help me choose one 308 winchester or 6.5 creedmoore pleaes

Barrel life shouldn't be that big of a concern. I shoot a 6.5x55 and have just over 2500 rounds down the barrel with throat erosion just starting to show. I'm hoping for at least another 2500
 
Find a well stocked store and get a chance to handle each rifle you mentioned. My understanding is the tikka's are all the same barrel and action just in different stocks so i'd probably go with the ctr and plan to upgrade to a chassis later. When it comes to optics for shooting out to 500m 25 power is way more than needed. I shoot out to 600 and find 15-16 power is lots. For starting out a scope that track's reliably and consistently is more of a priority than high magnification.

I have a bushnell nitro 3-12x, when shooting at 200 yards it was maxed at 12x and I felt not enough. Maybe it's just my ageing eyes, I am bifocal by the way.
 
Tikka is 1000x better quality then a savage.
6.5 if your strictly target.
308 if you want a little bit more energy.
After the 2500 rounds it will take to burn out the 6.5 Barrel you will appreciate a custom hand lapped replacement barrel.
Joe
 
Tikka is 1000x better quality then a savage.
6.5 if your strictly target.
308 if you want a little bit more energy.
After the 2500 rounds it will take to burn out the 6.5 Barrel you will appreciate a custom hand lapped replacement barrel.
Joe

ok, decided to go with tikka t3x ctr 6.5, 20" barrel.
how easy to get a new customized barrel, and how easy to swap out the barrel (p.s. I am not a handy man)
 
Tikka make a decent rifle however you will lose some velocity going with a shorter barrel. Higher the velocity the less time it takes for the bullet to hit target and the less time the wind has to throw the bullet off course.
 
ok, decided to go with tikka t3x ctr 6.5, 20" barrel.
how easy to get a new customized barrel, and how easy to swap out the barrel (p.s. I am not a handy man)

Gary at Big Horn Sales. He can get you a good barrel. I got a few Benchmark barrels from him

IBI is also another one you can consider.

Once you have your barrel, get a smith that does quality work.
 
Back when I started (not too long ago), I was told by many around my range to learn on .308 and move to 6.5 once comfortable.
To me it still makes sense to this day, wind calls are much harder on .308.
Requires you to stay on top of things or you miss your shot.

To me it made sense, may not make sense to many…

I even go one step further and tell people to start out on a fast 223. With a bonus of being MUCH cheaper to shoot. I love still shooting my 223
 
The Bergara's get a lot of praise for accuracy. I agree with the suggestions of .308 or .223 for the short to med ranges you are shooting at.

Sig cross is cool if you need to carry it a long weigh but for bench shooting you won't need a lite weight folder.
 
I even go one step further and tell people to start out on a fast 223. With a bonus of being MUCH cheaper to shoot. I love still shooting my 223

I wish I had got into .223 to start to be honest.
Burned way too many expensive 308 components before I got an idea what was going on downrange and at the reload table…
 
I went with the Tikka T3X Varmint, heavy barrel in 308 , for 300 yards I don’t see any advantage of 6.5Cm, unless you are recoil sensitive
 
^^^^^^^
I agree. I went with a T3X Varmint in 308 and it was great out to 300 yards (do not have a range for further). You can find a used chassis easily on EE for the SA Tikka. I put mine in an older MDT HSS chassis and it was sub moa. The advantage of the heavier barrel and chassis is the recoil becomes less of a concern. I have not shot 6.5CM but the 308 was fine for a days shooting.
 
I went 308. Ubiquitous ammo, extremely minimal reduction in BCE compared to 6.5cm. My 308 can outshoot me anyway so I need the 10000+ lifespan in my barrel.

I shoot a rem700 aac-sd in a oldschool AIC.
 
Is this your first Precision Rifle?

If so are you just testing the water, or have you been out with friends a bit, and have a good idea about what you enjoy. If it's the former I have a suggestion that may roll some eyes, but it is a good starting point. How about an Axis Precision in 223 Rem. I know not too ###y, BUT, it comes in an MDT Chassis, and it has a 1 in 7" twist barrel. Only two drawbacks imo, it comes with a 22" barrel, and every Savage I've owned has had the odd extraction issue at best (new parts solved the worst offender, sent from the factory for free).

223 is a great cartridge for Precision shooting out to 600m-800m. With 80gr-90gr projectiles and handloads sub moa and about 2800 fps should be easy, I think that trumps 308, at least regarding drop.

I doubt you'll be all fired up to turn an Axis Precision into a multi barrel gun, but you could. Regardless it's a good starting point, it's the most inexpensive 223 with a 1 in 7 barrel if I'm not mistaken. The money you save will allow you to get better glass, or best spent money in my opinion is reloading gear if you don't already have it.

$1100 for the Rifle, $500ish on usable glass, and $500 on reloading equipment. The snobs will mock me for suggesting it, but I out-shot everyone yesterday at a club event out to 400m with a Remington 783 223 HB in an MDT XRS. I'd actually suggest taking a route like mine, but for the 1 in 7 barrel, 1 in 8 is the best you'll get in the $1000 dollar range, and 1 in 9 is much more common.

If you've got money to throw at it pretend I didn't reply to your post...better is, well, better.
 
Last edited:
If you plan to do any big game hunting for sure 308 ! ballistically the 6.5 only starts beating the 308 once your shooting past 500 yards, 6.5 has a bit less recoil, but there is no bulk or cheap 6.5 plinking options and the 308 has far far far more options in both bullet weight, types and availability
 
Thanks for the all the great suggestion. I haven’t put the order in yet so still being torn between 65 and 308.
However you guys made me to think about reloading now. I have never done or even researched that before. I do have a dedicated room to myself at the basement keeping all my firearms there. But wife is just too sensitive to have a bucket of gunpowder sitting at home. It’s hard to convince her.
 
Fast twist HB 223 will be good to 600 - even better if you reload 75-80 gr bullets -
And inexpensive to shoot
Then get a lightweight hunting rifle if you hunt in 6.5/308

If 100% target, and you get into reloading, hands down (for me) it would be a 6mmbr. Something about shooting wee bitty groups is exhilarating!
 
Fast twist HB 223 will be good to 600 - even better if you reload 75-80 gr bullets -
And inexpensive to shoot
Then get a lightweight hunting rifle if you hunt in 6.5/308

If 100% target, and you get into reloading, hands down (for me) it would be a 6mmbr. Something about shooting wee bitty groups is exhilarating!

How's the barrel life of a 6mm BR ?

1500 to 2000 rounds a norm?
 
Back
Top Bottom