 fps :eek::eek:
Absolute terminal performance possible with a 7mm bore, designed as a LR hunting round because it's an insane throat-burner with barrel life of 600-1000 rounds.

I once thought about doing a long bull barrel in it...Just keep setting back and re-chambering ;)

Not widely used in 1000 yard target comps because of the barrel life, but it sure can get the job done. I believe the 7 mag chamber can be easily reamed out to the STW.
 
The match-grade barrel life for the .243Win is guestimated to be around 1,500 and 2,000 rounds, respectively.
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From guys who shot the 243 Winchester, 800 rounds was the expected lifetime. If all you are shooting is mid range or long range, don't expect to make 1500 rounds in any 6.5 mm. Better have your replacement barrel on hand well before you hit 1000 rounds.
 
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