Most of the various gun pages and sites that I frequent are blowing up lately with 6.5 fan boys extoling it's virtues about how that round alone will make everything else obsolete.  Am I missing something with this?  What's all the fuss about?  Is it really that much better than a 308 or 270 or 30-06 or 7mm-08 or anything else?

My understanding is that the 6mm and 6.5mm bullets have very very high ballistic coefficients giving them a huge advantage when it comes to long range.  Check out some of the threads in the AR Variants section: https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/AR-Variants/121/

They've been around for a long time in competition shooting but I agree it's a pretty new thing outside of those circles.

Yes, it really is that good. Its effectively a 260 ballistically (Similar enough if you look at 260 performance you can rest assured the Creedmoor will be "the same").

I went with the Grendel, its a bit behind the Creedmoor but I like my AR15 platform. That said, that damn Creedmoor has just taken off in popularity. While I appreciate the cheap Wolf Grendel ammo, I sometimes wish I would have went Creedmoor.

But anyways anything in the 6.5 lineup is really, really good. Its less recoil, faster followup shots, potentially and generally better ballistics and if you look back at history its a well established military cartridge.....Just not for the American military. The 6.5x55 has been around for a long, long time.

I see no real reason for 30 cal in this day and age to be honest.

If you do all of your shooting on a 100-300 yd square range then you won't notice much benefit over a 308 and to be honest you'd be better off going with a 223.

If you enjoy long range shooting where you have to account for wind, drop, unknown distances and unconventional positions then it's benefits become much more manifest.

I would recommend you try some 500 yd shooting with a 308 and 6.5 back to back and make that choice for yourself.

NW Precision Rifle League has matches and is very welcoming to newcomers.

I have a Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 CM. Waiting until I head to the east side next year to see how far I can hit with it. Picked it up based on a lot of research. 1000+ yard hits on an 8" steel plate are easy according to a buddy of mine in Montana with the same setup I am running.

I live up near Port Orchard and have been looking for somewhere that has a range longer than 300 yards.  What distances are you guys shooting to?  I have a 308 bolt set up for long range and a .223 AR that is good out to about 400ish depending on wind but I haven't shot either of them since I moved up here from Nevada a few years ago.

Creedmoor, 260 Rem, and the 6.5x47 are all ballistically about the same...no appreciable difference in any of them.

6.5's like those mentioned (Grendel is a much smaller case) above have significantly less recoil than 308's, better wind resistance, and retain downrange energy better.  While the 175 grain 308 load might start out with a bit more energy, by around 300 yards, the ballistic superiority of the 6.5 bullets allows it to have retained more energy from that point onward.   The 308 bullet normally goes transonic between 800-1200 yards, while the 6.5's I mentioned can often go to 1500 yards before going transonic.  The bullets from the 6.5 slip through the air much more easily than the 30 caliber bullets, and that is what allows them to retain so much more energy over distance.

The 6.5 bullets also have greater sectional density, and that allows them to penetrate game very well.  One of the most common rounds used for Moose in Scandinavia is the 6.5x55 Swede.  If it didn't kill well, hunters would have changed long ago.  The 6.5x55 is as popular in Scandinavia as the 30-06 and 308 are in the USA.

The Grendel is an AR15 receiver sized cartridge with far less energy than the three I mentioned in the first sentence.  The Grendel is an excellent round in it's own right though, and often doesn't go transonic until around 1400 yards with the right load.  A standard 55 grain 5.56 round will start going transonic around 600-800 yards.  The heavier 5.56 bullets will go quite a bit further, but they still struggle to equal the Grendel's performance.

Upper Nisqually Sportsman's Club in Eatonville has a 550 yard range open to members whenever there isn't a match.  On the first Saturday of each month, they have practical/precision rifle matches where they shoot steel on both a 600 and a 550 yard range.  No magnum rifles, velocities over 3150 fps, and no bullets with any ferrous content (iron or steel, attract a magnet) are allowed .  Entry fee is $20.

PM me if you need more info.

http://www.65creedmoor.com/

This webpage is a good resource for Creedmoor fans.  They also have a hunting section that has a few great results from hunting with the caliber.

You can also watch videos from 6.5 guys on youtube.

I have a Bergara BMP and an AR10 platform rifle that are chambered in the cartage.   I would not want to carry either rifle hunting unless I fired from a hide or stand.

Now Prime and Federal make dual purpose hunt/target ammo with excellent 130 grain projectiles.  The Burger 130 ar hybrid is a good go to bullet for my reloads.  The Hornady 143 ELD x is another projectile that delivers great accuracy and consistency with reloads and factory offerings.

I am not patient enough to reload lighter projectiles at this time since I am having great success with Berger and Sierra 130s and the 143 ELDx.

If you go the reload route, good luck finding 4350 locally... it's been unobtanium for me since I started with the cartage.  I am having success with 4451 and there are a few other powders that I would like to try.

I've seen it at Tulalip Cabelas just recently.

Saw 3 lbs of it last week, I'm gtg with 4451 so I didn't bother. It's out there.

For me, the only difference was the outstanding ballistics and the ability to manage recoil when compared to a 300 win mag.  Once your at the range and keep the barrel and suppressor cool, you can shoot all day.  There is a lot of hype and research into the 6.5 caliber bullets being in a sweet spot in a diameter to length ratio that produces better drag coefficients that translate well into aerodynamic efficiency for downrange performance.  In my limited experience, this round shines on targets beyond 500 yards with less drop than a 308 Winchester, fewer clicks to dial in or fewer mils to hold when your in a hurry.

It's a good round, that and .260 Remington.  With my ability, I trust it to successfully harvest predators, varmints, and thin skinned game out to 400 meters.  Both of my rigs are too heavy to hunt except from a blind or stand.  If I am expected to hike in and out, I have a .308 bolt action rifle that is considerably lighter to use on that hunt.  Shooting the creedmoor suppressed is a lot of fun too.  Now I admit a custom bolt action with an 18" barrel in a lightweight stock that takes AICS mags with a 3x9 scope sounds like a great gun to build in the future for hunting.  I just grimaced at how much OT I have to work to do that....

So, in conclusion, I look at the caliber as another tool to use.  The 6.5 creedmoor looks like a vise grip to some, but to others it is just another tool to use when you know what you need for the job at hand.  Now there is a 6 Creedmoor... my gun safe and reloading bench is a little too crowded to chase every fad...

As far as my inability to get 4350 goes, I did all of my development a year ago with 4451 and R17 since I could not find 4350 locally or on line.  I personally have too many good recipes with those powders to want to go back and develop new ones with 4350.  If I run out of 4451 and R17, i will sing a different tune.

Quoting myself here, 4350 in Tulalip again today.

Well I guess that means I will need to go buy another gun.  $hit, that means I need a new safe because the old one is full and new dies and a few pounds of new powder and some brass and a few new scopes.  This new rifle suddenly just cost me $8000.

Keep in mind that between the  6.5 creed, 260 Rem, and 6.5X47 there isn't enough ballistic difference to make any one a superior choice.  A very good article written about 5 years ago came to the conclusion that the choice of any one of the three should be based on whether or not you already have anything in one of the cartridges.

All are great cartridges.  I went with the 260 Rem, because at the time the 6.5 Creed brass was only available from Hornady.  I could easily make 260 brass by necking down 7mm-08 cases that were available almost anywhere.  I could also make 260 brass out of 243, 308, and any other cartridge based on the 308 case.  There are advantages to the creed though as it's case design allows long bullets to NOT intrude that much into the power column.  There are advantages to each round...and disadvantages.  I don't think you could go "wrong" with any one of the three.