6.5 Creedmoor

My guess? Yes.

It has a major ammo company for support, and a major rifle company, Savage, offering it as an option.

Of course that isn't a recipe for success. But considering that it is Hornady and Savage, instead of a single company (like the 6mm Rem or 264 Win) we see a broader industry acceptance.

And the broader the acceptance, the better the chance it will last. I think it will remain a niche cartridge though, similar to the 6.5x284, but I think it will stick around.

Jimro
 
I believe Ruger also offers the M77 in 6.5 creedmore. But given the choice between it and the .260 rem, I'd take the .260 every time. Trouble with that is fewer companies are chambering their rifles for .260 rem nowadays. My ranking of 6.5 cartridges is: (this is entirely opinion)

1. 260 rem
2. 6.5x55 swede
3. 264 win mag
4. 6.5 creedmore
5. 6.5x284
6. 264 Weatherby Mag (wildcat) a.k.a. 6.5-.257 wby.
So will the creedmore last? Probably, but I doubt it will ever be any bigger than it is right now
 
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Since the 260 is not burning up the sales charts, my guess is 'not really'. The people I've talked to that use the 260 love it but its ballistics are not stellar... but its performance seems to be. How the Creedmore is better than the 260 still alludes me though.
 
The Creedmoore is better than the 260 because it is easier to develop and market a "new" cartridge than try to attempt to revive a dead one. The 260 never caught on. The .264 bullet is arguably the best mid bore bullet available for long range work. The Creedmoore will be a big success.
 
264 Weatherby?

Did I miss one ? I own reload for and shoot 6.5x284, 300WBY, and 340WBY, but have never heard of the 264WBY.

As for the OP I don't think 6.5 Creedmoor will doom the 260 or just die. As long as reloaders own it, it will live.
 
.264 Weatherby mag is a .257 weatherby mag case necked up to 6.5mm. Its a wildcat. also known as 6.5-.257 Weatherby. I just edited my post to make note of that. Ill admit that was kinda stupid to throw it in with all those commercialized cartridges. Ive never seen one in person but have read about them. Seems like a good idea to me but i guess Weatherby doesnt feel the same. I like alot of the Weatherby calibers but cant afford to shoot them. Here's a link to pac-nor barrels wildcat chamberings. They offer the 6.5-257 wby. in addition to another 6.5mm wildcat worth mentioning, the 6.5-06 ackley. There are alot of 6.5 wildcats floating around out there that deserve commercializing over the creedmore IMO

http://www.pac-nor.com/wildcat/
 
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Yes it will last regardless of commercial sales reloaders like it. 6.5s have really taken off in competition .260, 6.5CM, 6.5x47L, and 6.5-.284 are all very popular among competitive long range shooting. With hornady behind it i don't see it going away for some time, even then it will carry because of reloaders, much like the .260 has. Though the .260 is making somewhat of a comeback due to competition.
 
The Creedmoor will always be around, will it be a top 10 caliber choice, no. With Nosler getting in the game with the production of ammunition and brass, it can only move up. Browning, DPMS, Thompson Center, Savage, and Ruger all carry rifles chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, which is a positive. In the end Hornady developed this round for a niche market (Target Shooting), and knew that it wouldn't be a high demand cartridge. I think that they are somewhat surprised how it seems to be taking off as a hunting round, hence the introduction of Superformance Hunting cartridges circa 2010.

The cartridge itself was designed off the .30 T/C, which is a shortened .308. It has a 30 degree shoulder, and the body has less of a taper compared to .260 or .308. The shortened length of the case is what makes this cartridge excel when it comes to the longer 140+ grain bullets. The shortened case allows these longer bullets to be seated with less intrusion into the case compared to the .260. When you subtract bullet intrusion from the .260's case capacity with these longer bullets, the .260 has a minimal 0.7 grain advantage. When you combine the 30 degree shoulder (20 degree shoulder in .260), reduced body taper, and shorter case length you get a more efficient cartridge that burns less powder and gets the same numbers as the .260. If you reload, that means more bang for your buck. If you don't, the Creedmoor Hornady ammo is less costly compared to the .260.
 
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I have a 260, but bought it because it was a bargain and not because it was that caliber. I've come to really appreciate the caliber and I'm a reloader. One thing the 260 has in its favor is the basic cartridge case. As long as there are 243, 308, 7-08 cases around, I'll be able to get brass. There's hardly anything more common than 308 based cases. So if I didn't have a 260 and was looking for a 6.5mm cartridge, I'd probably rank the cartridges in degree of desirability like this:

260
6.5x55
6.5 Creedmore

And if I needed more horsepower than those offer, and I couldn't get it with the 260 AI, I'd probably go for the 6.5-284, the 6.5-06, and then for the belted mag. I'd still worry a small bit about the avails of the 284 case. Winchester still makes it, but hardly anyone still shoots that round, so the 284 case is most in demand for wildcats off that case. That doesn't lend itself to longevity like a 308 based case does.
 
Not only will the 6.5 Creedmoor last, it is increasing in popularity. Its moving from a Competition Round to the hunting crowds and doing quite well.

It'll be around longer then most of us.
 
You can buy rifles from AI, ArmaLite, Savage, Ruger in 6.5C. It is getting more popular everyday. My next rifle well be a AR10 in 6.5C. It's not going anyplace but up n sales.
 
I think so, but ya never know.
The .260 (it's identical twin) nearly died off, but has regained popularity with the long range crowd.

Hornady's match-grade ammo is affordable for those that don't reload, and I think that's the key- support from the non-reloading shooting public. Without it, it's really no different than the .260 or 7-08 and others, just another color jellybean.
 
It would really help if other companies besides Hornady could offer ammo and brass for it. Not knocking Hornady, I just like more choices
 
Well I just bought a Ruger M77 Mark ll VT in 6.5 Creedmoor. Should have it up and running by this spring. Looking forward to seeing how accurate this cartridge is.
 
I really like the 260 (6.5x308) and usually they end up with a female member of my family (extended family). My personal 6.5 is a 6.5-06. As for the CM, who knows. Peoples taste change all the time. 5 years from now it may be like the 308 or could go the way of the 257 Roberts.
 
6.5 Creedmore

"I think so, but ya never know.
The .260 (it's identical twin) nearly died off, but has regained popularity with the long range crowd."

Although ballistic "near twins", the 6.5 Creedmore is NOT an identical twin to the .260 Rem.

The Creedmore appears to be based on an improved .250 Savage case.

The .260 Rem is based on the .308 Win family of cases.

An identical twin to the .260 Rem is the 6.5-08 A-Square.

Identical or near identical twins to the .260 Rem would be the .263 (or .260) Panther (.243 case), the .263 Express (also using the .243 Win case) or various 6.5-.308 Wildcats.

T.
 
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