6.5x47L vs 6.5 CM in ar-10

PRSDietitian

Supporter
Supporter
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 11, 2023
765
358
Texas
Ok it's 2025, is there any benefit to a 6.5x47L over a 6.5 creed in a gas gun? I always heard the x47 is inheirently more accurate and easy to tune. Does this still hold true?
 
Can't tell you in an ar10 but my 6.5x47 was stupid easy to load for with varget. 3 bullets with 8 charge loads each and I don't think a single groupwas over 1 moa. It's the one caliber I regret getting out of. I converted all my brass to 6x47 chasing BC.
 
Another fan of the x47L here. But unless you are able to get ammo on the cheap, I dont really see it as a gas gun option.
The 6.5CM is almoast 50% cheaper to shoot around here (factory ammo only), so for me, it would be an easy pick.

I had a custom bolt gun in x47L years ago and it was pretty amazing. It had a Shilen barrel and it was a shooter for sure.
I should have just kept it and rebarrelled it when it was time for it. But like a dummy, I sold it.
 
Yeah, a buddy of mine recommended the X 47 because that’s what he uses in his boat guns but the only place that I can find factory ammo that shoots the bullets that I like is eagle eye and those are still 2.89 per shot
 
I have 2 bolt action 6.5x47s and if I was going gasser I’d bite the bullet and tool up for the creed. Cheaper brass I don’t mind losing or destroying. I also would feel more confident in the creed feeding. The 47 is a bit fat with little body taper and a very steep shoulder. The Creed seems to split the difference between the 47L and the 260Rem. In real life this may mean nothing but it’s how I think.
 
Ok it's 2025, is there any benefit to a 6.5x47L over a 6.5 creed in a gas gun? I always heard the x47 is inheirently more accurate and easy to tune. Does this still hold true?

First part - no. Second part - Not necessarily, but that depends more on the shooter, components, and reloading skill. The x47 isn't inherently more accurate, but the window of excellent accuracy does seem to be a bit wider to me (having several rifles in both cartridges)...sample size of just a few though.

I own two bolt 6.5x47s as well as the guy above me. I just built another gas gun...in 6.5CM.

You can get a bit more velocity out of the Creedmoor without getting into extremely high pressures. A lot of dudes will run their x47s just as fast, but that is because they are running 65K+ PSI and the Lapua brass in that cartridge just holds up extremely well. No free lunch...equal velocity with less powder is going to run higher pressure.

I'd also trust the additional case length of the CM to feed a tad more reliably in a gas gun too. If I wanted to optimize reliability out of a 6.5mm AR, I'd look .260 Rem.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FatBoy
When I was looking at which of the 6.5-08s to settle on in the 2000s for my next build (having already done LR-260), it was between:

6.5x47 Lapua
6.5CM (had just come out and I shot some of the very early rifles)
.260 Rem

Quality brass availability favored 6.5x47L. Didn’t have any great sources for .260 Rem, so you had to neck-down from 7mm-08 Winchester brass or up from .243 Win Lapua brass.

We didn’t know what 6.5CM was going to do in the market as it was new.

Overall, I really like the design of 6.5x47 Lapua the best, and that case can take pressure and like it.

I ended up choosing .260 Rem again because it fed great already, and I just bought Winchester 7mm-08 brass and necked-down, not hard to do at all.

In hindsight, I would have gone 6.5 Creedmoor since factory ammo became so plentiful.

I’ve never fired factory ammo through either of the LR-260s. I’ve only used Winchester and then Lapua brass once Lapua introduced .260 Rem cases. I lose brass after 3-4 firings in the gas gun due to primer pockets.

After all that, I just shot Grendel more and more until I don’t shoot the .260 anymore.

My youngest son has been asking about it, so I’ll take it out for him some time I guess.
 
For me, it would be cost (brass can be cheaper) and feeding reliability.
yeah, i sold my reloading stuff a couple years ago due to financial harship so now that finances are good i was looking at going through a custom ammo manufacturer like eagle eye or the like. and one hiccup i had with that is the x47 only has the 140 hybrid and the 6.5 creed has the 135 classic hunter and 144 hybrid that i prefer in 6.5mm