Which Is Easier To Reload-308, 6.5 Creedmor Or No Difference?

No real difference.

The mechanics of loading both are the same. You won't feel much, if any, difference in the feel of the press as long as you are following the same procedures.

I would imagine that the 308 Win would have a greater selection of components as well as a greater library of info.

Both have huge selections of bullets, powder and data. 308 might be slightly bigger due to it's age but 6.5 Creedmoor is the new hotness so there is heaps of new data and more new data in the pipeline coming than 308 has in the pipeline.

Zero difference in the mechanics. They both use the same bolt face and both are short action. What might not be the same is the rules for your chosen discipline. Maybe make a choice based on recoil, or which bullets are cheaper.

To me the biggest difference between the two is the selection and weight range of bullets. Hornady offers 6.5mm\.264 in 23 different bullets ranging in weight from 95 - 160 gr. In .308 they offer 67 different bullets from 100 - 250 gr. Now the higher end of the .308 bullet weights will probably not work well in .308 and are best suited for magnum 30 caliber cartridges but the selection of bullets that work well in .308 is still probably twice what it is in 6.5. The other difference I see is in the cost and availability of brass. The advantage of .308 is that there is a lot more military range brass available at a reasonable price. Over the years I have also picked up 100 times more .308 brass at my home range that I have 6.5 Creedmoor brass.

Skeptic13 said:

To me the biggest difference between the two is the selection and weight range of bullets. Hornady offers 6.5mm\.264 in 23 different bullets ranging in weight from 95 - 160 gr. In .308 they offer 67 different bullets from 100 - 250 gr. Now the higher end of the .308 bullet weights will probably not work well in .308 and are best suited for magnum 30 caliber cartridges but the selection of bullets that work well in .308 is still probably twice what it is in 6.5. The other difference I see is in the cost and availability of brass. The advantage of .308 is that there is a lot more military range brass available at a reasonable price. Over the years I have also picked up 100 times more .308 brass at my home range that I have 6.5 Creedmoor brass.

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Honestly for 99% of activities a 308 works well with a 16x and a 6.5 a 14x. But that brings about the importance of checking twist on the 308 while the 6.5 is so modern it was designed for the 140. Range pickups for 308 you can basically just pick up the brand you want. Creed is becoming much easier to find in the last year.

I think there are plenty of components for each... I reload for both meself.

As far as shooting... the 6.5CM is much easier to shoot than the .308.

If I were in your shoes OP I would research cost of rifle, brass and especially bullets with each caliber.
I only have experience with 308 here and there are many decent bullets that are reasonably priced. Looking at 6.5 as a smaller bullet sounds lest costly but if they are not made in large quantities they might cost more. I am told 6.5 is easier to shoot and easy to find accurate loads for. I am still skeptical and as such still waiting to throw my hat in the 6.5 arena until more good results convince me to. YMMV

FROGO207 said:

Looking at 6.5 as a smaller bullet sounds lest costly but if they are not made in large quantities they might cost more.

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It's not necessarily the availability... but there are cheapo bullets (think FMJ) for the .308, but almost all the bullets available for the 6.5mm are premium bullets. If you compare apples to apples bullets, the are about the same.

Loading isn't the issue. The only thing 6.5 CM does easier is hit targets at long distance. Out to 500 yards, there is little to no difference. At 1000 yards, 6.5 has less drop, less wind drift. Less recoil at all distances. 6.5 burns thru barrels faster.

Skeptic13 said:

. Over the years I have also picked up 100 times more .308 brass at my home range that I have 6.5 Creedmoor brass.

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I see .308 brass regularly at my range (if the brass scroungers haven't been around yet) but have never seen even one 6.5 creed.

Simple solution, buy both. But seriously, as far as loading goes, no real difference in 308 or 6.5CM.

Wider nodes and easier to find. 6.5 creed.

peeplwtchr said:

Hi All-
Looking into getting a more long distance precision rifle than a .223. I have the rifle model chosen, the caliber will be 6.5 Creed. or .308. Are there any significant reloading differences which I should consider when making my choice of caliber?

Thanks!

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308 is a little easier on the components side of things. Obviously Varget is the king for the most part, but other powders work very very well. Tons of bullets out there, and quite often the bullets are cheaper.
6.5 is works well with a few different powders, but if youre chasing small groups with the highest velocities, H4350 is the best game is town. Not quite as many bullets out there, and they will be a little more spendy.
The rest, cases and primers? Lots of good large and small primered brass available from all the important names. The small primered cases probably live a little longer if its a concern. Primers, pick your poison.

As a side note? I would never build a 6.5 on an AR10 platform unless you have cash to burn. 308 is alot cheaper to shoot mostly from the bullets available, and it functions quite well on ball or short cut extruded which run nice in a progressive. You will shoot more from an autoloading gun, its a guarantee.

Varminterror said:

Wider nodes and easier to find. 6.5 creed.

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Didn’t Hornday publish the recipe on the side of the ammo box ?

South Prairie Jim said:

Didn’t Hornday publish the recipe on the side of the ammo box ?

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I’ve heard that, but:

1) Dunno, I never bought factory ammo for 6.5 creed to have seen that myself.

2) If they did, I’d bet it’s +/-0.5grn of H4350 of 42grn under the 108 ELD. Stupid reliable.

peeplwtchr said:

Looking into getting a more long distance precision rifle than a .223.

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So 600-1000 yards?

I ask because the move to .308 will more than double cost per shot, and 6.5mm is even higher. Is that really worth it?

All three load exactly the same way.

Nope. No difference.

Biggest difference is.......ease of getting decent brass. And you can get cheap plinking bulk bullets in .308, not really in 6.5CM. Lot of dusty 6.5's in safes and closets during the obama shortage, the 2016 pre-election shortage, the covid shortage, and the current ongoing supply side shortages -- basically we're on 15 years of one long shortage at this point. I've long since tapped out of the flavor of the week cartridges, but if I was going to be a 6.5 CM guy, I'd just choke on the cost and spend the money up front for several hundred new pieces of Lapua brass (in small rifle - it will last longer than large rifle), a couple thousand 108 ELDs, a couple of 8lb jugs of H4350, 5K fed small rifle magnum match and be done with it. Otherwise, every damn time somebody in DC farts.....you won't be able to find a damn thing you need to feed that caliber.

As a do over 308 owner . I would now prefer the 30 degree shoulder, longer neck and speced out 1-8 twist of the creedmoor. Guys claim that the 308 is a cheaper bullet but I’m not so sure.

If you build a 6.5CM in AR platform, I've run into a feeding problem. Using a bobsled to single feed, I have POA=POI. When feeding from a magazine it moves the POI up and right 3" @ 200 yrds. With the long bullets (140gr ELD-M), they get bent when feeding from a magazine. I confirmed this by eject a live round and measuring it. I'm in the process of modifying the magazine to make it release the bullet earlier, to prevent this. So far I have not been successful, but not finished tuning.

The reason Bolt guns are generally more accurate.