6.5x55 vs 308. Which one and why?

Mudduck

Mudduck

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If you were gettimg get a precision rifle for shooting at
the range up to 1000 yard but also take it into
the field for deer , coyotes eyc which caliber would you go for and why?
My passion is hunting, I enjoy shooting
 
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In Scandinavian countries the 6.5x55 has long been considered a great moose cartridge (with heavy round nose bullets...)

Hmmmm, either you have huge coyotes, or they have tiny moose? ;) :D
 
I've competed with the .308 for over 26 years, and shot it in the military since 1975 so I guess, I've grown fond of this cartridge. Last year I switched my precision rifle to a .260 Rem setup and I'm not looking backwards ( I still have my M14 in .308). The 6.5 caliber or family of rifles offer many, many ballistically efficient bullets especially since you want to shoot at ranges up to 1000m.

I've been super pleased to report that my comeups for my sniper matches using the .260 Rem are almost HALF :eek: of my previously used and trusted settings for my .308 launching the 155 gr Hornady Amax and 155 gr Sierra MK Palma bullets.

The windage corrections for the .260 Rem are significantly less that the .308, so I have to re-calibrate my brain! :D It's a whole new learning curve! And all great fun, too!

Hope this can help your passion/addiction!

:cheers:

Barney
 
I shoot both actually :). I love the 308 as it was my first precision rifle and is uber cheap to feed... But the more I shoot my 6.5x55 target rifle the more I LOVE it. As cheap if not cheaper to feed and likes to stretch out further easier (as Hungry stated). My 308 is more of my "tactical" rifle sporting a 22" tube and sniper style stock, and my 6.5x55 is more of my "bench" rifle sporting a 30" bull barrel and fully adjustable stock. Both of which are sporting match grade barrels and upgraded triggers so they are both VERY accurate in their own right and serve their own purposes very well. The .308 is more my field rifle used for varmint hunting, rock busting and all around shooting but have yet to use it for deer hunting (I'm not really an avid big game hunter). Another thing that makes me love the 6.5x55 is that ballistically with my 140gr load it almost mirrors the performance of my 300gr 338LM load! Pretty freakin sweet for dial in practice as not to go broke playin with the big girl all the time :). It doesn't have the oomph of the 338 of course but ya can't go wrong with it either way. Just my $.02 but I believe that either way you go you will be pleased! Happy shooting!
 
My yote rifle is a .243 so I'd go with the 6.5.

Well depending on your passion you can buy 6.5s boomers all day for 3-3.5k
guaranteed to shoot 3 inside 1/2" at 100yd

Or you can build one for 2k or less.

A year or 3 ago I believe, a team took a Stock Savage and won F Class with it. Seems like a Model 12 $1500
 
Definitely ballistic advantage with 6.5 anything, but you may wish to use shorter 6.5 to fit with a Rem. short action or similar 6.5X55SE requires LA. Lots of Lapua bullets(shameless plug)100-155gr. bullets.

Regards,

Peter
 
6.55x55 for sure! I loved mine and continued when I moved on to a 260 Rem, basically the same thing with a little less case capacity. Pretty cheap to shoot and the projectile offering are getting better and better.
 
I own a 6.5X55, 6.5X57, 260, 6.5/284, 6.5WSM, and 5 308 match rifles.
Love them all and on any given day will take one over the other!
They all are accurate and easy to load for.
No clear winner ........
Cat
 
Thought as a second barrel for my Nemesis of a 338 Fed but now i think i will go with a 260 to form my family of 6.5, Icon 6.5 Creedmoor, and my Swedish mauser CG 6.5X55... JP.
 
6.5. Lower recoil. Flatter trajectory. Fewer choices in bullet weight. But then 140 grains will kill anything in America and is nice round.

I have both but prefer the 6.5x55.
 
If you do a little research you'll quickly discover that the 308 has inferior ballistics when compared to a great many cartridges; pretty much any 6, 6.5, and 7mm. The biggest reason I shoot a 308 is because it is eligible for most long range competitions and mandatory for some; I've had my arm twisted. The 308 does have a few things going for it though. Quality factory ammunition is readily available (hand loading not required), a plethora of readily available information, quality components are abundant, extremely wide choice of rifles, long barrel life, tame recoil (rifle dependent), healthy resale market (for previous reasons), easily rechambered to a more efficient cartridge when your barrel is shot out; 260 Remmy looks pretty sweet and is only a barrel swap away.
 
I had my sights set on a 6.5x55 but then I had a change of heart and have been set on the 7mm WSM for a while. Just need the money to build one...
 
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