Is 6.5 Creedmoor Worth It?

I’m kind of confused by your question. If the Savage does what you need, what’s the real interest in a different rifle in the same cartridge? What would the RPR in .308 add? Without a better understanding of your needs/wants, it’s hard to suggest a solution.

Personally, I’d probably opt for a 6.5 because it doesn’t duplicate the .308, even though it would require the investment in dies, brass, and bullets.

If your current rig is still working well for you, I would go with a different cartridge for the new rifle. That way you get to enjoy your load development all over again from scratch.

At a max. of 600 yds., there's not much difference between a 308 and 6.5CM for your intended purpose.

Of course there's less recoil with the 6.5CM which might effect your accuracy.

If the 6.5cm interests you, and you've already decided on getting another rifle, I'd go for it.
If for no other reason than having more than one caliber/cartridge is fun.

I'm heavily invested in 308. I have 4 rifles set up for very different roles in 308 that cover all of my bases for hunting and target shooting. I have money invested in custom stocks for some of them, nice scopes on them, and I have spent time and money developing several loads using various bullets styles and weights that cover all of my needs. I'm not selling them and changing to something else at this stage of my life.

But about a year ago decided to see what the 6.5 CM was all about. I bought the least expensive rifle that I thought would be acceptably accurate enough to evaluate the round, A Ruger Predator. The 6.5 CM is the real deal and is inspired by the older 260. The 260 cartridge and the rifles made for it were designed around 120 gr hunting bullets. When target shooters started trying to use much longer high BC 140-147 gr target bullets in 260 they found they had to heavily modify the rifles to make it work. The 6.5 CM was designed from the ground up to use the longer, heavier bullets.

At a max. of 600 yds., there's not much difference between a 308 and 6.5CM for your intended purpose.

Of course there's less recoil with the 6.5CM which might effect your accuracy.

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This is exactly the same conclusion that I came to. BUT; while they are a virtual tie (with the right loads) the 308 doesn't have a single ballistic edge at any range. It is "almost" as good, and close enough that no one will notice out to about 500-600 yards (other than recoil). But not better. Beyond 500-600 yards the 6.5 pulls away. For truly long range work the 308 starts running out of gas at about 800 yards, 1000, at most. The 6.5 CM is still supersonic, and accurate, out to about 2000 yards.

With 140-147 gr bullets the 6.5 CM beats 308 with 150-165 gr bullets in every way, with about 25% less recoil. The 308 with 150's leave the muzzle 100-150 fps faster, but the more aerodynamic 6.5's catch and pass 308/150 at about 150 yards. The much longer 6.5 bullets easily out penetrate the 308/150's on any game animal at any range. The 308 only matches the 6.5 CM once you start shooting 175-180 gr bullets. And only for the 1st 500 yards or so.

The only thing 308 does better than 6.5 CM is that barrels last longer. A 6.5 target barrel will probably be shot out at 3000-4000 rounds. A 308 is probably good for double that.

As said earlier I'm not changing anything at this point in my life. But if advising a younger shooter debating 308 vs 6.5 CM I'd tell them to go with the 6.5 CM. And while you don't plan to shoot beyond 500 yards now, that might change once you get a rifle capable of doing it. You might consider doing what I did and buy the Predator 1st. They are 1/3 the price of the Precision rifle and every bit as accurate. Same action and barrel. The new ones come with Accuracy international 3, 5, and 10 round magazines and you could always add a chassis style stock later. All for less money than buying the Precision rifle. If you don't like the 6.5 round or the Predator you don't ton of money invested and can sell it.

Thanks for all the responses! And to clarify, yes I'm buying a rifle for no other real reason than just to try something different. I'm still not even 100% on the 308/6.5, I'm also thinking about a 22-250. I love the hunt...

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If you want to try something different I'd opt for the 22-250. I'd rather have a 308 (which you have) and a 22-250 than a 308 and a 6.5CM. If you're not likely to ever shoot past 600 yards you wont ever see the advantage of the 6.5 anyway, you'll just have 2 rifles that basically do the same thing... Besides, if you decide to shoot further one of these days you can still take the 308 out to about 900 or a 1000 yrds....
You'll probably have more fun with the 22.250 because you'll shoot it the most at the ranges it really performs at...

Bushpilot said:

If you want to try something different I'd opt for the 22-250. I'd rather have a 308 (which you have) and a 22-250 than a 308 and a 6.5CM. If you're not likely to ever shoot past 600 yards you wont ever see the advantage of the 6.5 anyway, you'll just have 2 rifles that basically do the same thing... Besides, if you decide to shoot further one of these days you can still take the 308 out to about 900 or a 1000 yrds....
You'll probably have more fun with the 22.250 because you'll shoot it the most at the ranges it really performs at...

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This ^^^^^ .

One thing I haven't seen the OP mention is HOW he hunts. If you don't have to carry the rifle very far and you only shoot from static position, the RPR might be a good choice. But I definitely wouldn't want to carry an RPR on a long hunt. I'm no weakling but I wouldn't call the RPR a hunting rifle. It starts out heavy and then you still need an optic.

As for the .308 vs 6.5CM, I don't really have a dog in that fight as I've never owned either one. I see the .308 as a good all around cartridge but not the best at anything. And the 6.5CM, by its ballistics numbers, seems to have bested the .308 in all aspects. I've been looking to get into long range shooting. I'm trying to decide between a 6.5CM and a .224 Valkyrie. The 6.5 seems like the better choice when only considering shooting long range but the .224 sounds like it'd be more fun as a plinker while still getting the job done at long range. Throw in the ability to use cheap bullets for loading my own plinking ammo, plus being able to chamber it in an AR15, and the .224 starts sounding even better. The only reason I would even consider a .308 over either is the ease of finding a way range of factory ammo. Since I don't own a rifle chambered for any of those cartridges I'd be starting from,scratch no matter what, but I think even if I owned a .308 I'd still buy something else.

DDawg said:

The 6.5 Creedmoor looks real interesting and is something new. But what I'm struggling with is, considering what I shoot, is it worth having to buy all new brass, dies and bullets for a new caliber, or should I just buy another 308?
I enjoy shooting and load development, so I'm not too worried about associated cost, but I also don't have a money tree growing in my back yard either.

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DDawg said:

Thanks for all the responses! And to clarify, yes I'm buying a rifle for no other real reason than just to try something different. I'm still not even 100% on the 308/6.5, I'm also thinking about a 22-250. I love the hunt...

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I personally would go with a 22-250. And if the choice was only between a "new and different" 6.5 Creed and another 308, I personally would go with the 6.5 Creed. You said you "enjoy shooting and load development." Well, it sounds like you've probably already developed loads for the 308 you already have. There's just not going to be much more "developing" to be done for another 308.
However, as I said, if you include the 22-250 in the mix, I personally would go with it. A 22-250 would give you a new cartridge to develop loads for, plus it's different than a 6.5 Creed or a 308 Win, which are both used for essentially the same things - medium to big game, and sometimes, long range precision rifle shooting.

DDawg said:

fun shooting and maybe hogs/deer.

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Why would you get a .22-250 for this? I’ve had multiple .22-250’s. They’re good for hitting itty bitty stuff way off once in a while (groundhogs, crows)

And they burn barrels. I mean the barrels heat bad, quick. There’s little to nothing that one will do that a 6.5 won’t, but there’s lots a 6.5 will do that a 250 won’t.

I go on prairie dog hunts every few years, and I still sold my .22-250. I just got a 7 Mag for deer because it was a screaming deal, but if I was in your position it would have been a 6.5 Creed. The Creed seems to be the do-it-all rifle that the .243 and .25-06 always wanted to be.

If a 6.5 Creed appeals to you go for it, they are almost as good as a .260 Rem.

Offfhand said:

If a 6.5 Creed appeals to you go for it, they are almost as good as a .260 Rem.

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I wasn't going to go there, even though I own two .260 Remingtons and now have all the parts to assemble a new .260 Ackley, plus a couple of .308s ... and no 6.5 Creedmoor!

If a 6.5 Creed appeals to you go for it, they are almost as good as a .260 Rem.

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LOL

I'm honestly getting tired of hearing about the 6.5 CM. It's not like it's really all that revolutionary. The 6.5 Swede and others have been around a long time. There are many cartridges out there that with the right bullet and twist rate will shoot as flat or flatter.. It's just that those rounds were usually chambered in rifles optimized for hunting at normal ranges...

I've heard that the 6.5 CM is developing a bad reputation for wounding game, especially elk. Hunters can hit them with the 6.5CM a lot further out then it has the energy to put them down... As a hunting cartridge at conventional hunting distances it's nothing extraordinary either... IMO the 6.5 has one thing going for it, it's a good range/target rifle beyond 600 yards with moderate recoil...but so are others...

For me yes the 6.5 Creedmoor is worth it for you is it that is a question you must answer yourself but I think yes the less recoil of a 6.5 is totally worth it vs a 308!

I guess if you already don't have a .243, 6mm, 257, 25-06, it would be nice.

The 6.5 CM is a fine round, and has the commercial support to stay. It's basically identical ballistically to a 6.5x55 Swedish loaded to full pressure in a modern action. With a sleek 140gr BT, it is fast and flat to longer ranges with enough power and penetration for deer sized game. Components and dies have come down in cost and are readily available. It is not a magic bullet. It is not radar guided. If you shoot your .308 well at distance, you will shoot a 6.5 CM well at distance, perhaps slightly better in a variable wind. You likely won't notice a huge recoil difference unless you're currently slinging 180+ in your .308. I've found the recoil of a full powered 6.5 to be comparable to a .308 with 168s in similar rifles, probably as the 6.5 rifles were slightly lighter. Armed with these observations, whether or not you "need" it is a question to be answered by you.

I have rung steel out to 900 yards with my .308 over the years - a great round but it seems to fizzle past that range. With the 6.5, I can prone about 25 yards left of the steel and target around the circumference of the Earth - the bullet impacts about 13 hours later on the steel to my right. The 6.5 is an incredible long range wonder round!

I have a 308, 260, and 22-250 with 1-12 twist.
If you choose a 22-250, get 1-9 so you can shoot the longer bullets.
I would choose a 6.5 over the 22-250. If you run a 100 Amax it is as destructive as a 22-250, if you load heavy bullets, it's very capable on large game.

Bushpilot said:

I've heard that the 6.5 CM is developing a bad reputation for wounding game, especially elk. Hunters can hit them with the 6.5CM a lot further out then it has the energy to put them down... As a hunting cartridge at conventional hunting distances it's nothing extraordinary either... IMO the 6.5 has one thing going for it, it's a good range/target rifle beyond 600 yards with moderate recoil...but so are others...

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The ballistics are good, but it's definitely overhyped. You even hear things like "no point buying a .308 in 2018" when someone asks about a non-long-range hunting rifle in that cartridge.

A 140 gr .264" bullet might have a great SD, but how much does that matter if a 150 gr .308", with a comparatively low SD, already provides more than enough penetration on the game in question?

A 140 gr bullet might have great downrange ballistics, but how much does that matter if this longer, narrower bullet is less efficient in using the energy it retains within the target?

So I don't think 6.5 is the answer to everything.

I shot a Precision Rifle Competition Positional Primer course today with my 6 Creed. Two 6.5 Creeds, a Dasher, and two 308’s in the course with me. It was a clear reminder of the advantages of the 6 and 6.5 Creeds over the 308win for this type of game. My wind brackets were more forgiving, less drop, and far less recoil - even for a much lighter rifle - so I was able to spot my own impacts much more easily.

Sure, gearing up with a few hundred rounds of brass, plus a new barrel, is pretty expensive. Sure, many folks don’t ask much of their range time so missing their splashes isn’t a problem of high import. But the expense is the ONLY downside to the conversion. I can’t remember the last time I had one of my .308win’s out of the safe, but I shoot one of my Creed’s about every week...