Great video never did jump on the 6.5 bandwagon myself.

[cuttingedge]

I only decided to try 6.5 CM within the past few months. Call me late to the party...

My first was a Franchi Momentum. My second was a Franchi Momentum Varmint. My third was a Weatherby Vanguard. About 300 bucks worth of ammo later, none would consistently toss 3 down range under an inch at 100. All were bought new by me. I tried several brands of ammo including Hornady Precision. They all 3 left the stable and I learned an expensive lesson. Just because a caliber has that new cartridge smell doesn't mean it is the be all end all.

It ain't the shooter. I have a Vanguard in .243 win that shoots one elongated hole at 100 and an X-Bolt Hell's Canyon Speed in 6.5 PRC that will put em inside a penny. I also have a 6mm ARC in an AR that will boringly put em in an inch a leisure.

I am not saying all new rounds are bad, and I am sure the 6.5 CM is great in some guns. I am saying that it isn't blood sugar voodoo black magic, and the ole MOA Guarantee on some of these rifles isn't worth the paper it is written on. 6.5 CM is just another option in a sea of suitable calibers for specific needs.

 

[Harvey_NW]

More to the point of recoil actually felt is as much dependent on stock fit and effectiveness of the pad as on the cartridge used. Tikka is a great example.
I just threw in the receiver length as a bonus because I'm more tired of blind Tikka fandom than of the Creedmoor cult.

 

[KenLee]

View attachment 533635

Hell any supposed short action Tikka

 

[Fatcamp]

I only decided to try 6.5 CM within the past few months. Call me late to the party...

My first was a Franchi Momentum. My second was a Franchi Momentum Varmint. My third was a Weatherby Vanguard. About 300 bucks worth of ammo later, none would consistently toss 3 down range under an inch at 100. All were bought new by me. I tried several brands of ammo including Hornady Precision. They all 3 left the stable and I learned an expensive lesson. Just because a caliber has that new cartridge smell doesn't mean it is the be all end all.

It ain't the shooter. I have a Vanguard in .243 win that shoots one elongated hole at 100 and an X-Bolt Hell's Canyon Speed in 6.5 PRC that will put em inside a penny. I also have a 6mm ARC in an AR that will boringly put em in an inch a leisure.

I am not saying all new rounds are bad, and I am sure the 6.5 CM is great in some guns. I am saying that it isn't blood sugar voodoo black magic, and the ole MOA Guarantee on some of these rifles isn't worth the paper it is written on. 6.5 CM is just another option in a sea of suitable calibers for specific needs.

Should have bought a Tikka.

 

[KenLee]

Should have bought a Tikka.

Should have bought three Threaded barrel TC Compass when they were $225 in hand

 

[wind gypsy]

 

[Fatcamp]

Should have bought three Threaded barrel TC Compass when they were $225 in hand

That was the crappiset feeling rifle I ever held. Makes a Ruger American feel high dollar.

 

[KenLee]

That was the crappiset feeling rifle I ever held. Makes a Ruger American feel high dollar.

Shoot like a dream and actually have great recoil pads.

 

[KenLee]

View attachment 533641

I've been a grumpy old man since I was 12.

 

[KenLee]

That was the crappiset feeling rifle I ever held. Makes a Ruger American feel high dollar.

Just remembered the Compass came with Weaver scopes mounted for the $225.
The Weavers went on kids' 22 rifles.

 

[KenLee]

If y'all truly want to be entertained, I present the ""Hood Rat Medallion" in 6.5 Creedmoor with a dreaded Zeiss V4.
They were so cheap that I couldn't stand it.

 

[Formidilosus]

because I'm more tired of blind Tikka fandom than of the Creedmoor cult.

What currently produced rifle is objective better? That is reliability, durability, longevity, precision, feeding, and function.

 

[BjornF16]

I had to laugh a while back when Spomer wrote a blog about hunting in Africa with Hammer bullets.

Running a 375 H&H with Swarovski scope and had it lose zero during the hunt when shooting a Waterbuck.

Maybe he should’ve read the Scope Evaluation thread here on RS

Hammer Bullet Performance in Africa — Ron Spomer Outdoors

Can you really hammer everything from 1,500-pound cape buffalo to 100-pound reedbuck with an all-copper bullet designed to shed its nose petals? We took some Hammer Hunters to Mozambique to find out. Hammer Hunters are an all copper alloy bullet with a hollow nose designed to break from t

www.ronspomeroutdoors.com

 

[KenLee]

What currently produced rifle is objective better? That is reliability, durability, longevity, precision, feeding, and function.

I currently prefer the plain Jane, beat hell out of em, x-bolts. Used a-bolts mostly over 20 years before switching to mostly using x-bolts.
X-bolt has great factory recoil pads. Sensible barrel lengths. 60 degree bolt rotation. Plenty light but no stock flex to hinder accuracy. Absolutely zero feeding issues. Safety is where God intended it to be on a bolt rifle. They are more accurate than me these days.
Trigger is fine to me, but a cheap spring will lighten it up if the shooter desires. They will feed wsm rounds as easy as standard calibers. I can run an x-bolt or a-bolt fast.
Walk with thumb riding the safety and finger riding outside of the trigger guard. Sit that way during the rut also. I'll be already shot when most folks are getting their shooting grip back after flipping off the safety.

 

[KenLee]

I currently prefer the plain Jane, beat hell out of em, x-bolts. Used a-bolts mostly over 20 years before switching to mostly using x-bolts.
X-bolt has great factory recoil pads. Sensible barrel lengths. 60 degree bolt rotation. Plenty light but no stock flex to hinder accuracy. Absolutely zero feeding issues. Safety is where God intended it to be on a bolt rifle. They are more accurate than me these days.
Trigger is fine to me, but a cheap spring will lighten it up if the shooter desires. They will feed wsm rounds as easy as standard calibers. I can run an x-bolt or a-bolt fast.
Walk with thumb riding the safety and finger riding outside of the trigger guard. Sit that way during the run also. I'll be already shot when most folks are getting their shooting grip back after flipping off the safety.

If I had to pick 2 calibers, it would be the 300wsm w 150gr NBT and 7mm-08 with 120 gr NBT but I'm not shooting game at 800 yards.
Have x-bolts in 22-250, 6.5 Creed, 7mm-08, 308, 270, 270wsm, 280, 30-06, 7 mag 300wsm, 300wm and 300prc. Numerous in some of the calibers. They'll all shoot pretty darn good.

 

[Formidilosus]

I currently prefer the plain Jane, beat hell out of em, x-bolts. Used a-bolts mostly over 20 years before switching to mostly using x-bolts.
X-bolt has great factory recoil pads. Sensible barrel lengths. 60 degree bolt rotation. Plenty light but no stock flex to hinder accuracy. Absolutely zero feeding issues. Safety is where God intended it to be on a bolt rifle. They are more accurate than me these days.
Trigger is fine to me, but a cheap spring will lighten it up if the shooter desires. They will feed wsm rounds as easy as standard calibers. I can run an x-bolt or a-bolt fast.
Walk with thumb riding the safety and finger riding outside of the trigger guard. Sit that way during the run also. I'll be already shot when most folks are getting their shooting grip back after flipping off the safety.

Not being rude, yet I asked for things objectively better. Everything you listed is a preference. X-Bolts are decent rifles. Objectively however, their triggers are more susceptible to problems with ice/snow/sand, their mags have more problems with debris, and there is very few threads in their scope mounting holes making it more prone to issue than it should be. Subjectively, the ones I’ve used have shot well, however they haven’t been as consistent in precision as Sako/Tikka barrels. They do have smooth actions that resist binding, their stocks are decently designed, and I do like their safety location.

They are not, objectively better though.

 

[wind gypsy]

I also prefer the fit and form of xbolts in stock form over tikkas. Stock shape is better imo probably even with a vertical grip tikka. Recoil pad is the best I’ve ever had. Mag is actually perfectly flush which is nice for carrying. I can shoot my factory 300 wsm stainless stalker tighter than any factory tikka I’ve tried.

The trigger kind of sucks though and the aftermarket support really sucks. And that’s primarily why I have 4 tikkas and 1 xbolt.

 

[cuttingedge]

Should have bought a Tikka.

Yes, I know. The next bolt action I buy will be a Tikka.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

What is the ideal bullet weight for deer using 6.5 CM? 120-130 range?
I want to run ballistics against my 150 grain grain 30 cal.
Curious as to the hype.

Addendum: Ran 120 grain TTSX 6.5 CM vs. 30-06 150 grain TTSX. At 500 yards drop and windage favor the 30 cal. Even at 750 yards the 30 cal comes out ahead. Yeah, I don't get the hype. For those of you in the know please school me cliff note version. The 6.5 CM clearly wins in recoil per my understanding.

 

[wind gypsy]

What is the ideal bullet weight for deer using 6.5 CM? 120-130 range?
I want to run ballistics against my 150 grain grain 30 cal.
Curious as to the hype.

Addendum: Ran 120 grain TTSX 6.5 CM vs. 30-06 150 grain TTSX. At 500 yards drop and windage favor the 30 cal. Even at 750 yards the 30 cal comes out ahead. Yeah, I don't get the hype. For those of you in the know please school me cliff note version. The 6.5 CM clearly wins in recoil per my understanding.

Now compare your 30/06 to a 33 nosler. Comparing them is silly right? That’s about the same case size ratio as a creedmoor to a 30/06.

The other thing you did is compare a shitty bc 6.5 bullet with a shitty bc 30 cal bullet. The benefit of the 6.5 is you can shoot high bc bullets without the recoil. It typically takes a 180+ grain 30 cal to match the BC of a 130 class 6.5 and 195+ to equal BC of a 140+ [edit: when comparing sleeker designed lead bullets].