18” 6.5 Creed Vs 20” 6.5 PRC

[lovetohunt93]

I know this topic has been beaten to death on this forum and others, and I’ve read them all, but everyone’s situation is different and I wanted some fresh perspectives.

What would you choose:
18” 6.5 Creed or 20” 6.5 PRC?
Either would be suppressed.

This rifle’s main purpose would be hunting Michigan’s upper peninsula for deer. Most shots would be under 200 yards, but there is a natural gas pipeline that runs the length of the property where 450ish is available.

My only other centerfire rifles are a 22” .30-06, and multiple 450 bushmasters.

I like the creed for its lower ammo cost and low recoil. I like the PRC for more power. My worry with the 18” Creed is it won’t be ideal for less than perfect situations/angles. I just don’t want to get one and end up wishing I got the other so I am looking for opinions.

Also, I do not reload my own ammo.

 

[RWT]

Creed due to the 3L’s

Less expensive for practice.
Larger selection of COTS ammo
Less recoil so you practice more

 

[43.6N]

I’ll bite.

I have an 18” 6.5cm and a 20” 6.5PRC.
The 18” gun gets hunted hard. The PRC hasn’t been shot since last spring.

Here’s my drop chart for the 18” Creedmoor. Shooting 130tmk over 43gr H4350.

Even with today’s cold front moving in, I’m still retaining enough velocity for a 630yd shot. More than enough. I am the weak link in my rifle system. Not the cartridge.

 

[43.6N]

I know this topic has been beaten to death on this forum and others, and I’ve read them all, but everyone’s situation is different and I wanted some fresh perspectives.

What would you choose:
18” 6.5 Creed or 20” 6.5 PRC?
Either would be suppressed.

This rifle’s main purpose would be hunting Michigan’s upper peninsula for deer. Most shots would be under 200 yards, but there is a natural gas pipeline that runs the length of the property where 450ish is available.

My only other centerfire rifles are a 22” .30-06, and multiple 450 bushmasters.

I like the creed for its lower ammo cost and low recoil. I like the PRC for more power. My worry with the 18” Creed is it won’t be ideal for less than perfect situations/angles. I just don’t want to get one and end up wishing I got the other so I am looking for opinions.

Also, I do not reload my own ammo.

Does the UP have any laws about type of cartridge, or type of bullet? That can definitely factor

 

[The Harbor Master]

Absolutely the creed

 

[lovetohunt93]

Does the UP have any laws about type of cartridge, or type of bullet? That can definitely factor

It is pretty wide open for regulations. We can use any rifle cartridge except for a 22 caliber or smaller handgun. Any type of bullet is okay.

 

[lovetohunt93]

I’ll bite.

I have an 18” 6.5cm and a 20” 6.5PRC.
The 18” gun gets hunted hard. The PRC hasn’t been shot since last spring.

Here’s my drop chart for the 18” Creedmoor. Shooting 130tmk over 43gr H4350.

Even with today’s cold front moving in, I’m still retaining enough velocity for a 630yd shot. More than enough. I am the weak link in my rifle system. Not the cartridge.

Very good info here, thank you.
I'm curious, what about the cm makes you take it more than the PRC?

 

[hickswr]

-I have a 18” 6 creed and use it pretty much as you described. Works great and no regrets.

 

[swavescatter]

Neither. The answer is actually a Tikka in 1:8 twist 243 or 6 creed. I love my 18" 6.5 creed and it's deadly out past 800yds at my elevation, but those 6mm's shoot flatter and kick less. 22 creed if it's legal.

 

[arwhntr]

I'm not much of a gun guy but in your situation this is easy— Creed all the way. I would even consider a 6mm CM

 

[flyfisher117]

Creedmoor. 200 yards and in is nothing for either. In the event you do stretch to 400 yards both will be more than enough still.

The Creedmoor and the -06 will cover everything you need.

 

[TreeDog]

They both shoot the same bullets just at different speeds. Even with slow factory ammo, they both have plenty of wallop at 450-500+ yards. CM does it with less powder, less recoil, and being cheaper to shoot. 18" barrel will be a little more handy with a suppressor vs 20". Could even do 16" and be fine for what you want to do. My do all rifle is a suppressed 18" 6.5CM and it's done anything I've needed it to do.

 

[CMP70306]

I’m running an 18” 6.5 PRC with the 143gr ELD-X at 2800 fps which is basically a 28” Creedmoor with 10” less barrel.

 

[Pistolpete28]

I went from a 24” braked 6.5 prc to a suppressed 6.5 creed 20” barrel. I don’t miss the prc and the creed will get me to as far as I care to shoot. Recently i bought my son an 8 twist tikka 243. It’s got a 20” barrel, and I’m getting 2900 fps with the 108 eldms. I think the 243 hand loaded is awesome. It also looks like tikka is finally making the 6 creed so there’s that option as well, here at rokslide the only rifle allowed to be discussed is a tikka lol.

 

[Huntnpack 2]

Any of the Creedmoor’s would be Perfect.
I’d go 22 or 6

 

[Fireflyfishing]

6.5 CM

 

[43.6N]

Very good info here, thank you.
I'm curious, what about the cm makes you take it more than the PRC?

The honest truth is that my shot opportunities are usually 300-500 for mule deer. My Creedmoor weighs less, suppresses better, and kicks less. It has a more manageable barrel length for carrying all day, even if it’s only 2 inches difference.

Terminal ballistics are projectile dependent, and I haven’t “needed” the extra velocity the PRC provides to make ethical shots happen.

Now I do have a canyon that I’ve scouted, where I could expect shots in the 7-900 range. Wind would absolutely be a consideration. Maybe the PRC would be the right gun for that specific hunt. But even then, I would want to practice those windy shots a ton before committing to those types of shots. So again, if I’m not feeling like I can make a good shot, is the gun really going to make enough difference to convince me to now shoot?

You mentioned that you don’t reload. I do. And the extra 10-15gr of powder burned per shot adds up pretty quickly when you are practicing weekly. Both financially in terms of buying reloading components, but also barrel wear and longevity.

I recently replaced a stainless proof Creedmoor competition barrel after about 5500 rounds. It had slowly opened up to about 2 moa over the last 400 shots or so. It was still making hits, but you could certainly tell the dispersion was increasing at distance. If that had been a PRC, I’d be on 3-4 barrels.

Now, all that being said I totally understand that you are trying to get something different out of your rifle compared to me. You have to explore your own abilities, terrain, and equipment to grow as a hunter and shooter.

I can promise that for your ranges and type of hunting, a short suppressed rifle is perfect. The Creedmoor won’t leave anything on the table compared to the PRC when it comes to the distances you’re hunting.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

I've owned both of those exact combo, I'll tell you the exact difference is roughly a little less than 200 fps. I get 2544 with heavy ELD-M in the 18" CM and around 2715 with the same in the 20" PRC both with factory ammo of course. Oddly the 18" CM will do 2821 fps average with factory Superformance 129 SST but I couldn't speed the PRC up that much. That was all factory ammo. Sold the PRC and now I'm starting to reload, surely could've gotten more out of it reloading but really don't see any benefits.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

I like the creed for its lower ammo cost and low recoil. I like the PRC for more power. My worry with the 18” Creed is it won’t be ideal for less than perfect situations/angles. I just don’t want to get one and end up wishing I got the other so I am looking for opinions.

Just caught this part, there's not any more power in the PRC as they shoot the exact same projectiles. The benefit to more speed with the same projectile is a little less drop and a little better performance in wind, neither of which are a factor with a max shot distance of 450 yards.