Will 6 Creedmoor go the way of 7 SAUM?

[MT762]

Fair point. Lets hope it stays that way.

You're asking a reasonable question. For the general public, 6 creed does nothing that the 243 doesn't. Also people have been shooting .243 forever. Also BC is irrelevant to almost all hunters.

(As pertains to the SAUMs...I don't remember seeing a ton of 7 SAUM on the shelves, really ever, in the years immediately after the cartridge was introduced.)

The 6.5 creed was a perfect storm. It was so much better than the gold standard for long range shooting that it got adopted overnight... at a time when long range shooting was exploding in popularity. For a few decades prior the Creed's introduction, if you went to a shooting school, the ground was covered in 308 cases and everyone's truck was full of 175 gold medal match (or 118LR). By 2015, it was nothing but 6.5 creed.

On top of which, normal hunters (who shoot a few rounds per year) were seeing that a 6.5 creed kills deer as well as a 30-06. The bullet weights are similar. It doesn't seem "light" like a .243, but it doesn't kick like a 30-06. And whatever 6.5 ammo you bought at Walmart, whether it was "target" ammo or not (ELDMs), turned out to be super reliable on game. In the past, target bullets (SMKs and their ilk) were not reliable on game.

Hard to imagine that combo of circumstances happening again.

 

[dreamingWest]

I had a custom 8 twist .260 built right about the turning point of the 6.5 Creed popularity. My .260 is amazing (as a custom should be), but I definitely made the wrong choice with which cartridge would be more popular.

I would bet .243 vs 6 Creed would take a similar trajectory, except for the fact that factory rifles are starting to make 8 twist .243s and 243 historically has a much larger following than 260 ever enjoyed. So I'm not sure what will happen with 243 vs 6 CM long term.

 

[BluMtn]

Well, I will say I enjoy shooting my 6 Creed. I have a 6mm Remington in a Ruger 77 tang, but it has a 22" barrel. I picked up a Browning LR w/26" barrel in the 6 Creed and it shoots light out.

 

[Schmo]

Could there be an element of Hornady not wanting to offer that ammo (eg. 103 ELDX .243 Win) because it would compete directly with 6 Creed?

I don’t think that’s the reason. The majority of 243 rifles on the market are not twisted fast enough for 100+ grain high BC bullets. They have to make ammo works in everything, or else it turns into a customer service nightmare of people complaining about poor accuracy and the ammo being junk.

 

[nm.otter]

The raison d'etre of the Creedmoor family is that any rifle can and will shoot any factory load, with a high probability of it shooting quite well. Tight chamber specs and high enough SAAMI twist rates are a big deal.

 

[ckt3]

I don’t think that’s the reason. The majority of 243 rifles on the market are not twisted fast enough for 100+ grain high BC bullets. They have to make ammo works in everything, or else it turns into a customer service nightmare of people complaining about poor accuracy and the ammo being junk.

Makes sense. More rational and less conspiratorial

 

[streamerfish]

IDK....its weird.

If you like 7mm's which people buy metric tons of....the 7 SAUM should have been a no brainer hit.

In the midsized bullets your gonna get almost the same performance as 7mm rem with 25% less recoil. In the heavies your gonna outrun the 7mm rem for the same recoil. In a short action....

I mean I kinda chalk it up to bad marketing and bad timing. I think if Hornady had dropped the 7 SAUM it would have been a run away hit.

The 7mm space is pretty crowded though.

The 6mm space is pretty darn crowded too.....tons of options. My gut instinct at the moment is that 6 creed will be fine, because of the creedmoor reputation at this point.

I think the 25 creed is a interesting one...I mean really there is a couple of legacy cartridges that have never been hugely popular but popular enough in the 257 and 25-06. the creed just runs away from the 257, and more or less matches the 25-06 with less recoil, short action....I actually think there is room for the 25 creed to be something. lots of people that want a flat shooting smaller gun for deer/antelope that think a .243 is too small, and there magnum recoils too much.

 

[Kimber7man]

The problem with the 7SAUM was that Remington introduced it shoehorned into a short action 2.825” COAL, trying to match the WSM which had more generous COAL latitude in the Winchester’s 3.0” mag box.

Those who have built on a 3.2” medium action (or even a standard 3.34” long action) can really make it perk.

 

[Schmo]

The problem with the 7SAUM was that Remington introduced it shoehorned into a short action 2.825” COAL, trying to match the WSM which had more generous COAL latitude in the Winchester’s 3.0” mag box.

Those who have built on a 3.2” medium action (or even a standard 3.34” long action) can really make it perk.

Yup, this right here. If I were gonna do another SAUM, it’d be on a Tikka LA

 

[LongWayAround]

I don’t think that’s the reason. The majority of 243 rifles on the market are not twisted fast enough for 100+ grain high BC bullets. They have to make ammo works in everything, or else it turns into a customer service nightmare of people complaining about poor accuracy and the ammo being junk.

I don't know. I think Hornady will release heavier .243 offerings sooner than later, possibly before Tikka joins the 6CM market. I emailed them awhile back about it and their response was essentially that it wasn't on the immediate list, but they didn't totally deny it either.

I'm sure they are aware of the trends towards faster twist .243 barrels. Also, 100gr .243 has been around as long as I can remember and they already offer the ELD-X in 103.

 

[Schmo]

I'm sure they are aware of the trends towards faster twist .243 barrels. Also, 100gr .243 has been around as long as I can remember and they already offer the ELD-X in 103.

You missed an important point “100+ grain high BC bullets”. Yes, 100 jacketed soft points have been around. 103 & 108 ELD require faster twist than a JSP

 

[LongWayAround]

You missed an important point “100+ grain high BC bullets”. Yes, 100 jacketed soft points have been around. 103 & 108 ELD require faster twist than a JSP

"I'm sure they are aware of the trends towards faster twist .243 barrels."

 

[Schmo]

"I'm sure they are aware of the trends towards faster twist .243 barrels."

Yes, but there is a way higher ratio of slow twist 243s in the hands of people. The new ammo wouldn’t be compatible with those. They’ve not loaded other bullets in other cartridges for this reason