6.5 Creedmoor build with long action - Pros and cons?

[Old Medic]

I plan on shooting Berger VLD's in a 6.5 Creedmoor build because that's what my 6.5x284 shoots well. My concern is that using a short action (with it's magazine) may limit my OAL when seating the long bullets. Has anyone used a long action for a Creedmoor?
I would like to hear opinions from builders. Thanks.

[Dimwit]

I built mine off of a long action .243 I had. I load to 2.830 with no issues.

[Hotolds442]

If you can get reliable feeding with the long action, the only con would be the additional weight of the long action. The ability to seat bullets to a COAL greater than that of a short action for optimum accuracy should far outweigh a little extra weight.

[Old Medic]

If you can get reliable feeding with the long action, the only con would be the additional weight of the long action. The ability to seat bullets to a COAL greater than that of a short action for optimum accuracy should far outweigh a little extra weight.

Is reliable feeding a common problem when using a long action? Weight is not a concern. At least not that negligble ammount.

[Hotolds442]

With the correct magazine, reliable feeding isn't a problem. Sometimes feeding a short action cartridge from a long magazine causes issues with the rounds popping out of the magazine before the bullet is into the barrel entrance. Feed lip adjustments easily correct that.

[D.ID]

I love long action's versatility. I also love the creedmoor round........ but.......In a short action the creedmoor wins hands down if you want to load long. If building from scratch in a long action the 260 and especially 6.5 sweed become very viable options even with VLDs.
6.5 sweed lapua brass is cheeper than hornady creedmoor brass and......it's lapua.

[Steelhead]

6.5CM's big benefit is loading VLD's in short action mags constraints.
In a long action 260 or even better 6.5x55 would be my choices.

[darkker]

Few thoughts for you.
The Creedmoor was designed around a short action, with the notion of NOT having to stuff bullets deeper in the case; ala the 260 Rem. From every chamber I've seen, the Creedmoor reamers are very consistent in the throat, also UN-like the 260.

I have my Creedmoor built upon a long action, but simply because I had one, and didn't like what that rifle was original chambered for. My barrel is only BARELY longer throated than MZ5's Ruger predator; but I have also shot 10X as many rounds...
I've now built 3 short action chambers upon a long action: 22-250, Creedmoor, 308. As with all things Savage, it depends on what you are starting with; QC isn't Savage's strong suit. Only one did I have to change the follower, OR magazine/feed lips. I also found "the right" part wasn't needed, just another. My 25-06 rifle is dead reliable as a Creedmoor. My 7mm needed a tweeking of the feed lips to be reliable as a 22-250. The 30-06 needed a spring tweek to be a 308.

FWIW

[limige]

Long actions are a thing of the past...

[D.ID]

Long actions are a thing of the past...

Just the opposite for me.
Fight after fight trying to fit long loads in "short action calibers" into a short action magazine.......I'm done and probably will never build another.
I have one left, a 308win that runs exceptionally well but is limited in bullet selection due to the magazine restraints. It lives in constant fear of being tore apart and converted to either 6 creed or 6.5 creed so I can throw the 308 on a long action and really open up other bullet choices.
.
I got too use to my single shots to waist time handicapping a cartridge to fit the magazine. The short action cartridges that interest me are likely to end up in long actions, the long actions are likely to end up single shots.

[limige]

Never had a length issue with my creed or my 300wsm

[D.ID]

Thats the appeal of the creed for sure.
The wsm is one that I fought the magazine on 190 vld or more and it's a fight, My next WSM is definitely going in a long action.

[Old Medic]

6.5CM's big benefit is loading VLD's in short action mags constraints.
In a long action 260 or even better 6.5x55 would be my choices.

So, what you're saying is, the design of the chamber throat/case shoulder of a Creed is such that I won't have to worry about not being able to load 130 VLD's as long as necessary for optimum accuracy. I know by lil Remy .308 "Tactical" would probably do better if I had a little more length in the magazine. It is confined to shorter bullets.

[Steelhead]

So, what you're saying is, the design of the chamber throat/case shoulder of a Creed is such that I won't have to worry about not being able to load 130 VLD's as long as necessary for optimum accuracy. I know by lil Remy .308 "Tactical" would probably do better if I had a little more length in the magazine. It is confined to shorter bullets.
Yea, with the normal short throat most are not having issues.
With a savage magazine definitely not.
The AI mags I use are quite a bit shorter than the Savage mags.

[limige]

I run 140 vlds in my creed. Havent shot anything but amax so far in the 300wsm

[mousemotors]

I have not built a 6.5 but have built three long action 7mm08's with long actions just because of COAL restrictions with an internal mag. Never had a negative feed ramp issue on one of them. Recently I am in the process of building a chassis gun with a MDT Chassis. Due to case restrictions on a AI 308 mag I went with a long action chassis model and then altered a 300 win mag AI mag to work with a 7mm08 casing. So far everything is working fine with no problems with case feeding at all.