6.5 Creedmoor kicks!

[Newtosavage]

Finally spent some trigger time with the highly-touted 6.5 CM.

I have to say my first impression is that the recoil is substantially more than I was expecting for such a small round. I was expecting something slightly more than my .243, but this thing reminds me of my .308 with full loads.

I've shot a lot of rifles, from 7.62x39 to 6.5 Swede to 7x57 to .243 to 7mm-08 to .308 and above.

Am I crazy or does the 6.5 CM have recoil that is more than you expected?

 

[mcb]

The other week I shot two identical rifles one in 308 Win and one in 6.5 CM and I though the recoil was pretty close to the same but I could still tell them apart. The 6.5 CM was milder by just enough that it did not seem to fatigue me as quickly as the 308 did. I have shot a fair amount of 308 but that was my first experience with 6.5 CM and like you I was sort of expecting it to be milder than it was.

 

[Everready73]

i have read that it has 33% less recoil than 308, not sure how accurate that is. Other factors such as the weight of the gun, ammo type, and type of recoil pad the gun has could also make a difference

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

I agree.

I spent today at my buddies range both of us dialing in our new Axis' in 308. After we finished he let me try his Axis in 6.5 and I was surprised how close the recoil was to the 308. The kicker was that his Axis 6.5 had a heavy barrel and thus the weight of the rifle was substantial over the lighter 308. If the 6.5 was as light as the 308 I suspect it would have pretty much matched it in felt recoil.


On the flip side I shot a buddies RPR in 6.5 with a can on it about a month ago and it was quite the pussy cat.

 

[Newtosavage]

All my rifles are hunting rifles, around 7# total weight . This 6.5 CM weighs 7 1/4 lbs.

Frankly, I'm shocked at how much recoil it produces with just 129 and 140-grain bullets. It reminds me of my .308 shooting 150's and 165's.

What I'm really after is a 7mm-08, and if the 6.5 CM is going to kick this much, I see no reason to choose it over the 7mm-08 for a hunting rifle.

 

[bikemutt]

I feel the same way about my 6.5 creedmoor rifle, it sure isn't a powder puff round.

That said, I find the APA little bastard brake to be more effective at managing felt recoil with 6.5 cm than I do with the same brake in 308. The net result with the same make APA brake on both rifles, they feel about the same. APA brakes are caliber-specific.

 

[Gtscotty]

I have a little over 2k rds of 6.5 through my rifles at this point, so this is not exactly a fresh take, but I'd say that it kicks me more than a .243, and less than a .308, just as you'd expect from the numbers.

 

[HB]

"There's no free lunch"

 

[LoonWulf]

Perhaps because ive never owned a .308 i am unused to the recoil of the cartridge, but when i shot a buddies .308 along side my 6.5 there was a noticeable difference in recoil. Our rifles were similar weights but the stocks were different. My load for the 6.5 also drove a 143 to 2800, his 165 was right around that i think.

One of the most unpleasant little rifles ive ever shot was a guys custom ultralite model 7 in .243. with the short stock and extremely low weight it stung in a way that really bugged me.

 

[MCMXI]

Am I crazy or does the 6.5 CM have recoil that is more than you expected?

I've been saying this for a while now. I first shot a number of 6.5 CMs about three years ago, and the felt recoil shooting 140gr or heavier bullets is much closer to common .308 Win loads than many would like or admit to. As @LoonWulf alluded to, the stock can make a big difference such that a 6.5CM can have more felt recoil than a .308 Win in a different rifle/stock.

 

[Klint Beastwood]

It’s subject. Also depends on the setup

 

[Gtscotty]

One of the most unpleasant little rifles ive ever shot was a guys custom ultralite model 7 in .243. with the short stock and extremely low weight it stung in a way that really bugged me.

Yep, stock design makes a big difference, I had an old Salvage at one point in .30-06 that kicked all out of proportion to its power, really uncomfortable. Being a genius, I re-barreled it to 35 Whelen and permanently cured myself of an interest in medium bores with 250's loaded up to nearly 2,500 fps. For comparison, my much lighter X-Bolt in '06 is FAR nicer to shoot than the Savage ever was, even with 180gr bullets @ 2,800 fps.

Similar to your experience, the rifle that surprised me the most with it's recoil was my M70 Featherweight in .243. It certainly wasn't painful to shoot or anything, but after hearing about the kiddie caliber .243 so long, I guess I had mightily underestimated it's recoil in my mind.

 

[Newtosavage]

I'm using a Savage synthetic stock that several of my rifles have worn over the years. 7.62x39, ..243, 308 and now this 6.5.

For my money, the 6.5 is a mule compared to the .243

It's a shame really.

 

[FN in MT]

There are several factors that can accentuate recoil...width of recoil pad/butt plate...a wide, soft recoil pad.....overall weight....stock design....does the stock have cast on? How are You holding the gun? Stock firmly to the shoulder? Are you prone or from a bench?

 

[LoonWulf]

Heres the recoil numbers from loads ive used or atleast have experience with (the .308s my buddies load).
All from an 8lb gun.
.243 with a 100gr at 2800= 7.6ft/lbs of recoil
.243 with a 95gr at 3k= 8.1ft/lbs

6.5 with 123gr @ 2900= 11.07ft/lbs
6.5 with 143 @2800= 13.5ft/lbs

.308 with 165 @ 2800 = 17.81

 

[Gtscotty]

Heres the recoil numbers from loads ive used or atleast have experience with (the .308s my buddies load).
All from an 8lb gun.
.243 with a 100gr at 2800= 7.6ft/lbs of recoil
.243 with a 95gr at 3k= 8.1ft/lbs

6.5 with 123gr @ 2900= 11.07ft/lbs
6.5 with 143 @2800= 13.5ft/lbs

.308 with 165 @ 2800 = 17.81

If 12ft/lb - 13ft/lb is mule-esque recoil now, I'm damned lucky my .270s and '06s haven't torn me limb from limb.

 

[Newtosavage]

There are several factors that can accentuate recoil...width of recoil pad/butt plate...a wide, soft recoil pad.....overall weight....stock design....does the stock have cast on? How are You holding the gun? Stock firmly to the shoulder? Are you prone or from a bench?

Like I said, same - EXACT - stock for 4 calibers. Sorry if that was lost in translation.

 

[Newtosavage]

If 12ft/lb - 13ft/lb is mule-esque recoil now, I'm damned lucky my .270s and '06s haven't torn me limb from limb.

LOL I hope you have experience with a lightweight 6.5 before you commented.

I figured this would come up...

If anyone wants to shoot my 7 lb. Tikka '06 with 180 grain accubonds over 59 grains of Superformance powder, be my guest.

It's a small Mule Gt. My point is it kicks above it's weight class. If you want to compare it to a .270 or '06, then you completely missed my point.

 

[MCMXI]

6.5 with 123gr @ 2900= 11.07ft/lbs
6.5 with 143 @2800= 13.5ft/lbs

.308 with 165 @ 2800 = 17.81

I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers from but a 168gr at 2,800 fps seems a bit fast and you don't mention recoil velocity which is a big part of felt recoil.

For an 8lb rifle:

6.5 CM 143 gr @ 2,750 fps 15 ft-lb @ 11 fps (45gr powder)
.308 Win 168gr @ 2,750 fps 18ft-lb @ 12 fps (43gr powder)

These numbers indicate that the 6.5CM and .308 Win aren't that far apart when it comes to felt recoil. I think the problem is expectation management.

 

[Gtscotty]

LOL I hope you have experience with a lightweight 6.5 before you commented.

I figured this would come up...

If anyone wants to shoot my 7 lb. Tikka '06 with 180 grain accubonds over 59 grains of Superformance powder, be my guest.

It's a small Mule Gt.

Just my right at 6lb ready to hunt Montana, does that count?

Been there and done that with the Tikkas, I've had a .308 CTR, .30-06 Lite, .270 WSM Hunter and a .270 Win Superlite. Great rifles all, not the best recoil management, but overall pretty good... Except the CTR, which is one of the most accurate rifles I've ever owned, but for whatever reason kicks more than it seems like it should.

I'm thinking I'll have another Tikka in the next few months, specifically to be chopped, threaded and used as a suppressed elk rifle. 6.5 CM, .30-06 and .300 WSM are all in the running... I know which one would be the most fun to shoot.

 

[MCMXI]

I'm thinking I'll have another Tikka in the next few months, specifically to be chopped, threaded and used as a suppressed elk rifle. 6.5 CM, .30-06 and .300 WSM are all in the running... I know which one would be the most fun to shoot.

Man, I sure would like to play around with the efficient 300 WSM cut down to 20" and suppressed. I might have to put my 300 WSM barrel back on my Kimber 8400, after having it cut back of course. Time to fire up QuickLOAD.

 

[Newtosavage]

Just my right at 6lb ready to hunt Montana, does that count?

Yes sir! LOL

If only they made one in 7mm-08... Why, oh why do they not?

 

[Newtosavage]

My only point here was to explain my surprise at the felt recoil of the 6.5 CM.

I had no intention of comparing it to an '06 or anything larger for that matter.

But for my money, it will give the .308 a run for it's money!

 

[someguy2800]

Those recoil calculators are kind of interesting. I've never played with one before. I'm surprised how much it says my 25-06 has compared to other calibers, doesn't feel like that much in real life. It says my 444 marlin handi rifle is 36 ft lbs, so I guess I've not been lying when I tell people that gun will really wake you up. 50 rounds in a day with that turns your shoulder colors, ask me how I know!

 

[LoonWulf]

Felt recoil is a subjective thing. the numbers put it right between the .243 and .308, that might be right over the noticeable point. Again for me it WAS noticeably lighter, but i cant really tell a difference between the .308 and standard 06 loads. same for hot 06 loads and 7mm remington loads. Even the 7mm stw dosent seem like a huge jump in recoil.
The .300WM tho, thats where I feel the big jump in felt recoil