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To: eastexsteve
"Whether or not the 6.5 Creedmoor will "outperform" the 30 cals is a matter of specifics. You can definitely shoot some of the newer .308 bullets out there that will give you better performance. There are many factors to consider, one being that 6.5 Creedmoor barrel life isn't nearly what a .308 Winchester is."

Well...others would differ.

According to Owens’ presentation, in testing in 2017, special operators shooting rifles modified to fire 6.5mm Creedmoor were twice as likely to hit their targets compared those using control guns in the existing 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. Special Operations Command also evaluated .260 Remington and collected data on the performance of all three types of ammunition in the FN Mk 20 Mod 0 Sniper Support Rifle, the Knight’s Armament Company M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS), and Heckler and Koch M110A1 Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS).

The testing also showed that the 6.5mm versions of the weapons have 40 percent greater range and less recoil than their 7.62mm counterparts. The round was 30 percent less susceptible to wind drift, as well, making it more precise at those distances.

From Special Operators Getting A New Round For Their Precision Rifles And An 'Assault' Machine Gun

You do have a point about barrel life if the Creedmoor is loaded hot.

26 posted on 02/11/2019 9:55:52 AM PST by PreciousLiberty (Make America Greater Than Ever!)
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To: PreciousLiberty
Well...others would differ.

And, I would argue there are a helluvalot more factors to consider in "precise" shooting than just velocity and wind drift when considering off-the-shelf rifles. The Creedmoor is not new. Though, it is a great cartridge to consider, new bullet designs are happening all the time in the 30 caliber class. Newer .308 diameter bullets with ballistic coefficient (BC) of .800 or better and sectional densities of .376 are on the market now. The best Sierra Match King bullet BC I could find in a 6.5 was .713. (In a nutshell, the higher the BC, the better it flies at a given velocity.) However, I suspect that a big selling point for the 6.5 Creedmoor to the military is that the bullets are smaller, allowing one to carry more ammo at a time, and less recoil. I have rifles in both 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Win. At distance, my .308 is the more consistent shooter of the two. And, I suspect that is due to a variety of reasons. But, if I had a choice for a super long-range sniper rifle, it would be a .338.

32 posted on 02/11/2019 2:00:26 PM PST by eastexsteve
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To: PreciousLiberty

Physics is physics. The 308 is just fine and a solid performer if you find the right ammo for your particular rifle. You just need to be willing to put up with significantly more drop, more drift and lift/drop due to cross wind and terminal bullet performance at the range you are desiring to shoot out to. If it’s just target marking, then that last one isn’t a big deal.


45 posted on 02/11/2019 6:58:24 PM PST by griffin
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