The Creedmoor conundrum

[Tim.243]

Congratulations.

You have won a minor and inconsequential internet squabble.

One gold star for you can you can hand out the milk at break time.

I have a second....

 

[Terrydeer]

270 and .30-06 obsolete, I near choked


How do you find the TLRS? I only shoot for myself BUT I tend to take one estate day a year. I usually borrow the estate rifle for this because by the time you’ve tested and then trialled a couple of boxes that you’re happy with, the estate rifle is cheaper. I far rather using my own rifle though so may make sense to have a copper load I can use..

The TLRs are very good as are the Super X if you chat you Yew tree they will be able to get you pretty close to a load for your rifle without you using loads of bullets. I have a 6.5cm superlite and it’s limitation is me

 

[Ronin]

Interesting replies folks. The 6.5CM certainly has a fair following on here anyway.

Ronin I actually load the 6.5x55 for the old man and shot a stag with it fairly recently. I can’t really fault it but I’m not too big a fan of the 140 grain trajectory and to be honest, wish I could get some 120’s to shoot better in it.

Are folk really still building specs in 6.5x55 though when there is more 6.5CM options these days? I think you’ll still have lots of components off the back of the 6.5cm popularity but it does feel a bit like going against a trend.



.25-06 sounds fab but I don’t see heaps of options for reloading it compared to the standard cals

I buikd on average the same number if 6.5/55 and Creedmoor a year

If anything there is more bias towards PRC now in 6.5 mm

You can with careful load dev make the 55 very punchy using 110-130 class solids

114 yew tree may be woth trying or their equivalent in Hasler Ariete

 

[big ears]

The drop in a 140gr 6.5x55 is very predictable as to is it’s behaviour in wind and carries more energy down range than many bullets
The 308 is much more loopy yet hundreds shoot this without an issue. It’s just a case of practice and learning your drops
The CM limits your ability to shoot heavier bullets should you need to.
The swede will perform as well as the CM in real life but not on the range shooting paper.

If you want to get a CM then get one (my gut feeling is that is what you want to do) but remember that the CM is an attempt to get the 6.5 into the American market after the 260rem failed. What ever you get the 6.5 is a great round.

 

[Mungo]

I buikd on average the same number if 6.5/55 and Creedmoor a year

If anything there is more bias towards PRC now in 6.5 mm

You can with careful load dev make the 55 very punchy using 110-130 class solids

114 yew tree may be woth trying or their equivalent in Hasler Ariete

Yew Tree are really interesting.

Extremely accurate - astonishingly so.

But I was driving them far too fast from a PRC and they were making a ferocious mess.

I think shot at around 3000 fps, they would be perfect.

 

[big ears]

Yew Tree are really interesting.

Extremely accurate - astonishingly so.

But I was driving them far too fast from a PRC and they were making a ferocious mess.

I think shot at around 3000 fps, they would be perfect.

Exactly this. I load about 2900-2950 and they work well. For me the classic are less messy than the TLR on roe deer but I know my friend uses TLR with good effect on fallow and red.

 

[6.5-06 TIKKA]

I'd say 6.5x55, to cover all deer in UK.
Mild recoil and lots of new and used quality brands out there ...

 

[KimE]

The drop in a 140gr 6.5x55 is very predictable as to is it’s behaviour in wind and carries more energy down range than many bullets
The 308 is much more loopy yet hundreds shoot this without an issue. It’s just a case of practice and learning your drops
The CM limits your ability to shoot heavier bullets should you need to.
The swede will perform as well as the CM in real life but not on the range shooting paper.

If you want to get a CM then get one (my gut feeling is that is what you want to do) but remember that the CM is an attempt to get the 6.5 into the American market after the 260rem failed. What ever you get the 6.5 is a great round.

It worked more rifles in 6,5cm than 3006 are sold in US.

 

[paul o']

Interesting replies folks. The 6.5CM certainly has a fair following on here anyway.

Ronin I actually load the 6.5x55 for the old man and shot a stag with it fairly recently. I can’t really fault it but I’m not too big a fan of the 140 grain trajectory and to be honest, wish I could get some 120’s to shoot better in it.

Are folk really still building specs in 6.5x55 though when there is more 6.5CM options these days? I think you’ll still have lots of components off the back of the 6.5cm popularity but it does feel a bit like going against a trend.



.25-06 sounds fab but I don’t see heaps of options for reloading it compared to the standard cals

Funny enough Iv had a 25.06 117gr was a very nice bullet

 

[big ears]

It worked more rifles in 6,5cm than 3006 are sold in US.

The power of marketing

 

[Utectok]

Yew Tree are really interesting.

Extremely accurate - astonishingly so.

But I was driving them far too fast from a PRC and they were making a ferocious mess.

I think shot at around 3000 fps, they would be perfect.

3090fps out of my 6.5 swede and they do the business… I was at 3200 but a few sticky bolt lifts and not really shot enough deer at that speed to assess. Like I say 3-3100 seems a sweet spot for them for me kills the biggest reds and roe with ease.
Obviously I use a drop tube to load as case capacity is an issue!!

 

[Taff]

Don,t know why anyone is discussing the 6.5 cr, it’s finished 3 yrs ago, along with the 6.5 prc, finished 2 yrs ago, 6.5-284, finished 5 yrs ago, now it’s the 7mm prc you all need , or is the salesman talking in me.
The fact is 308 is still out selling all the rest over a 9 yr period in our store, ok this is only in Nz and using data from just over 5000 firearms sales in our shop .
It’s great to try different calibres, but there no such thing as one fits all, if there was gun and ammo manufacturers would go bust.

 

[tackb]

so , i have had over the years 260rem 6.5x47 and creedmoor , plus many others but those are the ones relevant

i currently have 2 x 6.5 creedmoor , a stalking rifle and a PRS comp gun

if you reload get any calibre , if you use factory there is only one choice really which is creedmoor but remember you can also reload creedmoor.

the creedmoor is not a wonder cartridge anymore than the 308 is a glittery brick or the 270 is flat as a laser !

what it is though is a brilliantly easy round to shoot with great ammo availability and about perfect for our six deer here in the uk having enough power without being too hard to shoot.

trajectory - two loads i use are the 140gr eld-m creed and the 168 308 TAP round , with 100m zeros they are within 1.3'' of each other at 300m certainly not the difference of a kill or miss

 

[ShovelyG]

Don,t know why anyone is discussing the 6.5 cr, it’s finished 3 yrs ago, along with the 6.5 prc, finished 2 yrs ago, 6.5-284, finished 5 yrs ago, now it’s the 7mm prc you all need , or is the salesman talking in me.
The fact is 308 is still out selling all the rest over a 9 yr period in our store, ok this is only in Nz and using data from just over 5000 firearms sales in our shop .
It’s great to try different calibres, but there no such thing as one fits all, if there was gun and ammo manufacturers would go bust.

The UK and NZ market is tiny compared to that of the US.
The Creedmoor is still going strong over the pond and while that is happening nearly all manufactures will be chambering it and offering lots of choice on ammo.
The reality is it's just a mid powered cartridge that does a lot of things quite well. No cartridge is better then another, it just depends on your needs.

Top 15 Most Popular Rifle Cartridges (2026 Edition) – Backfire

backfire.tv

 

[MarinePMI]

The UK and NZ market is tiny compared to that of the US.
The Creedmoor is still going strong over the pond and while that is happening nearly all manufactures will be chambering it and offering lots of choice on ammo.
The reality is it's just a mid powered cartridge that does a lot of things quite well. No cartridge is better then another, it just depends on your needs.

Top 15 Most Popular Rifle Cartridges (2026 Edition) – Backfire

backfire.tv

<chuckle> No doubt.

Two of our large states (out of 50) have more population than the whole of the UK.

And my county (San Diego) has 2/3's the population of the whole country of New Zealand.

 

[KimE]

<chuckle> No doubt.

Two of our large states (out of 50) have more population than the whole of the UK.

And my county (San Diego) has 2/3's the population of the whole country of New Zealand.

My county has 8% of San Diegos population and 2,5 inhabitants/sq km.

 

[Lateral]

The answer is simple, or at least it should be.

I have 6.5CM, 6.5PRC, & 6.5x47. They all shoot superbly, be it with hand loads.

If you don't want to hand load, the the CM is the best option, with plenty of reasonably priced factory options.

6.5CM, 24.5", TIKTAC. 143gn ELD-X, accurate, consistently hitting gongs at Orion out to 850m/920yds. Roughly 2750fps, with 42gn of RS60.

143gn ELD-X with the penny, 147 ELD-M load development, with a couple of vg options.





The 6.5x47 was a revelation, having changed to it from a 270. Nothing wrong with the 270, Remington 700 SPS, but with a wooden stock fitted. Very accurate, but didn't really do it for me. Loaded 130gn Sierra SP, with 60gn of 3031SC, about 2950fps.

6.5x47, 24.5", 130gn Sierra SP, which achieved 2900fps, and very accurate with 39.3gn of N140. Similar speed to the 270, with 2/3 the powder. Then switched to a 129gn Nosler Long Range. 3015fps, again very accurate, but 43gn of RS60, fo an extra 3.7gn, roughly 10%. It's a total pussycat to shoot, I'm seriously considering shortening the barrel to 22", to make it a little more manageable. Downside for hunting, hopeless unless you reload.

3 shot grp.




6.5PRC, 22", 143gn ELD-X, 59.2gn of RL26, 3070fps, which is a bit hot, but I put few rounds through it. Again very accurate, but may find a lower node if I get time. Recoil is very manageable, but the highest of the 3, as would be expected. IIRC, less than the 270. Tend to use this with thermal for head shooting boar at night.................No runners !

 

[Chikentikka]

22 creedmoor, 77grain at 3600 and inherantly accurate, light recoil and very easy to load for. Alot of deer with mine and nothings walked away yet

 

[Tim.243]

True, but of course, that's because they don't have to ask permission to buy a gun. Or ammo. Or be told how much of each they are "allowed" to have.

But hey, if you can't, then making fun of those that can, seems to be apparently a good pastime. Kind of pathetic, but hey, you do you sunshine...

I am more than content with 2 rifles (no CM's thank God) and enough ammo for a whole season (that is 365 days) no looking over my shoulder for the deer warden or tags to fill in.
What a load drama US style lol

 

[MarinePMI]

I am more than content with 2 rifles (no CM's thank God) and enough ammo for a whole season (that is 365 days) no looking over my shoulder for the deer warden or tags to fill in.
What a load drama US style lol

Smh...and that is the crux of the problem, and why the UK shoooting/hunting community finds itself in the position it is today. But hey, if that works for you , even if it screws over your other countrymen. But, that seems par for the course...