Caliber Battle: 6mm ARC vs 6.5 Creedmoor for Deer Sized Game

In the right action, the 6mm ARC is perhaps the finest medium-game cartridge ever made. As you can see with the ballistic chart I recently generated comparing the ARC to the .223, it's an impressive round through a 16-inch barrel. Compared to the 6.5 CM, the recoil difference is substantial.

The only limiting factor to the ARC is actions sized to the round. Besides ARs, there's Howa's Mini Action, which maybe isn't custom-level quality but still very usable. Paired with the right stock, scope, and suppressor, a Howa in 6mm ARC would be a world-class deer rifle.

I currently have three ARCs and another planned. On the AR front, I have an 18-inch gasser and a 16-inch straight pull. My bolt-action 6mm ARC is a NULA with 20-inch barrel. A future ARC in my collection is a stainless Sako A1 currently in 7.62x39. I'm pumped for that one; dinky Sako actions are the coolest actions ever made.
View attachment 646813

6 ARC Howa Mini bolt gun 108 ELD-M at 600 yards today. Velocity drops below 1800 FPS beyond 600.

IMG_0548.jpeg
 
Nice! Hey @General RE LEE your hub battery is low whatever that is haha! Whats your load and barrel length? Looking forward to my howa mini action in 6arc whenever brownells finally gets them back in stock
 
This one is still up for debate less than two weeks before season. It's a tough decision for me, but I am leaning towards my 6.5 Creedmoor cause its a Tikka UPR and the trigger and stock are better in many ways that my Howa Mini.
 
In the right action, the 6mm ARC is perhaps the finest medium-game cartridge ever made. As you can see with the ballistic chart I recently generated comparing the ARC to the .223, it's an impressive round through a 16-inch barrel. Compared to the 6.5 CM, the recoil difference is substantial.

The only limiting factor to the ARC is actions sized to the round. Besides ARs, there's Howa's Mini Action, which maybe isn't custom-level quality but still very usable. Paired with the right stock, scope, and suppressor, a Howa in 6mm ARC would be a world-class deer rifle.

I currently have three ARCs and another planned. On the AR front, I have an 18-inch gasser and a 16-inch straight pull. My bolt-action 6mm ARC is a NULA with 20-inch barrel. A future ARC in my collection is a stainless Sako A1 currently in 7.62x39. I'm pumped for that one; dinky Sako actions are the coolest actions ever made.
View attachment 646813

Saw this old post and you got me curious about that sako A1 now! Wasn’t aware they were a thing but that sounds like fun!
 
Saw this old post and you got me curious about that sako A1 now! Wasn’t aware they were a thing but that sounds like fun!
Me too, damnit. If you get farther down the rabbit hole before me, please summarize what you find.
 
Bump cause it’s 2025. 6.5 CM or 6 ARC for medium sized game
New to me this year, I have a 20”CTR in 6.5 CM and a 22-250 8 twist. I’m running 140 Bergers and 85.5 Bergers, respectively. I will be using both this year deer/elk hunting. I have confidence in both. Where am I going with this?

I’ve contemplated the 6 ARC for years now and still do not have one. I’m uninterested in the gas guns as they are anemic compared to their bolt action cousins. And, the bolt actions are anemic to the 22-250 and 6.5 CM I mentioned above, as well as many other rifles I own chambered in varying cartridges.

I don’t care for the funky bolt head dimension. If you want to change to something later, it funnels you into the ARC/Grendel family of cartridges. Meh.🫤 If you want it in a Tikka, you have to mill the bolt head. Big no for me.

I suppose if I had to get an ARC cartridge it would be the 22 version. Not hating here, it just doesn’t fill I niche I need filled. So to answer your question…6.5CM.
 
Back
Top