6.5 Creedmoor vs 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser Ammo Guide ballistics

[pre 64]

Gert...you ask at what distances do i hunt with the 6.5x55 Swede?
Without being silly,the short answer is...as close as possible.The vast majority of animals are within 150m. The same applies though also if i use the 7mm,'06,308,375,6.5 Creed....doesn't matter.
All my rifles are capable of placing a solid killing shot out to 300m and if the conditions allow,i will consider this.As far as i am concerned ,shooting at an animal past this distance is just that.....shooting at an animal

[janfred]

The factory ammo is loaded to a much higher degree of consistency than is possible by reloading, and the rifles just shoot straight out of the box.

That I find very hard to believe.

[pblaauw]

Gert, if you are offended by what I say I apologize beforehand. I think Gert is a lover of all things old and classic. You can see it if you read a lot of his posts. This was to compare and sort of prove that the old Swede can do anything that the Creedmoor can do when hunting, and thus no need for the 6.5CM if you're a lover of old things classic. Look at the posts from that grey beard 'The Real Gunsmith' I never bought my Creedmoor for hunting, I bought it for sport shooting, and I am yet to find a 6.5x55 on the line. I have seen guys shoot Messor's favourite 308 though. We do see some 6.5x47's and 260 Remington's. All short actions, not a single long action, and there is a reason for it (hint: magazine lengths) If I was a flush man, with money and I built a 6.5 for hunting, it would be a 6.5x284 Norma. But I am not, so I bought a Howa 6.5CM, spent some money on gunsmithing, and chuck it around barricades and drums trying to hit small targets off unstable platforms.

Look at the discussion around the 300 Magnum's. Here is the article that made me think the new 300PRC from Hornady might have gotten it right: https://www.shootingtimes.com/editor...he-rest/330587
Again, not a cartridge designed for hunting, a 300 Win Mag does that just fine, but a lot of 300's does not allow for the loading of long sleek high BC projectiles. Hornady is now making a 250gn Atip in 30cal with a G1 bc of .878 and a G7 of .442!! At 300m the Gemsbok won't know the difference as TStone says, but at ELR ranges that 250gn round starts making sense...

[Messor]

@pblaauw

The following is tongue in cheek.


You perfectly illustrate my view on the 6.5creed.

Question : What is a good hunting cartridge?
Answer: The 6.5creed, because we use it for long range target shooting.

Question : Is it better than the sweed for hunting, like up to 300m?
Answer : Yes, we use it for long range target shooting.

Question: Is it good for bigger animals?
Answer : Yes, we use it for long range target shooting.

Question: Is there a lot of lightweight hunting rifles on the shelves in this cartridge?
Answer : Yes, we use it for long range target shooting.

Question : So it's a good hunting cartridge then?
Answer : Yes, we use it for long range target shooting.

[pblaauw]

Thanks Messor, I now have coffee all over my expensive mechanical keyboard

[Messor]

[RevA]

I bought a swede because its a decent cartridge that works well for Duiker up to Gemsbok, which is what I generally hunt in the Free State. I bought a 6.5 Creedmoor for my wife and son to shoot with on shooting days, they could hunt with it without a problem, but I don't plan on putting hunting bullets through it as I want to use it for what is was developed.
That said the difference between the 6.5x55 and 6.5 Creedmoor is about the same as the difference between the 30-06 and the 308, both fantastic calibers with alot of overlap in use. Some 6.5x55 (howa for example) will stabilise a 160 grain bullet, while the Creedmoor seems to do better with 140 grain and lighter bullets. If I was going to shoot a 85 grain varminter bullet I would put it through the Creedmoor before I tried putting it through my howa Swede, largely because the jump in the swede will be massive. That said, there are better varmint calibers avaliable than either, and there are better large game rifles than either of those options.

[414gates]

That I find very hard to believe.

The quality assurance and repeatable quality of components in match grade ammo by Hornady, for example, produces better quality, more consistently than handloads.

Finding something hard to believe is not the same as it being false.

[Hein Kok]

The quality assurance and repeatable quality of components in match grade ammo by Hornady, for example, produces better quality, more consistently than handloads.

Finding something hard to believe is not the same as it being false.

You will never be able to get better consistency than what you CAN achieve with handloads.
It’s just not economically feasible for any company to produce ammunition that can complete with handloads, remember you can sort :bullets by ogive to base length and weight, cases for internal volume. Case necks can be cut to the same thickness to achieve more consistent neck tension. Powder can be measured to the nearest 0.02gr. Primers can be seated to the same depths after primer pockets is cut to the same depth. Flash holes can be deburred and cut to the same dimensions for more consistency.
And to top it all off you can tweak your loads to get the best possible accuracy out off your rifle.

I don’t disagree that Hornady and a few other manufacturers produce high quality match ammunition but you can produce better consistency with handloads (if you spend time and you know what you are doing)


This group was shot with a 6.5 Creedmoor at 1200m with handloads, (not saying it can’t be done with match ammo the odds is just against you.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[414gates]

I don’t disagree that Hornady and a few other manufacturers produce high quality match ammunition but you can produce better consistency with handloads (if you spend time and you know what you are doing)

The point I'm trying to make is that the factory produces repeatable quality that a reloader cannot equal by hand. This is not to be confused with what shoots best in your rifle.

I reload my own rifle ammo, and I do it well enough to produce 0.49 moa groups at 200 meters from my 308 Norma. So I know what it takes to make accurate, consistent reloads.

You've got good results with one batch of reloads. The trick is to get the same result every time, summer or winter. We re-use brass and wait for a few case head separations in a batch to tell us when to replace. The factory uses new every time. No flash holes to clean, deburr and resize. No trimming. Etc.

With match grade factory ammo, it's not a trick, it's standard production. You won't get better consistency than from the factory.

You might achieve better results for yourself in your rifle, but that is not equals to the same repeatable quality as from the factory.