In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
6.5 Creedmore Vs. 6.5-284
FrancF
Member Posts: 35,279 ✭✭✭
I am fairly new to both rounds. I was planning to buy a 6.5-284 but is the 6.5 Creedmore worth a look?
Comments
NOPE. the 6.5 creedmore is wayyy behind the 6.5x284 round. The Creedmore has nowhere near the range. My suggestion is the 6.5x284 unless you go with ole' faithfull,...a tight neck 6.5x55.
Thanks Justin-[:)] I did a quick skim over the creedmor and it looked (Ballisticly) like a rehashed .308? (for a lack of a better term).
Look at the wind drift, that is where the small 6.5s have an edge over .308.
the 130-147gr class of 6.5 pills are touting some serious BC in the 2950+fps range. Mine works out to be somewhere around .615[8D] The 308 can't begin to run with those numbers.
Do a quick search for "6.5 Creedmore" and look for a post from nononsense that has a link to a review article. The author compared the 6.5 Creedmore, the .260 Remington and the 6.5X47 Lapua. It was a pretty good read.
IIRC, the jist of the article was that there wasn't a whole lot of difference between the three.
In the mid-60's I finally got the opportunity when a Building Contractor friend of mine approached me and wanted me to build him a custom long range rifle for hunting Antelope way out in West Texas and New Mexico. I had been reading about the 6.5 x 284 and told him that I thought it would be better than the .270 he had been using...but it would be expensive. I would come up with the specs and select the gunsmiths to do the work...the costs were all his. The whole process was a great experience for me and a great rifle for him.
What we wound up with was an FN Mauser action mated to a 27 inch Shelin barrel tapered to .65 inches. It was necked out to maximize powder capacity. The barrel was black chromed (his choice, not mine) and mounted on a custom made birds eye walnut stock. I put a Leupold 3x9 scope on it. It was a sweet combo and one of the most beautiful rifles I had ever seen
I used Winchester Brass, CCI primers, IMR4350 powder and 140 grain Nosler bullets. Tuned it to where I could get fairly consistent 5 shot 1.5 to 2.0 inch groups at 100 yards using sand bags.
Bill's first kill was a West Texas White-tail 12 pointer at a little over 500 long paces. Pretty good for a head on facing shot. Bill was a 6.5 inch tall man so I reckon his paces were well over a yard long.
Bill was a happy camper and I had full filled one of my long standing ambitions. I don't mind telling you I was a Nervous Nellie through out the whole process primarily because I was playing with someone else's money and it was my first rodeo. I think the final cost was somewhere around 2 to 2.5K dollars.
I never did attempt to build another custom rifle...had already been there and done that...LOL
It is a GREAT AR chambering, but not a bolt gun round. The 6.5x284 bests it by a lot, and a good 6.5x55 will also. Now for meat hunting,..the game prolly won't know the difference. BUT in a game measured by the .001", I would go 6.5x284 or better yet, a tight necked 6.5x55
CC
Is it worth a look?
That depends on what use you have in mind. According to Hornady:
"The new cartridge was conceptualized by Dave Emary, Hornady's Senior Ballistician, and Dennis DeMille, General Manager of Creedmoorr Sports and two-time NRA National High Power Rifle Champion. Dave and Dennis wanted to provide factory-loaded ammo that would be 100% competitive with any High Power chambering, including the 6XC and 6.5x47 Lapua. The 6.5 Creedmoor was purpose-built for match rifles, including the Tubb 2000 and DPMS/Panther Arms LR Series."
It's not designed to for 1,000 yard benchrest although it will work for that distance since a number of us have played with it. It's not designed for point blank benchrest because the 6PPC is the only cartridge shot there. It will work just fine at 600 yards for F-Class prone shooting. But it was designed specifically for High Power competition and for shooters who want to shoot more than they want to reload.
Realistically, the 6.5 Creedmoor is the next step in the refinement of the intermediate 6.5 accuracy cartridges. It's a very nicely designed cartridge that has a longer lineage than Hornady will let on to. The 6.5-250 Savage Improved will run right with the Creedmoor and some of us have been shooting it for 15 or more years.
No it's not the 6.5x284, it was never meant to be. Your needs will dictate whether the milder cartridge will work or if you need the additional horsepower to accomplish your goals.
Best.