Help me pick a Creedmoor

[FreeFloater]

Would you consider a Ruger Precision in 6.5CM? Then I’d certainly go get the best glass/optic I could afford, maybe even more cost than the rifle. And easy to change to a 6mm later in!
slso, heard Savage’s chassis model in 6.5mn is supposed to be great out of the box as well! Just throw all kinds of money at a great scope!

 

[IDR]

Biscuts,

I have shot a 6.5 CM Tikka CTR stainless in both factory stock and KRG Bravo with Tikka magazines out to 1,400 yards on our local "gong" range. With one MOA steel targets. You can lighten the trigger pull with a Yo Dave spring so it is pretty much touch it and shoot. I added a 20 MOA base and use a mid price Leupold 6.5 - 20 x 50 scope. I started off with Hornady Ameircan Gunner ammo to get to know the rifle and used the brass for several reloads, then switched to small primer Lapua. About 1.0 grain less powder in the Lapua brass. You need reloads past 700 yards or so. I have used both 140 and 147 grain Hornady ELD's, 140 Nosler RDF and Berger 144. All with RL16. You will not be sorry you purchased a Tikka. Windage calls are probably as or more important than the rifle you choose.

 

[acudaowner]

go 22lr its the only choice for long range think of how much more ammo you ammo you could get and how much more shooting you could be doing , and when you finally hit out at a mile with a 22lr how much better you would feel not to mention it being a record able feet you could be famous loose women , hot cars , and more money than you could know what to do with , good luck in the movies

 

[Conkeydonk]

Tikka Tac A1. Easy to get in the UK. Shoots amazing. I’ve got two one in .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor.
Creedmoor pissed shooting at 1000yards last week with winds over 25mph.

 

[OldBrit]

^^^this

They all shoot lights out. There’s gobs of fans/users of each here on the Hide.

The Howa is a bitch to rebarrel though....

A little trick rebarreling Howa's cut a relief grove with a parting off tool in the barrel a few mm in front of the action, it makes life so much easier

 

[BLKWLFK9]

Save up for the AI.


if that isn't an option, tikka.

 

[jpndave]

Of those choices I would say first choice Bergara - premier series if possible. Second a Tikka. I have a Bergara Premier 6mm Creedmoor barreled action in an MDT chassis and it is outstanding for a production action. Two buddies have Tikkas in the same chassis. One is a RH CTR, the other a LH lightweight that has been rebarreled to 6.5CM because we couldn't find a LH stainless 6.5CM in a CTR. They all shoot well. I don't care for the Tikka factory stocks at all or factory mags, either configuration. Both of those go away in the MDT chassis. Still can't use a TriggerTech and the action just isn't quite as nice as my Bergara. The Bergara is just a solid platform and the TriggerTech Diamond Two Stage not even close to the Tikka trigger. The Bergara also puts you in a Rem 700 platform that opens up a lot more options at least on this side of the pond but could be different over there.

 

[iceng]

Tikka, then Howa.

Sorry if it's been covered, but what ammo ? Reloading a possibility ? I met a Scotsman who said he could only have 50 rounds of live ammo, and had to return brass to buy more ammo. Is that true, and does UK allow ammo / reloading ?

 

[10X Rifles]

Does your permit require you to buy a 6.5? If not look at the 6 Creedmoor. Lot better round. you can push a 105-107 bullet over 3100 fps. ( they shoot better around 3050fps) much better for long range. But you have to learn to shoot the wind just a little more.

 

[Buzzbait]

Sako TRG
Sako S20
Tikka T3
All 3 have chrome moly hammer forged barrels that are accurate and stay that way for a long time. The 142 SMKs shoot very well as do the 153.5 Bergers. The Bergers were very consistent at 1000 yds in moderate (6-10mph) wind.
Load shown below is 42.2gr N555

 

[huntnh]

I’d go with the tikka t3x ctr and upgrade the stock when you have the extra funds manners just came out with a nice one that fits the factory bottom metal and mags

 

[Doing my part]

Tikka, then Howa.

Sorry if it's been covered, but what ammo ? Reloading a possibility ? I met a Scotsman who said he could only have 50 rounds of live ammo, and had to return brass to buy more ammo. Is that true, and does UK allow ammo / reloading ?

Excuse me jumping in but I can answer. The answer is... Kinda.

Your firearms certificate specifies how many rounds you can hold, that'll be the source of the 50 figure.

Reloading is a seperate issue (I don't do it...) I think you need permission to handle explosives in addition to owning live ammo. It's fairly common in the PRL crowd, so it can't be too prohibitive.

 

[Biscuits]

Ended up buying a brown chassis Tikka TAC A1 today. Was in and out of the shop in 20 mins, which is a world record for me when buying a gun, mainly because I was on 3-day road trip with wife+kids and they were waiting in the car in a dumpy part of a town instead of sightseeing. Great looking rifle and it was the brown chassis that I wanted.

Now I have it home, I've noticed the barrel is 20mm diameter. I haven't read anybody complaining about the barrel diameter, but am I going to have to limit the number of rounds I send through it in a session due to it heating up? This is the thinnest barrel I've had on a target rifle. For comparison, my Remington 700 308 has a 22mm (or some fraction of an inch which is about 22mm) barrel.

 

[Biscuits]

Excuse me jumping in but I can answer. The answer is... Kinda.

Your firearms certificate specifies how many rounds you can hold, that'll be the source of the 50 figure.

Reloading is a seperate issue (I don't do it...) I think you need permission to handle explosives in addition to owning live ammo. It's fairly common in the PRL crowd, so it can't be too prohibitive.

Even more info on this one:
UK firearms licences are quite restrictive. Not only do they tell you how many rounds of ammo of each type you can have, they also stipulate how you can use the rifles. I started out target shooting, so my FAC (Firearm Certificate = licence) at the time had a condition where I could only use my guns for target shooting on a range. No hunting. No shooting up a busted up washing machine/car/stack of watermelons on somebody's farm. After a while, I got hunting added to my licence (it's not called hunting, its called "lawful quarry") but I could only hunt on land where the police have checked it out for the caliber I'd be shooting. Then after that, I got an open certificate where I can use rifles anywhere for target or hunting, without having any land I shoot on checked out by the police. It's quite restrictive. Even with an open licence, it's not open for all my guns. I have a Lee Enfield 303 which I can only use for target.

For that 50 rounds figure, that will for sure be for someone who is only allowed to use their rifle for hunting, so they don't go through much ammo. My 6.5 Creedmoor allowance is 500 rounds as I can use it for target or hunting. You can reload, you shouldn't have to return brass. I just buy factory ammo though as I'm short enough on time already.

 

[Newbie2020]

am I going to have to limit the number of rounds I send through it in a session due to it heating up?

Yes. But that’s true of any barrel. The difference is heavy barrels have more metal in which to “sink” heat, so we can fire more rounds before the barrel heats up excessively.

The good news is thinner barrels heat up faster but cool down faster as well.

We had a guy at my last class w a Christensen pencil barrel (I’m guessing less than 20 mm?...) hunting rifle and Frank limited his strings to 5 and then a brief cool down and he got along great.

 

[Doing my part]

Even more info on this one:
UK firearms licences are quite restrictive. Not only do they tell you how many rounds of ammo of each type you can have, they also stipulate how you can use the rifles. I started out target shooting, so my FAC (Firearm Certificate = licence) at the time had a condition where I could only use my guns for target shooting on a range. No hunting. No shooting up a busted up washing machine/car/stack of watermelons on somebody's farm. After a while, I got hunting added to my licence (it's not called hunting, its called "lawful quarry") but I could only hunt on land where the police have checked it out for the caliber I'd be shooting. Then after that, I got an open certificate where I can use rifles anywhere for target or hunting, without having any land I shoot on checked out by the police. It's quite restrictive. Even with an open licence, it's not open for all my guns. I have a Lee Enfield 303 which I can only use for target.

For that 50 rounds figure, that will for sure be for someone who is only allowed to use their rifle for hunting, so they don't go through much ammo. My 6.5 Creedmoor allowance is 500 rounds as I can use it for target or hunting. You can reload, you shouldn't have to return brass. I just buy factory ammo though as I'm short enough on time already.

Have you been switched on to HPS in Newent? Just had a generic PRL 6.5cm batch off them - kinda spendy (like £2/rd) but 2780 fps and the biggest variation I had over 5 rounds was 6fps.

The cheaper s+b I had was 2200fps and quite a bit (can't remember the number) more variable.

 

[Biscuits]

Have you been switched on to HPS in Newent? Just had a generic PRL 6.5cm batch off them - kinda spendy (like £2/rd) but 2780 fps and the biggest variation I had over 5 rounds was 6fps.

The cheaper s+b I had was 2200fps and quite a bit (can't remember the number) more variable.

Yes, thanks for the reminder. I called HPS over a year ago but then forgot about them.

I haven't bought or figured out where to buy 6.5cm ammo yet. Do you know if you need to take your rifle to HPS so they can tune a load for your specific rifle, or if you just ask them to make something?

Is the 2200 fps S+B right? I've heard there is S+B match ammo (not the S+B I think you are talking about = the S+B sold at Bisley) which is around £1/round; not much more expensive than the standard S+B.

I'm thinking if I do PRL (which I'm not sure about yet), I'll just use my 308 at least to start with as ammo is cheaper and easier to get.

My current problem is the Tikka has a 5/8x24 barrel thread but my 308 has a M18x1 barrel thread. Trying to figure out how I can get a single moderator to fit on both.

 

[Doing my part]

Yes, thanks for the reminder. I called HPS over a year ago but then forgot about them.

I haven't bought or figured out where to buy 6.5cm ammo yet. Do you know if you need to take your rifle to HPS so they can tune a load for your specific rifle, or if you just ask them to make something?

Is the 2200 fps S+B right? I've heard there is S+B match ammo (not the S+B I think you are talking about = the S+B sold at Bisley) which is around £1/round; not much more expensive than the standard S+B.

I'm thinking if I do PRL (which I'm not sure about yet), I'll just use my 308 at least to start with as ammo is cheaper and easier to get.

My current problem is the Tikka has a 5/8x24 barrel thread but my 308 has a M18x1 barrel thread. Trying to figure out how I can get a single moderator to fit on both.

I was in the exact same situation wrt mods. There's a company in France which makes all kinds of adapters. I was looking for a way to run the mod from my Sauer (18mm) on my Howa (unf American whatever size...). In the end I varied my FAC for another mod and got the wildcat Predator 12 which is bloody huge but pretty good.

Found the data - My S+B was 2495fps from a 24in barrel, SD was 6. I was seeing approx 20% more drop at 900m. Significant difference in performance. There was some 'match' s+b at orion which was definitely heating the barrel faster than the plinking stuff I had seen but I didn't try it at range. From what I've seen looking online it may be 120gr rather than the 140/142 I have been trying to get used to.

HPS was a generic profile they have, not a true custom load. So it's ballpark educated guesses based on info you can give on the phone. No tuning for nodes or seating or whatnot. I expect they probably support that but mine was performing well enough that I don't feel the need yet. Yet...

 

[Doing my part]

Can't vouch for them but the numbers look right

Silencer adapter 1/2 UNEF to 1/2 UNF

Enjoy our silencer adapter 1/2 UNEF to 1/2 UNF, turning your 1/2x28 TPI thread into 1/2x20 TPI. A suppressor accessory for 22 LR and more.

www.suppressor-thread-adapter.com

 

[Paradox]

Going to buy a 6.5 Creedmoor for long range shooting (I'm in the UK and it's taken me 5 months to get an authority to purchase a Creedmoor, so it's going to be a Creedmoor and not any other suggestions!)

Purpose of the rifle is to shoot 800-1200 metres regularly and as far as I can push it occasionally. I already have experience up to 1000m with a .308. I'm going to keep the 308 for <800m target and hunting. So the 6.5 will really only be a 800m+ rifle.

Looking for rifle suggestions which are within budget. Since prices are a bit different depending where you are in the world, the budget is about the price of a Tikka TAC A1.

Thinking either of buying rifle in a chassis system already, or buying a barrelled action/cheap stock version and putting it in an MDT chassis.

The contenders so far are
Bergara B14 - have read a lot of people end up replacing the trigger on these. Either the basic rifle + MDT chassis or the factory chassis B14 BMP
Tikka T3x - either a CTR + MDT chassis, or just the TAC A1
Howa 1500 + MDT chassis - Available with a 26 inch barrel vs 24 inch on all the others.... would this be an advantage on a 6.5cm over a 24 inch barrel

Any thoughts on these?

I have the B14 in 300WM and its pretty darn nice right out of the box. my trigger is perfect. and the factory chassis is great. I like the Howa but it comes with that embarrassing, and completely useless LUTH-AR Stock, really really shitty piece, also you will hate or love the layout, the scope no matter what you do sits very high and while im ok with it, a couple of friends just couldn't get enough adjustment out of the stock. replace it with a magpul, but other than that its a really good shooting rifle, and the Tikka if I closed my eyes couldn't tell from the Howa. and this is the MDT chassis I like.