6.5 Creedmoor vs .30-06: Is One of ...

In debating the relative deserves of rifle cartridges, few comparisons elicit extra passionately held beliefs — or set off extra derision and insults — than pitting the 6.5 Creedmor vs. the .30/06. 

Followers of every cartridge react to any criticism of their favourite such as you simply kicked their pet. That has all the time appeared a bit nonsensical to me. In actuality, these two cartridges are very totally different. Every has clearly totally different strengths and weaknesses. The one actual motive to check them is as a result of they’re two of the most well-liked and beloved large recreation cartridges.   

The .30/06 Springfield is decidedly old skool, however nonetheless fashionable and unarguably efficient. The 6.5 Creedmoor helped launch a wholly new period of modern cartridge design. The .30/06 punches with energy, at each ends of the rifle, whereas the 6.5 Creedmoor is simpler on the shoulder and designed for precision. 

Lately, many people personal rifles chambered for each cartridges. However nonetheless, the 6.5 Creedmoor followers are likely to view the .30/06 defenders as plaid-clad Fudds who consider cartridge design started and resulted in 1906. The ought-six crowd lampoons 6.5 Creedmoor followers as effeminate latte-sippers who shouldn’t use the cartridge on something bigger than a coyote. Photographs from each side land huge of the mark.

Any trustworthy comparability isn’t about selecting a winner. It’s about defining the strengths and weaknesses of every cartridge so that folks could make an knowledgeable choice on which cartridge higher satisfies their wants. Two issues are sure: neither cartridge goes away anytime quickly, and neither will ever win the talk. With that established, right here’s an unbiased have a look at what you’ll want to find out about every cartridge to determine for your self.

Historical past

The storied historical past of the .30/06 Springfield started when the US navy realized that its .30/40 Krag cartridge, which entered service within the Nineties, was falling behind. European armies have been shifting towards lighter, extra aerodynamic bullets with higher velocity and efficient vary. The 1903 adoption of the .30/03 Springfield didn’t shut the hole as a result of it used the identical heavy, round-nosed bullet because the Krag, nevertheless it did result in the creation of the .30/06 Springfield in 1906. U.S. navy and sporting historical past could be without end modified. 

The .30/06 Springfield was utilized in each World Wars in addition to the Korean Battle. It even noticed restricted use within the Vietnam Battle. It’s hardly stunning that thousands and thousands of returning service members gravitated towards the cartridge for searching and leisure capturing. In trajectory and vitality, it left fashionable lever-action cartridges just like the .30/30 Win within the mud. For hunters, the .30/06 grew to become a flexible, do-it-all cartridge that would deal with every little thing from varmints to large bears.

Just about each main rifle maker has chambered weapons for the cartridge, and the bulk nonetheless do. There was a time when the primary new rifle fashions delivery from factories have been all the time chambered for the .30/06 Springfield, however that hasn’t been the case for a very long time. Right this moment, they’re way more prone to be chambered for the 6.5 Creedmoor, and that’s a direct reflection of gross sales. 

Detractors nonetheless discuss concerning the 6.5 Creedmoor prefer it’s some new and unproven cartridge. That’s hardly the case. The cartridge was launched by Hornady 19 years in the past. It took some time to achieve traction, however it has since develop into immensely fashionable. The objective in growing the 6.5 Creedmoor was to provide a cartridge that may excel in across-the-course NRA Excessive Energy goal capturing, produce minimal recoil, and slot in a brief motion. Designers Dave Emary and Dennis DeMille succeeded past their wildest desires. They did so by loading 6.5mm bullets with excessive ballistic coefficients and sectional density right into a necked-down model of the 30 Thompson Middle case. As soon as hunters caught on to the virtues of the cartridge, gross sales soared.

Whereas the .30/06 had an amazing impression on cartridge design within the 20^th Century, the 6.5 Creedmoor has had far higher affect on fashionable cartridge design within the 21^st Century. Not like conventional cartridges, newer rounds impressed by the 6.5 Creedmoor, and its design ideas, are extra environment friendly and inherently correct. They emphasize optimum head top and sooner twist charges to stabilize heavy-for-caliber, high-BC bullets. They launch these bullets at average velocities, headspace off sharp shoulders, have tight throats, and minimal physique taper. 

Learn Subsequent: Jack O’Connor’s Opinion of the Indestructible .30-06

Accuracy

Let’s get this out of the best way up entrance. Manufacturing facility searching rifles chambered in .30/06 Springfield can’t, as a basic group, compete with manufacturing unit searching rifles chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor by way of accuracy. Cartridges just like the .30/06 are utilized in rifles with barrel throats which are notably bigger than the bullet diameter, which isn’t splendid for attaining nice accuracy. The SAMMI specification for the .30/06 is .0026 in. over the bullet diameter. That won’t sound like quite a bit, however the quantity for the 6.5 Creedmoor is a mere .0005 in. over the bullet diameter. That’s only one extra issue giving the Creedmoor a baked-in benefit.

This doesn’t imply you may’t discover particular person rifles chambered in .30/06 Springfield which are fairly correct with hundreds they like, however as a complete, accuracy of manufacturing unit .30/06 rifles doesn’t meet the identical normal.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is a unique story. I’ve by no means examined some other chambering that produced such constant accuracy because the 6.5 Creedmoor, even in low cost rifles. Out of doors Life beforehand took a deep dive into the accuracy of 6.5 Creedmoor factory ammunition — capturing greater than 200 five-shot teams — and reported spectacular outcomes. Probably the most correct 6.5 searching ammo OL shot (Federal Premium loaded with a 143-grain ELDX) recorded a five-shot group common of .56 inches, a 20-shot group common of .81 inches, and a imply radius of .23 inches. 

The problem for hunters is deciding how a lot accuracy they actually need. From a sensible standpoint, the limiting issue with regards to accuracy in a searching scenario is normally the shooter’s skill, not the rifle or the cartridge. However right here the 6.5 Creed nonetheless has a definite benefit. As a result of it’s simpler to shoot (extra on this in a minute) it’s a lot simpler to coach with and develop into expert with at longer ranges. In different phrases, capturing the 6.5 Creed, and capturing it quite a bit, is an effective means to enhance your area accuracy, which is what actually issues most. 

Recoil

Relying on their weight, rifles in .30/06 Springfield ship recoil on a stage that’s on the threshold of what many shooters can tolerate and nonetheless shoot precisely. The Creedmoor is notably extra nice. Most 6.5 Creedmoor-chambered rifles ship 10.8 to 11.6 ft.-lbs. of recoil vitality. Rifles in .30/06 Springfield produce 19 to 26 ft.-lbs. of recoil vitality relying on bullet weight. These numbers are for rifles weighing 8 kilos. 

As rifle weight decreases, recoil will increase. With seven-pound rifles, the distinction may be extra pronounced, starting from about 16 ft.-lbs. of recoil utilizing a 143-grain 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge to 27 ft.-lbs. utilizing a 178-gr. .30/06 cartridge. After all, recoil may be mitigated with recoil pads and muzzle brakes, however recoil tolerance is a vital issue to contemplate, particularly with light-weight backcountry rifles. 

The 6.5 Creedmoor is a logical alternative for brand new shooters or anybody who’s delicate to recoil. It’s additionally an apparent alternative for capturing at longer distances the place it’s vital to identify your hits via the scope — although the shooter ought to all the time maintain impression velocity in thoughts as a result of neither cartridge is exceptionally quick. Cartridges with heavier recoil make recognizing hits and delivering exact followup photographs an actual problem. 

The .30/06 stays a strong alternative for many who need to make use of a cartridge firing heavier bullets, as long as they’ll deal with the recoil with out sacrificing accuracy. 

Ballistics

One of many claims usually made for the 6.5 Creedmoor is that it shoots flatter with comparatively higher retained vitality than the .30/06. However is that actually the case? Whereas the numbers don’t lie, they are often deceptive. For a good comparability, let’s have a look at the numbers for cartridges utilizing comparatively comparable bullet weights and kinds.

Hornady’s 6.5 Creedmoor Precision Hunter 143-grain ELD-X bullet has a muzzle velocity of two,700 fps. Zeroed at 200 yards, it drops 22.4 inches at 400 yards and 44.4 inches at 500 yards.

6.5 Creedmoor Ballistics. Hornady

In distinction, Winchester’s .30/06 Springfield 150-grain Ballistic Silvertip bullet launches 200 fps sooner. Zeroed at 200 yards, it drops 21.2 inches at 400 yards and 43 inches at 500 yards. There’s little distinction in trajectory with these two cartridges, at sensible distances for many hunters.

.30/06 Springfield Ballistics. Winchester

There are, nevertheless, variations in velocity and retained vitality at distance though these two hundreds use comparable bullet weights. The .30/06 spherical outruns the 6.5 Creedmoor to 300 yards, however the 6.5 Creedmoor begins to match the .30/06 past that distance. The .30/06 load brings higher vitality within 300 yards, however the 6.5 Creedmoor strikes with extra retained vitality past that mark. That is the place you begin to see the benefits of the 6.5 Creedmoor, together with its superior resistance to wind drift. 

Let’s evaluate these identical two hundreds. In a ten mph, full-value wind, the /30/06 bullet will drift 6.21 inches at 300 yards, 11.42 inches at 400 yards and 18.48 inches at 500 yards. The 6.5 Creedmoor numbers are simply 4.63, 8.48 and 13.55 inches on the identical distances.

That’s a transparent benefit for the 6.5 Creedmoor. After all, with the .30/06, you’ve gotten the choice to run heavier, 180- to 220-grain bullets. Hornady’s Customized Worldwide 220-grain InterLock load, for instance, launches from the muzzle with a whopping 3,704 ft.-lbs. of vitality, or 1,000 ft.-lbs. greater than the 143-grain 6.5 Creedmoor. At shut and mid distances, the .30/06 clearly brings extra vitality to the goal with these heavy bullets.

Terminal Efficiency

All issues being equal, greater bullets with bigger frontal floor areas increase holes. Relying on bullet design and velocity, they’ll inflict extra injury on important organs and trigger extra blood loss. This typically provides the .30/06 a bonus in terminal ballistics. However do not forget that means velocity and bullet development are equal. Your bullet choice makes a giant distinction.

Thoughts you, this doesn’t imply that you may’t take bigger animals with the 6.5 Creedmoor. Out of doors Life workers author Tyler Freel proved you can kill a large grizzly ethically with a 6.5 Creedmoor utilizing a troublesome, 140-gr. Nosler Partition bullet at comparatively shut vary. He has additionally famous that the 6.5 Creedmoor with a 143-grain ELD-X can produce extra dramatic wound channels than some rigidly constructed bullets in bigger cartridges just like the .338 Win. Man. OL’s capturing editor John B. Snow has killed a trophy room value of bull elk with the 6.5 Creed at distances from close to to far. 

By the identical token, you may actually kill deer with the .30/06, however you don’t want .30/06 energy to take whitetails cleanly. I’ve shot a whole lot of deer-sized recreation with the 6.5 Creedmoor, and the cartridge has by no means let me down. I did as soon as need to hit an aoudad in Texas 4 occasions with a 6.5 Creedmoor to place him down. The bullets have been going the place they have been presupposed to, however that aoudad hadn’t learn the script. They’re robust animals. Would that ram have gone down sooner if I’d been capturing an even bigger cartridge? Perhaps, however in all probability not. Every capturing scenario is dynamic and it’s unattainable to foretell how anyone animal may react with a given cartridge. 

With that mentioned, I have a look at it like this: For big animals within 300 yards, the benefit goes to the .30/06. At longer distances, the accuracy benefits of the 6.5 Creedmoor make it a good selection, particularly for deer-sized recreation.

Learn Subsequent: Are You Getting Bad Blood Trails with the 6.5 Creedmoor? This Is Why

Ammo Availability and Choice

It’s all the time been simple to search out .30/06 ammo at retailers in nearly any backwoods location. That wasn’t all the time true of the 6.5 Creedmoor, however the spherical has steadily been catching up by way of availability because it has grown in reputation over the past twenty years. Now you can discover 6.5 Creedmoor ammo at most stores that promote ammunition.

The .30/06 is extra versatile within the sense of being tolerant of a higher number of projectiles, and it’s nonetheless offered in a wider vary of bullet weights and kinds. Presently choices from simply three of the largest ammo manufacturers – Hornady, Federal, and Winchester – embody 48 totally different .30/06 hundreds in bullet weights starting from 125 to 220 grains.

Compared, present 6.5 Creedmoor choices from the identical three producers embody 31 totally different hundreds in bullet weights starting from 95 to 147 grains. In different phrases, each cartridges are glorious selections in the event you care about ammo availability, versatility, and new rifles chambered in your spherical.

Remaining Ideas on 6.5 Creedmoor vs .30-06

The 30/06 Springfield isn’t as out of date as some individuals assert, and the 6.5 Creedmoor isn’t the feeble newcomer some painting it to be. 

The smaller vary of bullet weights for the 6.5 Creedmoor displays the distinction in design philosophy. The 6.5 Creedmoor was designed to launch heavy-for-caliber, high-BC bullets at sooner twist charges for higher long-range accuracy. It has confirmed to be remarkably correct and immensely fashionable.

The .30/06 was designed to compete with European navy ammo greater than 100 years in the past. The truth that this granddaddy of a cartridge nonetheless enjoys nice reputation amongst hunters speaks volumes about its effectiveness on medium and enormous recreation animals.

All cartridge selections are a matter of non-public desire, and that’s one of many nice issues concerning the present state of capturing sports activities. We’ve by no means had the liberty to select from so many nice cartridges. In my e book, the .30/06 and 6.5 Creedmoor are each good selections. It simply is determined by what you propose to do with them. And actually, it is best to have rifles chambered in each. 

 

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