So, it looks like I will start loading 6.5 Creedmore

[armoredman]

I know literally zilch about this round - any ideas?

[Crawl]

Hodgdon 4350 is generally the best powder. It's hard to find though.

For shooting paper, the heavy bullets are excellent, ~140gr

For terminal effects, the mid weight bullets are great, ~123gr

Lapua still makes the best brass, and it's small rifle primer, so the higher pressures it could handle make a difference

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[RSR]

So, it looks like I will start loading 6.5 Creedmore

Why?  What you rockin?

*And Creedmoor, not *more.

[RSR]

Hodgdon 4350 is generally the best powder. It's hard to find though.

For shooting paper, the heavy bullets are excellent, ~140gr

For terminal effects, the mid weight bullets are great, ~123gr

Lapua still makes the best brass, and it's small rifle primer, so the higher pressures it could handle make a difference

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

Bullet weight and performance is really range, game, and rifle-dependent. 

You'll find that 120ish gr and less loadings resemble a heavy .243 win in performance, which is probably about all you'll need from a game perspective in AZ.

Heavier bullets are about optimizing ballistics, and at range start to resemble .270 win in performance.  Closer ranges, these are more akin to 6.8 spc.

[2morechains]

What is your intended use for the round?  Shooting steel at distance, large game hunting, varminting, benchrest, shooting bug-hole groups…? 

I used to own a 6.5CM and might get back into it again some day.  For me, I was mainly loading it for PRS competition, shot it for a few years before I moved onto a lighter caliber for positional shooting.  I like the 6.5CM, it’s pretty versatile, bucks the wind decently, not hard to load for, has a manageable recoil, and someday I’ll probably build another rifle in 6.5CM for NRL Hunter type competition.  I still have all my dies and a modest supply of components. 

I have noticed that there are some trends that go back and forth within the rifle reloading crowd, a lot of it depends on your application (i.e. benchrest vs hunting vs PRS-type competition).  For example, when I first got into 6.5CM, the trend was to only neck-size or use a shoulder bump die to avoid overworking the brass, but fast forward a few years it seems like a lot of people have trended back to full-length sizing dies.  Also, back then a lot of people were using dies with neck bushings to set the neck tension, but now folks are using a mandrel die.   

Good luck!

[M1A4ME]

Funny how, when you go to bigger cases with smaller diameter bullets, the slower burning powders start working better for you.

Never loaded it but they say it's a good long range cartridge. 

Old timers used to brag about those 6.5X55 Swedish sniper rifles, how accurate they were.  Old stuff.  Been around since 1894.  But they require the long action receivers like a .30-06, .270 Win., etc.

You're getting similar performance in a .308 length receiver.  Little shorter and lighter.  Ammo will be cheaper, too.  That Norma ammo costs quite a bit more than you can make reloads for your rifle for.

[huskerlrrp]

I have developed some loads for a Tikka T3 with Starline and Lapua brass if you are interested. Just IM me for data. I'll put a plug in for Starline brass even though I run more Lapua.

[newageroman]

That's a great choice sir! congrats!
Here is a link to my recent setup/results, I have just rebuilt my Ruger 6.5 RAP - I run Barnes 140s, flatline 123 solids, Berger130HybridTargets, and 143ELDX. I've run many more, but those are what I run now. Most over h4350. My most accurate bullet is the 143ELDX but going only 2550. the 123 flatlines and 130s run faster of course and are my 'speedy' rounds. but even with the 140 Barnes MBs I was able to clean a plate rack at 600 missing only the 2" swinger (I saw puffs of dust beside it, just called it on the wind). I keep this rifle zeroed at 750 and just hold for 600/1000. I see that many folks are shooting 6mm stuff nowdays but I can tell a difference between the 2 on a windy day at 1k (and even 600 sometimes).

One thing you may want to consider is brass with small rifle primer brass. I have a decent stack of Starline but its lg rifle primer. I haven't seen Lg Rifle primers in a LONG time, like years. But small rifle primers are available right now.

And as far as powders go here is a story from an OLD timer (he looked like santa clause)...

me, Santa and some other noob went to paint targets on the long range. I listened to the noob ask some questions and Santa answered. All tops advice. Then he asked about what powder to use since he cant find H4350 and Santa said that if you use the same bullet at about the same speed the powder doesn't matter as much. The barrel harmonics would be about the same thus accuracy nodes would be about the same. I fully concurred with a bunch of head nodding. Then I dukes of hazard skidded to a stop and painted targets like it was a USPSA match ( I hate people waiting on me).

Congrats on the new caliber!

[armoredman]

Here's the fun details....it isn't for me. The heaviest rifle I own is my CZ600 Alpha 308. A darn good buddy bought a 6.5 Creedmoor, (sorry about the spelling!), and asked me if I was interested in trying new loads. Well, I LOVE handloading, even if it isn't for me, (I have some .308 loads that works wonders in his rifle, and he's a real sniper), so I said...OK. Who knows, maybe I'll get a rifle and I have two pounds of IMR 4064 laying about. Ordered dies, loaded round checker, Forster trimmer pilot, 100 140gr Hornaday bullets, and we go from here...

[RSR]

Here's the fun details....it isn't for me. [...] Ordered dies, loaded round checker, Forster trimmer pilot, 100 140gr Hornaday bullets, and we go from here...

That the official story for the Mrs?     


I kid, I kid...

Seriously though, .308 is a heavier round than 6.5 CM.

[warriorgeez]

 6.5cm is an amazing caliber. Foolish to say it’s better than another caliber but it has amazing qualities the further out you go in terms of yardage.

[Bret]

I've never understood why the 6.5 Creedmoor took off in popularity, but the 260Remington, which came out before it, didn't.

[RSR]

I've never understood why the 6.5 Creedmoor took off in popularity, but the 260Remington, which came out before it, didn't.

.260 Remington actually came out a decade earlier and was primarily available just in Remington rifles at the point in time when sales of hunting rifles were at their lowest, and the following (when 6.5 CM was introduced) Remington's quality and quality control were at their lowest.

The initial Remington .260 loadings were also advertised as being equivalent in ballistic effectiveness to .270 win, but failed to deliver due to low velocities and in fact, really didn't offer anything 6.5x55 didn't already in those early loadings.

Like many things, initial bad press scared off most commercial consumers and it's really only been reloaders and ballistic geeks who've kept it relevant.

YMMV.