25-06 vs 6.5 creedmore

[85grNBTat3500fps]

I have a ruger #1 special varminter in 25/06 that is lights out on ground hogs in your asking ranges with a nosler 85 grain BT at about 3500 fps. I personally have a one shot kill at about 550 yards with it and played with a ground hog close to 1k with it using JLK 108 VLD bullets windage was good but elevation was where i was missing. closest shot landed on the ground right between its legs while it was standing that SOB jumped about 4 feet in the air and hit the ground at warp speed never to be seen again that morning.

 

[Booney]

As a avid rock chuck hunter I can tell you a 6mm AI is about the best small gun there is whether you want to shoot 87 vmax at 3600 with a coefficient of.4 or a 110 smk at 3200 with a coefficient .617 and it has twice the barrel life of 6-284. I have shot chucks out to a 1000, deer out 800 and a antelope at 500. They are great guns

 

[86alaskan]

I'm going to vote for the 25-06, especially in the longer 26" tube. I've been shooting mine now for a few years and it hasn't failed to perform. If you'd like to start LR, berger makes a VLD 115gr and the accubond is not slouch either. I've had almost every deer shot with that gun fall over shooting 100gr TTSX bullets at high velocity. Don't drink the BC kool-aid you'll be fine with the '06 until you really want to go long, then just step up to a 338.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I'm going to vote for the 25-06, especially in the longer 26" tube. I've been shooting mine now for a few years and it hasn't failed to perform. If you'd like to start LR, berger makes a VLD 115gr and the accubond is not slouch either. I've had almost every deer shot with that gun fall over shooting 100gr TTSX bullets at high velocity. Don't drink the BC kool-aid you'll be fine with the '06 until you really want to go long, then just step up to a 338.

Don't drink the high BC koolaid????? I definitely wouldn't call high bc bullets "koolaid". Just look at the cartridges and calibers people use for long range hunting or competition. The 25-06 or any 25cal is not very high on the list. Take any 25 cal cartridge and neck it up to 6.5 or down to 6mm and it will paste the 25 cal.

 

[86alaskan]

I thought that would get someone..... My meaning was that, just because it's not a 6.5 with a giant BC, doesn't mean it won't shoot just fine to most any practical range. Sure you get better drift and drop out long, but the OP was looking for a mid range varmint splitter, and the 25-06 is jsut that. I'd have no problem running my 2506 hot with the 115 berger and pushing it as far as any creedmoor, and it'll be more challenging and rewarding to become proficient with a lower bc caliber.

 

[tuscan]

6.5 is more versatile, and IMHO easier for most shooters to maintain accuracy as ranges extend. By that, i mean the BCs are better, reducing wind drift. Flatter shooting/faster velocity is less important, as you'll likely dial for elevation with either. The most challenging part of longer range shooting is wind calls/adjustments, so going with the better BC minimizes the range of potential error. That is the one of the most important reasons this round has become so ubiquitous in such a short period of time, and why almost all the PRS shooters use it. In the long run, it will be cheaper to shoot, more versatile, and low felt recoil allows you to shoot it all day long. I've grown to trust it so much I hunt elk with it, so it will be fine for any deer you might consider.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I thought that would get someone..... My meaning was that, just because it's not a 6.5 with a giant BC, doesn't mean it won't shoot just fine to most any practical range. Sure you get better drift and drop out long, but the OP was looking for a mid range varmint splitter, and the 25-06 is jsut that. I'd have no problem running my 2506 hot with the 115 berger and pushing it as far as any creedmoor, and it'll be more challenging and rewarding to become proficient with a lower bc caliber.

Sure it's good for varmints and deer but don't expect it to stay with a 6.5 past 400-500 yards because it wont. Plain and simple. Those big bc bullets allow you to run a smaller round with less powder to get the same or better performance as those bigger ones with a lower bc. Ando technically if your looking for a long range varmint round, your going to want something that drifts as little as possible since they aren't a big target. More room for user error

 

[Jud96]

Of those two, I would do a 6.5 Creedmoor every day of the week. Run the ballistics for yourselves, the Creedmoor uses 10-15gr less powder and still carries more energy and has less wind drift than the .25-06 plain and simple. You have two half decent modern bullet options for the .25cal and that's the 90gr Blitzking and the 115gr VLD. Now remember, unless you are at higher elevations, you won't be able to stabilize or get the .483 G1 BC of the Berger in a factory .25-06 because of the twist. With a 6.5 Creedmoor, it's as simple as buying a Savage or any other factory 6.5 Creedmoor rifle, and having the ability to shoot 95-147s in it.

Heck, my .243 with 87gr V-MAXs at 3430 is right on the heels of a .25-06 out to 500-600yds loaded to 3200 with a 115gr Berger and I am shooting 44.5gr of powder not 55-58 grains! Now if I load mine to full potential with a 105-108gr at 3150-3200, it equals or exceeds the bigger .25-06 cartridge. So, please explain to me where the magical 1/4 bore makes any sense. You can kill groundhogs with anything from .17 HMR on up, but when you can choose a cartridge that has less drift, more energy, and does so more efficiently, why would you pick anything else? That is why the 6.5 Creedmoor gets my vote in this scenario.

 

[86alaskan]

sure, a heavy and moderately slow 6.5 may have a bit of an edge at 1000 over a fast 25, but as the OP mentioned, he likes fast and small. In his terms, I'd much rather run a factory 2506 silvertip 85gr at 3450 than 6.5 creed given those requirements. I'm just sticking to the question at hand, and for what he's after, the 2506 has it. if he wants something else for longer range, then 6.5 may be a better choice.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

sure, a heavy and moderately slow 6.5 may have a bit of an edge at 1000 over a fast 25, but as the OP mentioned, he likes fast and small. In his terms, I'd much rather run a factory 2506 silvertip 85gr at 3450 than 6.5 creed given those requirements. I'm just sticking to the question at hand, and for what he's after, the 2506 has it. if he wants something else for longer range, then 6.5 may be a better choice.

The question at hand was 25-06 vs 6.5 cm. We're just stating the facts. A varmint won't be any deader with a fast 25 than a slower 6.5. The Cm will do what the 06 will do and better with 10-15 grains less and have less recoil. Barrel will also not heat up as fast which if your on a Prarie dog town could come in handy. He already has a small and fast..... the 22-250 which is a good varmint round.

 

[Out Back]

Heck

go to the 257 Weatherby Magnum 26" Barrel

Or the 26 Nosler

 

[Varmtr]

Never fired a 6.5 CM so no advice there but did enjoy shooting a 25-06 AI with a 28" barrel. So how about a 6.5-06 AI.
I have always wondered why Berger and co have not made higher BC designed bullets like they make for the 6 & 6.5mm.

 

[F224]

Considering trying a new rifle. I tend to like small and fast, what I am looking at is a 25-06 or 6.5 creedmore with 26 inch barrel, and what stock, wood or synthetic.

All the the replies have raised valid points. If you're only firing 10-25 shots per day, then I think it does not matter. Once you start to shoot 100 or more daily, my experience has been that I shoot better with less blast and recoil. Although for all practical purposes the two cartridges are essentially ballisticly equal, I would suggest you consider the 6.5 Creedmore as your first choice. Less powder in the case equals less blast, and in the prairie dog towns, after 100 or so shots, the 25/06 might induce flinching sooner the a milder cartridge will, at least that was my experience shooting the 25/06. When I went to the 6.5x55 with 95gr V-max bullets, I noticed a significant improvement in my late in the day shooting with it vs my previous experience with the 100gr Ballistic Tips in my 25/06.

But that was just me, your mileage may vary...

 

[engineer40]

Out of 4 pages of responses I'm surprised there has only been 1 mention of the 243 Win and 1 mention of the 6.5-284. Both of those were my first thoughts for his questions.