6.5 Creedmoor for Hunting Deer

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 6/25/2019 | J Eiles

[w1n1]

The 6.5 Creedmoor rifle cartridge has been around for a while now and very popular among long range competitive shooters. This caliber is also effective for hunting as well. As a matter of fact the 6.5 is gaining rapid popularity. With its mild recoil and long range accuracy this caliber can compete along the lines of other long range cartridges such as the .308.
Anyhow, the 6.5 isn't new. The 6.5 caliber has been around since 1891. Orginally, produced for the Swedish military, hunters in Europe quickly found it to be great on game.

Winchester came out with the .264 Win Mag and Remington launched its .260 Remington. Both of these calibers are great performers but it took a while for it to catch fire in the hunting world. Many people are asking is the 6.5 good for hunting?
Here's a few from our list that you can check out, some of these are factory and custom loads to match your hunting scene.

Weatherby Magnum - The 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum is the fastest production 6.5mm there is. Combined with high Ballistic Coefficient (BC) projectiles designed for long range shooting, the velocity of the 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum opens a whole new world of possibilities and provides hunters with the terminal performance every Weatherby shooter is accustomed to.

Nosler - Originally designed for competitive shooting, it is an excellent hunting cartridge as well. Its relatively short case coupled with a long O.A.C.L. maximizes usable powder capacity with heavier projectile weights. H4350 and RL17 yield good accuracy and velocity.

Browning 129gr BXR - Designed for rapid expansion on thin-skinned game, the the Browning BXR 6.5 Creedmoor ammo is great for whitetail, blacktail, mule deer and pronghorn hunting. Read the rest of 6.5 creedmoor for hunting deer.

[crusty old prospector]

I got one back in May. I have sighted it in and anxiously await a feral hog and then whitetail.

[lgjhn23]

Shouldn’t be an issue at all.
I’ve used both the 7mm-08 and .260 Remington for whitetail in the past without issue. 6.5 Creedmoor and the 260 Remington are fairly close ballistic-wise. IMHO, shot placement is more important.

[yarddog]

The 6.5mm Creedmore has received a lot of attention lately and I am sure it is a great cartridge.

Still for the ordinary shooter, the .308, .243, 6mm Remington etc. would do just as well.

[Revolutionary]

One of the reasons I chose the .270 was that it shoots real flat. One less correction.

[rjsimmon]

Same article that was published a month or so ago. Looks like the author learned how to write in the interim.

[myerson]

Funny. I’ve killed more Wisconsin deer with a .222 Remington that all the rest of my hunting rifles combined.

[CurlyDave]

Other than drain my wallet, what does the 6.5 do that my .308 won’t?

[gundog]

Better, probably. 200 yards is a long shot at deer, around here. I heard a guy say he took an elk at 600+ with .6.5, but it’s not something I’d encourage.

[yarddog]

With the right bullets it will shoot flatter and penetrate better.

Mainly, like you said, it will drain your wallet.

[gundog]

Damage your hearing.

[litehaus]

Other than drain my wallet——A swede in 6.5 x 55 won’t do that....

[IndispensableDestiny]

Still not a reason to put away your .308, .270, 7mm-08, .30-30, or .30-06.

[Bulwyf]

I have four. Coyotes, deer, elk, moose, bear, all no issues.

Know where to hit, use a good round (ELD-X, nosler accubonds etc) and you can do real great. 300 win mag performance at 1000 yards without all the boom and fuss.

I’ve been on this cartridge since 2008, and I won’t even look at 308s anymore.

[Bulwyf]

It’s a long list, but 50% less wind drift for one. Hits harder once you’re past 350-450 yards, it’s about even until then, and shoots way flatter, higher BC’s.

[salmon76]

Other than drain my wallet, what does the 6.5 do that my .308 won’t?

I use .308 because that's what fits in my gun

[Manly Warrior]

And w/o the terminal enegy as well. Granted, a .670 BC is a .670 BC, but like BC, mass is forever!

I like my semi-custom 300H&H ( LH Ruger 77, 26inch Krieger 1-12 barrel) with 200 partitions for 0-400, then the 212 ELD-X for past that. Either at 2975 are easy to short, a pleasure to handle and deadly on anything in NA and most other continents.

The 6.5s are easy to shoot- almost able to watch the impact, but not with lighter hunting/field weight rifles. Kill very well- espc. with heavy/log for caliber bullets.

Fact is, SD and BC at commensurate velocities all perform abut the same external ballistics wise, and even penetration in soft media. Its just the larger funny saying “larger” about the 30 cal) do so much better in terms of KE or Momentum, and kill so much cleaner espc. at range.

I have one. (6.5, not a creedmoor though, a 6.5 LR).

[OldGoatCPO]

6.5 has less kick than a .308 (for us old timers). Beyond that for general hunting it is not much of a difference. Unless you are doing some serious long range hunting the .308 is cheaper and a pretty close match. Had a .308 and sold it. It was and AR-10 model and it was the hot thing to have for a while. I already had a 7mm Mag and a 30.06 it was kind of redundant.

I hunt with a .300 Blackout, if I am looking at 75 yards or less. But generally carry my trusty Browning 30.06. That rifle has killed a lot of deer and antelope from Wisconsin, to North Carolina and parts west. It was my fathers favorite rifle, and now mine.

[JimRed]

6.5 caliber? That’s less than half the size of most air rifle pellets, isn’t it? Must be 6.5 MM.

[ravenwolf]

Yeah, me too in Colorado with a spot light, you have to get head shots but the bigger guns make too much noise.