6.5 creedmoor or .243 build?

[Brush buster]

I'm looking into having a rifle built to compliment my 300wm. I really love my 300wm and dropped my furthest buck at 550 yards last year with 181gr hammer hunters. So I think I want something on the smaller side that compliments the 300wm. I was thinking either the 6.5 creedmoor or .243 but can't really make up my mind. I want this rifle to have little recoil and good performance on anything up to deer sized game. Having had great results with the hammer hunters in my 300wm, I was thinking about having either the 6.5 or .243 also loaded with hammers.
If you guys were building a deer hunting rifle and going to shoot hammer bullets, would you go 6.5 creedmoor or .243?

 

[Fedwell]

Personaly i am a 243 fan. However, unless you already have Brass and or loaded bullets, better go with the CM. 6.5 Creed has gotten so popular that Loaded ammo and Reloading components are readily available . Not so with 243

 

[Brush buster]

Personaly i am a 243 fan. However, unless you already have Brass and or loaded bullets, better go with the CM. 6.5 Creed has gotten so popular that Loaded ammo and Reloading components are readily available . Not so with 243

Yes I think that's probably one advantage. I'm not opposed to factory ammo as long as it's consistent. Steve at hammer developed and loaded my .300wm rounds and I was thinking about asking if he would do that again with this new build.

 

[Nuube]

22 creedmoor!

 

[Brush buster]

22 creedmoor!

Not a terrible idea but I think I'd like to stick with either the 6.5 creed or .243

 

[entoptics]

Not one of your choices, but have you considered 6.5 PRC? The only reason I suggest it, is the ballistics would be nearly identical to 300 WM, so wind/dope would match, and shooting one would be valuable learning for the other.

181 HH at 3100 fps vs 124 HH at 3150 will have drop/wind within a couple inches of each other all the way out to 800 plus yds.

It will also maintain expansion velocities out to distances similar to the 300 WM. 243 (poor BC) and 6.5 Creed (slow launch) will likely stop well short of the 300WM in that department.

Recoil on the 6.5 PRC (~13 ftlbs) will be almost exactly half that of a 300WM (26 ftlbs) in a 10 lb gun.

Just a thought. I've got the same sort of thing going with 3 nearly identical rifles in 264WM, 7 Rem Mag, and 300WM. If you know one, you know them all...

If the above doesn't interest you, then my vote would be for 243. Will be less recoil, cheaper to shoot, and a little flatter trajectory on it's way to max effective range.

 

[Brush buster]

I have thought of that. Just didn't consider it because of even less recoil in the creed and 243. But it was a thought. And I am still considering it. Factory ammo seems hard to come by but I haven't looked into the availability of reloading components. I'm not concerned with matching them although that is a good idea. My 300 pushes the 181s at 3395fps tho.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

My grandson, "abscounded" with my,.. awesome / deadly Accurate, Tikka Lefty, Rifle in .243 Win. and Killed his First Buck, Muley, last Season.
And,.. I AIN'T,.. gettin' it , back !
Replaced it with, a 6.5 Creedmoor ( another Tikka, Lefty ) YUP, IT's an Awesome shooter and, a FUN Rifle, to shoot / Practice, on Steel Plates.
I will use it for Deer, Antelope, Coyotes and LOTS of, LOW Recoil, Steel "Practice", to save some, Barrel "Life", on my .270 WSM !
You HAVE, an Elk Rifle,.. the 6.5 Creed, is ONE of, the "Perfect" Deer Rifle, "choices", just choose, the "Right", Bullet !

 

[jaspepp]

mix the best of both cartridges, 6 creedmoor

 

[HSmithTX]

I'd go 243 and I have both it and the 6.5.

 

[Good]

243, but I would eyeball a 6CM over the 6.5. If I were building a 6.5 it would prolly be a PRC.

Nice thing about the 6CM is that it was one of the only cartridges actually on the shelf locally during the crazy. That and 450 Bushmaster.

 

[WahooYahoo]

6.5 Creedmoor. With 100gr TTSX, to 124 hammers, they all out perform the .243. There's really no down side except the ridicule you'll get from a sea of people who love to hate the cartridge but can't give a reason.
The recoil is very mild with my 124 hammer load and send it at just shy 3000fps.
The upside is if you get a load for the 143-147 gr Hornady, you can bang stuff way out there too. That can't be done well with the 243. Slow twist and not enough room for the long pills unless you make a new barrel and chamber.

Good luck with it.

 

[Buckys]

I'd choose the 6.5CM due to the availability of ammo and components and because I'd prefer 120-140 grain projectiles over 90-100 grain projectiles for deer hunting. But I have both and like the 243's ability to shoot much lighter bullet weights than I need for deer hunting.

 

[Dave727]

Many good replies on this thread. 6 creedmoor is a good alternative to .243. I ended up building a .243 with a 1:8 twist. It shoots the heavies with high BCs and the lighter varmint loads .5 MOA. I chose the .243 because my kids hunt with .343 and I already had the dies and components. Components were always available through the last 2 years.