7mm Rem Mag vs 6.5mm Creedmoor

[GonzoK34]

The difference:
7mmMag is on a long action. For hunting in the mountain states where shots can be out beyond 600 yds plus. The 7mmMag is an excellent choice. With the 185 Bergers it will serve you well under extreme hunting conditions such as steep uphill and downhill shooting and across long canyon or valleys.
6.5 Creedmoor is on a short action. It's also a great shooting caliber and in some ways the best choice if your intent leans towards target practice and developing your shooting skills. The 6.5 x55 Swede or the 260 Rem are a better choice in my opinion however. If your set on a 6.5 for hunting then build a 6.5x284. It's comparable to the 300 WM with allot less recoil.

However, I hunt the majority of big game with a 300WM, Rem700, 190grSMK. I had this completely gone through. It's on it's 2nd barrel 26". Jewel Trigger set at 2#, NF NSX 5.5-22x56-NPR2 reticle. This rifle has accounted for over 50 mule deer and 15 elk.

I built both a 243 and a 243AI for open country coyote, and deer. Lots of fun.

What ever you decide on be sure to install a quality trigger and scope. Then practice allot.
GOOD LUCK
Gonzo
SEMPER FIDELIS

 

[MudRunner2005]

I put more rounds than I could possibly count through one Model70 and one M700 in 7 rem's and never came close to shooting either of them out.

Apparantly the person(s) who owned my newest A-Bolt II shot it ALOT and shot it hot. Because that thing is burned slap up. I maybe put 100-150 rounds down it and it's toast. It's at the smith's right now getting rebarreled and turned into, what I have deemed, the "Brownington". It's an A-Bolt II with a turned-down and fitted Rem 700 barrel. The barrel is a straight-shooter, and was new when I bought it, so it should be good to go for many DEERS to come. gun)

Since I turned my lightweight 700 7RM into 2 other builds with heavy barrels, I re-purposed that barrel and fixed my Browning so I'll have another lightweight hunting rifle.

 

[MudRunner2005]

The difference:
7mmMag is on a long action. For hunting in the mountain states where shots can be out beyond 600 yds plus. The 7mmMag is an excellent choice. With the 185 Bergers it will serve you well under extreme hunting conditions such as steep uphill and downhill shooting and across long canyon or valleys.
6.5 Creedmoor is on a short action. It's also a great shooting caliber and in some ways the best choice if your intent leans towards target practice and developing your shooting skills. The 6.5 x55 Swede or the 260 Rem are a better choice in my opinion however. If your set on a 6.5 for hunting then build a 6.5x284. It's comparable to the 300 WM with allot less recoil.

However, I hunt the majority of big game with a 300WM, Rem700, 190grSMK. I had this completely gone through. It's on it's 2nd barrel 26". Jewel Trigger set at 2#, NF NSX 5.5-22x56-NPR2 reticle. This rifle has accounted for over 50 mule deer and 15 elk.

I built both a 243 and a 243AI for open country coyote, and deer. Lots of fun.

What ever you decide on be sure to install a quality trigger and scope. Then practice allot.
GOOD LUCK
Gonzo
SEMPER FIDELIS

I think you mean 180gr Bergers... Berger 185's are .30 caliber bullets.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

How will it be cheaper? Powder, primers, and bullets are all around the same cost... And good factory ammo for both will cost around the same, too.

Well last a checked it the mag takes more powder....... You can get match factory Creedmoor ammo for 25-26 bucks a box. Im not sure what company makes match ammo for the 7 at that price. For good 7mag ammo your looking to spend 35-40 bucks. So id say its cheaper.

 

[hawk45]

Both fantastic rounds, but unless you are planning on hunting with a big heavy varmint rig, I think a hunting rifle and a target rifle are two totally different builds.

A target gun can be heavier with a bigger barrel and smaller cartridge, as you are just punching paper or ringing steel. Longer strings of shooting and 50 + rounds a session. Go 6.5 here as you'll be more susceptible to fatigue with the higher volume.

A hunting rifle should be lighter weight with a cartridge suitable for the game and distance you intend to use it on. 2 to 5 shots an outing. I'd lean toward the magnum cartridges over a non-magnum in this case. Go 7mm or 300WM here as you won't notice the recoil as much in the hunt and won't fatigue from just a few rounds.

If you target shoot with a pencil barrel, after a few rounds you're groups will open up from the heat, unless you like to shoot 3 rd groups and wait 20 mins between groups. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Just my .02

 

[MudRunner2005]

Well last a checked it the mag takes more powder....... You can get match factory Creedmoor ammo for 25-26 bucks a box. Im not sure what company makes match ammo for the 7 at that price. For good 7mag ammo your looking to spend 35-40 bucks. So id say its cheaper.

I don't consider Hornady to be "match grade ammo". Their brass....Definitely, but not their factory loaded ammo.

This is match-grade ammo.

Nosler Match Grade Ammo 6.5 Creedmoor 140 Grain Custom Competition

This stuff is just as good, and only $5.00 more.

HSM Trophy Gold Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 168 Grain Berger Hunting VLD

Might be slightly higher in loaded ammo pricing thanks to the larger brass and larger case capacity and popularity. But that HSM for $5.00 more is easily justifiable, if I didn't handload. Not that the 6.5 Creed isn't popular, but it hasn't been around for 60+ years worth of popular, yet.

As for handloading costs, it uses twice as much powder, so you might get 150 rounds per lb of powder, compared to 100. Which means it will cost about $10-15 more per 100 rounds, to shoot the 7mm RM. But other than that, reloading costs will be roughly the same, once you already have brass.

 

[Browninglover1]

I don't consider Hornady to be "match grade ammo". Their brass....Definitely, but not their factory loaded ammo.

Their 140 grain Amax load sure seems to be considered match grade. There are a ton of guys posting ridiculous groups with that load.

 

[uncle_creepy]

6.5 SAUM or 7 SAUM

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I don't consider Hornady to be "match grade ammo". Their brass....Definitely, but not their factory loaded ammo.

This is match-grade ammo.

Nosler Match Grade Ammo 6.5 Creedmoor 140 Grain Custom Competition

This stuff is just as good, and only $5.00 more.

HSM Trophy Gold Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 168 Grain Berger Hunting VLD

Might be slightly higher in loaded ammo pricing thanks to the larger brass and larger case capacity and popularity. But that HSM for $5.00 more is easily justifiable, if I didn't handload. Not that the 6.5 Creed isn't popular, but it hasn't been around for 60+ years worth of popular, yet.

As for handloading costs, it uses twice as much powder, so you might get 150 rounds per lb of powder, compared to 100. Which means it will cost about $10-15 more per 100 rounds, to shoot the 7mm RM. But other than that, reloading costs will be roughly the same, once you already have brass.

Have you ever shot match hornady ammo? Because i have and get 1/2 moa groups as well as many other people so i dont see what your problem is there. Im not knocking the big 7. Im a big fan of it. But the 6.5 creedmoor factory ammo is really hard to beat for the price.

 

[B-P-UU]

Their 140 grain Amax load sure seems to be considered match grade. There are a ton of guys posting ridiculous groups with that load.

My thoughts exactly. I've run it out to 1,150 yards and it is very consistant. 2 of my first 3 rounds downrange went in the same hole at 100 yds and my personal best group was just under 3" at 600 yds.

Since the OP is mostly interested in target shooting, I would go with the Creed - it is an excellent choice for his intended purpose. Buy a couple hundred rounds of the factory 140's from Hornady, shoot them up and you'll be set for brass if/when you choose to reload.

 

[WildRose]

Rose, what's the round count on these 7mm's? Thanks.

In the 1,500 range on the M70 and over 2000 on the Rem. They were both still shooting great when I parted with them.

One danger in being a guide or outfitter is sometimes when you let a client borrow a gun they like it too much LOL

The secret to long barrel life is no secret. I wasn't shooting max loads with heavy for caliber bullets and didn't shoot them hot.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Have you ever shot match hornady ammo? Because i have and get 1/2 moa groups as well as many other people so i dont see what your problem is there. Im not knocking the big 7. Im a big fan of it. But the 6.5 creedmoor factory ammo is really hard to beat for the price.

Yes. Lets see now, probably about 16 years worth of experience with Hornady Match ammo under my belt. I didn't say it wasn't good, but it is certainly up to the gun to like it. And in my experiences, guns tend to be picky with Hornady ammo. Either they like it, or they don't. For example, my .308 hates Hornady Match ammo. My old .308 loved it. My 7mm RemMags don't like Hornady ammo. But my old .22-250 loved it (before the barrel got toasted).

Hornady ammo seems to be hit-or-miss. And I've had better luck with Federal factory ammo and Nosler factory ammo being more universal.

Just my experiences.

 

[WildRose]

Yes. Lets see now, probably about 16 years worth of experience with Hornady Match ammo under my belt. I didn't say it wasn't good, but it is certainly up to the gun to like it. And in my experiences, guns tend to be picky with Hornady ammo. Either they like it, or they don't. For example, my .308 hates Hornady Match ammo. My old .308 loved it. My 7mm RemMags don't like Hornady ammo. But my old .22-250 loved it (before the barrel got toasted).

Hornady ammo seems to be hit-or-miss. And I've had better luck with Federal factory ammo and Nosler factory ammo being more universal.

Just my experiences.

All factory ammo is hit or miss because no two chambers are exactly the same. Hornady is probably the most consistently good factory ammo I've shot but as any of us who've got much experience know sometimes it's just a fraction of grains or thousandths of OAL, or weight/type of a bullet that make the difference between "Shoots Great" or "Sucks".

 

[MudRunner2005]

All factory ammo is hit or miss because no two chambers are exactly the same. Hornady is probably the most consistently good factory ammo I've shot but as any of us who've got much experience know sometimes it's just a fraction of grains or thousandths of OAL, or weight/type of a bullet that make the difference between "Shoots Great" or "Sucks".

This is all true. Some of my rifles loved it, some hated it. Could have been any number of reasons, like you said.