Difference between .308 and 6.5 creedmore caliber.

Roddy said:
A pretty big difference is barrel life. 308 is probably double what 6.5 Creedmoor is. If replacing a barrel is not an option it might be something to consider. That adds to the cost. Just using random numbers but if a barrel is say $1000 and it lasts for 5000 rounds of .308 the cost of the barrel wear is 20 cents a round where if a 6.5 only lasts 2500 rounds then it is 40 cents a round.

If you are using the rifle for hunting and only plan in firing a box or two through it a year this may make no difference to you at all. Quick change barrels on precision rifles are becoming more common and many shooters practice with one caliber and compete with another.

There is a lot of info online. I just bought a 6.5 Creedmoor barrel and a few of the advantages that made me choose that caliber were better performance as in about 30% less drop and 30% less wind drift and reduced recoil compared to .308 which makes it easier to spit hits and faster follow up shots.

These things were important to me as I wanted to be more competitive at matches and be able to reach out farther coyote hunting. If you only shoot at a 200 meter range the improved ballistics will not be very noticable. If you want to learn to call wind better the .308's increased sensitivity may make it a better learning round. If you do a high volume of shooting and you are only competing against yourself you may want the longer barrel life.

There are a lot of rounds out there that compare to 6.5 Creedmoor in terms of ballistics. Some may even be better but what stood out to me was how readily available 6.5 ammunition is. My local Canadian Tire carries three or four different loads. While I plan on reloading it a lot of the factory match ammo out there now is so accurate you can get similar accuracy with it.

Even if you handload more factory ammo means more brass available and likely more factory rifles available chambered for that caliber.

While 6.5 Creedmoor match and hunting ammo is pretty common now there are not a lot of lower priced options for it. If you are shooting a semi auto and want to burn through a lot of ammo you won't be able to buy 6.5 nearly as cheap as .308. If you only buy match they are very comparable.

I am not an expert on the subject but to me it all depends what you want to use your rifle for and what is important to you.
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I am currently in this same debate with which caliber to buy, this helped a lot, thanks.
 
Dan B said:
"A person hunting small game may not carry or use a rifle of greater calibre than a .275-calibre rifle, except a muzzle-loading gun, in the geographic areas of Brant, Chatham-Kent, Durham, Elgin, Essex, Haldimand, Halton, Hamilton, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex, Niagara, Norfolk, Northumberland, Oxford, Peel, Perth, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington or York."
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And this has me leaning towards the 260 for my next coyotes slayer
 
Haven't seen this much conflicting advice in a while. Actually the problem is different needs, no one really specified their requirements.

For general use, say <500m with factory ammo, a 308 is great.
For the precision folks that want to spot their shots, less recoil, does precision reloading, the 6.5 bullet is far superior.

There is a reason all the PRS competitors have moved from 308 to 6/6.5 . Tons of literature out there, try the PRS blogs.
 
The 6.5CM is a 308 case necked down to take a 6.5mm (.264) bullet. It is like a 243 Win (6mm bullet) and like a 7-08 (7mm bullet), only bigger - smaller. It is a fraternal twin to the 260Rem (also a 308 necked down to 6.5mm).

It is designed for target shooting. If you are not a target shooter, buy the 260Rem.

The 6.5 rem is an excellent coyote, deer, moose round when shot with the correct bullet. Less recoail than a 308, which promotes better shooting.
 
Times and a lot of money spent, indicated to me that you always come back to the 308 all the time, this caliber is just to good overall... JP.
 
burnaby said:
Haven't seen this much conflicting advice in a while. Actually the problem is different needs, no one really specified their requirements.

For general use, say <500m with factory ammo, a 308 is great.
For the precision folks that want to spot their shots, less recoil, does precision reloading, the 6.5 bullet is far superior.

There is a reason all the PRS competitors have moved from 308 to 6/6.5 . Tons of literature out there, try the PRS blogs.
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http://precisionrifleblog.com/2017/02/16/long-range-calibers-cartridges-what-the-pros-use/
 
For the casual shooters, non precision shooters the 308 is great. My m305 with cheap surplus ammo is a great spray and pray toy.
For precision folks who handloads just starting off go 6.5 cause you'll eventually end up there. Silly to go 308.

Hand the newbies the 308, folks that I want to impress gets the 6.5.
PS. Gladly traded 1for1 308 precision components for 260Rem/6.5 .
caramel said:
Times and a lot of money spent, indicated to me that you always come back to the 308 all the time, this caliber is just to good overall... JP.
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burnaby said:
For the casual shooters, non precision shooters the 308 is great. My m305 with cheap surplus ammo is a great spray and pray toy.
For precision folks who handloads just starting off go 6.5 cause you'll eventually end up there. Silly to go 308.

Hand the newbies the 308, folks that I want to impress gets the 6.5.
PS. Gladly traded 1for1 308 precision components for 260Rem/6.5 .
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Someones been day-drinking again :d
 
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Power Pill said:
If i was going to go with a 6.5mm caliber. Id probably go with the 6.5x55 Swede.
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Or even older, this.....

zt3Yak7.jpg
 
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