From LoadoutRoom contributing author, Sam Jacobs. More of Sam’s work can be found here.
I was late to the party for testing the 6.5 Creedmoor.
For years, I’d heard about it outperforming the 308 Winchester, but I must admit, I was a bit stuck in my ways and thought a lot of the hype would eventually die down. It couldn’t be as great as they claimed, right?
When it didn’t, and I had the opportunity to send a few rounds of 6.5 Creedmoor downrange, I jumped at the chance.
How The 6.5 Creedmoor Looks
We started close to ensure we were on paper, and I quickly had my 270 Win and 308 Win grouping where I wanted.
It was now time for my neighbor to send a few rounds downrange with his 6.5 Creedmoor. I hadn’t noticed that he had a muzzle brake until he fired the first shot, and I felt the percussion take my breath away for a second despite standing safely off to the side and behind him.
I must admit, the force made me a little excited. I hadn’t expected it because everything I had read said the recoil was lower than the 308.
It was finally my turn to send a few rounds. The only problem was that the gun was left-handed, which made it a bit uncomfortable for me, a right-handed shooter. Nevertheless, I was here to see what all the hype was about.
I found the target and squeezed the trigger, jerking it a bit in anticipation of the recoil, which caused me to miss.
The recoil was minimal; everyone hadn’t lied to me. With the muzzle brake, it wasn’t much more than my 5.56 AR-15, which shocked me.
With the anticipation of the initial shot out of the way, I began squeezing off a few rounds to get a better feel for the rifle.
How The 6.5 Creedmoor Performs
Now, in all fairness, the rifle was not set up for me, so I won’t judge its performance based on my shooting ability with a lefthanded firearm because I couldn’t ever quite get a great sight picture of the target. In contrast, my neighbor had no problem getting a good sight picture.
However, seeing how quickly my neighbor had tight groupings each time we stepped back another 100 yards made me a believer in this round.
We first got it on paper at 50 yards, then stepped back to 100 yards, where it required minimal adjustments to get a group punching the bullseye. After shooting at 200 yards and quickly zeroing it in, shot at the 300-yard target, and that’s when I knew this was a very flat shooting round, especially compared to my beloved 270 Win.
Our local range can only accommodate targets at a maximum of 300 yards, so we were unable to push the limits of the 6.5 Creedmoor, but at 300 yards, he had groups that would make any big game hunter proud.
Parting Shots
My first experience with the 6.5 Creedmoor was great. Even though I didn’t shoot well with a lefthanded firearm, I could see what all the hype was about.
I’m now a believer and promoter of the 6.5 Creedmoor and am currently on the hunt for a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle to add to the collection!
About Author:
Sam Jacobs is a writer, and chief historian, at Ammo. As a self-proclaimed outdoorsman, it’s his responsibility to use his knowledge and experience to educate others about ammunition, the outdoors, and conservation.
