6.5 creed v. 7mm.08***Update 6.5 Review

[fishngamereaper]

Ok I know all the ballistics, read all the articles, etc.

What I'm looking for real world experience from anyone that owns one.

I'm buying a new gun for my 12yoa kid to start hunting with and also want something I can take deep into the backcountry on back pack hunts. These are my two final choices based on felt recoil, terminal ballistics and price.  Mostly a deer gun but would not hesitate to use either one on elk.

What's your guys experience.

[carpsniperg2]

You are good with either. My family has killed at least 12 animals I can think of with the 7mm-08's. My wife has taken boar/deer/elk/stag and all kinds of critters with the 7mm-08.

[Buckblaster]

The 7-08 is not my top choice for elk, but I did drop one with a single Barnes bullet thru the shoulder at 250 yds.  Either caliber would be a good one for youngsters or for women because of the lower recoil.  With the much broader assortment of 7mm bullet choices over the 6.5 though, the 7-08 has the edge.

[CaNINE]

I own both of these calibers. For the uses you describe I'd say flip a coin. Either are wonderful deer cartridges and can be used to take elk or even moose within limits and loaded with the right bullet.  I give the nod to the 7mm-08 because of a more wide range of bullet weights. I bought my daughter a savage axis youth in 7mm-08 and that rifle shoots half inch groups at 100 yards and dumps whitetails in their tracks.

[bullfisher]

7mm-08   

[jrebel]

I own both.....matter of fact a couple of both that my kids and wife shoot.  Both are great choices and will work for what you are using it for.

Flip a coin....but if it were me, I would do the 6.5 creed.  Can't really say why, other than the fact that mine is the least finicky rifle I have ever owned.  It will eat anything you feed it......it is very accurate. 

[Bob33]

My son's 7mm08 has worked very well on several animals. It's a joy to shoot.

[Wanttohuntmore]

I own both.   Killed animals with the 7-08 but not yet with the creed.  Much more hunting friendly bullets in 7mm.  Really the 7 has the edge up to 500 yds, after that the 6.5 starts to shine.

[Magnum_Willys]

With 162/168 handloads that lil 7mm-08 kids gun can really stretch out there and still stop an elk with high shoulder aim points.   Tho like to see a barrel a lil longer than 22 inches.

[fishngamereaper]

Thanks for the input guys. Its obvious there is a clear winner...not   Maybe I will buy both. I just found a sale on Savage Axis II for $250.  But Ive always been a Ruger fan.

[follow maggie]

They're both good rounds, which has the better ammo availability?

[fishngamereaper]

They're both good rounds, which has the better ammo availability?

My buddy is a firearms so dealer so ammo is not going to be an issue.

[JLS]

Does 0.5 mm (0.020") of diameter and 15-20 grains of weight matter to you?  That's the difference.

My 6.5 shoots 124 grain Hammer bullets at 2900+ fps. There isn't too much in the lower 48 I would be concerned about shooting with it.

[hunting4sanity]

Both are great calibers. I'd buy whichever one comes in the rifle that you like the most or that seems to be the best deal. I have both and for me I prefer the 6.5 just because my Tikka 7mm-08 has been tougher to get the same accuracy.

[HookedOnQuack]

Thanks for the input guys. Its obvious there is a clear winner...not   Maybe I will buy both. I just found a sale on Savage Axis II for $250.  But Ive always been a Ruger fan.

Im in the same boat and curious as to where you found the Savage for that price if you dont mind sharing?

[fishngamereaper]

Thanks for the input guys. Its obvious there is a clear winner...not   Maybe I will buy both. I just found a sale on Savage Axis II for $250.  But Ive always been a Ruger fan.

Im in the same boat and curious as to where you found the Savage for that price if you dont mind sharing?

The local sportsmans wearhouse had em on sale. Multiple caliber's in a camo option.

[HookedOnQuack]

Awesome thanks! I grew up in Poulsbo and my parents still live there, time to hit up Gpa to go get my son a rifle! Bass Pro over my direction had them on sale also but are all sold out

[Lefty315]

I really like the 7mm-08, and have two of them.   It really does come to a coin toss though.   The only reason I would say 7mm-08 is the variety of heavier bullets you could load.   If you're not concerned about that I'd say whichever you can get ammo for cheaper.

[Bookworm007]

Get the 7mm-08, I was in the same boat as you, I looked at the ballistics and recipes and then I went and looked at shelf. You know what there is a ton of and there always will be? 7mm-08. If this was your personal rifle for target shooting and you just love to reload then get the creed. The chances are that in 5 years or less there will be a very slim selection of 6.5 creed factory ammo. Just look at the 260 rem, 25-06 and other rounds, balistically they are almost identical, but after the new wore off they stopped getting support. On paper it is a little better than other rounds but not that much better. That is why I ended up with a 308, super cheap to shoot, great availability of reloading components and it will always be available. Just my 

[fishngamereaper]

6.5 is on order be here next week. My gun dealer found a deal I couldn't pass up.   
Loaded up on ammo today and will post up some range results soon.

[carpsniperg2]

boooooo lol

Just kidding, I'm sure the 6.5 will serve you well.

What flavor you end up with?

[fishngamereaper]

boooooo lol

Just kidding, I'm sure the 6.5 will serve you well.

What flavor you end up with?

   Sorry 7-.08 guys. I still may buy one of those just for fun. Going to try the Ruger predator. Combo deal comes with a vortex crossfire II scope which is what I was going to put on it anyway. It will be a good entry gun for the kid.

[carpsniperg2]

Oh yes I run 2 of them. One is 308/other is 22-250. Solid choice

[ghosthunter]

boooooo lol

Just kidding, I'm sure the 6.5 will serve you well.

What flavor you end up with?

   Sorry 7-.08 guys. I still may buy one of those just for fun. Going to try the Ruger predator. Combo deal comes with a vortex crossfire II scope which is what I was going to put on it anyway. It will be a good entry gun for the kid.

I bought the Savage Combo 7 mm 08 for my grandson. He has had a ton of face surgeries ,so needed a light recoil. No regrets.
Good luck with the  6.5.

[762Armo]

My gun dealer found a deal I couldn't pass up.   

How good of a deal?
 

[yakimanoob]

Looking forward to your review! 

FWIW, I'm a 30-year-old 6'2" dude with no problem handling recoil and I chose a 7mm-08 for my elk/deer gun.  All this about it being for women and children because of the recoil is just nonsense.  I wanted a cheap round (hard to beat Pvri Partizan for practice ammo) with good ballistics in a non-magnum round that was easily available.  Mainly because I think magnums are stupid unless your goal is to shoot animals from 800+ yards.  I almost got a .308, but settled on the necked down version because I liked the better BCs of the 7mm bullets available (particularly the new Hornady ELD-Xs). 

Ended up with a Savage 16 Lightweight Hunter, and I love it very much.

If there was cheap ammo available in the 6.5crdm, I may have gone that route for all the same reasons. 

[Bookworm007]

Congrats on the new rifle! Now get that kid on some animals so he can use it!!!!

[fishngamereaper]

Congrats on the new rifle! Now get that kid on some animals so he can use it!!!!

  heck ya. Rifle with be here in two days. I've got a bunch of ammo just waiting to spread it's wings.

[fishngamereaper]

So she arrived a few days ago. Overall not a bad set up. For the price its a solid rifle. The package my buddy found included a Vortex Crossfire 11 4-12x44 scope which is what I was looking at anyway.

[fishngamereaper]

I'm starting with some factory ammo. Based on some reading I did I settled on some Barnes 127gr LRX and some Hornady 143 ELD-X and 147 ELD Match.

After a quick 4 rounds and some adjustment I got her dialed pretty close to where I like it. Took her out to 200 yards and did 3 round groups with each type of ammo.

[fishngamereaper]

I want to play with some more factory loads but so far I'm happy with the ammo Ive tested. She's MOA or better out of the box. When I find the ammo she really likes she's going to be sub MOA all day long. 


Overall quality of the gun is good. Recoil is nice. The stock is plastic feeling but that's to be expected. The action is actually smoother than I thought it would be with no feed problems. The plastic box mag seems cheap but works fine so no complaints. The recoil pad is nice and cushy. The comb height is off for me for prone/bench shooting but just throwing it up to the eye in a hunting scenario I really don't notice it. The Vortex scope is nice and clear. The magnification dial is smooth and there is no haze or shadowing along the edges of the glass.

Its going to be my kids first gun with the understanding that dad can borrow it at will.    I cant wait to see what it does in the field. I might have to buy another one dedicated for me.

I added a sling and a neoprene comb raiser. She pretty much ready to roll. Just need to put some more ammo through her and get in the woods.

I will update as the season goes on.

[fishngamereaper]

.

[yakimanoob]

Looks awesome.  Go get some animals! 

[Magnum_Willys]

You like it couple inches high at 200 ?  Nice looking rifle !

[fishngamereaper]

You like it couple inches high at 200 ?  Nice looking rifle !

She's going to come down a little but yes, I'm a high at 200 guy. Still playing with the ammo right now. AS you can see different rounds are flying different so setting my zero right now is pointless.

[JeffRaines]

The one I bought my wife likes 140 Elite Hunters over 42.2gr of imr 4350. It'll make one ragged hole at 100 and 200 is within an inch or so.

The only factory stuff that shot worth a crap was cheapo Winchester Deer Seasons and the Barnes LRX. At least thats for mine.

[fishngamereaper]

Got some more range time in this last weekend. Added some Hornady 129gr SST to the mix and some Federal 140 Accubond.  The Hornady shot ok but the Federal was dialed in. After playing with all this factory ammo its seems that the Barnes and the Federal shoot the best. The Hornady is pretty erratic.

More still to come. And general season is fast approaching.

[JeffRaines]

Got some more range time in this last weekend. Added some Hornady 129gr SST to the mix and some Federal 140 Accubond.  The Hornady shot ok but the Federal was dialed in. After playing with all this factory ammo its seems that the Barnes and the Federal shoot the best. The Hornady is pretty erratic.

More still to come. And general season is fast approaching.

The Superformance shot well in my 260, but watch the velocity on those. At least in my 260 they were running about 300fps slower than my 143 ELD-X hand loads!