To 6.5 or not to 6.5 that is the question!

[big ears]

i don't understand this , sorry

of the 308/7-08/6.5cr the 308 has the most recoil followed by the 7-08 and then the 6.5cr all things being constant as much as possible and and muzzle energy is in the same order but at 300m it's reversed with the creed just pipping it , thats using 150gr in the 308 and 140gr in the other two to try and keep it even

so all things being as equal as possible the 7-08 does not have 6.5 recoil but 308 'knock down' power ?

they are three extremely similar rounds with very similar performance and personally i would recommend the lowest recoil whilst making the necessary energy to get the job done , lower recoil equals easier to shoot well and better shot placement in my experience?

Ok so considering sensible distances (out to 300m) they are all the same.
Perceived recoil is a multi factorial issue and while in part Newtonian physics also fit of rifle plays a part.
The real life difference is that 7mm bullets do make a bigger wound Chanel and seem to knock down quicker than the 6.5. This can be down to bullet design but I’ve shot 6.5 for many years and am very pleasantly surprised that the 7mm dies drop them better.
You can get easily lost with ballistics charts but it’s on the ground that counts. This is not a CM kicking as I think the rise in the 6.5 awareness is great and have always waved the flag. Just that if I was to start again and have one rifle I’d seriously consider 7mm.
Personal choice.

 

[Selous]

Is this not back to the debate as to why we stalk? Are we doing it for management purposes or to harvest meat?

I always find the fact that rifle calibres are quoted as a minimum calibre and we are to humanley dispatch the allocated quarry.

Thus should we not all be pinging 50 BMG down range?
No goes up the cryas thats over kill!
I am sure the deer is far from caring whether its just left with a smouldering couple of hoofs and a nose if hit by a 50 cal, compared to a 240 Wetherby!
Which is the more humane round!

Just saying!!

Having seen a few videos on YouTube of folks shooting deer with the 50BMG I have to say it is far from impressive. Recently some total fool posted a video of shooting fox and jackal with a 50BMG. The fox ran on after the shot and then keeled over! Now if that had been shot with a 22/250 and 55 grain Blitzking or a 243 and a VMax I would be willing to bet that the fox would have collapsed like a pricked balloon! It’s a matter of choosing the correct tool for the job and a 50BMG is not the correct tool for hunting any animal.

 

[a_seth]

Ok so considering sensible distances (out to 300m) they are all the same.
Perceived recoil is a multi factorial issue and while in part Newtonian physics also fit of rifle plays a part.
The real life difference is that 7mm bullets do make a bigger wound Chanel and seem to knock down quicker than the 6.5. This can be down to bullet design but I’ve shot 6.5 for many years and am very pleasantly surprised that the 7mm dies drop them better.
You can get easily lost with ballistics charts but it’s on the ground that counts. This is not a CM kicking as I think the rise in the 6.5 awareness is great and have always waved the flag. Just that if I was to start again and have one rifle I’d seriously consider 7mm.
Personal choice.

Really interested in what your reasons are for the 7mm you would recommend? Is there a big advantage 7 x 57 or 7-08? I had been thinking of picking up a lightweight .270 for stags on the hill (and keeping a heavier 6.5 for smaller game/target) but always keen to hear other views! Particularly keen on a good second hand rifle so I’m ruling out 7 PRC for now (is does also seem overpowered to me for the U.K.)…

 

[tackb]

Ok so considering sensible distances (out to 300m) they are all the same.
Perceived recoil is a multi factorial issue and while in part Newtonian physics also fit of rifle plays a part.
The real life difference is that 7mm bullets do make a bigger wound Chanel and seem to knock down quicker than the 6.5. This can be down to bullet design but I’ve shot 6.5 for many years and am very pleasantly surprised that the 7mm dies drop them better.
You can get easily lost with ballistics charts but it’s on the ground that counts. This is not a CM kicking as I think the rise in the 6.5 awareness is great and have always waved the flag. Just that if I was to start again and have one rifle I’d seriously consider 7mm.
Personal choice.

fair enough , i've always found shot placement has more to do with dropping them quickest not the calibre

 

[big ears]

fair enough , i've always found shot placement has more to do with dropping them quickest not the calibre

Not always

 

[Rutland lad]

Well yeah trump does say some unusual off the wall things but unlike the present leader of the USA , he has proved himself to be playing with a full bag of marbles and has one heck of a better reputation regards the economy, law and order and is a very, very successful business man . In leading America he met Crazy Rocket man in North Korea and talked condos and did not throw away Afghanistan and those who helped peace and human rights for so many .
Now how about Biden ? A man who openly does not like the British and constantly shows clear signs of being short on his marbles ! Along with what was an even worse exit than the previous Vietnam withdrawal mess.
There is a great possibility with Trump being re-elected if you look at the stats and the mess Biden made of Borders and with it the flooding of the deadly Fentanyl
But hey everyone has and gets an opinion .
Personally i dont rate any of the U-tubers , they pander to follower numbers and sponsorship above all else . Most of them dont honestly shoot that much and when they do they spend that time yacking

There’s evidence that if Trump had taken all the money he inherited and placed in in a normal deposit account, then by now he’d be considerably richer than he currently is. The reason behind that is simple - he’s made some disastrous business decisions.
He may be many things, but a successful business owner he is not.

 

[tackb]

Not always

a well placed suitable calibre will always beat a badly placed magnum calibre

anyway we will have to agree to disagree i guess , have a great day

 

[Andy Mauthe]

I bought a 6.5 CM last summer, wanting something “less” than my 30-06 but “more” than my .223 Rem. It fits really nicely into that slot (as do many others including the .243Win). The reason I went with the 6.5 CM was that it was designed from the start as a long range target round. And as such it takes advantage of everything we have learned over the past 100+ years about ballistics. And it takes advantage of the long high BC bullets that are available now. Not that you can’t load those same type of bullets in other classic calibers (like the .243) but doing so is basically a retrofit of sorts. What I mean by that is that the older chamberings weren’t designed to accommodate the longer high BC bullets because they didn’t exist at that time. And the chambers weren’t specified to match tolerances because that wasn’t the original intended use. And the barrels weren’t set up with fast enough twist rates to effectively stabilize those long high BC bullets that didn’t exist. So to me it’s just easier to buy something that out of the box has all of the features that 100+ years of evolution has to offer. I’m sure that in the early 1900’s there were many discussions among riflemen about the advantages of the “new” 30-06 while others were touting the good old 45-70. It’s really no different now. I happen to own both a 30-06 and (several) 45-70’s! They both are great choices. But they are great choices for different situations etc. The 6.5 CM is a fine cartridge that does a lot of things well, and it’s widely available in a vast range of bullet weights and types. And the rifles chambered in it are also widely available from almost every manufacturer in the world. I love mine for what it is and it slots nicely in between others. I don’t own a .243 Win. It’s a fine and classic caliber. But the 6.5 CM can do everything that the .243 can and more. Just my thoughts.

 

[Bowland blades]

There’s evidence that if Trump had taken all the money he inherited and placed in in a normal deposit account, then by now he’d be considerably richer than he currently is. The reason behind that is simple - he’s made some disastrous business decisions.
He may be many things, but a successful business owner he is not.

Now your being daft , all people in business make bad decisions. The trick is the balance of success over failure over many years.
nobody but the Banks truly makes money out of a deposit account over a reasonable time span

 

[Andy Mauthe]

There’s evidence that if Trump had taken all the money he inherited and placed in in a normal deposit account, then by now he’d be considerably richer than he currently is. The reason behind that is simple - he’s made some disastrous business decisions.
He may be many things, but a successful business owner he is not.

I live in the United States. So let me tell you, I would love a few mean tweets and non-politically correct comments if it meant not having a senile progressive puppet in office. The conditions in this country have declined by every tangible measure since the current moron took office. Idk what you hear across the pond, but I have a front row seat and it’s not good. From crime to immigration to inflation and the fires brewing up all over the world and so on. These things are not a coincidence. Biden is weak and senile. And anyone who isn’t suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome can see that. Including other world leaders both friendly and not friendly. Take it for what it’s worth. But regardless of what the “established media” tells you, Biden’s impact on this country and the world has all been bad. Just my 2 cents from the front row.

 

[Bowland blades]

It’s a fine and classic caliber. But the 6.5 CM can do everything that the .243 can and more. Just my thoughts.

Can you get 58 grain varmint bullets for a creed ? Not to my knoledge ! Is the 6.5 Creed the fastest 6.5 ? No! Is it better than the 6mm creed even ? Well apparently not as regards long range events as the 6mm is available in a higher BC and it has less recoil and the PRS guys etc are changing their 6.5 creeds out for it .
What the Creed did do is put a longer higher BC target bullet into a 308 class action than was previous available . But there where folks shooting high BC bullets with 243 Ack through 30-06 actions. But then try and get them off the shelf , Hornady did a great marketing job and being the owner of the design as they are for other cartridges ( 17 hmr etc ) They have another goose that lays Golden eggs !

 

[Bowland blades]

I live in the United States. So let me tell you, I would love a few mean tweets and non-politically correct comments if it meant not having a senile progressive puppet in office. The conditions in this country have declined by every tangible measure since the current moron took office. Idk what you hear across the pond, but I have a front row seat and it’s not good. From crime to immigration to inflation and the fires brewing up all over the world and so on. These things are not a coincidence. Biden is weak and senile. And anyone who isn’t suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome can see that. Including other world leaders both friendly and not friendly. Take it for what it’s worth. But regardless of what the “established media” tells you, Biden’s impact on this country and the world has all been bad. Just my 2 cents from the front row.

Just remember many of my Nation really are being fed by a Left wing Media.

 

[Andy Mauthe]

Can you get 58 grain varmint bullets for a creed ? Not to my knoledge ! Is the 6.5 Creed the fastest 6.5 ? No! Is it better than the 6mm creed even ? Well apparently not as regards long range events as the 6mm is available in a higher BC and it has less recoil and the PRS guys etc are changing their 6.5 creeds out for it .
What the Creed did do is put a longer higher BC target bullet into a 308 class action than was previous available . But there where folks shooting high BC bullets with 243 Ack through 30-06 actions. But then try and get them off the shelf , Hornady did a great marketing job and being the owner of the design as they are for other cartridges ( 17 hmr etc ) They have another goose that lays Golden eggs !

Like I said, the 6.5 CM fits in nicely between my .223 and my 30-06. There are always other options and that’s what makes our sport great. If I want to shoot 58 grain bullets then I’ll use my .233. If I want a 6 MM then I might go with a 6 MM CM, but that wasn’t the original question posed. If I want a 6.5 that shoots faster, flatter, and hits harder then I’d go with a 6.5 PRC. But in doing so, I would burn more powder, pay more for ammunition that’s not as readily available, and greatly reduce my barrel life as compared to the 6.5 CM. I’m an engineer. And one of the first real lessons you learn in engineering is that there’s no free lunch. Everything has consequences. And better depends of what your criteria is. The 6.5 CM is not the best at everything as some might believe. But it’s a great compromise that’s accurate, reasonably powerful, offers moderate recoil, good barrel life, and it’s widely available. There’s lots of other options but it all depends on what your criteria is.

 

[Andy Mauthe]

Just remember many of my Nation really are being fed by a Left wing Media.

It’s the same here.

 

[Bowland blades]

It’s the same here.

Yeah its a cycle we go through after folks who forget or never lived through the last time , its been a while

 

[SikaSeeker]

Having seen a few videos on YouTube of folks shooting deer with the 50BMG I have to say it is far from impressive. Recently some total fool posted a video of shooting fox and jackal with a 50BMG. The fox ran on after the shot and then keeled over! Now if that had been shot with a 22/250 and 55 grain Blitzking or a 243 and a VMax I would be willing to bet that the fox would have collapsed like a pricked balloon! It’s a matter of choosing the correct tool for the job and a 50BMG is not the correct tool for hunting any animal.

Just one mistake in your post, you left out the ultimate foxing round, the auld Swift

 

[Border]

I bought a 6.5 CM last summer, wanting something “less” than my 30-06 but “more” than my .223 Rem. It fits really nicely into that slot (as do many others including the .243Win). The reason I went with the 6.5 CM was that it was designed from the start as a long range target round. And as such it takes advantage of everything we have learned over the past 100+ years about ballistics. And it takes advantage of the long high BC bullets that are available now. Not that you can’t load those same type of bullets in other classic calibers (like the .243) but doing so is basically a retrofit of sorts. What I mean by that is that the older chamberings weren’t designed to accommodate the longer high BC bullets because they didn’t exist at that time. And the chambers weren’t specified to match tolerances because that wasn’t the original intended use. And the barrels weren’t set up with fast enough twist rates to effectively stabilize those long high BC bullets that didn’t exist. So to me it’s just easier to buy something that out of the box has all of the features that 100+ years of evolution has to offer. I’m sure that in the early 1900’s there were many discussions among riflemen about the advantages of the “new” 30-06 while others were touting the good old 45-70. It’s really no different now. I happen to own both a 30-06 and (several) 45-70’s! They both are great choices. But they are great choices for different situations etc. The 6.5 CM is a fine cartridge that does a lot of things well, and it’s widely available in a vast range of bullet weights and types. And the rifles chambered in it are also widely available from almost every manufacturer in the world. I love mine for what it is and it slots nicely in between others. I don’t own a .243 Win. It’s a fine and classic caliber. But the 6.5 CM can do everything that the .243 can and more. Just my thoughts.

The 6.5x55 pretty much ticked most of those boxes 100 + years ago. Not dissing the 6.5 Creedmoor, which is a good choice for a short actioned 6.5 round. The availability of both factory rifles chambered for it and ammunition makes it a nobrainer for most people.
Here in Scandinavia the 6.5x55 is still king of the 2 chamberings and unlikely to change for many years.

 

[Andy Mauthe]

The 6.5x55 pretty much ticked most of those boxes 100 + years ago. Not dissing the 6.5 Creedmoor, which is a good choice for a short actioned 6.5 round. The availability of both factory rifles chambered for it and ammunition makes it a nobrainer for most people.
Here in Scandinavia the 6.5x55 is still king of the 2 chamberings and unlikely to change for many years.

I agree 100% with that. The only reason I went with the CM over the 6.5x55 is because the 6.5x55 never really caught on here in the States (which is too bad). So both in terms of factory loaded ammunition and components, the CM stuff is just easier to source here. The 6.5x55 was indeed way ahead of it’s time.

 

[antsa]

The 6.5 is a great calibre and there are many chamberings to choose from. I have one in the .260 Rem. Today I use it exclusively for gong pinging at the range. There I can shoot out to 500m but a 1000m range is in the works. At home on the farm I've used it on critters at around 300m and I would never entertain the thought of shooting at any vermin or game further out than this.

Cheers

 

[25 Sharps]

Having seen a few videos on YouTube of folks shooting deer with the 50BMG I have to say it is far from impressive. Recently some total fool posted a video of shooting fox and jackal with a 50BMG. The fox ran on after the shot and then keeled over! Now if that had been shot with a 22/250 and 55 grain Blitzking or a 243 and a VMax I would be willing to bet that the fox would have collapsed like a pricked balloon! It’s a matter of choosing the correct tool for the job and a 50BMG is not the correct tool for hunting any animal.

Apart from a human?