The 6.5 Creedmoor rifle cartridge has been around for a while now and very popular among long range competitive shooters. This caliber is also effective for hunting as well. As a matter of fact the 6.5 is gaining rapid popularity. With its mild recoil and long range accuracy this caliber can compete along the lines of other long range cartridges such as the .308.
Anyhow, the 6.5 isn’t new. The 6.5 caliber has been around since 1891. Orginally, produced for the Swedish military, hunters in Europe quickly found it to be great on game.
Winchester came out with the .264 Win Mag and Remington launched its .260 Remington. Both of these calibers are great performers but it took a while for it to catch fire in the hunting world. Many people are asking is the 6.5 good for hunting?
Here’s a few from our list that you can check out, some of these are factory and custom loads to match your hunting scene.
6.5×300
- Weatherby Magnum
Max. Velocity Range: 3,550 fps
Water Capacity: 96 grains
Max. Pressure: 65,000 PSI
6.5
The 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum is the fastest production 6.5mm there is. Combined with high Ballistic Coefficient (BC) projectiles designed for long range shooting, the velocity of the 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum opens a whole new world of possibilities and provides hunters with the terminal performance every Weatherby shooter is accustomed to.
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- Nosler
Max. Velocity Range: 3,400 fps
Water Capacity: 93.5 grains
Max. Pressure: 65,000 PSI
6.5
Originally designed for competitive shooting, it is an excellent hunting cartridge as well. Its relatively short case coupled with a long O.A.C.L. maximizes usable powder capacity with heavier projectile weights. H4350 and RL17 yield good accuracy and velocity.
- Swedish Mauser
Max. Velocity Range: 3,190 fps
Water Capacity: 57.9 grains
Max. Pressure: 51,000 PSI
Offers a host of attributes that make it an ideal round for many hunting situations.
- Browning’s 129gr BXR
Bullet Type: BXR Rapid Expansion Matrix Tip
Bullet Weight: 129 grains
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.557
Muzzle Velocity: 2,850 feet per second
Designed for rapid expansion on thin-skinned game, the the Browning BXR 6.5 Creedmoor ammo is great for whitetail, blacktail, mule deer and pronghorn hunting.
- Hornady Superformance 120gr GMX
Bullet Type: GMX
Bullet Weight: 120 grains
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.450
Muzzle Velocity: 2,925 feet per second (Full Boar) & 3,050 feet per second (Superformance)
Not only does Hornady’s Superformance line of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo give you a higher muzzle velocity than any other brand of factory loaded 6.5 Creedmoor hunting ammo, but it also uses the outstanding GMX bullet.
- Federal Fusion 140gr
Bullet Type: Soft Point
Bullet Weight: 140 grains
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.439
Muzzle Velocity: 2,750 feet per second
Though Federal designed the Fusion line of ammunition specifically for deer hunting, it will also work really well for just about any other species of thin-skinned game. So, regardless of whether you want to take your 6.5 Creedmoor antelope hunting, mule deer hunting, or whitetail hunting, you can count on this load to get the job done.
- Lucky Gunner
Bullet Type: Pointed Soft Point
Bullet Weight: 140 grains
Muzzle Velocity: 2,700 feet per second
Remington now offers the Core Lokt in 6.5 Creedmoor. So, if you’re a “meat and potatoes” kind of guy who wants a reasonably priced and dependable load to use in your 6.5 Creedmoor for hunting deer, black bear, feral hogs and even elk, then the Remington’s 6.5 Creedmoor 140 grain Core Lokt will probably work really well for you.
- Barnes VOR-TX LR 127gr LRX-BT
The 127gr VOR-TX LR load is a really good choice for a person who wants to use the 6.5 Creedmoor for hunting big game at longer ranges like mule deer, pronghorn, Himalayan Tahr, sheep, mountain goat, and chamois.
