The 6.5 Creedmoor vs Remington 7mm-08

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 6/12/2019 | D Marchink

[w1n1]

The 6.5 Creedmoor is recognized in the precision long range shooting arena as one of the most accurate and powerful cartridge, which is also used in hunting. With the power to throw a powerful punch, the Hornady round could easily catch an average whitetail by the use of a relative case.
Regardless, a lot of people still choose to go with 7mm-08 Remington while deer hunting as its salient feature is an excellent balance with propellant charge, bullet, and precision. 7mm-08 Remington vs. 6.5 Creedmoor, which of these rounds would be able to give you more value when you are deer hunting outdoor? Here's a brief history about the two cartridge.

7mm-08 Remington
Back in 1958, a certain 7mm/308 Winchester wildcat round was brought into development as its name hints, people developed this round by just necking down a standard .308 Winchester to have .284 bullets (7mm). The round would be spending the next two decades in the wildcat category until Remington came into play and began using the round, releasing it into the market under the name of 7mm-08 Remington. In a 0.308 round in use, 7mm-08 takes a close second place in polarity with 0.243 Winchester is taking the first spot. But with the right type of bullets, the Remington could take down small and medium deer with ease.

6.5 Creedmoor
Released to the public in the market by Hornady in 2007, the Creedmoor 6.5 is a modification of 3.0 Thompson center which was also a bit related to .308 Winchester. First of all, Hornady tried to come up with round that possesses the length of .308 Winchester while also keeping the strength of .30-.60 Springfield. What came out was.30 Thompson Center, the requirement of the project was definitely completed, but acceptance of the round by the customers was low which brought the round not to the top but to the sidelines. Fortunate enough, Hornady reinvented the design, necked down the design of the round and that is how the Creedmoor 6.5 came into being. Read the rest of 6.5 Creedmoor vs 7mm-08.

[rjsimmon]

The 6.5 Creedmoor is recognized in the precision long range shooting arena as one of the most accurate and powerful cartridge, which is also used in hunting. With the power to throw a powerful punch, the Hornady round could easily catch an average whitetail by the use of a relative case.

This guy needs to go back to Grade School and learn how to write.

[Vaquero]

Both good rounds for whatever … hunting…long range accuracy.

I am old school. I load my 7mm Mauser up to pressures reserved for modern bolt action rifles. Accurate at long range. I load down my .30-06 rounds DOWN to preserve the mechanisms in my Garands and use the same for hunting as I don’t need super long range here in the NE.

[wastoute]

Depends on what you are up to. If you want ease of availability nothing beats 7.62, .308. I doubt there is another caliber with as many options. If you are an accuracy nerd you will put up with the difficulty locating 6.5 projectiles to load. Lots of calibers have this problem. Try handloading for a Swiss P-08!

[Haiku Guy]

.30-06, Because that is what fits in my rifle.

[headstamp 2]

[[[7mm-08 takes a close second place in polarity with 0.243 Winchester ]]]

Polarity? This sounds like one of those “Canned” reviews.

[eastexsteve]

OK we compare apples and oranges again. Regardless of caliber, a rifle that you can consistently hold sub-MOA groups with at 500 yds or greater is impractical. This is what I do. The rifle is heavy. It's fragile. It isn't quick to get rested and ready to fire. And to shoot that far with consistent sub-MOA accuracy, it's snarky about ammo. It's just impractical for general hunting. Now, for already being set up and ready to fire on targets that happen by within range, it's great. But, to carry in the back seat of my truck as I go bouncing around my farm and to quickly shoot off the hood at a 500+ yard coyote, takes a lot of forethought and care. Considering all of this, the 6.5 Creedmore has no advantage in a standard run-of-the-mill hunting rifle.

[lgjhn23]

Both are great rounds. I’ve reloaded/hunted with the 7mm-08 for years without any issues. Many years ago, I got into precision shooting and started necking down both .308 and the 7mm-08 brass to 6.5mm. I re-barreled an old shot-out Remington 700, originally in .243, with a brand new 6.5mm Lija barrel to create what is now known commercially today as the .260 Remington. I was doing this loonnnggg before it became commercially available. Once I had the bugs worked out of the rifle and worked up a decent load, it shot extremely well....verrrry well...and still does so today. I personally prefer it primarily for the availability of .308 family of brass for inexpensive custom reloading.
So yeah, like a previous posted stated: it all depends on what you’re wanting to do. For a real survival SHTF scenario weapon, one would definitely be better off sticking with more readily available calibers for overall availability and compatibility with other like-minded individuals. But for reaching out and touching something at real long distances, a 6.5mm in anything is probably gonna work due to it’s unique ballistic co-efficiency. Both the 6.5 Creedmore and .260 Remington have proven themselves many times over to work quite well for this kind of shooting....along with some others. I just wish my eyes weren’t so old.....LOL.

[atc23]

I am old school. I load my 7mm Mauser up to pressures reserved for modern bolt action rifles. Accurate at long range. I load down my .30-06 rounds DOWN to preserve the mechanisms in my Garands and use the same for hunting as I don’t need super long range here in the NE.

Excellent.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

You have to watch out for reverse-polarity because you can shoot yourself.

[allwrong57]

I have a bunch of rifles, and have killed 80-90% of the game I’ve shot in the last 30 years with a horribly abused Ruger in 7x57 Mauser with stout handloads, mostly 140 Barnes TTSX at about 2900 fps or a 160 partition at 2750 fps. I have shot exactly one animal twice, and this includes several up to elk/kudu size. This past fall I shot a 20 in inside spread whitetail behind the house at 368 yards running broadside with it. It’s just one of those when I pull the trigger I know something’s gonna die. As time goes by, about the only other rifle I hunt with is a custom one built on a commercial FN Mauser action in .338 WM. If I’m in a spot where there might be contact with a grizz, lion, etc, I hunt with the .338. For the really tough stuff, I have a .416 Rigby which is rarely used since my budget doesn’t afford those type of hunts on an annual basis! However, there would be no reason to not use a 7-08 to replace the 7x57, it just doesn’t have the history.

[IndispensableDestiny]

The only redeeming thing about the article is that it does not mention shot placement.

I have two deer rifles, both in .308 Winchester. One is a bolt action, the other lever. I developed good loads for both. So there are my choices.

I had a pump action Browning in .308, never shot. Sold it like a dumbass.

[Jack Black]

Ballistics wise they are pretty similar. The 140 grain is the most popular 7mm round whereas the 6.5mm it's around 125 grain, not a whole lot of difference.

The Creedmoor appeals to long-range paper punchers with some super-high BC bullets. 6mm and 6.5mm are the favorite for most long range shooting these days.

The 7mm with slightly heavier bullets will be preferred by hunters. The 7mm Rem Mag is the "one rifle" of a lot of very successful big game hunters, and the 7mm-.08 while not as fast does deliver the same bullets at a respectable speed.

One advantage of the Creedmoor is that a lot of AR-10 rifles are being chambered for it. So, if you want a semi-auto it might be the obvious choice.

[headstamp 2]

LOL

And make mine a “Swede”.

[Jack Black]

Another advantage of the 7mm-08 is that it can be easily made from .308 brass. An alternative to the Creedmore is the .260 Remington, which is also a resized .308, and might be better if you are a reloader with a lot of .308 brass lying around. Like the Creedmore it shoots the 6.5mm bullet.

The author mentions the .243, but leaves out the bigger than .30 caliber bruisers based on the .308 cartridges, which if you want a short action hunting rifle might be a better choice than either the Creeedmoor or the 7mm-08.

First up is the .338 Federal. Here is an article from when it was introduced in 2008, extolling its virtues:

The .338 Federal: A rare moment of sanity, cartridge-wise .

The .338 Federal fires a 210-grain bullet at 2600 fps, and 180- and 185-grain bullets at 150 to 200 fps faster

There is also a .35 caliber .308 based cartridge that's been around for years and is still favored by some, the .358 Winchester.

I have a friend in Wyoming who swears by that cartridge and uses it for deer and bear. If you are going in bear country it's probably a better choice than the Creedmore, as the 250 grain bullet is available and works well in this caliber. The lighter 200 grain attains 2500 ft/sec.

Wikipedia: .358 Winchester.

Browning still chambers their lever-action, the BLR, in .358. Compared to the classic .35 Rem lever cartridge the .358 is clearly more powerful, and there are still a lot of lever-action .35's out there, and people who swear by them.

The BLR is a little weird looking compared to the more typical 19th century style lever action rifle. It's not "the gun that won the West", but it's been around since the 1960s, and was designed by John Moses Browning's grandson, Val. There is a handy takedown version, too.

It's an old Free Republic tradition that gun threads have to have pictures on them, some of you know this and are slipping up!

[IndispensableDestiny]

The BLR is a little weird looking compared to the more typical 19th century style lever action rifle. It's not "the gun that won the West", but it's been around since the 1960s, and was designed by John Moses Browning's grandson, Val.

I have an original BLR with a steel receiver in .308 Winchester. Great gun. I hope I never lose the magazine -- they are pretty much unobtainable.

[Jack Black]

You are a lucky guy! An original all-steel one in the highly desirable and great all-arounder .308 caliber!

It used to be that Americans loved .30 caliber cartridges. You have the .30-06, the .308 and the .30-30. You also have the .300 WinMag, which was also used extensively by the military!. In all this talk of the .308 spin-offs we may have neglected to mention that for many the original .30 caliber round is still the best of all.

Certainly if you want cheap ammo it is the way to go.

I hope to get a BLR in .358 Win someday, for an all around woods rifle. It's been on my list for a long time, the number of variations makes it hard to choose sometimes.

[gundog]

Be nice. He’s inspired me to deer hunt outdoor.

[Magnum44]

AM Journal is really scraping the bottom for material. 6.5CM vs .223, 6.5CM vs .308, 6.5CM vs Godzilla, ho hum. It was more entertaining when they were doing the articles about shooting through steel poles from 10’ away....

[rjsimmon]

He’s inspired me to deer hunt outdoor.

Just how big IS your house???