Which 6.5 caliber to go with?

[Deerhntr71]

I was thinking of a 264 Win Mag in a Winchester Model 70 Ultimate Shadow, but now am trying to decide if I would like a 6.5 Creedmore, 6.5 X 284 Norma, or just a plain 260 rem or 7mm08 rem. Would be mainly for deer and antelope maybe something bigger. May have some longer shots here in ND.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Are you wanting a short-action, or long-action?

6.5-284 is a good one. So is a 6.5 STW. 6.5 Grendel is another great one.

 

[Deerhntr71]

Length of action is no big difference to me.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Are you wanting serious speed and LR accuracy and ability? Go with the 6.5 STW. You will need to start with a long action (magnum bolt face) of your choice, my preferred is the Rem 700, and pick a barrel and stock. Have your smith build it. You will get more enjoyment from an accurate custom rifle than you will from an off-the-shelf rifle....Atleast I do.

 

[vatackdriver]

I love my Grendel and wouldn't hesitate to pop a deer as t 400 yds and its a paper killer at 750

 

[Sully2]

I had a 260 built and at present am having a 7mm-08 made up. Mainly because of the heavier bullets for the 7mm.....same casing either way

 

[65 GRENDEL]

The 6.5 Grendel of course! In all seriousness I bagged 2 nice Bucks last year with mine and a Doe at 425 yards. Although I must admit that i'd love to have a 6.5 Creedmore AR 10.

 

[65 GRENDEL]

I love my Grendel and wouldn't hesitate to pop a deer as t 400 yds and its a paper killer at 750

Visit 65grendel.com for lots of good info on our Grendels. (My moniker there is Deer Hunter). Theres guys making super accurate bolt action Grendels from CZs and Scout rifle 7.62x39 cal rifles. Anyway FYI.

 

[benchracer]

I was thinking of a 264 Win Mag in a Winchester Model 70 Ultimate Shadow, but now am trying to decide if I would like a 6.5 Creedmore, 6.5 X 284 Norma, or just a plain 260 rem or 7mm08 rem. Would be mainly for deer and antelope maybe something bigger. May have some longer shots here in ND.

My question is: Do you reload? With the possible exception of 6.5 Creedmore, the rest of the 6.5's are mere shadows of themselves in terms of performance if you are limited to factory ammo.

I like my 6.5x55's a lot. The .260 and Creedmore would be pretty comparable.

I have a 6.5-284 that I went to a lot of trouble to build. Many people make the claim that the 6.5-284 gives you .264WM performance in a more efficient case. I find that to be a bunch of BS in my rifles, unless I really push the pressures hard. I am underwhelmed by the 6.5-284. It does have a performance edge over my Swedes, but not by very much. If you want a 6.5-284, get it in a Savage. It's a no fuss, no muss way to obtain a 6.5-284 and the barrel is easy to change if you are not happy with it.

I have a Winchester Model 70 sporter in .264WM. It is far and away my favorite 6.5, in part because I like the rifle so much. It is still undergoing load development and I don't believe the barrel is completely broken in yet. So far, it is shooting Nosler Partitions very well. My next step is to do load development with Bergers and AMAX's. Now that I have it, I wish that I hadn't gone to the trouble and expense of building the 6.5-284. Of course, this rifle wasn't available when I did that. Neither was the Savage.

With all due respect to previous posters, I don't believe that the 6.5 Grendel belongs in this conversation. That is not to say that it is not a good cartridge or that you can't kill a deer or antelope with one. It is a great cartridge in an AR or a compact, ultra light bolt action. Outside of that realm, it gives up too much performance relative to the larger cased 6.5's IMO. From my point of view, the 6.5's are at their best with the 140 class bullets. The Grendel is incapable of pushing the heavier bullets to useful velocities, which deprives it of a lot of the virtues inherent in 6.5's. I still REALLY want one in an AR, though.

 

[Greyfox]

I'ev been a 6.5 fan for quite a while. I settled in on the 6.5x284 and have had great success with both custom and factory rifles. Loaded to 3000FPS with 140's, I think it's the best balanced cartridge of the 6.5's for hunting. Easy to load, low recoil, Lapua brass, superb accuracy, and using the high BC 140 Bergers, deadly on game from 50 to 1000 yards. Rocks and coyotes, much further. IMHO.

 

[65 GRENDEL]

My question is: Do you reload? With the possible exception of 6.5 Creedmore, the rest of the 6.5's are mere shadows of themselves in terms of performance if you are limited to factory ammo.

I like my 6.5x55's a lot. The .260 and Creedmore would be pretty comparable.

I have a 6.5-284 that I went to a lot of trouble to build. Many people make the claim that the 6.5-284 gives you .264WM performance in a more efficient case. I find that to be a bunch of BS in my rifles, unless I really push the pressures hard. I am underwhelmed by the 6.5-284. It does have a performance edge over my Swedes, but not by very much. If you want a 6.5-284, get it in a Savage. It's a no fuss, no muss way to obtain a 6.5-284 and the barrel is easy to change if you are not happy with it.

I have a Winchester Model 70 sporter in .264WM. It is far and away my favorite 6.5, in part because I like the rifle so much. It is still undergoing load development and I don't believe the barrel is completely broken in yet. So far, it is shooting Nosler Partitions very well. My next step is to do load development with Bergers and AMAX's. Now that I have it, I wish that I hadn't gone to the trouble and expense of building the 6.5-284. Of course, this rifle wasn't available when I did that. Neither was the Savage.

With all due respect to previous posters, I don't believe that the 6.5 Grendel belongs in this conversation. That is not to say that it is not a good cartridge or that you can't kill a deer or antelope with one. It is a great cartridge in an AR or a compact, ultra light bolt action. Outside of that realm, it gives up too much performance relative to the larger cased 6.5's IMO. From my point of view, the 6.5's are at their best with the 140 class bullets. The Grendel is incapable of pushing the heavier bullets to useful velocities, which deprives it of a lot of the virtues inherent in 6.5's. I still REALLY want one in an AR, though.

No argument with most of your post but the Grendels got very similar ballistics to the .308 and has actually got better ballistics past 1000 yards. As i posted im very interested in the 6.5 Creedmore for the reasons you say but dont underestimate it, I did and I was wrong. Its my favorite deer rifle and with the right scope package and the right shooter it could shoot 1000 yards but its big brothers are a better choice for a 1000 yards +.

 

[Beluebow]

+1 Benchracer

If you go long action go 264wm,,short action do a 260.If you throttle the 264 back to 6.5x284 performance levels you MIGHT eek out a little more barrell life but it wont be much.The 6.5x284 in the brass dept wins since you can get Lapua but the Norma brass in 264 aint no slouch either.

Not benchrest quality but you get thw idea

 

[65 GRENDEL]

Very good gun)shooting

 

[johnnyk]

My first response is go faster!

I started out with a .260Rem in a 700 Mountain Rifle. Loved the little rifle and it dropped every deer I, and my youngest son, pointed it at. It had a 22" barrel and it would only push the 120's so fast. I loved it but found it lacking in the performance department. I now have a Savage 112BSS in 6.5-284Norma. Great rifle and cartridge. It has been incredibly accurate from the beginning with little to no barrel break-in. I have only shot 130gn and below in it but currently have 140gn A-Max's and SMK's loaded for it. Waiting for the rain to subside here in the East so I can get out and shoot them.

With the introduction of bullet weights greater than 140gn, I would consider the .264WinMag and/or the 6.5STW. These are Top Fuel Dragsters compared to anything that's been introduced since the .260 Rem came out (1997) and can carry the mail to the far end of the field (and still have some moxy left). That's my opinion. JohnnyK.