6.5 Creedmoor and others...

[jeffersonv]

I am not condeming the cartrige in the least, you asked questions about potetintal advantage the 260 would have over the Creedmore.


"If there is something I am missing about the .260 having a performance advantage over the Creedmoor, please clue me in!!!"

Exactly your words from a previous post. I replied that the .260 has the ability to use slower powders that can take advantage of a longer barrel. Well now the factory ammo from Hornady is loaded with H-4350!!!!! and I and many others have been able to match or come very close to the Creedmore numbers with shorter barrels that advertised by Hornady in their ad's with H-4350 also with H-4831. I did not praise or condem the Creedmore! I only gave my experience with the 260 cartridge and I have shot it a lot and have taken a lot of game with it. I am not going to go on about what I think anymore about comparing the two cartridges as from reading your last post it is a waste of my time. I provided information from experience with one cartridge to the orignal poster of this tread, and as of right now any thing else is mute null and void. I have Deer to skin and If I could figure out how to post a picture I would.

Guy M if you decide to go with the 260 Rem and would like any load info please drop me a pm and I will be more than happy to send you all the data I have from 100 grain bullets up to 140 grain bullets.

Hey Hyper,

I don't have a problem with you. I'm sorry it might appear we have our differences. I bet we would agree a lot more than we would disagree, and I have studied and appreciated your input on the .260, and it has made me a greater fan.

Anyway, yes I believe you can hand load a very similar cartridge (.260) to higher velocity than a factory loading in the Creedmoor. I don't think anyone on this forum would be surprised at that.
Do you suppose a Creedmoor can be hand loaded to similar velocities to a hand loaded .260? I do.

To quote someone who I believe is fairly competent, and has had experience with both cartridges, and speaking of the Creedmoor,

"My best guess is that it would match or slightly exceed .260 Remington, but the variance would be within what we see barrel to barrel. "

This from Zak Smith who also has this to say about the .260,

"My .260 was finished just a few weeks before the 2006 Blue Steel Ranch Steel Safari, where I won both the overall and the "standard/unlimited" rifle class shooting at small steel targets spread out in the terrain from about 50 to 1000 yards. I returned shooting the same rifle in 2007, again winning "standard/unlimited." The 260 gives a palpable advantage over .308. "

Not bad eh?

Oh, congrats on the deer!

 

[jackG]

I'm sick of being hammered by the magnums. The guys I hunt with keep ramping up, the latest addition is one guy's new 338-378 to be used for open country deer and pronghorn. The rationale is, he can really reach out there with that thing.

For years I had been told that the 6.5X55SE was one of the finest hunting cartridges in existence. One glance at its ballistics, seeing the muzzle launch speed, and I tossed it aside. It wasn't until recently that I really looked at the 6.5s, that would be the .260, the 6.5X55 and Creedmoor. In fact it was seeing Van Zwoll, on line, using a Gray Bull rifle in 6.5 CM whack a bull elk at 603 yards. He was using a Hornady 129 gr superformance load. The elk trotted around in a circle for about 10 second and flopped. The Gray Bull rep said the bullet when through and through.

I immediately went to the ballistic calculator and started stuffing in numbers. I've been shooting a 270 WSM, very light weight, which recoils annoyingly. I deliberately rejected a brake. For all the 270s thunder and lightening, the little 6.5 passes it down range. Since recoil has been my biggest complaint, black and blue shoulders have gotten yelled at when I return home, the lighter recoil and the performance have gotten my attention. I'm shopping for a 260 or CM. I looked a T/C Icon, but that's like finding a 500 year old Spanish ship wreck. Sako (Beretta) imports no 260s or 6.5s according to their reps. Ruger triggers scare me off. So the field of sources is narrowing.

However, one way or another I'm going get one. And it will be for hunting, shooting factory ammunition. I hunt eastern MT, at significant ranges, taking WTs and Mulies - Several per year. I need to get my hands on one and have it scoped and sighted in time for next autumn's festivities. I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[diriel]

I would look first at the Savage offerings, then look at the Howa offerings. Howa offers the 6.5x55 in a long action with an 8 twist, so the setup is solid. Savage offers 6.5x284, 6.5CM, and 260... lots of choices

By the way...the NEW Ruger triggers are not all that bad really.

Gary

 

[chas3stix]

If you want to get a good idea just what the 6.5CM can do, may I suggest visiting the 6.5Creedmoor Forum.(The 6.5 Creedmoor Forum - Portal) I have a Savage Model 10 Max 1 in 6.5CM in the safe waiting for me to break it in and see just what it can do. Will have to wait on that though....just had shoulder surgery and wouldn't you know it, it's my shooting shoulder...

 

[Dalebow]

jackG
I solved the problem I went with a Cooper Excalibur, 26" stainless fluted barrel,bedded in a B & C tan camo stock. I was like you looking for a 260 or 6.5, could not find an Icon and the last ruger I owned was given away, hate their blockiness and trigger, the cooper is the best of both worlds and now that Hornady has come out with a 129 gr Interbond round I will be using the creedmoor on Elk, Mule deer, black bear, and antelope this year.
Dgun)

 

[jackG]

That appears to be a good option. I contacted Cabela's in Lacy WA to see if they could order an Icon. The rep explained that the T/C production facilities, lock stock and barrel, were hauled from NH to Mass during 2011. I can't imagine very many rifles being cranked out along the highway. The scarcity is explicable.

Someone I know suggested a Ruger As note, I'm frightened off by the trigger descriptions. I went to a local dealer today and handled one. The balance feels fine. The bolt is grabby. But then, I've been spoiled by a Tikka. I expected the trigger to be miserable. Surprisingly it was not. I had read that they are set at between 4 and 5 pounds, not the recipe for fine shooting. It broke crisply, nearly as satisfying as my T3 Lite which is set at 2 lb. I'd estimate it at 2.5 or perhaps a bit more, but it would take a scale to be sure.

A friend who is a gunsmith suggested dropping in a replacement if this is the gun I want and the unit I wind up with has an unacceptable trigger. So, I'm still circling around. I've certainly settled on a 260/6.5 caliber. And Hornady's loads give the 6.5 a nod. I'm going get one, the only question is, what will be the platform? Everything I've read indicates it can do pretty much everything the 270 WSM does, with about half the recoil. That is a refreshing prospect.

 

[Dalebow]

JackG
Give cooper a look, litter more pricy but everything you want and dont have to replace anything.
D

 

[jackG]

Dale - I'm familiar with Coopers. They are exceptional rifles and an exceptional value. I hunt MT and several of the guys I hunt with shoot them. My brother also has a varminter in .17 cal.

The price however, is the sticking point at home. So I think I'll have to find another way to solve the problem. From a $ standpoint, the Ruger fits nicely. I have two concerns. One is the overall accuracy, independent of the potential trigger shortcomings. I don't expect the rifle to be all over the target, but there is that possibility. Call it the crap shoot factor. That's where your Cooper comes in. They SHOOT. The other concern is the trigger. Although that can be corrected easily.

The T/C Icon would have solved things nicely. That's a rifle that shoots well. But, they are just not available at this time. If this all works out I'll pass the results along.

 

[Dalebow]

jackG
I understand, espcially right now with the economy. I saved up for the cooper but if I were not going there I would look at the savage in 6.5 creedmoor, super triggers, they just shoot and they are reasonable, The ruger is probably ok as well but Ive never had a savage that didnt shoot
I cant wait to try my 6.5 out on black bear and antelope in Sept

 

[jackG]

I would really like to see your results. For example, the bullet used, the range, where the critter was struck, and how well the cartridge performed.

 

[jackG]

Dale - if you don't mind telling me, what are paying for that. My wife is watching me agonize over the prospect of crappy triggers and no guarantee of the kind of accuracy I need. She suggest that I not preclude the Cooper. The door is open.

 

[Dalebow]

pm sent

 

[RMulhern]

And...if these newer cartridges hang around another 50 years or so.....they MIGHT...just MIGHT take 25% of the game and win 25% of the matches that the ole '06 has!!

 

[Dalebow]

didn know this was a compare caliber thread involving the 06