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.

[ravenwolf]

I need to correct my self I used to use 22 long rifle hollow points, during hunting season I used a 30_3o.

[Who is John Galt?]

...the 6.5 isn't new.

And the 6.5 Creedmoor isn't really "new" either. It's basically the .250 Savage Improved (which has been around since FDR was president), necked up a whopping 0.007"...

[yarddog]

I think the 6.5X55 is the best overall cartridge ever. Well besides the 22LR.

It will handle bullets all the way to 160 grains and still have lots of room in the case for powder.

It is too long for short actions but that is as much an advantage as not. Those long slender cartridges feed like butter from those old Swedish Mausers.

In a modern Remington 700 or a Sako, they can be loaded hotter than anything except a few odd balls like the Weatherby.

[Manly Warrior]

All true, but the details are what makes it a (better) cartridge. The chamber freebore, leade angle and capability to shoot modern heavy for caliber bullets with extremely high drag Coefficients makes it somewhat more efficient that even the 260 Rem. A near twin in terms of cartridge capacity etc.
The Creedmoor was developed for target shooting at long(er ) ranges.

Regarding the .25 cal family, you find few updated bullets from the major makers, but a plethora of 6 and 6.5 diameter bullets.

Its not so much the .007 inches of diameter that makes a difference...

[Who is John Galt?]

Its not so much the .007 inches of diameter that makes a difference...

You're definitely right about that, in terms of performance! In most cases, however, rifling or chamber modifications, and updated projectiles, don't generate a new cartridge name. In this case, it's that 0.007" change that "created" the 6.5 Creedmoor. And I do give the folks who brought the cartridge to market a lot of credit - they wanted it to be a popular cartridge. Giving it a customary/traditional name (6.5-.250 Savage Improved) would NOT have helped..

[Manly Warrior]

Well, its not a 250 based case at all, it is a 308 based case, like the 260 & 243 etc. Less taper and steeper shoulder for more efficient use of space/less case growth and a chamber dedicated for long 6.5 bullets.

I think the only real similarity is the .473 case head diameter...everything else is designed for those long high BC VLDs.

The biggest obvious difference is in the chamber, not the case I suppose. The Creedmoor allows a COAL of 2.8” while the 250 family is limited to 2.5 ish. That difference alone allows more useful case capacity.

But anyway, Model T or Shelby Mustang, both are fine for varying purposes, both are automobiles.

[Who is John Galt?]

(Oops - just reread that, and that should probably be “chamber modifications” that don’t change cartridge case dimensions... ;^)

[Who is John Galt?]

Well, its not a 250 based case at all, it is a 308 based case, like the 260 & 243 etc. Less taper and steeper shoulder for more efficient use of space/less case growth and a chamber dedicated for long 6.5 bullets. I think the only real similarity is the .473 case head diameter...

You're right, the Creedmore case does not closely resemble the .250-3000 factory case, except for rim and head diameter, plus neck and case length (both within 0.008"). But if you look at Ackley's .250 Savage Improved case, the two are VERY similar. The case dimensions (shoulder diameter, shoulder length, shoulder angle, neck length, case length, etc.) are all so close, you can probably chamber an empty 6.5 Creedmoor case in a .250 Savage Improved chamber, with minimal effort (the neck would be sized down to 0.288" diameter in the process, etc.).

I wasn't involved in developing either cartridge, so I can't say for sure (and it really doesn't matter, except from a historical perspective). But it's probably not a total coincidence...

;^)