6.5 C or 308?

[grfox92]

I would not use either cartridge as a primary rifle for shots on mule deer at 500-600 yds.

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Why?

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[IdahoBeav]

Why?

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I'd rather have something that is flatter shooting and pushing a heavier bullet.

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[grfox92]

I'd use the 6.5

I'd use the 308. 168gr ELDm loaded with varget is a 600 yard gun for elk or deer.

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[thinhorn_AK]

I must have odd friends - only one of them has had a 308 and I bought it from him. I don’t have anything against a 308, heck I’m even trying to get a new 308 barrel, but Ive never heard of a Wyoming kid asking for a 308 for Christmas, and I can’t ever remember anyone telling a hunting story that included a 308.

You are a sample size of 1, your personal experiences are not statistically relevant.

 

[jimh406]

.308 is popular in my part of the West. It's not very popular on the forums though.

Either caliber will work. The recoil isn't that much different with the same weight bullets and same weight setup.

There are quite a few good comparisons on YouTube.

 

[grfox92]

.308 is popular in my part of the West. It's not very popular on the forums though.

No one's ever even heard of a Tikka in my neck of the woods and I've never seen one for sale in any of the local shops.


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[TaperPin]

You are a sample size of 1, your personal experiences are not statistically relevant.

I did remember 3 other Wyoming friends with 308s, and there are probably more, but they don’t come out very often. One of the reasons they don’t bring out their 308s is everyone has a variety of rifles - if a 223, 22-250, 243, 6 creed, 6.5 creed, 6.5 prc, 257 Roberts, 25-06, 270, 7mm-08, 7 short mag, 7 normal mag, 7 ultra mag, 270 Weatherby, 6.8 Astro-blaster, 6.8 Critter-Gitter, 30-06, 308, 300 little mag, 300 monster mag, 338, 35 Whelen, and 30-30 are in the safe, and it’s antelope season, one rifle will come out. During deer season another, and a third will probably be used on elk.

I had no idea the 308 crowd is sensitive about that caliber - I should be more gentle in voicing my opinion. As long as the bullet hits home, the animal won’t care one way or the other.

 

[BCD]

6.5 PRC

How does this compare to the other 2 in terms of ammo cost and barrel life?

 

[BCD]

I just shot a bull with the 6.5CM and it worked fine. Two cows prior, DRT. Two more elk tags and a whitetail for this season, I'm taking the same rifle. The .308 wouldn't make them more dead.

Wouldn't the 308 with heavier bullets leave more room for error on a marginal hit?

 

[BCD]

I did remember 3 other Wyoming friends with 308s, and there are probably more, but they don’t come out very often. One of the reasons they don’t bring out their 308s is everyone has a variety of rifles - if a 223, 22-250, 243, 6 creed, 6.5 creed, 6.5 prc, 257 Roberts, 25-06, 270, 7mm-08, 7 short mag, 7 normal mag, 7 ultra mag, 270 Weatherby, 6.8 Astro-blaster, 6.8 Critter-Gitter, 30-06, 308, 300 little mag, 300 monster mag, 338, 35 Whelen, and 30-30 are in the safe, and it’s antelope season, one rifle will come out. During deer season another, and a third will probably be used on elk.

I had no idea the 308 crowd is sensitive about that caliber - I should be more gentle in voicing my opinion. As long as the bullet hits home, the animal won’t care one way or the other.

I don't think anyone is being sensitive. The 308 is incredibly popular and your comments are way off.

 

[UpTop]

I don't think anyone is being sensitive. The 308 is incredibly popular and your comments are way off.

Exactly. I don’t even shoot a 308, I just know it’s probably in the top 3 most used calibers of all time out west or anywhere.

 

[LongWayAround]

Wouldn't the 308 with heavier bullets leave more room for error on a marginal hit?

My worst rifle elk chase experience followed a marginal hit with a 7mm magnum.

 

[TaperPin]

I don't think anyone is being sensitive. The 308 is incredibly popular and your comments are way off.

Well, that’s what it looks like where I’m from. I don’t expect my experiences to match anyone else’s, and I wouldn’t expect anyone to agree with me. I’m also not against ballistic calculators and dialing when there’s time to do it, but I do make fun of friends that miss shots because of it.

The cartridge name shouldn’t mean anything - just look at a ballistics table at 500 yards and compare whatever two bullets you feel like.

Although I have to admit, if you don’t hand load, the 308 plinking ammo is much less expensive, and a high volume shooter will burn out a 308 barrel much slower than just about anything else.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I did remember 3 other Wyoming friends with 308s, and there are probably more, but they don’t come out very often. One of the reasons they don’t bring out their 308s is everyone has a variety of rifles - if a 223, 22-250, 243, 6 creed, 6.5 creed, 6.5 prc, 257 Roberts, 25-06, 270, 7mm-08, 7 short mag, 7 normal mag, 7 ultra mag, 270 Weatherby, 6.8 Astro-blaster, 6.8 Critter-Gitter, 30-06, 308, 300 little mag, 300 monster mag, 338, 35 Whelen, and 30-30 are in the safe, and it’s antelope season, one rifle will come out. During deer season another, and a third will probably be used on elk.

I had no idea the 308 crowd is sensitive about that caliber - I should be more gentle in voicing my opinion. As long as the bullet hits home, the animal won’t care one way or the other.

Nobody is sensitive about it and I don’t think there even is much of a 308 “crowd” here but you are speaking in absolutes about something you know nothing about and got called out on it. Nothing more.

 

[Dbaer282]

6.5
Great cal

 

[GFMThunter]

Tons of 308 rifles being used out west where I live in Montana and Wyoming. For the distances you are talking, as long as you know your ballistic info and have proven the data and practiced reading/shooting in wind, you will be fine with either. If you are asking about the PRC though, there is a pretty substantial difference than the other 2. It's not really similar to the other 2 as far as recoil, powder and so on. The PRC are nice shooting, pretty flat shooting suckers though, that also buck the wind well and carry some more energy.

 

[TaperPin]

Nobody is sensitive about it and I don’t think there even is much of a 308 “crowd” here but you are speaking in absolutes about something you know nothing about and got called out on it. Nothing more.

If I‘m wrong on anything, it doesn’t take much to change my mind, but there has to be evidence. I will be on the lookout for the large amount of 308 deer and antelope rifles that I’ve been overlooking at the range, in the field and in the gun stores for the past 40 years. So far they just haven’t shown up - I’m not emotionally attached to them one way or the other.

edit: It’s really hard to find cartridge popularity sorted by state, but there are some national ranking based on numbers sold. The caliber listed by the largest number of companies is the 308, and it’s ammo sales are way up there. The popularity of the creedmoor is obvious in all three lists.

 

[ramsdude47]

If you’re concerned the 6.5CM might be inadequate get a 6.5PRC. But 6.5CM over 308 IMO.

 

[Gsquared]

How does this compare to the other 2 in terms of ammo cost and barrel life?

I will let others comment on barrel life, but ammo for 6.5 PRC will definitely be more. 308 is a tried and true caliber, I have two rifles chambered in it, but past a certain distance the BC start to decline rapidly from my understanding. I’ve heard some folks complain about recoil on the PRC compared to Creedmor but I have a break on mine and can’t tell a noticeable difference between my PRC and a friends CM. Nothing scientific, just my opinion. Pick one, sight it in, then grip it and rip it. If you decide to change sell the old one and switch it up. Good hunting!

 

[Vern400]

308 is filling the role of my 270 this year until I get its new barrel put on. It’s being built to fling the 150 gr accubond well clear of 3000 fps.

So many cartridges to pick from for those criteria that will work. Sometimes I find making a spreadsheet with pros and cons works well in these situations to find what works best for you. That way you can weight the things that matter more to you and your situation.

Now THAT, sir is a fine elk gun. A 150 grain .277 bullet at 3000 fps is very capable. If you look at the ballistics from 0 to 500 or 0 to 600 it's about as flat as a 6.5 creedmoor but it's got a lot more snort when it gets there. Hope it works great.

It's ironic that you can take a cartridge from 1925 and put modern slow burn powder in it and get some awesome performance by ANY measure.