Factory barreled actions: 308 or 6.5?

[Casey_H]

Please read whole post before responding, I will try to keep it simple but cover all my bases. Thanks

Hey y'all, I'd like some input on where I should go with my rifle build. In a previous thread I posted about a barrel issue on my factory Remington 700 VTR. Long story short my next step is to buy a new barreled action.

One day down the road I will buy a high-end action and barrel setup, but right now I cannot afford that. When that does happen this barreled action will go into a Magpul Hunter stock to be my deer rifle, with the expensive stuff going into my MPA chassis.

Poking around Gun Broker and other sights I have a couple options:
24" threaded 308 barreled action
22" threaded 6.5 Creedmoor barreled action

Both are brand new and around the same price.

So my question... I'm a new shooter so this is essentially my trainer for me to hone my skills on, and also something I'll be hunting with. In the Everyday Sniper podcast they've talked at length about how good 308 is to get started on for training purposes. So should I stick with the 308 caliber to train on, or should I switch to the 6.5 CM, which is a better all-around round?

Let me know y'all's thoughts
Thanks

 

[canezach]

This is purely one man's opinion, so take it for what it's worth:

In another thread, we were discussing why so many 6.5 Creedmoors are now for sale. A lot of discussion, a lot of opinion, but I said something in there that I truly believe: If you cut your teeth shooting long range by sending a 30 caliber 0.465 G1 BC bullet downrange at 2650 fps, it made you a better shooter once you tried something like the 6.5 Creedmoor. You needed to be very precise with your wind call because you didn't have the advantage of BC or velocity., and you were holding 3+ mils of wind. I still shoot my 308 fairly regularly, and even though I'm set up to reload for it, I just buy factory ammo since it's pretty cheap and the accuracy is still acceptable. You can expect the 308 barrel to last 3 or 4 times longer than the 6.5 Creedmoor. I will always have a 308 barrel on hand for my Desert Tech.

With that said, there are benefits to going with the 6.5 over the 308. The 6.5 sends a high BC bullet downrange at higher velocities. Not only will you dial less for your vertical (not really that important), you can cut that wind hold in roughly half (really important!!!) and the 6.5 does it with less recoil, which makes any follow up shots easier. (again, REALLY important!!!).

I'm just outlining the pros of each

 

[Long Range 338]

6.5 is the way to go. There is an abundance of good loads for target shooting and hunting. Practice ammo for the 6.5 is going to be as cheap or cheaper than the 308 so you should get more training in for the same $$$.

308 is recommended for WIND practice. If you love 308 or like the hunting bullet options or something along those lines you can try to justify the 308. Its not bad, its just not as good.

For long range shooting the 6.5 is the hot new item for a reason, it just works.

 

[PrecisionRifleGuy]

Agreed. Go with the 6.5
It is more forgiving if you make errors on your wind or range calls.

 

[Subwrx300]

If your limited on funds, time or both, the Creedmoor is the better option. Precision from factory barreled actions tends to be better (not always but generally), factory match grade ammo like the 140 ELD can be had for around a $1 to $1.30 a round whereas cheaper low BC ammo can be found for $.75-$.85 in bulk. The cheap stuff might be good for general plinking and learning wind with a lower BC bullet.

While the .308 has it's place to be sure, I don't think value on learning wind is quite the advantage it seems when compared to a 223 or even 22lr. Both will have more drift and be cheaper than .308 to shoot for pure wind control.

Recoil control, however, is one area the 308 will shine over other calibers. The higher recoil will make it more difficult to maintain precision until you fine tune your technique. That said, a 6.5 without a brake will give you a similar amount of recoil movement as a 308 with a brake.

For a lot of reasons, I think the 6.5 CM will serve you better as a first long range rifle than the 308. It will give you some flexibility in factory ammo and custom loads, make wind calls easier faster and have value in both hunting and target applications after you are ready to build a custom rifle.

My two cents having owned multiple of both calibers.

 

[Hobo Hilton]

From an old school / survival / hunting point of view..... Go with the .308. There is more available ammo, different loads and experienced shooters in the .308 (7.62) camp.

 

[Dthomas3523]

How often and how many rounds will you be shooting?

You are already on a budget, so it’s definitely a concern.

You’ll get 2500 or so on the 6.5 before you have to drop cash on a barrel. 5-10,000 on the .308.

Figure out how often you can afford a new barrel and then do the math. If you can afford the shorter barrel life, the 6.5 will be a do all for you.

If you can’t afford to buy a new barrel as often as you will need, get the .308.

 

[fdkay]

Please read whole post before responding, I will try to keep it simple but cover all my bases. Thanks

Hey y'all, I'd like some input on where I should go with my rifle build. In a previous thread I posted about a barrel issue on my factory Remington 700 VTR. Long story short my next step is to buy a new barreled action.

One day down the road I will buy a high-end action and barrel setup, but right now I cannot afford that. When that does happen this barreled action will go into a Magpul Hunter stock to be my deer rifle, with the expensive stuff going into my MPA chassis.

Poking around Gun Broker and other sights I have a couple options:
24" threaded 308 barreled action
22" threaded 6.5 Creedmoor barreled action

Both are brand new and around the same price.

So my question... I'm a new shooter so this is essentially my trainer for me to hone my skills on, and also something I'll be hunting with. In the Everyday Sniper podcast they've talked at length about how good 308 is to get started on for training purposes. So should I stick with the 308 caliber to train on, or should I switch to the 6.5 CM, which is a better all-around round?

Let me know y'all's thoughts
Thanks

This answer won't get much support here, but I'll give you my $.02, it is probably worth even less than that.
You have an action already.
You are on a budget.
Send your barreled action to ER Shaw for a rebarrel. These are not match grade barrels, but very good OEM quality barrels and they actually do very good work (they upgraded several years ago to new CNC.
They will true the receiver face and lap the lugs for around 200 bucks. (in all honesty, this is sufficient for a very good shooting gun).
Install one of their barrels in the shaw 3.5 contour, a 4140 barrel, threaded and chambered will cost you 190 bucks.
Add in another 40 or so for the recoil lug (PTG .250 lug).
So, for 440 bucks, you have a trued receiver with a decent quality barrel.
Either cartridge will work great, I'd prefer the 6.5, but look at ammo costs and make up your mind (they are very close).
https://www.shawcustombarrels.com/barrels/price-list-for-barrels-and-services-/164
Unless you plan on picking up a Howa barreled action, you are taking a crap shoot on a new Rem purchase.

 

[j-huskey]

FDKay has given you an excellent idea for right now bang for buck.

The 6.5 answers cover all the 6.5 pros well enough to justify a 6.5.

The 308 does have its place and does have a few pros over the 6.5, but not in a category you articulated.

Pure articulation, it seems you want a down the road hunting gun, that will give you target performance and competition edge now, until you can build the magic gun later.
That would be the 6.5.

FDKay's answer gives you half the magic gun now, in whichever caliber you build, if you go Kay....
However, after you burn out the Kay barrel, and rebuild that action into the "real magic gun" , you dont have a hunting rifle....

So, buying the 22" 6.5 .......

 

[Casey_H]

All are good thoughts guys. I was already leaning towards the 6.5 so all this information is really helpful. I have heard about .22/.223 trainers as good inexpensive setups to practice on so I'll look more into that as well. @fdkay I have shot with a Howa HCR 6.5 a couple times and like it a lot, but the used MPA chassis I bought is set up for R700 short actions so I don't think the Howa action will fit it being a flat-bottom

 

[ffjoey]

Get a Bergara Ridge in 6.5 for $750. Put it in your chassis, done.

 

[Milo 2.5]

What is your longer term goal in the LR precision game? For yrs I've listened to the learn on 308 or 223, but when you step into the wind cheating world of 6mm & 6.5mm is all you have learned is what you do not need to do, you are not compensating for low bc bullets.
We all want to learn, and succeed, don't fight this shit, 6.5 for the win.
I'm 60, I fired one 308 rd when I was 16, in 1974. That is enough.

 

[Casey_H]

Get a Bergara Ridge in 6.5 for $750. Put it in your chassis, done.

But is the bergara made in the Rem 700 footprint?

 

[Long Range 338]

But is the bergara made in the Rem 700 footprint?

yes it is Rem 700 compatible

 

[ffjoey]

But is the bergara made in the Rem 700 footprint?

Yep, it sure is. That’s the nice thing about Bergara. Pretty much everything Remington 700 works on it aftermarket wise, without having to rebuild the crappy Remington QC out of it. I have become a real Bergara fan in recent years.