6.5CM v. .308?

[tdregs13]

Both good choices. If it's dedicated paper, 6.5 CM could be tough to beat next to the 308. If game is involved, I'll take the 308 any day.

You can fling a 190 in a 308 nearly as fast as a 140 in a CM. Windage will be slightly better for the CM, recoil again to the CM favor but down range energy and barrel life will hands down go to the 308. The real question is which of those qualities matter to YOU the most?

Like I said game is almost indefinitely not going to be involved. Also I am going into the Air Force this fall and will not be able to shoot much while serving my time in. Additionally, I understand the reality of having to rebarrel, I just want something that will be ready to stretch out to 1000 yds and possibly beyond when the time allows (and when I'm a much more experienced shooter). Also I like the idea of a lighter recoiling, flatter trajectory, cheaper to shoot with factory ammo gun (.308 GMM is, from my research, about $2-$4 more expensive/20rd box than the 6.5CM Hornady match ammo).

So in conclusion I think I have pretty much settled on the 6.5, but still looking for factory guns. Savage seems to be my best option right now--the only other factory gun I have seen chambered in the 6.5 is the Ruger M77.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Like I said game is almost indefinitely not going to be involved. Also I am going into the Air Force this fall and will not be able to shoot much while serving my time in. Additionally, I understand the reality of having to rebarrel, I just want something that will be ready to stretch out to 1000 yds and possibly beyond when the time allows (and when I'm a much more experienced shooter). Also I like the idea of a lighter recoiling, flatter trajectory, cheaper to shoot with factory ammo gun (.308 GMM is, from my research, about $2-$4 more expensive/20rd box than the 6.5CM Hornady match ammo).

So in conclusion I think I have pretty much settled on the 6.5, but still looking for factory guns. Savage seems to be my best option right now--the only other factory gun I have seen chambered in the 6.5 is the Ruger M77.

Beyond 1000 with a 6.5 Creedmoor? I don't see that working too well. There's just not enough weight and velocity there to really go beyond the 1K mark. Not that it can't be done, but there's a reason we have large magnum calibers at our disposal... The smaller ones just don't cut it at long distances.

There is no such thing as "the do-it-all, perfect, end-all-be-all" caliber. If you want to shoot to 1,000 the Creedmoor will be ok. If you want to go beyond, I would strongly urge you to look toward a magnum caliber.

If you want to be able to go beyond 1K and shoot to 1K on a regular basis, and you're hellbent on a 6.5 caliber, and barrel life is not a concern....I would go with a 6.5-284 Norma or a .264 WinMag. There's ALOT more velocity behind the bullet making things easier to reach those distances.

 

[7magcreedmoor]

Like I said game is almost indefinitely not going to be involved. Also I am going into the Air Force this fall and will not be able to shoot much while serving my time in. Additionally, I understand the reality of having to rebarrel, I just want something that will be ready to stretch out to 1000 yds and possibly beyond when the time allows (and when I'm a much more experienced shooter). Also I like the idea of a lighter recoiling, flatter trajectory, cheaper to shoot with factory ammo gun (.308 GMM is, from my research, about $2-$4 more expensive/20rd box than the 6.5CM Hornady match ammo).

So in conclusion I think I have pretty much settled on the 6.5, but still looking for factory guns. Savage seems to be my best option right now--the only other factory gun I have seen chambered in the 6.5 is the Ruger M77.

I like Rugers, and have an M77 mk2 with a custom 6.5 Creedmoor barrel- BUT, if you are starting out from scratch, go with the Savage. When you either wear out or grow tired of the Creedmoor and decide you want to step up to more power you can replace the barrel yourself. I have two Savages, one built by professionals, the second I just did myself in 2014. The earlier one is chambered in 6.5/284, the latest in 280 Ackley. As a do-it-yourself unit the Savage is pretty easy to work with, you just need to get the appropriate tools, no machine-shop needed. Barrels can be purchased from many good makers pre-fit and chambered in whatever caliber you wish, go-gauges, barrel-nut wrenches and barrel vises are reasonably priced. Good aftermarket triggers are easy to install and adjust to your preference. If you want a caliber with a different bolt-face diameter, the bolts are modular and changing the head is not hard to do. The current center-feed magazines are also easy to change for different cartridge size if needed. Its almost like "lego" for guns...

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Like I said game is almost indefinitely not going to be involved. Also I am going into the Air Force this fall and will not be able to shoot much while serving my time in. Additionally, I understand the reality of having to rebarrel, I just want something that will be ready to stretch out to 1000 yds and possibly beyond when the time allows (and when I'm a much more experienced shooter). Also I like the idea of a lighter recoiling, flatter trajectory, cheaper to shoot with factory ammo gun (.308 GMM is, from my research, about $2-$4 more expensive/20rd box than the 6.5CM Hornady match ammo).

So in conclusion I think I have pretty much settled on the 6.5, but still looking for factory guns. Savage seems to be my best option right now--the only other factory gun I have seen chambered in the 6.5 is the Ruger M77.

There are alot of companys making rifles for the 6.5 cm. Savage, ruger, dpms and so on. Your best choice is probably going to be a savage or a ruger. I went with the ruger hawkeye predator and that gun is pretty accurate for the price. Shot it yesterday at 400 yards and it shot a 1 7/8 in group. With practice i think i can tighten that up since that was my first time shooting that far(really hard to find a place to shoot that far where i live). The savage lrp wouldnt be a bad choice either. Heard some good stuff about that gun. Frome what ive heard its a tack driver.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Beyond 1000 with a 6.5 Creedmoor? I don't see that working too well. There's just not enough weight and velocity there to really go beyond the 1K mark. Not that it can't be done, but there's a reason we have large magnum calibers at our disposal... The smaller ones just don't cut it at long distances.

There is no such thing as "the do-it-all, perfect, end-all-be-all" caliber. If you want to shoot to 1,000 the Creedmoor will be ok. If you want to go beyond, I would strongly urge you to look toward a magnum caliber.

If you want to be able to go beyond 1K and shoot to 1K on a regular basis, and you're hellbent on a 6.5 caliber, and barrel life is not a concern....I would go with a 6.5-284 Norma or a .264 WinMag. There's ALOT more velocity behind the bullet making things easier to reach those distances.

There are people stretching that cartridge out to almost a mile. Its not really made for that purpose but it can be done.

 

[MudRunner2005]

There are people stretching that cartridge out to almost a mile. Its not really made for that purpose but it can be done.

Never said it couldn't be done, but it would still be pretty much useless, and your windage would be pure luck. So would a .308 at that distance.

He would still be much better off with a 6.5-284 Norma or a .264 WinMag for what he is describing he is looking for.

 

[Rem700addict]

If your just getting started and don't have much cash look at the savage trophy hunter xp, comes with the accu trigger and Nikon bdc scope. So far I have been very impressed with the results mine is giving, and with the saved money I was able to pick up reloading supplies as well. And upgrades an mods will be easy to make later on down the road. For the money I don't think you can go wrong with this combo.

 

[RonS]

Never said it couldn't be done, but it would still be pretty much useless, and your windage would be pure luck. So would a .308 at that distance.

He would still be much better off with a 6.5-284 Norma or a .264 WinMag for what he is describing he is looking for.

There's an old saying: you're only as good as the wind you shoot in. The only time windage becomes luck is when you miss the wind call. I run a Savage LRP in 6.5 Creedmoor for long range (800-1000 yard) F Class. My load remains supersonic out past 1200 yards throwing 140 grain Berger Hybrids in front of H4350. I would not hesitate to push it past 1000 yards. Read the article in the technical section about the guy shooting .223 out to a mile. Why would you do it? Because it's fun and it really tests your wind reading skills.

 

[WildRose]

MOA unless you already do the math in mils

Ballistic calculators do the math for you.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

Ballistic calculators do the math for you.

Yes, and I do the math for practice incase I break my phone (StreLok)