Which mainstream cartridge to go obsolete because of the 6 & 6.5 CM

[flylo]

I'm glad the 6 & 6.5 are out. I have both, like the 6mm better & if it's hurt any one cartridge IMHO it's the 308 as premo ammo & components have gone down in price. Ive bought 1Fed 168 & 175 GMM bthp for just over $15 box back in the summer. For shooting steel the 243 & 7mm-08 went 400 more yards hypersonic anyway but theirs room for more with killing any calibers.

 

[DJ Fergus]

The 6.5 Creedmoor may not obsolete any particular cartridge but it does hurt the sales of many. As it should - it is a very capable and flexible cartridge with a wide range of readily available ammo options - much of which is very competitively priced. And unlike many other cartridges, factory rifles are twisted for the heavies.

If I was gong to choose between a factory .243 Win, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Swede, .6.5 Creedmoor, 260 Remington, 6.5 Swede, 7x57, 7mm-08 or .308 Win, the 6.5 Creedmoor would win easily.

I did and would choose the 6.5 cm over 308win, 243win or even 25-06 which I own also. It is highly versitile. It does have it's limits just as many other cartrides have some sort of limitation.

 

[swe123]

I think the one most likely to go extinct is the 6.5 Creedmore, once people figure out they drank the cool aid.

 

[wapitiaddict]

I personally think the 270 is slowly becoming obsolete. As a new shooter myself, no one in my shooting group is a proponent of the 270. Yes the 270 is a great round but there is very little heavy for caliber bullets. In my opinion new shooters/hunters either buy a 308, 3006, or they want the new hotness caliber such as a 6.5CM or 6.5PRC.

As others have stated, I don't think 270 will become obsolete, but sales are taking a huge hit. I have a 270 and have shot most my big game animals with it. The problem is rifle manufacturers are not putting out 270 rifles with faster twist rates. I'm currently in the market for a new rifle and would seriously consider another 270 if I could find one with a faster twist rate (without having to order a custom barrel). Since everything is standard 1:10 twist, I've pretty much ruled it out because I want to shoot the new heavier bullets. I think if 270's rifles started coming with 1:9 or even 1:8 twist rates, you would see a resurgence of the caliber with the new bullets. A 170gr vld .277 bullet being pushed fast will crush any 6.5CM and 6.5PRC performance. It will even outperform a lot of 7mm loads.

 

[wapitiaddict]

I think the one most likely to go extinct is the 6.5 Creedmore, once people figure out they drank the cool aid.

Whether it was because of marketing or performance or both, it is here to stay.

Now, the new Tesla truck, I hope that dies an immediate death! (Not to get off topic )

 

[Coyote_Hunter]

... A 170gr vld .277 bullet being pushed fast will crush any 6.5CM and 6.5PRC performance. It will even outperform a lot of 7mm loads.

Bought a .270 Win for Daughter #1 and handload it with 150g ABLR to 2912 fps. At the elevations she will be using it, 1500 ft-lbs to over 700 yards. Not too shabby and under 18 ft-lbs recoil.

 

[trhall]

I personally think the 270 is slowly becoming obsolete. As a new shooter myself, no one in my shooting group is a proponent of the 270. Yes the 270 is a great round but there is very little heavy for caliber bullets. In my opinion new shooters/hunters either buy a 308, 3006, or they want the new hotness caliber such as a 6.5CM or 6.5PRC.

6.5CM is pretty much identical to a .270 Win ballisticly.

 

[DJ Fergus]

The 270 lost all of it's coolness practically over night. For the most part, I try to be unbiased in my opinion of different cartridges. I admit I ampartial to the 7mm rem mag & 7mm cartridges. Formerly the 270 win was viewed just as the 6.5 creedmoor is now viewed today. The 270 win was viewed as better than the 30-06, 7mm rem mag & 280 Remington. I've got a stack of old hunting magazines to prove how hyped the cartridge was. Im not saying it's not a good cartridge but people were emotionally tied to it because they did shoot good in factory rifles with factory ammo alot of times. I had a good shooting 270 myself. It was touted as inherrently accurate by gun magazine writers, so? Is it not inherently accurate anymore since we have creedmoors? Did it quit being inherrently accurate when the creedmoor came out? I have a creedmoor that I built and I really like it. The 270 now seems like a Joke, Grandpappys rifle. 6.5 creedmoor is a nice round but it's just seeing the same treatment now as the 270 win has for many generations. If you guys think the old men were drinking the 270win Kool aid, then in even less generations there are going to be many people who are thinking alot of us were drinking the 6.5 cm Kool aid, cause there will be something better then. Car and truck manufactures don't keep the same body style and options for 20 years in a row for a reason. They need to offer something better to sell you a new one with some options that you probably won't completely figure out till it's half way wore out. With the 2020 models coming out, your 2018 is basically obsolete and antiquated. Don't believe it? Just ask the dealership or the fellow who just bought a new 2020 model. Do I believe the 2020 model is probably better? Yes I think it likely is, but is the 2018 model trash now? Anyway, I apologise in advance for this rant. My point is; if the old guys were drinking the 270 win Kool aid, you can bet your bottom dollar there's just as many folks drinking 6.5 creedmoor Kool aid right now.

 

[35 Whelen]

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7mm rem mag put the 6.5mm (265 win mag) behind so far as to never catch up with the rem mag. 7mm rem mag was purposefully created to be a 600 yard minimum recoiling elk rifle to shoot 175 grainers almost 60 years ago. The 7mm projectectiles are still superior to the 6.5s ballistically and in ft/lbs energy. A 162 7mm low drag is very close to a 140 6.5mm low drag in b.c. I have 5 rifles in 7mm and two in 6.5. I am about to put together another 6.5 and it will probably be a 264 win mag as I have three 7mm rem mags now. I believe the 7mm rem mag is a great all around cartridge and still more versitile than a 264 win mag but that being said I think the 264wm is a great round also.

Winchester did the biggest damage to the .264 Win. Mag. them selves in 1964 when redesigning the M70 they shortened the barrels on the .264 Win. Mag. from 26" to 22", so they were not getting the full velocity out of the cartridge as they should and people stopped buying them, Winchester did go back to the longer barrel but the damage was done and yes buy that time the 7mm Rem. Mag. (really the only cartridge Remington new how to market) had proven it self, and there for few seen the need to go back to the smaller caliber .264 Win. Mag.

 

[DJ Fergus]

I can't tell you how many times I read comments in old hunting magazines like: a 270 win will do anything a 264 wm will do. Also heard : a 270 win will do anything a 7mm rem mag will do. That was some strong confidence in the old 270. I guess Jack Oconner never got to try a 6.5-06 or a 280 Remington.

 

[User4302021]

7mm-08 & 7mm RM are my favorites. Remember the 7x57 started long ago also like the 6.5x55 did. The 6.5 CM is so close to the 125 year old 6.5x55 Swede Everyone acts like they invented the do all, last bullet needed. Wait a couple years till the gun & ammo makers need you to have a reason to buy new rifles, ammo & reloading gear & they'll roll out the next end all wonder.

If the creed is so close to your beloved swede, then why do you hate it so? When was the last time you were able to walk into a store and find stacks of match grade ammo and racks of match grade rifles chambered in 6.5 swede?

I'll tell you...never. Not anywhere ever, not on this continent anyway.

The creed is popular not because of hype or marketing. There has been a metric ton of cartridges fail with plenty of hype and marketing. It is popular because one, it works...two, because of the support it has from the whole industry.

 

[Skimbleshanks]

How many people still shoot IHMSA matches? Few. How many different wildcats and factory rounds were build for that sport vs. how many still exist today? My point is that the shooting sports and hunting will continue to evolve. It has changed quite a bit in the 10 years or so that I have been on this forum. Big magnums and heavy rifles were the ticket. They still are for some situations but the number of people choosing more reasonable cartridges and lighter rifles is increasing. I think some of the people that are getting into hunting now with long range being the cool thing to do will eventually figure out that long range is only a part of hunting or they will fall out of hunting all together when they get tired of searching for wounded animals that they shot at way out there.

PRS is probably going to experience a decline in the future as well. With these natural changes I think the number of new cartridges that exist will decline as well. The truly good cartridges will keep on as they are simply good. Belts on magnums were hot once. Short cartridges with heavy bullets are it now. I think the 6.5 cr will stand the test of time. Maybe the 300 prc as well with its military adoption. I think the standards or classics are that for a reason. They perform well enough despite the fads or evolution of hunting and sport.

 

[DJ Fergus]

I've saw my fair share of 270 Winchesters that would shoot 3/4 to 1/2 moa with the non match grade economy ammo, federal blue box. 270 Winchester, a cartridge for the masses. Yesterday she was the best thing since sliced bread, now she's scoffed at. I don't own a 270 myself anymore.

 

[DJ Fergus]

Gap said they come up with the 6.5 prc for prs. But I never hear of many folks at all using it in prs but instead using the 6mm & 6.5 creedmoor, 6mm & 6.5 x47 lapuas among many other 6mms. So at what point do you know that you need to step up to a 6.5 prc from a 6.5 creedmoor? Is the 6.5 prc what a fellow steps up to when he makes a heart/ lung shot on an elk at 700 yards with a 6.5 creedmoor and never finds the elk?