Opinions please: What set up makes the most sense?

[TXRoadlizard]

Well there's "deer hunting" and then there's "deer hunting"! Which one do you do? Do you typically ride on a quad out to box blind or tree stand and sit there all day? Or, do you live in the mountains, like to still hunt and getting away from the crowds?

If you sit in a blind or tree stand all day, your golden. And who cares what the gun weighs, get a big bull barreled 6.5 CM long range target rifle and hunt with it? If you still hunt in the mountains, and like covering ground, get the lightest 308 (more versatile, has larger ammo selection than the 6.5 for normal hunting ranges <400 yds, with better availability) to hunt with, while you save up for the long range 6.5 CM. :cool:

I go "DEER HUNTING!!!" and try to put at least 3 in the freezer every year. I'll stick to my dedicated deer rifle in .270! 270 won't be found on a range during a match, but it will drop a deer at farther range than I'm comfortable shooting one. To each his own when it comes to caliber preferences.

[BB68]

How did anyone hunt before the 6.5 was invented?

[Robinhood]

How did anyone hunt before the 6.5 was invented?


How far back do you want to go? Bow and arrow? Lest we forget what influenced the majority of hunting weapons was military based. Does not necessarily mean that it was the best at anything.

[Wjesswheel]

If the op’s planning on shooting long range (1000yds) with any of the op’s 3 choices with boxed ammo. In my opinion he is going to be depressed with the outcome. Even with fgmm which is pretty good boxed ammo at 800 to 1000 yds there’s way to much vertical to be really effective at that range. It’s kinda of fun at the range when the guy with his new cure all 6.5creed goes home depressed when he gets
Embarrassed by a 308 with well crafted 178 eld’x’s At 2830fps with a 10-12fps spread. My advice is get an 06 or 308 and a decent reloading setup and not get caught up in the hype.

[Robinhood]

So a guy with a 6.5 creedmoor gets spanked by a 308@1K. A 550 bc bullet smoking a 6.5 with a .646 or .697 BC bullet at 1000 yards. I would like to take that challenge.... Like taking candy from a baby. Wait till all of the Fclass shooters and PRS shooters realize what they are missing. I think that should be the post of the week!:cool:

[Steak n eggs]

So a guy with a 6.5 creedmoor gets spanked by a 308@1K. A 550 bc bullet smoking a 6.5 with a .646 or .697 BC bullet at 1000 yards. I would like to take that challenge.... Like taking candy from a baby. Wait till all of the Fclass shooters and PRS shooters realize what they are missing. I think that should be the post of the week!:cool:

I think he’s comparing the 6.5cm guy who brings boxed ammo and gets spanked by the .308 reloading guy.

OP... my vote is the .308... you have a lot more options and much cheaper if you’re not reloading... besides, if you find that you don’t enjoy shooting boxed ammo at over 600 yards, you still have a great hunting rifle with affordable ammo... down the road get yourself a 6.5cm.

[Harpoon1]

If the op’s planning on shooting long range (1000yds) with any of the op’s 3 choices with boxed ammo. In my opinion he is going to be depressed with the outcome. Even with fgmm which is pretty good boxed ammo at 800 to 1000 yds there’s way to much vertical to be really effective at that range. It’s kinda of fun at the range when the guy with his new cure all 6.5creed goes home depressed when he gets
Embarrassed by a 308 with well crafted 178 eld’x’s At 2830fps with a 10-12fps spread. My advice is get an 06 or 308 and a decent reloading setup and not get caught up in the hype.


More naive dolts "caught up in the hype"!

http://soldiersystems.net/2018/03/23/ussocom-adopts-6-5-cm/

[Harpoon1]

.....................OP... my vote is the .308... you have a lot more options and much cheaper if you’re not reloading... besides, if you find that you don’t enjoy shooting boxed ammo at over 600 yards, you still have a great hunting rifle with affordable ammo... down the road get yourself a 6.5cm.


Exactly!

[Robinhood]

I get what you 308 guys are saying. ( a LR308, M1a, Hog hunter, FTR, a M10 with 28"CBI, a M11 with a 20" shillen and a M16 with a classic wood stock and a howa 1500 rounds out the 308 stable at the farm)

Achieved high master in mid range 300 and 600 with the cbi and expert with the FTR at 1K. I can honestly tell you that shooting between 66 and and 70 rounds wears me out these days. Not so much with the creed. A 15 mph crosswind moves a 308 considerably beyond 400. The creed, "there's a crosswind" is all I can think. I am lazy though.

I do respect the 308. And I get the close range energy with the 30 cal heavies inspires confidence.

My real appreciation is the 284 and the 280/280 AI. Ill even take a 7mm08.

[foxx]

All you guys are all wet!

260 is the bomb. Beats all the rest, particularly the 6.5 Creed, under any circumstances, hands down.

;)

[zloe]

All you guys are all wet!

260 is the bomb. Beats all the rest, particularly the 6.5 Creed, under any circumstances, hands down.

;)
Whoa! Just got real in here! :cool:
I've got the 6.5cm as well as a 260 both heavy guns
Also just made a 6.5 swede that I'm looking forward to testing. The swede will be a dedicated hunting rifle.

I like the 6.5 caliber.
Also have a 06 made by ruger for bigger game if I need it.

[Harpoon1]

Whoa! Just got real in here! :cool:
I've got the 6.5cm as well as a 260 both heavy guns
Also just made a 6.5 swede that I'm looking forward to testing. The swede will be a dedicated hunting rifle.

I like the 6.5 caliber.
Also have a 06 made by ruger for bigger game if I need it.

Ah...the 6.5 SwedeMoor.........nice! :cool:

[big honkin jeep]

There's no replacement for displacement.

[Stumpkiller]

Whoa! Just got real in here! :cool:
I've got the 6.5cm as well as a 260 both heavy guns
Also just made a 6.5 swede that I'm looking forward to testing. The swede will be a dedicated hunting rifle.

I like the 6.5 caliber.
Also have a 06 made by ruger for bigger game if I need it.

I'm shooting a M11 in .260 Rem with the "sporter" barrel. GREAT for practical hunting. In fact, if I fire five shot groups and run a bore snake or walk down 100 yards to change the targets between groups I can get 15 or 20 good rounds down range. Then something happens. Either me or the barrel begins to open groups to 2". For my 250 yards max (40 yards more common) whitetail hunting this is still honkey dorey and all good. I generally take one shot every six-week firearm season. A lot more carrying than shooting (I won't climb a tree with a firearm and it gets COLD in late Nov/early Dec in Upstate NY).

I'm playing with a couple different bullets (Sierra 140 gr GK & Hornady 143 gr ELD-X) and my goal is a five shot group using a case full of powder that I can completely cover with a beer bottle cap. The good news is I can do this for the first three rounds with either. But I have yet to pull off a five round string that does it. With my 9X scope I am invariably at 1-1/2" for my first three five shot groups. And that ain't bad for a 7-1/2lb rifle including the 3-9X scope (I hike in to my hunting area for dawn & dusk sits, and still-hunt through the mid-day).

Happily, the first shot normally is in that "magic" orange 1" plaster. So I would not hesitate to hunt my loads.

Do I wish I went for the heavier barrel? Frankly, yes. For the few weeks I deer hunt the added weight would have been acceptable IF it meant better target accuracy the rest of the year when I might want to set up and shoot 50 rounds in a string. But, in practical use, even for varmints I don't usually shoot more than once an hour so the barrel has a lot of opportunity to cool down.

[Wjesswheel]

Your absolutely correct the 6.5 ballistically should be better in the wind. I would think my 10-15 FPS spread would have to out perform boxed ammo with a 30-50 FPS spread. Shoot Over a chrono and you can see a 40fps spread at 800 to 1000yd on paper or steel. I was talking the newbs with boxed ammo. Iam about 1200 documented rounds into the load I shoot with my 308 and have a pretty good idea how it shoots in the wind. I ceratainly can bang a lot steel with at 1000 and iam not talking about ringing the 4ftx4ft slabs they have out there for the 6.5 creedmores.

I was was just stating what I have seen lately at the range. Guys show up with there new 6.5 with boxed ammo from Walmart and expect to be an instant 1000 yard shooter in gusty winds and out shoot my 308 with a 6-8 ounce trigger. Iam actually thinking about barrelin up a 6.5 in a 30 inch tube and reload for it just to see exactly how capable it is. Not to mention the $200 scopes that don’t click up and back down consistenly. If your close to Fort Wayne we could shoot, not saying that I would outshoot you at all, but a 308 hand loaded with a good load is fairly capable round at 1000 yards. Yea theres better 1000 yards calibers. I mean a lot of guys have done it with a 308 for quite a few years.

[want2ride]

Sure the 308 is an adequate long range rifle, but compared to the 6.5 Creedmoor it is completely overmatched. It really isn't even close.
Comparing boxed 308 to boxed 6.5 Creedmoor is one thing, but comparing boxed 6.5 Creedmoor to hand loaded 308 is really a stupid argument.

I keep thinking, Is this guy for real?

[Robinhood]

Ha, This is amusing. To get and keep shooters in the sport they need to find success. Success at the range in the field at the reloading bench. For any guy who buys his first rifle and wants to shoot some distance some time behind a 308 is not a bad thing. Lots of data and help abounds. I think the 6.5 CM has caught up to the 308 faster than anything else in recent history. The great thing is with either a 308 or a 6.5 CM, you can spin off the old barrel and spin on a quality barrel for less than 500 dollars in many cases and can have any short action cartridge that has a .475 rim. Like a 7mm08!!!!