Why Should Your Next Rifle Be A 6.5 Creedmoor?

No other cartridge has captured shooters’ imagination in the 21st Century like the 6.5 Creedmoor. And the long-range marvel looks to continue to hit the mark in the future.  Born from a conversation, proven on the field of competition, embraced by a wide swath of the shooting public, it is arguably the first metric cartridge to gain widespread acceptance.  Supersonic past the 1,200-yard mark, some of the best ballistic coefficients in the business and trajectories as flat as the landscape it hales, the cartridge has helped average shooters reach further and group tighter than ever before. And for the foreseeable future, marksmen will continue to tap the 6.5 Creedmoor for all it’s worth.  And for very good reasons. 

In fact, below are six very good reasons the 6.5 Creedmoor should be your next rifle.

Better ballistics 

The number one reason people are choosing the 6.5  Creedmoor, or any other 6.5 caliber, is ballistics. By design, the 6.5 bullets tout some very high ballistic coefficient (BC) numbers at lower weights.  Your bullet is going to be affected by drag and wind drift less than the other guy’s bullets. The higher the BC, the less drag and drift. And because you’re achieving these high BC with less weight, you’re able to maintain a higher velocity thus cutting down your bullet’s flight time.  

It’s all in the design 

The second reason is the design aspect.  What promotes the 6.5 Creedmoor above some of the other 6.5 caliber choices is the design of the case. It’s a short action, therefore you can build one off of any .308 or .243 action many guys have been laying around. The Creedmoor also is a much shorter case design than the .260. So even though the .260 is also on a short action, the Creedmoor has more room in the magazine box which is very important when shooting the longer VLD style Berger bullets.  

Ammo that’s affordable 

The third reason for choosing the 6.5 Creedmoor is the huge variety of really awesome factory ammo at a decent price.  Most people don’t realize that Creedmoor ammo is as cheap as it is. A lot of times you can find the ammo around $30 per box and the once fired brass can be as valuable as $.50 per round to reloaders.  Factory ammo is available in weights from 120 grain to 143 grain in really good quality loads. 

No such thing as recoil 

The fourth reason is quick and simple… the 6.5 Creedmoor very low recoil.  See for yourself, click here and see why a 6.5 Creed can push a ballistically superior 143 grain bullet at 2800 feet per second.  For the .308 to get that kind of BC would need to shoot a 230 grain bullet and would only be going 2300 FPS.  Because of the extra bullet weight your felt recoil would drastically increase.  

The key is versatility

The fifth reason is all about versatility. While the 6.5 Creedmoor may not be the best rifle in every category, it’s definitely top 3 in all of them. Not only is it a very good option for long range shooting, it’s also a great hunting round. Not only are the 120 grain bullets, great for coyotes, but the 143 grain bullets are good for elk. 

Accuracy matters 

The sixth and final reason you need a 6.5 Creedmoor is they are really accurate. All the previous factors like bullet selection, case design, and ammo availability work together to create this perfect storm of accuracy. Through this perfect storm, you get around that is very forgiving and will put the bullet right where you want it to be with little tuning or reloading headache.  

There are some shooters not convinced with the 6.5 Creedmoor potential long-range prospects. Their belief is, once the interest in long-range shooting ebbs or the gun world’s next hot ticket comes along, the round will once again slip into obscurity. While understandable, this viewpoint is a mistake.  The Creedmoor continues to prove itself competitively match in and out. It keeps putting meat on the table one deer, elk and antelope season after another. And the almost-cheating ballistics excel no matter if a shooter is aiming a country mile or typical hunting ranges. Best of all, the rifles chambered for it are downright kittens to shoot. That’s everything a cartridge needs to hit the mark with the American shooting public. And for those reasons, 6.5 Creedmoor will remain right on target for the foreseeable future.