6.5 Creedmoor vs .270

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May 20, 2025
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Here is my situation. I am going back and forth on whether I should go with the 6.5 Creedmoor or a .270 Win. Yesterday I thought I had made up my mind and was going with the .270, today I am back on the 6.5 Creedmoor train. I already have a 30-06 as my do-it-all rifle. If I were to hunt anything bigger than a Mule Deer I would most likely use the 30-06 anyway. My ideal future hunt will be western hunting antelope and bighorn sheep. I know that tags are hard to get, and I have a lot of time before I even go on this hunt. However, I live in the Midwest and hunt Whitetail already and would be interested in hunting coyotes as well. So if I am hunting Whitetail, Antelope, Bighorn sheep, and Coyote the 6.5 would be the ideal gun for those longer shots (I do have a 30-30 for Whitetail under 100). The advice I have been given by people in my life and forums has been all over the place, so it feels there isn’t a wrong answer. I also have very little experience shooting long range. Most of my hunts have been with iron sites, so I would need to practice shooting at distance, so the less recoil of the 6.5 makes sense as well. What I am hoping someone can do is solidify my choice of choosing the 6.5 over the .270, or how I should go with the .270, and here is why.
 
I like classics, so .270 Winchester. But then I’m the man who would pick 7x57 over 7-08 or 7 mag, so consider that.

With me, it isn’t all about BC and SD and muzzle velocity and foot lbs and anything else you might list under “performance.” Either caliber will perform better than I (or you?) can make use of in most hunting circumstances. Sometimes comparing stats from charts amounts to little more than tinkering on the margins.
 
However, I live in the Midwest and hunt Whitetail already and would be interested in hunting coyotes as well. So if I am hunting Whitetail, Antelope, Bighorn sheep, and Coyote the 6.5 6mm would be the ideal gun for those longer shots

I wouldn't want to shoot volume of 270 in a light rifle. For what you describe i think 6mm Creedmoor is a better choice yet. You get the 270ish trajectory/velocity, probably equal or better wind deflection with most factory ammo, and have even less recoil than the 6.5. Downside is fewer factory ammo choices/availability and fewer factory rifles chambered in it. I haven't had an issue getting plenty of factory ammo though.
 
I own both. If I were starting fresh, I would just buy a 6.5 Creed. It's very capable for everything out here and the recoil is about 60% of a 270 win.
I'd bet a creed has 80-85% of the recoil with the heavy eld bullets most peeps use.
If someone can't handle a 270 with 130 gr splatter bullets (that ive used 35 years) , they need to invest in a 223.
 
I too would have a 6mm that burns <40 grs (creed, xc, br...etc). The 13 thousandths of an inch difference is not worth it either way.

A 6mm will get you more practice for less recoil and is more than enough for elk to farther than most will believe.
 
I'd bet a creed has 80-85% of the recoil with the heavy eld bullets most peeps use.
If someone can't handle a 270 with 130 gr splatter bullets (that ive used 35 years) , they need to invest in a 223.
12ish vs 15ish ft/lb recoil energy in a 9# rifle. So 270 is a 25ish % increase in recoil. Bare muzzle lightweight sporter rifle, I wouldn't want to put any notable volume of either down range.
 
I currently have a 270 and have always been found of it, although I just bought a new barrel to change it to a 25-06. I would not get either of those calibers if you already have a 30-06 that works as they seem too similar. I would go .243 or 6mm CM.
 
If you are serious about getting better at shooting, less recoil is your friend. I’d get the 6.5CM or find a 6CM/243win
You can always get a 270win down the road if you feel the need.

I had a really nice shooting tikka 270win, I wish I still had it. But I only wish I still had it for no other reason then it was a great shooting rifle. It would not see the volume of shooting my 233, 243, 6.5CM, 7-08, or 308 see if I still had it.
 
As has been stated, in order to get better you need to shoot more, less recoil and cheaper ammo costs all help contribute to that. I had a .270 that I swapped the barrel to 6.5 to accommodate more shooting for myself, I felt the recoil reduction was definitely noticeable. If I had to do it over again I would go with 6 Creedmoor and even less recoil. If it were me I would sell the 06 and just get something in 6 Creedmoor, and buy a pile of good ammo to practice with.
 
I'd bet a creed has 80-85% of the recoil with the heavy eld bullets most peeps use.
If someone can't handle a 270 with 130 gr splatter bullets (that ive used 35 years) , they need to invest in a 223.
270 win (this is my actual load data)
1747761878045.png
6.5 Creed (this is my actual load data)
1747761954434.png
37.6% increase in recoil going from 6.5 Creed to 270 win in same weight (very light, which I have) gun. The other thing is the 6.5 CM recoil impulse is less, so it feels less snappy than 270 recoil, IME
 
I have had both and ended up selling the 270. It wasn't that it was worse than the 6.5CM, its just that I had a 30-06 and 7mmRM for bigger animals. I liked the ammo availability and lower recoil of the 6.5. From a paper analysis, the 270 wins in just about every category and just shows how capable the good ole 270 can be.. It would be perfect if it had a tighter twist BUT factory rifles do not. I have shot out to 1000 yards (targets only) and the 6.5CM is the easy button. You cannot go wrong with either one but in your case, get the 6.5CM.

Oh yeah, get the 6.5CM suppressed and see how fun it is to shoot!
 
Like others have said, for the purpose you describe and already having a 30-06, a 6mm something seems like an even better tool for the job. Either 6 CM or GT, whichever is logistically easiest to you.
 
My thought is you have a do it all rifle. A .270 is often the same. I’d go short action mountain rifle.
 
I have both and I like the 270 for a little flatter shooting. That said if I was getting a rifle for your stated "Whitetail, Antelope, Bighorn sheep, and Coyote" I would get a 6mm Creedmoor or even the new .25 creed. Just newer technology that will shoot high BC bullets with less recoil and fast.
 
I have a 270 and a 6.5cm barrel for the same rifle. They are both good do-it-all cartridges depending ont he ammo you want to use. If you are a copper or bonded bullet guy, a faster cartridge may give you some advantage, but really at the ranges you are realistically talking about both cartridges are plenty capable even for larger game.
Between the two I would go with the 6.5cm for the following reasons:
1) You have a 30-06, and at the ranges you are talking about it's not different-enough from a 270 to worry about the difference.
2) 6.5cm ammo is among the easiest to find, cheapest, with the most choices among any centerfire rifle cartridges, by a wide margin.
3) ime 6.5cm, just based on the law of averages, is more likely to be a shooter out of the box with a wider variety of ammo
4) less recoil, as well as less $, will make practice a lot easier. If you want to shoot at longer ranges it's practice that will make more of a difference than which cartridge you choose. I have an 8lb 6.5cm which, if its in a well-designed stock, is still easy to shoot for 40 or 50 rounds at a sitting without getting too beat up by the cumulative effect of recoil. Neither has "painful" recoil, it's the cumulative effect of recoil in one session that matters more to me, and the 6.5 has a noticeable edge there.
 
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