Reply With QuoteI totally agree!
I grew up with the same calibers as alot of other guys here I am sure. The 30/30 lever action was my first big game rifle. I broke it and went on to the 30-06. I shot the -06 for most of my years. Its a solid performer as it always has been. I then went to the 308 later because I wanted a hunter/target rifle with plenty of available brass.
Last year I bought the Savage 12LRP in 6.5 Creedmoor. I can honestly say it is the best rifle I have ever owned. This includes Remington 700's, Brownings, and 1 Winchester. I dont know about the longevity, but I do know it will perform. If the longevity is anything like the 22lr Savage my dad gave me in the mid seventies I will be ok.
I think alot of the reason I like it so much is the cartridge. It works well on anything in my area.
It serves as a great varmint rifle for crows and such.
It works well on long range dogs.
It works well on hogs.
It works well on deer.
I dont have any elk but I wouldnt be afraid to use it on them.
The rifle and cartridge have actually made me a long range shooter with confidence. I have no problem with hitting inside 8" out to 700 so far and I am stretching the range each trip to the field. I am consistently shooting under .5 moa at every distance up to 700 so far.
Anyone in the market for a great rifle needs to consider it. Its that good.
Has anyone else been this excited about the 6.5?
I am considering selling my other rifles and buying an AR chambered for it and a lightweight hunter chambered for it also. I like it that much. What do you guys think?
I totally agree!
Why would you want any thing else
It'll probably be my next caliber when I can
I think there are allot of things to like about the creedmoor. I still have not built mine yet but its getting close, just two more rifles in front of it.
I still go back and forth between the creedmoor (sa)and the sweed(la) for my 6.5 build but for a short action 6.5 I expect the the creedmoor has excited plenty of folks and is hear to stay.
Its here to stay even if i have to buy the equipment to stamp out rounds in my shop!
That's were she really shinesOriginally Posted by bflee
Interested to see some comments regarding the creed vs the 260 Rem. I'm currently struggling with this decision...
260 Pros: finally has some really good brass available.
6.5 creadmoor Pros: Everything else.
260 has bean around a while but I would not be surprised to see it's use tapered off significantly over the next few years.
Again I do not run and have not run either.... yet. After a great deal of research and having fought magazine length with high BC bullets in so many different cartridges and rifles: I can not even consider a 260 while the creedmoor is out there.
Seems like a lot of 260 guys use 7mm-08 Winchester brass anyway...
Norma is supposed to start making Creed brass sometime soon.
I buy the hornady match rounds and shoot them, then reload the brass. I have reloaded them at least six times now. I dont see a problem with the brass. Maybe I am missing something but I keep hearing this over and over.
Hornady, Nosler, and Norma all make 6.5 Creedmoor brass now. I have made a few from 308 brass just to see if I could. The 260 is a great round also though.
If I were going to build on a long action, I would build a .260 and seat the bullets out to make use of the extra mag length. If I were using a short action, it would be a 6.5 Creedmoor for the same reason- to seat bullets out where they belong. I really like the Creedmoor concept and it may be my next build.
I'm in the same boat, I'm really struggling deciding between a creed and 260. It has to be a short action because the stock I'm using is only made for a SA. I'm a believer in lapua brass, it's just so tough and doesn't loosen up primers. My buddy hasn't had a bit of trouble with his hornady brass in his creed although he doesn't have that many reloads on it. I like less body taper and steeper shoulder on creed but I want a different head stamp from my shooting friends when our stuff is on the bench. Heck I don't know, probably just hope that northland only has one or the other in stock when I call, then my decision is made. I'm hoping it's a 260rem match though! I think..
I don't get it, .260 outperforms the creed across the board. why was the creedmoor invented when the .260 already existed?
If you load a 260 to fit a short action, and a Creedmoor to fit a short action, you can actually get more out of a Creedmoor.
If you shoot factory or a long action you will get more from the 260.
Factory match rounds favor the Creedmoor, but reloading brass favors the 260. Hornady, Nosler, and Norma make brass for the Creedmoor now and the other manufacturers will soon follow.
I rolled both around in my head for a while before I purchased mine. I bought the Creedmoor because I could buy cheap factory rounds and then I reload the brass. It works for me, but I am pretty positive neither is going to "outperform" the other by much either way.
I have both, like both, and will continue to shoot both. I use the Creedmoor for hunting and it is fantastic on game.
Hornady brass has worked well for me, but Nosler brass is available for it now and in stock several places.
To me the creedmoor has the most bang for the buck for a hunting rifle. Very accurate, don't burn a lot of powder, recoil is not much more than a 243 and kills stuff like a 7 mag. Can't help but to like it.
Makes a hell of a target rifle also. It serves both well, thats why I like it.
My 11 Hunter in 260 has a 3" magazine. Kinda makes most of this moot. Now if we were discussing a rifle brand with a 2.8" mag then I might go CM.
If I were buying rounds instead of reloading I would definitely go 6.5 because the 260 factory rounds are like gold! The cheapest on gunbot is 1.55 a round and that isnt match ammo! I buy the factory stuff for 1.10 each in 6.5 and then I reload them several times. I have six reloads on the last forty so far (7 shots) and I have lost 2 pieces of brass due to my negligence. I emulate the factory round for my reloads and all is good. Thats all I need!
The Creedmoor is an excellent all around cartridge, especially for the bolt gun. European hunters have been using the 6.5x55 for Moose for many decades.
If you are thinking of an AR, the 6.5 Grendel might be a very comfortable choice because one can use the slightly smaller AR15 platform.
There is a reloading manual with a fairly extensive discussion of the suitability of hunting medium game with the 6.5 caliber all the way through moose. (http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showt...ading-Handbook) I would highly recommend the book even if one is only casually considering the Grendel because the primary difference between the two is how far out one can get reliable expansion of bullets. The Grendel gets to 300 yards and more with 16" to 18" for several bullets. The Creedmoor would get 100 - 150 yards more.
Its a great all around caliber. Others may excell in areas but it has a great balance.
6.5 Creedmoor is very easy to handload, and as everyone has said the Hornady factory ammo is both reasonably priced and accurate. There are also TONS of 6.5 bullets you can experiment with to tailor your handloads to whatever shooting situation you wish to address.
I really love shooting my 10FP-SR in 6.5 Creedmoor. Low recoil, excellent accuracy, great external ballistics (even with the relatively short 22" barrel). Plus, the 6.5 Creedmoor ammo plays nicely with the 10 round AICS mags I use.
As far as basing these puppies on an AR platform--you're gonna need an AR 10/ LR 308 receiver for the creedmore--kinda hefty if you're thinking practical woods gun, though a few specialty versions are cutting the weight down to "near reasonable."
I recently built an AR 264 lbc--basically the same thing as a grendel. My experience with this 6.5 caliber in an AR is that it shoots fabulously--BUT--and this is a big but--it can be "finicky" with loads due to the complexity of the cartridge design, the bullet used and how it feeds in the ramps etc--so don't expect it be a "workhorse spray gun" like 5.56 or even 6.8 spc. 2's. Although the grendel clearly out-performs the 6.8 ballistically--I would now give the nod to the 6.8 if it was to be a hunting gun and used inside 300 yds in an AR 15 carbine style setup--only because of it's over-all proven reliability.
Last edited by thermaler; 07-22-2014 at 05:45 PM.
[B][COLOR="#FF8C00"]Shooting--it's like high-speed golf[/COLOR][/B]
Having said all that--if you still are left with a hankering for a 6.5 in an AR15 compatible configuration--I suggest wandering over to AR performance's website (For informational purposes only) and scroll down the page and take a look at the soon-to-be-released "Six5." I think these guys are on to something and suspect that they too are focusing on a simpler case configuration that chambers more reliably than the grendel spawn (which also have "finicky" bolt issues BTW). Lot's of milheads want the grendel to be adopted by the military--I bet it will never happen. I'm watching this closely.
[B][COLOR="#FF8C00"]Shooting--it's like high-speed golf[/COLOR][/B]
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