6.5 barrel options

[varifleman]

So- 308 to 800 good to go
800-1000 300 winmag
As I get older (almost 61), I am thinking of biting the bullet and going 6.5 creedmore. My shoulder always hurts coming home from Quantico.
Do I want 1-7 or 1-8 twist
Thinking of going to heavyweight varmint contour. Thinking of Krieger as front runner.
I have been shooting .308 forever and this new caliber thing is out of my wheelhouse.
Any help appreciated!

 

[Steel head]

I’d do 1-8.
you can easily shoot 130, 140 and 147’s with them.

The ease and comfort of shooting the 6.5’s will make you a believer.

Since I reload I’m a big 260 fan but 6.5 CM is an excellent option.

last year I successfully shot my 260 to a bit over a mile almost a dozen times.

I’ve mostly used Shilens but any cut rifled barrel is probably going to hammer

 

[m1match]

I really don't like shooting 300 Win Mags- in my opinion the added recoil isn't commensurate to the added increment of effective range. I switched from primarily shooting 308s to primarily shooting 6.5 Creedmoors about 4 years ago. The recoil felt midway between a 308 and a 223 with 40% less wind drift and about 30% less elevation for the same distances and ballistics that make it effective past 1000 yards. Add in accurate and relatively cost effective factory ammo and you've got a winner. Today the top PRS shooters have gone to 6mm calibers, but in my local matches I'm regularly taking top 10 or even top 5 finishes and my 6.5 CM isn't the reason I'm not scoring higher.

All of my 6.5 CM barrels are 1-8 and they work spectacularly well with the 130 and 140 grain bullets that I shoot. My 6.5 barrels are Bartlein, Proof, and Rock Creek and they all shoot extremely well.

 

[Average guy]

I have all 1-8 barrels on my creedmores. I have Hart, criterion, factory Savage and browning. I would expect a kreiger to be a damn good shooter. My favorite thing is all the above rifles are well under 1 inch shooter. The best being a factory Savage 12 LRP. It shoots in the low .2 range when I have my head in the game.

 

[99106]

So- 308 to 800 good to go
800-1000 300 winmag
As I get older (almost 61), I am thinking of biting the bullet and going 6.5 creedmore. My shoulder always hurts coming home from Quantico.
Do I want 1-7 or 1-8 twist
Thinking of going to heavyweight varmint contour. Thinking of Krieger as front runner.
I have been shooting .308 forever and this new caliber thing is out of my wheelhouse.
Any help appreciated!

I'm in NOVA too, SW of Quantico. We could hook up one day and you can shoot one of my 6.5s if you like to get a feel for the recoil. First question I would have is are you rebarreling the 308 or are you gonna get a completely new bang stick? There's plenty of options for commercial and custom guns these days. Barreled actions are an easy way to go with a chassis and not to bad even if you want a composite stock.

Commercially, you can grab a one of Franks Sniper's Hide editions from Ashbury down in Charlottesville, a Tikka or Ruger, Ruger Savage, Remington, Seekins, Sig Sauer etc.. I got to fondle the Sig Sauer Cross at the GOA show in Harrisburg and it's a nice little kit. If you're not playing a speed sport, a magazine may or may not be important as would be the case with the chassis too. However, you can usually change for most actions if you decide to go that route later. Which ever way you go I'd try to get a stock with adjustability built in.

Barrels, are just a personal preference thing, so long as you stick to a well know manufacturer and get the contour you want you should be fine. I'm a fan of heavy Palma and light Palma, but again if you aren't burning through rounds in a comp the heat may not be that big of a concern. 24-26 is probably standard length for most.

I hear a lot of crowing about Bartlein, and other usual suspects make the rounds as well like Proof, Kreiger, Benchmark, Lilja, Shile, Rock, Douglas, Spencer, Broughton, Pac Nor etc. Pac Nor had a fire so it might be hard to get one of theirs. I'm shooting Benchmarks and Proofs myself.

You can get phenomenal ammo fairly cheap, but that depends on your definition of cheap. It's hard to justify reloading when Prime or Berger loaded is $26 a box an even the Hornady shoots well too and can be had for $23-26 a box.

 

[Rob01]

Depends on the bullet you want. As mentioned the 8 twist will work up to the 147 ELDs. 8 twist is all I have used on my Creedmoors since 2008. Never let me down. I don't shoot anything heavier than the 147 though. I really like Bartlein barrels. My last 4 Creedmoor barrels have been Bartleins and I have been very happy. My first was a Kreiger and it shot great too.

 

[varifleman]

Great input! Thanks to all. The person I spoke with at Krieger said that a new 150 Sierra match king will be better with 1-7. If other projectiles works, then 1-8 seems better. I think I will go with my old gun and change the tube for now. I am very partial to my Baker special stock!
Keep the comments coming!
I like to reload

 

[Steel head]

Great input! Thanks to all. The person I spoke with at Krieger said that a new 150 Sierra match king will be better with 1-7. If other projectiles works, then 1-8 seems better. I think I will go with my old gun and change the tube for now. I am very partial to my Baker special stock!
Keep the comments coming!
I like to reload

I personally wouldn’t bother with the 150’s
Unless your shooting well past 1000.
For 100-1000 work the 130’s are pretty awesome with quite mild recoil.
140’ are nice as well in that range.
I use the 147’s because they work nicely for 100 yards to a mile.

 

[99106]

Agree with what Steel head said, I'm partial to the 130's for up to about 1200. If you're trying to avoid recoil go that route with a 1:8. Of course 140s work too but slightly more recoil. If I'm jumping up 150's, in a 6.5, now I feel like I'm fighting with a single bullet vendor, potentially having slower velocity or having to run hot to make it work at distance which equates to burning a barrel out quicker.

BTW expected barrel life of 6.5 creed is rumored to be 2500-3k depending on how hot you run. So keep that in mind if you plan to send a lot of lead down range. May want to build 2 barrels if you've got to send it away.

If I'm at 150gr then I'm jumping to a 7mm. Frank's podcast had a lot of discussion about lower weight higher BC solids and speed being king. I'm in that camp. I've had. 6.5-06 since the early 90s and ironically that's what Walt Berger shot for years. Nothing like a 120 moving at 31-3300fps. Which goes back to 6mm @3k. Light and fast lasers.

I find it funny how time and time again it's the same numbers X bullets at 2600, 2800, 2900, 3k. I really enjoy the 20+ grains of powder to make a 200 fps jump in a magnum or the 06 vs 308 arguments.