shotgunner
Ten Pointer
Any of you done much hunting with this round? Thinking of getting one. Research shows ballistics as good as .308 with less recoil. Just wondering if any of my fellow NC hunters had much field experience with it.
I keep hearing about it. Was at gun show on Sunday and there was a guy looking at a Ruger precision and wanted it in 6.5 rather than 308. I googled it and what I found was that Hornady came out with it to be used in short action target rifles, especially the AR-10. Apparently it's a "perfect blend" and is perfect in every way (except for price of ammo as stated above).
http://www.range365.com/65-creedmoor-long-range-king#page-5
I'd say this falls into the law of diminishing returns meaning the improvements you get are not substantial in comparison to the amount of money you'll have to pay extra for it over the standard 308 round. In my opinion, I'd say you dont "need" a 6.5 Creedmoor for hunting. You may "want" one because its trending or if you do a lot of long distance target shooting and you want that added ballistic coefficient that you cant get with a 308 but as far as hunting goes, the two rounds and even the 30-06 are all pretty similar out to about 600 yrds which is farther than I and most other would shoot at an animal anyway. I'm attaching an image i put together for a conversation on a different forum reference the difference between the 6.5 and the 30-06. The 308 falls roughly in the middle. As you can see, the bullet drop on the two rounds is only 2.5" difference at 600yrds. I know this ballistic chart is accurate because I take my 30-06 to a long distance range out in Autryville and can hit 600yrd targets all day long.
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Can't do much better than the 25-06. I've killed them from 20 to 395yds.Thanks for the responses. I have looked at a lot of the stuff you guys are commenting on. I will be reloading so cost really not that big an issue. I guess what I was wanting to know is what kind of performance are shooters of the 6.5 seeing on game. Specifically white tails. I have studied the ballistics in depth. My thinking has been if it is as good or closely comparable with the other rounds mentioned and produces less recoil why not give it a try. I have done 90% of my hunting with a 25.06 and was just looking for a little something different.
the 6.5 was a solution looking for a problem for the average guy. The ballistics are not THAT much better then the lowly 308..........its a good round, but it doesn't do anything that the 308 wont do. As for recoil, almost all the 308s I have dealt with were mild mannered and didnt have much recoil at all.......of coures there are exceptions to that........the ruger ultra light in 308 i had was a bear to shoot with 165s. the combination of the stock design and lightweight were killers for that gun.
Backcreek, check whitakers guns and see what they have available in 6.5. they may have some Howas in stock that are damn good rifles.
IF I were to build a strictly bench gun, it would be a 243 AI with a long throat and rock on....best of all worlds ballisticaly and recoil wise.
^ This is absolutely correct inside 500 yards, which is where 95% of most hunters and shooters play. Drop and wind drift are very similar between the 2 rounds and even though the .308 typically shoots heavier bullets at decent speed the 6.5 projectiles are more ballistically efficient and maintain velocity via high BC versus weight. Once you surpass 500 yards the 6.5 really shines in terms of drop, wind drift and accuracy as the round stays supersonic much farther than the 308. One downfall to the 6.5 is a slightly shorter barrel life...but with an average of 3,000-5,000 rounds it still exceeds the count most shooters will ever experience.
As for ultra light rifles the trick is to have a stock with proper geometry that pushes straight back into the shoulder versus up into the face. My .308 Kimber Montana (5#2oz sans scope & rings) is a very soft shooter with 168gr projectiles as straight stock eliminates most all of the upward force into the cheek.
I will agree on the Montanas being soft shooters in lightweight rifle to a point. They are great for all standard calibers but even they get snappy and nasty in the magnums.
Honestly even at 1k the 308 is not inferior to the 6.5 in the hands of a skilled shooter. Knowing drop and wind drift and good reliable optics make the difference at the 1k line more then the choice of cartridges do. Saying that, like I said if I was going to build a gun for long range shooting and limit myself to a short action, I would go with a 243 AI and have the throat cut long and sling 105 grn 6 mm bullets out there and be happy. The 243AI in that configuration has the edge over even the 6.5.
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