Thinking of getting into a 6.5 Creedmoor...advice?

BongoBob

BongoBob

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Hello CGN,

I've got a Rem 700 P (Police) rifle in .308. I have several other accurate .308 rifles so I was thinking of re-barreling this one to 6.5 Creedmoor.

Most likely I'll be using it for punching holes in paper and ringing steel at longer ranges.

If I ever get a weekend off I'd love to try a precision rifle match somewhere.

I've shot F Class matches before and am an experienced reloader, so developing an accurate load is part of the fun for me.

What barrel length, twist and contour would be "best"?

Also, what's your favourite bullet and powder for this round?

Cheers,
BongoBob
 
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I went to a creedmoore last season and love the round. You will not regret it. As for contour I would recommend anything from a Remington varmint and heavier for target shooting. Out of a 26" barrel I can push over 2900 fps with RL 16 and H4350.

This season I will be running a benchmark M24 contour 1 in 8 twist finished at 26" with s heathen muzzle brake. For bullets I like Lapua 136L, berger 140 hybrids, but most 140gr class bullets will work well.

Ryan
 
advice...Learn how to spell CreedMOOR haha.

In all seriousness, it's a great LR cartridge. Efficient and better ballistics than a 308. Ideal barrel length is whatever you want, you can tune a load to your rifle regardless of barrel length. Contour again is all up to you. It all depends if you're shooting long strings of fire (heavier won't heat up and walk as fast), whether you want to carry it hunting (lighter is obviously nicer for that).

Twist rate ideally is 1 in 8" to stabilize the longer 140gr + projectiles.
 
Great cartridge. 8 twist barrel, 24" is plenty of length, contour...go with whatever fits your needs for gun weight

H4350, RL16, Ramshot Hunter for powder. 140gr ELD-Match bullets
 
Excellent choice, very forgiving cartridge to reload, personally I'd go anything from 20-24" for your barrel, whatever suits your style of shooting. I use ELD-X to hit 1000 on a regular basis.
 
Load tuning is very easy in this chambering. I would go 130 to 142gr... personally 140's are my fave. Working on some 130 loadings and looking very promising too.

H4350.. IMR4350.. CCI 200. Hrn works very well. Peterson and lapua are more goodness. Cost of brass is coming down.

Set the OAL to feed from your mag work towards published velocities and the gun will shoot. All my loads are within printed load data and going above didn't help.

I am partial to lighter rifles. I like a #4 to 5.5 (rem sendero contour). Some will go with the heavy varmint or MTU type contours.. it definitely works but I find this a bit nose heavy but if you have a chassis with a heavy buttstock, might balance out nicely.

22 to 26"... it all works. Just whatever fits the balance of the rifle... and your tastes

8 twist for sure. I am sure some will look at the new gen super heavy bullets which will need a 7.5 or 7 but unless you really want to push the distance in high winds, I would just stick to the no brainer setups.

Currently one of my favorite chamberings and have a good range of stuff here to support.

PM or email if I can be of help.

Thanks

Jerry
 
I looked at the 6.5 Creedmoor and after talking with a few respected shooter went with the .260 Rem for my Coyote. The only advantage the Creedmoor has that I can (and a few others) can see is factory loaded match ammunition. If you reload then that is not an issue.

H4350, Lapua brass, and Lapua 139 gr. Scenars are a magic combination. ;)
 
Whole Lotta Led , baby...... :cool:

I’m a .260 Rem lover ONLY because I hav a bunch of great gun club members always recycling their 243 brass into the brass can.... I convert said 243 brass from 6mm mouth to a 6.5mm opening and Bob is you father’s brother...... yeah there are other cases among the 6.5 family that are more efficient with powder and pressure spikes etc, but I like free brass..... yuk yuk yuk

Besides I can use my beloved cheap powder from Higginson , WC735 at $14 a pound for all the caliber i shoot like 223 and 22-250 and 260 and 308 and 30-06.....there’s my proof that I was a teacher for 30 years, no stolen valour here with this edumakator... :evil:

Ya just have to buy 21 pounds at an order. Hahahaha

You will never regret making a move from 308 to a 6.5....

Join in the fun... great BC7 values , too.... :wave:

Cheers, Barney
 
There must be something going on as I just bought a browning 6.5 and finding dies, powder, bullets is increasingly frickin harder. I dropped from a 7mm and I am hoping for some good results...that is once I find everything I need to load. I have done a lot research on this caliber and good luck trying to find some body that doesn’t like it. Go for it.
 
GMHVAC said:
There must be something going on as I just bought a browning 6.5 and finding dies, powder, bullets is increasingly frickin harder. I dropped from a 7mm and I am hoping for some good results...that is once I find everything I need to load. I have done a lot research on this caliber and good luck trying to find some body that doesn’t like it. Go for it.
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I have a .260 rem and notice that there is always a shortage with reloading components. I will buy a box of bullets to experiment with and then it is a few months before I ever see them again. I don't want to stockpile something without testing it a bit first to make sure my rifle likes it. I actually just picked up a .308 to get around this problem as the .30 cal stuff is always in.
 
Skip the .260. Stick with 6.5 creedmoor or 6.5x47 if you want a 6.5mm cartridge. 6.5 creedmoor if you want factory ammo.

24-26" barrel is common, and the most common twist is 1:8. My last 3 barrel contours were M24/40, HH Marksman, MTU. Weight only helps you in this game. I would go Heavy Palma or thicker for contour. Current barrel is an MTU. You will find that the weight will reduce recoil, and will surprisingly help you balance out on barricades better.

Berger 140's or Hornady 140 ELD-M'S. The 140 class of bullets seem to be the best fit for the 6.5 creedmoor, on a velocity vs BC basis. They cut the wind a bit better. Nosler RDF's have the best BC's, but they are very difficult to get to shoot well.

H4350 or RL16 for powder. Lots of load data for this cartridge over on Snipers Hide. Find out what recipe works for your barrel, but 42.5-43.0 grains of H4350 seems to be where most people end up.

Don't chase speed. Find a velocity node and load to that. My last two barrels liked 2780-2800 fps for the 140's.
 
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spenom said:
Why skip the .260 rem? What are the downsides?
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No real downsides per say to the .260, I just think the 6.5x47L and 6.5 Creedmoor are better. At the end of the day, if you pick .260, it will be a fine cartridge.

I believe that the small primers are superior for primer pocket durability, which both cartridges have in certain brass brands. 6.5 Creedmoor hands down wins in factory support, and much easier to get quality factory ammo for. Big plus for those that don't reload or want the ability to purchase quality ammo off the shelf from time to time. The 6.5x47L is considered the most inherently accurate 6.5mm cartridge out of the three, and is somewhat of a favorite among benchresters in the 6.5mm flavour. One of the easiest 6.5mm cartridge to develop a load for that is accurate and with very low velocity spreads.

The .260 doesn't do anything better than the other two cartridges, IMO. It goes marginally faster, but with the small rifle primers on the other cartridges, you can push the other two to .260 speeds if you wanted to. However, I'm not one to advocate for a couple of extra fps. I'm more about finding a velocity node and getting ES's down. It's not a race after all.

The .260 is not a bad cartridge, I just think that the 6.5x47L and 6.5 Creedmoor can do anything the .260 can do, while doing it better.

The .260 seems to be losing popularity every year, so I must not be the only one that sees advantages in the other two cartridges.
 
Partly because I am a self-confessed gear whore I have a .260, a 6.5x47L and a 6.5 Creedmoor ( the latter so I can be in touch with my feminine side ) and the fact of the matter is that they all shoot really, really well. In fact, my most accurate load tends to be the one I use in my PGW Coyote but that doesn't mean that the .260 is more accurate it's just that gun and load combo slightly edges out the other two. The big advantage for the 6.5 CM is ( as Keegan says ) the availability of factory ammo and I guess the other advantage - shared with the 6.5x47 is that the cartridges allow for the use of long skinny booooliets in a mag whereas the .260 not so much.

Honestly though you can't really go wrong with any but were I to recommend one I'd probably say the 6.5 CM is the one to pick.
 
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