Maybe I don’t hate the 6.5 CM

[coop2564]

6.5 CM is a great cartridge. My Bergara with 18" barrel and can is perfect for 90% of my hunting. Running 135gr Berger classic hunters @ 2730fps with staball.

 

[dblman]

So, I have had a long term aversion to owning a 6.5 creedmoor but decided to give one a try. I trade for an almost new Bergara B14 Ridge. This rifle is well balanced and well put together as I would expect from Bergara. Mounted my Vortex Viper 4-16x44 HS LR and headed to the range after a quick bore sight. Took a few to dial it in but after 20 rounds, I am really overall impressed. Low recoil, tight groups, the trigger is amazing and it was just a pleasure to shoot from the bench. I have been a .308/30-06 fan for my whole life. I may have found my new favorite.

Yep. Another one down.

 

[ajkellerusmc]

It's a good cartridge. Easy to shoot, reload, find supplies for. I've got one in the safe.

I was a 308/30:06 guy and now I have 5, 65CM's in the safe. Trying to part with one!

 

[snox801]

I love I'm not the only one. I also was hating it juts for all the ridiculous things people claimed.
But I got one and it's my go to hunting round now.

 

[flyguy1]

My nephew was 2/2 this past season with his 6.5CM factory ELDX. His 1st and 2nd deer ever. I took the videos with my phone through the spotter. Range, 240 and 235 yards.

They would have been way more dead with a .300 WM. Seriously, nice shooting.

 

[Grumpy old man]

Thats hillarious! I will still own .308/30-06/.270/243&300 win mag so all is not committed. Just really impressed with this round so now I can't figure out why so much hate. I know it isn't the long range gun that the man bun crowd touts it to be but pretty impressive nonetheless!

I agree 308 is still important for me after all these yrs now that I can neck down the ppu brass and make cases that are.008 walls thicker than lapua cases !

 

[Rosebud]

Been shooting the 6.5 Swede forever for the same reason, started with old Swedish Mausers.

Same here, I had to replace my Swead after25 years of service. Decided to go with CM as there was so much stuff for it and was near identical in ballistics. Love mine.

 

[gbett308]

It's not the best at anything, but it's pretty darn good at everything. Hard to beat as an all around "do everything" cartridge when you factor in cost, downrange energy, sectional density, trajectory, recoil, accuracy, etc. From varmints to elk, it will get the job done, and it's a ton of fun to shoot. (Can't really say the same for my 7lb .300 win mag!) There are plenty of similar cartridges, but the popularity of the Creedmoor means it's here to stay and will continue to have supply available as much as any other cartridge.

Since this is a Long Range "Hunting" site, I would beg to differ on the 6.5 creedmoor comments reference "pretty darn good at everything" and takes game "from varmints to elk".

Let's be clear though first, there is a difference between LR Hunting and LR Shooting.

LR Hunting starts at ~600+ yards where the 6.5 cm really starts losing its energy and goes below 1000 ft-lbs of energy downrange...which is generally considered both inadequate and insufficient for elk sized animals.

Sure, the 6.5 cm can shoot plates all day long out to 1000 and beyond if the shooter has the ability, experience and equipment.

Shooting plates and harvesting big game at Long Range are two different entities.

Inside of 300 yards where the average hunter operates, the 6.5 cm or most any centerfire rifle will suffice for hunting.

IMO, there are many other cartridges that would be better to choose for LR Hunting...just look at the posts on this site.

 

[Junkysavage]

I don't hate the creedmoor but dang sure was a lot of people bought into the marketing and it ended up being the "killzall " cartridge that modern man has been seeking since flint went out of style…
From point blank to a mile, just point and shoot

 

[Wyo37]

6.5 creedmoor is a great cartridge. Just like the 7-08, 243, 308, 6 creed. Not magic.


Don't know why old timers get so worked up about it.

 

[Weaver93]

So, I have had a long term aversion to owning a 6.5 creedmoor but decided to give one a try. I trade for an almost new Bergara B14 Ridge. This rifle is well balanced and well put together as I would expect from Bergara. Mounted my Vortex Viper 4-16x44 HS LR and headed to the range after a quick bore sight. Took a few to dial it in but after 20 rounds, I am really overall impressed. Low recoil, tight groups, the trigger is amazing and it was just a pleasure to shoot from the bench. I have been a .308/30-06 fan for my whole life. I may have found my new favorite.

So now you have to ask: Did I get an amazing cartridge in a Bergara rifle or an amazing rifle in 6.5 CM?

 

[highbrow]

So now you have to ask: Did I get an amazing cartridge in a Bergara rifle or an amazing rifle in 6.5 CM?

Yes

 

[Ga6570]

View attachment 350383

not even spelled right.

 

[Shootin4fun]

I agree with you. I fought hard not to join the Creed crowd for a long time, but when it came time to rebarrel my .243, my gunsmith (who happens to be a HOF benchrest shooter and highly respected gunsmith) talked me into going with the Creed. It shoots tiny groups and is a ton of fun to shoot. Get some RL26 and you can push the limits with it and 140 gr bullets. I got the 143 gr ELDX running 2954 fps with ragged hole groups, single digit ES, and no pressure. I got it over 3000 fps and ran out of case capacity before I found pressure. This load is only 50 fps slower than my 6.5-284 Norma with the same bullet!! So, with RL26, it puts the Creed on another level

Personally, I never got caught up in the hype or scoffing at the 6.5CM. I got interested in it because a friend kept praising his 260 Rem, which I was then considering. But the availability of factory rifles and ammo and brass for the CM pushed me that direction.

This is a natural path- 243 rebarrel to 6.5CM. I have one of each but the 243 is lighter due to scope and stock weight and I'm already thinking of just rebarreling the it to 6.5 when it's shot out.

Those are some pretty good speeds out of the 6.5CM. My conservative but low SD loads are 130VLD and 135VLDH at 2750 using H4350, 22" tube. RL26 gets them up over 2900 but I haven't hit single digit SDs or as tight groups with it yet. BTW, that's 270Win territory. I shoot an accurate 130gr TTSX load out of my 270 at 3005fps.