It all depends on what you want to do, as well. Can you shoot past 800 or 1000 with a .308, sure, I do it routinely. Is a 6.5 of the flavour of your choice more efficient for doing so, for sure. You also get half the barrel life. It all comes down to what you're trying to accomplish. Are you going out by your lonesome (or with a few buddies) and trying to learn/improve your long range game? .308 might just be the ticket, you get nice long barrel life and you'll really get to learn to read the wind. Even if you plan on competing in PRS type matches, Limited division (.308s shooting 175 gr pills 2750fps and lower) is growing this year. In fact, the guys who won the team event in Limited at the last match I was at were 3rd overall. Don't get me wrong, they're 2 of the better shooters in the States but still. The winds were pretty stout and anything but stable. Both my partner and myself made 3rd round hits on a target at 1170 in some tricky winds (shooting .308). I was super keen to put together a 6.5 and still will but my current new rig that I'm breaking in is optimized for shooting 175s (the new Nosler RDFs) at 2750fps. As long as you can shoot in matches that compare apples to apples (ie have a Limited or Tactical class) competing with a .308 no longer handicaps you. Basically you can't go wrong with either...
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6.5 Creedmore vs 308 Winchester
- Thread starter Ditch Doc
- Start date
"I do re-load and have a Dillon 550 but have only re-loaded pistol so far. I do want to start with rifle but need to get the plates and dies so I'd likely be shooting factory for now."
As someone with Dillon 550 who has moved into reloading rifle cartridges (specifically 223) I don't believe the 550 has the accuracy necessary for precision shooting. I simply can't get consistent velocities using the 550. It is fine for general use plinking etc etc but you will be much better of with a single stage press for precision. Like you I reload mostly handgun and the 550 is great for that but not so good for rifle. Let the flame begin.
As someone with Dillon 550 who has moved into reloading rifle cartridges (specifically 223) I don't believe the 550 has the accuracy necessary for precision shooting. I simply can't get consistent velocities using the 550. It is fine for general use plinking etc etc but you will be much better of with a single stage press for precision. Like you I reload mostly handgun and the 550 is great for that but not so good for rifle. Let the flame begin.
"I do re-load and have a Dillon 550 but have only re-loaded pistol so far. I do want to start with rifle but need to get the plates and dies so I'd likely be shooting factory for now."
As someone with Dillon 550 who has moved into reloading rifle cartridges (specifically 223) I don't believe the 550 has the accuracy necessary for precision shooting. I simply can't get consistent velocities using the 550. It is fine for general use plinking etc etc but you will be much better of with a single stage press for precision. Like you I reload mostly handgun and the 550 is great for that but not so good for rifle. Let the flame begin.
I would agree with you on this. I have a 550 and a rock chucker. The 550 could work but you would see some variances I'm sure. For the cost of setup on a new caliber you could get a cheap lee single stage or something similar. 550 for plinking, single stage for precision
"I do re-load and have a Dillon 550 but have only re-loaded pistol so far. I do want to start with rifle but need to get the plates and dies so I'd likely be shooting factory for now."
As someone with Dillon 550 who has moved into reloading rifle cartridges (specifically 223) I don't believe the 550 has the accuracy necessary for precision shooting. I simply can't get consistent velocities using the 550. It is fine for general use plinking etc etc but you will be much better of with a single stage press for precision. Like you I reload mostly handgun and the 550 is great for that but not so good for rifle. Let the flame begin.
I think the the 550 is plenty accurate. I currently load 6.5X47 on it and will be doing 308 on it as well. Is it used as a full progressive? No, it is not (I use an autotrickler and throw chargers separately and prime separately) but it does increase the speed at which I load.
The main reason why speed is up is due to less handling of each case.
During load development (~75 rounds) I did not shoot a group (5 rounds) over 1 MOA (although some were close). I am not a world class competitive F-classer or bench rester but I find it does what I need it to. John Whidden and David Tubb are world class shooters and load on a Dillon so that is something to think about.
