6.5 creedmore

I like the last post. I will add one more tid bit. The 6.5cm and 6.5x55 both are generally fast twist guns and better suited to longer and higher BC bullets. The 6.5 sweed comes factory with 160 grain loads. That is another story. Fast twist / hvy bullets can translate to either larger game or longer distance.

I guess Kachok cover that very well. The guns matter as much as the ammo and the 6.5 guns are different. Except the 260, which is old school USA mentality medium twist.
 
The 6.5 sweed comes factory with 160 grain loads. That is another story. Fast twist / hvy bullets can translate to either larger game or longer distance.
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Yeah, but keep in mind the important word there is "either". The 160gr bullets are all round nose and while good for larger game because of the higher SD, are pretty crappy from a ballistic standpoint, with BCs in the .2s Hornady 160 RN is .28, most of the ~140 grain hunting bullets are closer to .5, with match bullets over .6.

The ~140 gr Hunting bullets are still pretty good on game, and decent in the wind.

If someone is wanting a single rifle to do damn near everything, the 6.5 CM is a pretty good choice. If you already own a .243 and a 7mm-08, it won't really do anything what you have will not do from a "hunting rifle" standpoint, but will do a better job as a LR target rifle. That is changing though, to some extent, as more good 7mm match bullets are now available.
 
Emcon the issue with the ultra low drag bullets in the 7mm-08 is that you simply run out of case before you get them to acceptable speeds. Trust me I tried, I know what the reloading manuals say but I was struggling to get 2,500fps with 160s even with compressed loads. Went to 140gr and hit 2,900+ no problem. While I honestly believe that the 7mm-08 is a better compromise for normal hunting ranges at longer ranges the 6.5mm can make significantly better use of a a 40-50gr case capacity. Just my experience with my rifles, someone else may have a different take on it.
 
6.5 Creedmoor Build

I have bought into the Creedmoor craze with a Turk Mauser action, a Douglas barrel and a sweet Mark X trigger.
It currently awaits a Manners T3 stock, and will be my deer/coyote rifle.
I have plenty of different weight .264 cal bullets at the ready, but one that really interest me is the 100 grain Partition, seems like a lazer beam load can and will be developed for my rifle.
Also I have a new, unopened box of 143 ELDX bullets from Hornady that I will pair with IMR 4451, (swiftly becoming my favorite powder) for larger critters.
 
I have bought into the Creedmoor craze with a Turk Mauser action, a Douglas barrel and a sweet Mark X trigger.
It currently awaits a Manners T3 stock, and will be my deer/coyote rifle.
I have plenty of different weight .264 cal bullets at the ready, but one that really interest me is the 100 grain Partition, seems like a lazer beam load can and will be developed for my rifle.
Also I have a new, unopened box of 143 ELDX bullets from Hornady that I will pair with IMR 4451, (swiftly becoming my favorite powder) for larger critters.
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Thanks for coming!
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You won't be disappointed. :D
I've found in my rifle with 20" barrel the over-all sweet-spot to be 130 gr bullets--with berger VLDs and swift siroccos providing great consistent accuracy. I don't know about your action--but I use a wilson case gauge and keep an eye on the shoulder--more often than not I need to knock it back a bit after each firing through an AR10 type action.

I also have a box of unused 140 ELD match with the star trek tips, haven't tried them yet:)
 
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I went for the Creedmore's Ballistic twin, the 260. I had a Tikka made up, with a 20 inch #4 contour barrel. Love the gun and caliber, and use it on coyotes, hogs, and deer. I started off with the 120 gr Nosler BT and then to the 100 gr version. I keep saying I'll go back to the 120 gr bullet, but I can't fault the 100 grainer, so I keep on using it. I consider the caliber to be my "270 Lite". It's a great caliber, but no way it has the thump of a 270 (which I used for 30 years), but I don't need the 270, so it sits in the safe.

I keep saying I'll use the Sako 270, but my hand reaches for the 260.
 
The Creedmore comes close to the 6.5x55 .It was a shame that the American companies used the .308 head dimensions for the case . They took a noted accurate case and screwed it up. So...What companies load the cartridge to the proper 6.5x55SE dimensions ?? I was sorry to see that Norma doesn't load the 140 gr in America .That's the load I want. ..Thanks ,
 
Prvi loads 6.5x55 to their proper size. I use their brass all the time, their factory 139gr SP are like most and are low pressure but I have tried them on game before and they perform really well considering their modest energy and speed. I used to get loaded ammo for $13 a box so I bought a bunch of it for the brass but I was plesently surprised at it's accuracy and performance on game.
603Country I call my 6.5x55 a "270 lite" 10gr less bullet and half the recoil everything else is the same, no deer or hog has ever been able to tell the difference. IMHO the mid sized 6.5mms are the best all around deer cartridges ever invented.
 
Kachok, I used to read articles saying that the 257 Roberts was the best deer cartridge ever. I never really went for that logic, but I'm believing it now. The 260 and the 6.5 are pretty much identical with the 257 Roberts AI. Low recoil, great accuracy, etc.

If I was a long distance shooter, I'd go for the Creedmore. For hunting, however, there's really no difference between the Creedmore, 260, and the 257 Roberts AI (up to 120 grains).
 
But when you get to 6.5 you get a better BC and SD !

If the ammo is made to CIP specs it will be to the original 6.5x55 dimensions !! RWS, Fiocchi, Lapua, PRVI, S & B, Then I looked for 140 gr loads ,then for someone stocking it .We got some S & B .! :)
 
I would agree that the 257 Roberts (+P or AI) is a superb deer cartridge, the 6.5 CM 260 and 6.5x55 offer similar levels of power with significantly better BC and longer effective range. A 117gr .257 SST has a BC of .390 while the equally speedy 123gr SST in 6.5mm has a BC of .510 a considerable increase, and if you step up to a 140gr class that BC can go upwards of .700+ a HUGE increase in aerodynamic efficiency over anything you can shoot out of a 25 cal.
 
Can't argue that the BC of 6.5 bullets are higher than that of 25 caliber bullets, but inside 300 yards (normal max deer hunting range) it won't matter enough to care about. What you get from those 3 calibers, with a 120 gr bullet, is a MV of around 3000 fps or slightly less.
 
Oh I can exceed 3,000fps with any of them, 3,100 is about the real maximum for the 6.5x55 and 260 with 120s, the 6.5 CM has a little less case and will probably max around 3,050fps. So call it a slight 50-100fps advantage over the 257 AI with 120gr bullets, as I said the real advantage comes into play 200-300 yards downrange.
 
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In practice it is just a hair under the 260 according to my reloading resources. Of course it does have other advantages, namely the sharper shoulder and longer neck. The old 6.5x55 in a modern action has a performance advantage over both and has both sharp shoulder and long neck, but requires a long action. But then again the 260 brass can be easily formed from any 308 based case, so there is no looser there, I want one of each and a 6.5-06.
 
Kachok, at 200 to 300 yards any BC advantage or disadvantage between a 120 gr 25 caliber bullet and a 120 gr 26 caliber bullet (at 3000 fps) is essentially insignificant as it applies to trajectory and wind drift. The bench rest guys might care, but we hunters won't.
 
Insignificant depends on your acceptable margin of error, at 300yd with SSTs in a 20mph crosswind the 257 AI drifts 15.2" and is still hitting with about 1,330 ft/lbs whereas the 6.5CM drifts only 10.8" and is still hitting with about 1720 ft/lbs. Given that they both start out with similar energy and recoil I would give the 6.5 a noticeable edge, of course if you are hunting in the dense woods you are unlikely to be shooting 300 yards or through a 20mph crosswind, but for anyone who occasionally hunts open pasture or field the CM is a notably better choice. That is not to say the 257 is a marginal cartridge, if that was all I had to hunt with I would do so with confidence. Just my take on things.
 
BC of the 6.5s is pretty good, but no better than many other caliber bullets. Last month, I picked up some 7mm 150 gr Nosler Accubonds with a BC of .611. There are a lot of bullets with BCs that are at least as good as any 6.5 bullets, but they are heavier so there will be more recoil associated with using them. The 6.5mm isn't magical.

An old shooting partner of mine bought in to the 6.5 hullabaloo with a 264 Win Mag back in the 1970s. It shot well, shot really flat, and became his favorite rifle. When he shot the throat out of it, he rebarreled it to 264 Win Mag again.

About 30 years ago, I bought in to the 6.5 craze with a 6.5-06,. It was accurate, shot flat, but it never really clicked with me, so I traded it off and went back to my 7x57.

A friend of mine is building a 6.5 Creedmore. Looking at the paper ballistics, it sounds neat. Another friend is looking at a 6.5 Grendel. Again, on paper it looks good. I would not sell a rifle in any other clambering just to buy a 6.5, but if you are going to buy a new rifle anyway, it would be a good choice for the recoil-sensitive crowd.
 
The 6.5mm isn't magical.
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Right, but it is kind of a sweet spot. Like I said, if someone wanted, or could only afford, one rifle to do everything, the .264 bores are a pretty good option. The Creedmore doesn't really give anything up over the 6.5 Swede or .260. but can shoot the long, heavy-for-caliber bullets in a short action, which the others cannot (at all for the Swede, or well for the .260). You can use it for hunting anything from ground squirrels to elk, and with the good match bullets available, you can use it for LR target shooting.

There are certainly others that can do the same thing, but generally (like you mentioned) with more recoil. Hell, I did with a .308 when I was young and broke.
 
The 6.5mm bullets range all the way up to .829BC making it the best in the small caliber world. Here are a few comparisons from Nosler for reference.

Partition
6mm 100gr .384
.257 cal 120gr .391
6.5mm 140gr .490
270 cal 150gr .465
7mm 160gr .475
30 cal 180gr .474

Accubond LR
6.5mm 142gr .719
270 cal 150gr .625
7mm 168gr .652
30 cal 190gr .640

Ballistic Tip
6mm 95gr .379
257 cal 115gr .453
6.5mm 140gr .509
270 cal 150gr .496
7mm 150gr .493
30 cal 180gr .507

So yes the 6.5mms do have an unusually high BC especially for a small caliber, 6mms and 25 cals don't even really come close, you have to step up to ultra low drag 175gr 7mm to match the BC of the 140gr 6.5mm. Granted there is nothing "magic" about it but with that very tight twist and long tapered bullets makes a very efficient and highly accurate package. 6.5mm is my preferred caliber for deer class game, while I have used larger calibers, WSMs and belted magnums nothing drops them any faster then a 6.5 IMHO, so you combine class leading external ballistics, near ideal terminal ballistics, with very mild recoil and you start to see the appeal of cartridges like the 6.5 CM.
 
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