Next hunting rifle - 6.5 Creedmoor vs .270

[Hookeye]

Guess nobody likes .260 or 7mm08 rem.
Proly clash with that Under Armor camo yoga pants stuff.

.35 rem, .250 Savage, .257 Roberts.............boring old softer recoiling stuff.
Hell with today's hybrid crops those things will have bullets bouncing off our super deer.

Quite a few cartridges out there that will work, multiples within caliber.

 

[jspy5]

I had a 270 yrs ago and got rid of it because of the recoil, hardest kicking rifle I ever owned. Also never really had a particular need for it as well. With the change of being able to use various rifle calibers on deer nowadays I just picked up the 6.5 to try. My first choice however would be the 6.5 x 55. Still regret not buying the Tikka yrs ago in that caliber I ran across at a great price.

 

[two70]

Guess nobody likes .260 or 7mm08 rem.
Proly clash with that Under Armor camo yoga pants stuff.

.35 rem, .250 Savage, .257 Roberts.............boring old softer recoiling stuff.
Hell with today's hybrid crops those things will have bullets bouncing off our super deer.

Quite a few cartridges out there that will work, multiples within caliber.

I bought a new stainless, laminated Tikka T3 in .260 this year. I got it for $275 less than the same model in 6.5 CM was going for. It's a nice shooter and for my purposes will do everything the Creedmoor will do without the increased price tag and the flavor of the month hype. For deer hunting in Indiana either of the two 6.5s are about perfect, though I still want to add a .25-06 to my stable. For larger animals at longer distances I would definitely choose my .270 or .270 WSM.

I had a 7MM-08 but never really could get into it. I never really noticed much difference in either performance or recoil from any of my .308s so I moved it along to an INGO member.

 

[teddy12b]

I'm not someone who's quick to jump on the newest bandwagon just for the sake of having something new or different. Having said that, there is something better about a 6.5 creedmoor that merits it being better suited to longer range shooting, and working equally as well at hunting anything within a couple hundred yards. I recently ordered a custom rifle and in the process of talking with the shop I asked what calibers they were building guns in these days. The 6.5cm is by far the most popular, followed by a 308. When we talked ammunition for the gun he'd mentioned that the Hornady is now selling more 6.5cm than 308 and that was pretty shocking and reaffirming as well. You're always going to be able to argue better performance of a newer, more modern whatever caliber like a 6mm, or something, but where the 6.5cm shines is in the balance of much better performance than a 308, but a much longer barrel life than a 6mm.

Most people aren't able to put their pride and ego aside even for a moment to be honest enough to say they're not ready for a 300 yard shot on game. Most people buying a rifle might shoot a couple hundred rounds through it in the course of their life, or just end up selling it later on once the new car smell has gone away and they want a new toy. Most people will never put the time and effort into a gun to really know and understand the subtle differences a caliber will make. The 6.5cm is for hipsters getting on the bandwagon, and for people who are really after some specific performance. I say this as a guy who just ordered the most expensive rifle in his life in 6.5cm, and I have no intention of getting rid of 308. Everything has it's place.

 

[Hookeye]

If the 6.5 "caliber" is so great, where are all the 600 magnum pictures?

Most hunting is under 300 yards I'd bet, and doubt many weekend warriors are good enough to make that shot without a bipod (questionable then).

While there may be some ballistic advantages to the 6.5CM (cartridge)............will they be realized afield?

Sorry, I don't think there to be anything magical.

 

[Hookeye]

Real simple: buy what you like and have fun with it.

If you walk through the woods looking at your phone ever 5 steps and sound like you have tin cans tied to your boot laces........doesn't matter what's slung over the shoulder.

A new to you rifle or cartridge can be a lot of fun.........doesn't matter when it was developed

Dead is dead.............doubt the deer cares if a .25, .27, .30, .35, .44 or whatever bullet went through his heart.

 

[two70]

If the 6.5 "caliber" is so great, where are all the 600 magnum pictures?

Most hunting is under 300 yards I'd bet, and doubt many weekend warriors are good enough to make that shot without a bipod (questionable then).

While there may be some ballistic advantages to the 6.5CM (cartridge)............will they be realized afield?

Sorry, I don't think there to be anything magical.

I assume you are talking about the 6.5 Remington Magnum? It was released at a time when 6.5s weren't very popular and it didn't really stack up to the .264 Win Mag in performance. Plus it is much preferred to create a "new" cartridge than to try to revive an old one. Newer and higher performing 6.5 magnums are out there in the form of the .26 Nosler and 6.5-300 Weatherby but they come with much heavier recoil and much more expensive ammo. Given the number of people that have mentioned the "heavy" recoil of a .270 in this thread, I think the recoil alone puts those .26 caliber magnums off the lists of most. The 6.5 PRC looks very promising in terms of offering the ballistic advantages of the 6.5 caliber at a higher velocity in a reasonable case. It is still not widely available though and will probably have more recoil than many want.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

Guess nobody likes .260 or 7mm08 rem.
Proly clash with that Under Armor camo yoga pants stuff.

.35 rem, .250 Savage, .257 Roberts.............boring old softer recoiling stuff.
Hell with today's hybrid crops those things will have bullets bouncing off our super deer.

Quite a few cartridges out there that will work, multiples within caliber.

I debated on the 6.5 Creedmoor and the 7mm-08 Rem. The 7mm-08 won, mainly because it has a little more energy under 400 yards where almost all of my shots will take place.

 

[ChrisK1977]

I could push my range out to 400 but no matter which rifle I am using I have passed on a few 300 or so yard shots. If the deer doesn’t just drop remembering exactly where the deer stood and then ran into the woods might be hard to find and plus that is 100-200 yards farther you have to drag deer. Most of my rifles can be held dead on out to 200 even with a zero of 100 yards. A couple I have to hold a couple inches high. No matter which rifle,muzzleloader,shotgun, bows or handguns I will always rather take a close shot than a long range shot.