Posted on 06/01/2018 4:41:20 AM PDT by w1n1
You've probably heard that the US military is replacing the M16/M4 and looking into new rifles and ammo. (US Army and Marine Corp) Wondering why they’re looking into 6.5 Creedmoor in particular? No, its not because the Russians are out gunning us. Here’s the scoop.
There are a couple things you should know about 6.5 Creedmoor and today, we’ll put this round into sharper focus for you. So let’s look at it in more detail so that you’ll see why it works for the military and why it could work for you.
Creedmoor Kicks Ass at Long Range
Right off the bat, the US Special Operations Command understood all the good things about this cartridge as an alternative to its existing ammo.
The cartridge was introduced in 2008 as one of the first and best cartridges for precision long range shooting.
At the time, there weren't a lot of civilians shooting long range, but in recent years, the company has seen demand grow in the hunting industry, and grow as manufacturers continue to put out more affordable long range rifles.
Today, it is the go-to cartridge for many hunters and competitive shooters.
Precision long range shooting skill a learned trait which is an advantage to have in combat and the military seems to be catching onto Creedmoor’s awesome reputation and populatiry for shooting close and tight precision groups at 500 yards or more.
Having a bigger bullet means you'll do bigger damage to your target, whether your target is a tango or a blood thirsty wild hog.
Our brothers in arms go through enough shit. The last thing they need is hellish recoil. If there’s one thing you won’t get with 6.5 Creedmoor, is its crazy blowback. Read the rest of this Military gets new 6.5 Creedmoor story here.
Because car doors and full framed buildings stop 22s. They are not in the Vietnamese jungles anymore. So they upped to .26
Actually the .308 should be moved back into first place.
The M 16 was foisted on the military by McNamera in the Vietnam era. The Air Force wanted a replacement for the M 1 carbine for which role it was suitable...as long as it worked. But it never should have been adapted as a main battle rifle/caliber.
Does the .308 add any significant weight for a packout in comparison? Could the .26 be a compromise for that reason?
The M16/M4 has been in service 20 years longer than the M1 Garand and the M14 combined.
The very early catastrophic issues with the M16 in Vietnam are in the distant past. Even in countries with a different main battle rifle, the M16/M4 is the weapon platform of choice among elite units that can have their pick of any rifle in the world.
I like this development. It should mean that 6.5 Creedmoor will become much more commercially available. I like having firearms in calibers with significant “found ammo” potential.
Anyone around Phoenix who wants a fun day out can stop at the Ben Avery shooting facility off the 17. Great place for practice and they have a full range of facilities including Cowboy/Tactical. I've brought the whole family out there many times for training and practice.
On the long ranges I've met folks who will swap powder recipes like they were discussing how to make bread dough. This while discussing the manufacturing of their own ammo and how it works with the custom weapons they've built. Military Martha Stewarts. It's likely the same all over America but it makes me love Arizona all that much more.
The 7.62 cartridges would be slightly heavier due to a heavier bullet. It isn’t a compromise, the 6.5 Creedmoor will outperform it at long range.
Why should it be in first place? It will give more recoil, penetrate less, and have less at long range than the 6.5, which is why the military is using it.
Unfortunately this will need a dedicated lower (AR 10) so there will be no swapping out uppers on your AR 15 to take advantage of this caliber.
The 6.5 Creedmoor is a better choice than .308, IMHO. It is ballistically superior, but kicks about like a .243.
There really is no downside.
Russians?
Does Robert Mueller know about this issue?
Bump
I like the 6.5. The general ballistic coefficient says a lot for long range work.
Like a previous poster said, the Swedes have been using it like forever.
Since I’m not the military and on a much smaller, stricter ammo budget, I just neck down .308/7.62 cartridges to 6.5. I use my same left-handed Rem. 700 .308 action and swapped out the original .308 barrel to an Lilja cut for 6.5. I use a Lapua Scenar 123 grain HPBT thru it, and it has worked great for me for many years and still does. Then, someone along the way told me that all I was doing was making the commercially available Remington 260 round. I still think my old style “home brew” ones perform a lot better.
“The 6.5 Creedmoor is a better choice than .308, IMHO.”
Guess I need both then.
“Honey, have you seen the checkbook?”
“Because car doors and full framed buildings stop 22s. They are not in the Vietnamese jungles anymore. So they upped to .26. “
“Actually the .308 should be moved back into first place.”
I started out with the M-14 7.62/308 switched to the M-16 once in country (Nam). Anyway, the 7.62/308 excellent round but heavy to pack. Appears that the 6.5mm/256cal round has a shorter cartridge than the NATO round. Don’t know about the ballistics though. Personally, my favorite round is the 270. Shoots flat, great ballistics. I have taken several deer at 200 yards or there abouts and my longest was 325 yards, dropped it on the spot. And, this was with a stock Remington 700 BDL, no modifications. However, the 270 cartridge is long, about as long as the 30-06, which would make it weight prohibitive for infantry use.
The 6.5 Creedmore is definitely the better long-range target round. You can get to 1000 or so with .308, but you are pushing the envelope with that. I’ve shot at 600 with 168 grain Federal National Match ammo, but to reach 1000 takes just a tad more.
The trajectory on the 6.5 is much flatter, which is why it’s more suitable to the extended range shooting.
If I’m not mistaken, they also like to use 300 Winchester Mag for sniper duty since it also packs a wallup when you want to reach out and touch a distant target.
So for the same reason they used the 5.56 for 50years?
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