I've got plenty of AR15's in 5.56 and a Wilson Combat AR in 308.  I'm looking to get my first rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor and think I'd prefer it as an AR rather than a bolt action rifle.  Leaning towards a 22" barrel.

I know the 6.5 CM AR's are pretty much just an AR in 308 - but is there anything else I should know about an AR in 6.5 CM?

Shorter barrel life

There seems to be a concern with the firing pin channel with the 6.5, and hence bolts with a tighter tolerance between the size of the firing pin and the size of the hole.

Other than that, pretty much plug and play.  Do you roll your own ammo?

Given the quality of factory ammo available, its not even really needed unless you end up with a finicky bitch of a barrel that doesnt like the factory stuff. But I think the Hornady 147's tend to do well in about anything that isnt a pipe.

Thanks.  I ended up just going with a "Burnt Bronze" Wilson Combat 6.5CM rifle with a 22" barrel.

If the rifle shoots like my other WC rifles, I think I'll enjoy it.

I have a Dillon 550B press, but no 6.5CM dies.  I load for 5.56 and 308 though.

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It isn't just about quality, but you do have total control over the ingredients when you roll your own.  Cost is also a significant factor which handloading helps to alleviate.

Love mine for hunting pigs. Mags can be a pain to get to work reliably. Generally lower capacity mags are more reliable.

These just use .308 Pmags, right?

Yep. My Aero M5 in 6.5 works flawlessly with 10, 20, and 25 round PMags.

Back when a lot of it was around $1 a round it was a lot easier to justify factory ammo and you could even sell the brass. I bought a bit when it was cheap and always keep an eye out for good deals. Norma recently had some sales that put their match ammo real close to $1 a round and I've heard their brass is good.

I have an LMT, JD Machine, and an Armalite that all three accept and use 20 round Pmags or Lancer 20's. Never had one issue so unless you're talking about the other brands specifically, either the L or the M mags will work reliably and pain free.

Cost will come down to the individual shooter. Frankly, if I want to just blast and make brass I'll grab the AR and be done with it. My 6.5C is for intentional shooting, which means I'm not just making a pile of brass for smiles. I'll eat the cost on factory ammo and save my self the reloading headaches, as I dont shoot it to the point where I want to mess with reloading for it. That may very well change though, time will tell.

I would make sure they barrel you choose has a pretty aggressive feed cone. I had issues feeding  Berger VLDs in a Faxon barrel, I ended up having to use a dremel to make my own feed cone. You probably won’t have any issues with any of the tipped bullets(hornady eld, TMK, ABLR)

I ended up just going with a Wilson Combat 6.5CM rifle with a 22" barrel.

I have never seen a Wilson combat 6.5cm barrel, just know these long skinny bullets can be troublesome to feed

https://shopwilsoncombat.com/65-Creedmoor-Barrels/products/963/

Damn, on sale even...

Here it is...

Wilson Combat Super Sniper in 6.5CM.  22" barrel with WC adjustable gas system.  "Burnt Bronze" Armor-Tuff finish on barrel and receiver.  Black Armor-Tuff finish on handguard.  Has a Griffin taper-mount brake, the chromedWC BCG and a super-nice WC trigger.  Despite some others hating the Rogers stock, I like them.

I put a Vortex Viper PST (FFP) Gen 1 on it, in a LaRue mount.  



I have a WC Recon Tactical in .308 with an 18" barrel and uses a green Armor-Tuff receiver and barrel.  I'll have to dig that one out of the safe and get a pic of them together.

I'm really surprised that Wilson Combat rifles aren't more popular.  The one I have in .308 is crazy accurate.

Yeppity deppity.  I see a lot of posts here crying about the cost of 300 Blk ammo, especially subsonic ($1.35+ per round), and I agree, off the shelf stuff is pricey for it (but that seems to be the case for all ammo now).  I load 225 grain Sierra ELD-Match and Sierra 212 grain ELD-X topped subs for my 300 for .47 cents a round, and it's that much only because of the cost of primers now.

Heck, I'm loading 9mm because I still load it cheaper than the cheapest off the shelf 9mm I can find (I load it for .16 cents a round).

Can you tell me a little about your rifle? I was thinking of assembling an aero m5 in 6.5cm with a 20” barrel and I was hoping to get 1.25 moa or less with Hornady 140 or 147 eld. Would that be difficult to achieve?

If you're asking me, I only picked it up last weekend and haven't shot it yet.  It's my first rifle in 6.5CM, so I am hardly the one to give my thoughts on the round...  I just figured it was time to get on that bandwagon, as I've heard about its accuracy and distance capabilities versus my previous chosen intermediate/long range round (.308) and how much of a step-up it is from that.  I held off for a while to make sure it wasn't just another boutique round that would be relegated to obscurity, but it seems it's here to stay.







Non-standard details on my WC Super Sniper are:

BARREL, 6.5 CREEDMOOR, SUPER SNIPER, 22", FLUTED, STAINLESS, GLASS BEAD, 1-8
HANDGUARD, AR-10, M-LOK, 16.25", BLACK ANODIZE
ADJUSTABLE GAS BLOCK, LO-PROFILE (MEDIUM), .875 ID w/RIFLE LENGTH GAS TUBE
BOLT CARRIER ASSEMBLY, AR-10 (DPMS), .308 WINCHESTER, AUTO, POLISHED NICKEL BORON
TACTICAL TRIGGER UNIT, AR PLATFORM, SINGLE STAGE, SEMI-AUTO, 3.5 - 4 LB.
Griffin Armament Paladin Taper Mount brake in 6.5CM
Armor-Tuff Finish applied over Mil-Spec Hard Anodized ("Burnt Bronze" upper/lower, matching barrel)


My Wilson Combat Recon Tactical (.308) are similar but with a few differences:

Recon Tactical 308 w/18" fluted match-grade barrel
15" T.R.I.M. handguard
Wilson Combat TTU M2 4#
Premium Bolt Carrier Assembly Nickel Boron
Griffin Armament Paladin Taper Mount brake in 7.62
Armor-Tuff Finish applied over Mil-Spec Hard Anodized (Green upper/lower, matching green barrel)


My WC Recon Tactical (5.56) is comprised of all standard WC parts other than some options I changed out:

Wilson Combat 16" 1/7 NATO Match Grade Light Weight Barrel w/mid-length gas system
WC 3G TTU trigger
BCM Gunfighter Charging Handle
Battle Arms Bolt Catch
Battle Arms Safety Selector
Seekins Precision mag release button
KAC URX 3.1, 13.5"" Handguard
PWS Flash Hider FSC556

Can you tell me a little bit about your aero M5? I’ve been looking to build one and I was wondering if I could expect 1.25 moa or less with Hornady 140 or 147gr eld match? Thanks for the help

Nice looking set of rifles. I used WC receiver set and handguard for my 6.5CM build as well. The burnt bronze looks great.