6.5 creedmoor vs 7mm-08 vs 25-06

[jrm02]

In the market for a new rifle, and undecided on caliber. Primary use will be deer (every year), but will also use for antelope and elk during seasons when I draw tags. It will also be used on coyotes on occasion (I'd possibly save a pelt or two for myself, but I have a .223 that I would most likely be using). I currently have a 30-06, but want something with less recoil (more range time....). I currently do not reload (though I could see myself doing so at some point), so ammo availability is important. I'm looking at the Weatherby Vanguard S2 and Savage 11/111.

I've always been intrigued by the 25-06, but ammo tends to be more expensive, with fewer options. I'm leaning towards the 7mm-08, but the popularity of the 6.5 creedmoor, and the abundance of ammo options has me second guessing the 7mm-08.

Thoughts/suggestions?

 

[jake.serdar]

I have a Ruger Predator in 6.5, I love the round and the gun. I shot a elk at about 100 yards several years ago. It only ran 50 yards and died. I've seen a rumor circulating that the military is adapting 6.5 for some of their rifles. The recoil is lite and manageable. I don't have experience with the other calibers so I have no comparisons but I love my creedmoor and will be building a AR style rifle in the caliber.

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[Ashy Larry]

I'm a 25-06 fan. I also have a 7-08 and 7mag. I still like 25-06. It's flat, good range of bullet weight (75-120), plenty of options for game specific bullets. If you wanted shoot elk, there's a 100 ttsx, 110 accubond, and multiple partitions. It can be handloaded a little hotter than most factory fodder. I don't find ammo to be hard to find or expensive. I'd also add that it's almost as perfect of a deer/antelope round as any for open land shooting. Avoid the 117 grain SST bullet at all cost.

 

[V65Magna]

I have a .25-06 and love it but I think it might be a bit of a stretch for Elk. That said, a fellow Rokslider recently posted that his kid just anchored a cow Elk quite handily with a 6 mm creedmore, so I may be all wet on that assertion. The .25-06 is fabulous for whitetail and antelope and quite pleasant to shoot, but I'll have to admit mine (a Cooper Jackson Game rifle) tips the scales at about 9.5 lbs., so that absorbs alot of recoil. It's such a tank that I've repurposed it for varmint duty, and I am now considering....you guessed it, a 7mm-08 as a stalk hunting rig, probably a Sako Finnlight (unfortunately they don't chamber it in 6.5 creedmore).

I don't have a 6.5 Creedmore yet but I do have a 6.5 X 47 Lapua (Cooper Phoenix) and have been bitten by the 6.5 bug, as I love the long bullets, low recoil and high ballistics coefficients of the 6.5 pills. They are very fun to shoot and easy to reload for.

All 3 of these cartridges have their merits. The .25-06 seems kinda like the odd man out in this comparison however, due to the long action. This is something you don't really need to reach out anymore. I think I'd get the 6.5 Creedmore myself.

 

[davsco]

unless you need to sell your '06 to fund your new rifle, i'd keep that for elk and then go 6.5 creed for deer and the like. sure plenty of elk have fallen to all 3 of your new gun choices, and i've been tempted to use my incoming 6.5 creed for this fall's first elk hunt, but i just don't think it's the best tool for the job. of course shot placement and bullet construction trumps all. going to use my current 7stw for elk and the incoming 6.5 creed for deer and deer-sized game.

 

[elkguide]

Owning a couple 25.06's and a couple 7mm08's and while never jumping on the creed bandwagon but having a .264 Win Mag and a 6.5 Rem. Mag, so a fan of the 6.5 caliber, each has it's own positives. While guiding I watched elk taken with both the 25.06 and 7mm08, I would put both on the light side but I'm from the school of "use enough gun."
I really wouldn't go out and choose any of the three as my elk rifle. (a .300 win mag fan here) IF (and that is a very big if) I were forced to choose between the three, I would likely fall down on the side of the 7mm08. Extremely versatile, wide selection of bullet weights, light recoil and a very accurate caliber. But really if push comes to shove for you....... buy one of each!!!!!

 

[V65Magna]

. Extremely versatile, wide selection of bullet weights, light recoil and a very accurate caliber. But really if push comes to shove for you....... buy one of each!!!!!

I agree!!

 

[hodgeman]

I'm not sure there's much to choose from here...I've hunted with the 6.5 and the 7-08 and both are fine cartridges. Field results were identical.

I'd be unlikely to choose the 25-06, just too limited in ammo.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

I love the 7-08. The 6.5 creed perplexes me... I'd probably not go w/ 25-06.

I don't dislike the 6.5... just don't understand why it's become so popular. It's a ballistic twin to the 260 rem which has been around almost two decades before the creed, There's a mountain of other 6.5s that out perform it, etc... it cleverly marketed it's way into millions of gunsafes all across the country when it was basically there since the late 90's under a different name. I don't see it doing anything that any of the other 6.5s weren't already doing.

If 6.5s are really your thing the 6.5-284 and 6.5 rm are much more fascinating (to me).

 

[hodgeman]

I don't dislike the 6.5... just don't understand why it's become so popular. ).

I hear you...new cartridge introductions are pretty much a matter of market timing, marketing moxie, and more than a little luck. Technical excellence is way down the list somewhere.

The .260 can basically do what the 6.5 can...only the .260 was mishandled, mislabeled and introduced at just the wrong time. The world is lousy with great cartridges that just flat never caught anyone's eye.

 

[Dougfir]

I'd choose the 7mm-08. Way more bullet weight range than the other two. I'm sure the 6.5 CM is a great round, but I think I'd rather have a .260...

 

[Formidilosus]

I love the 7-08. The 6.5 creed perplexes me... I'd probably not go w/ 25-06.

I don't dislike the 6.5... just don't understand why it's become so popular. It's a ballistic twin to the 260 rem which has been around almost two decades before the creed, There's a mountain of other 6.5s that out perform it, etc... it cleverly marketed it's way into millions of gunsafes all across the country when it was basically there since the late 90's under a different name. I don't see it doing anything that any of the other 6.5s weren't already doing.
.

It’s a factory cartridge that does everything guys get done to custom rifles they have built, and handloaders do to reloads to get a system that works correctly and optimum..... except that it does it with factory rifles and $25 a box factory ammo available at Walmart.

There’s no other 6.5 cartridge that has ever offered that. Or 6mm (until 6mm Creed), 7mm, etc.

 

[wind gypsy]

It’s a factory cartridge that does everything guys get done to custom rifles they have built, and handloaders do to reloads to get a system that works correctly and optimum..... except that it does it with factory rifles and $25 a box factory ammo available at Walmart.

There’s no other 6.5 cartridge that has ever offered that. Or 6mm (until 6mm Creed), 7mm, etc.

^this. Compared to 260 the creedmoor is cheaper, shoulders reduce case stretch, fits better in magazines, offered in more appropriate twist rates, and SAAMI dimensions are better suited for long high BC bullets.

Gets better barrel life than a x284 and runs effectively in a short action.

Was it "needed" of course not but it is just a more optimized design and that isn't debatable.

That said of your choices I'd go 7/08 if you plan to elk hunt with it.

 

[Ashy Larry]

Of course it has better barrel life than a x284, it's slow AF. For deer sized (and especially coyote sized) game, inside 500 the creed doesn't touch a 25-06. Outside of the internet, I don't know anyone that consistently shoots at animals over 350.

 

[gbflyer]

7-08 is a great choice. One in my group dropped a cow Elk with one this past year, 1 shot at 340yds 129gr SST.

 

[mcseal2]

I'd probably keep the 30-06 for elk and get either the 25-06 or 6.5 Creed for deer and antelope. If you want a short rifle I'd definitely go with the Creed, the 25-06 is a great cartridge but needs at least 24" of barrel length to burn all that powder. If the long action isn't a big deal a 270 or 280 aren't bad options either as a lighter recoil option for all 3 species.

I picked off a coyote at 300yds with my 25-06 this morning while checking cows. The Hornady Precision Hunter ammo with the 110gr ELD-X has hammered a couple of them this week with good results at 250 and 300yds.

 

[jrm02]

Thanks for all the feedback. Just to clarify, rifle will be used for deer annually and antelope every 3 years or so. I'd possibly use it for elk (once every 3-4 years) assuming I shoot it better/am more accurate with it vs. my 30-06, as I'm in the shot placement is the most important camp.

Based on what I'm hearing it's essentially down to the 6.5 CM and 7-08.....decisions, decisions.

Any feedback/reviews/preferences on the Savage 11 or Weatherby Vanguard S2?

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[Runningwater]

I think the important part is not to sweat this decision - we are really cutting hairs here. I'd start looking at rifles and go by which one you like the most and then see which of those calibers you can get it in.

FWIW, I've been hunting big game in CO, WY, NE, and a bit in MT and AK for 35 years. In college and for my first 10 years out of college I picked up an old 60's era sporterization of an old WWI era 1896 Swedish mauser in 6.5x55 with a mannlicher stock and 18.5 inch barrel for $180. I hunt/shot WT, mulies, pronghorn, elk, moose, BHS, and mountain goat with that rifle exclusively and did just fine. Even with the hotter factory norma 140's I shot I was probably lucky if I was getting more than 2600fps out of that short barrel. That old girl's a shooter though, no recoil, a nice light timney trigger, and just comes up fast and natural and lays them in there. I guess my point all three of those are ideal for what you plan to do with it. And again, fwiw, I wouldn't get too wrapped around the axle about the effective range of those three. Even though I have more powerful and faster options in my gun safe now, when I look back at 35 yrs of hunting big game, I can only think of one or two instances of shooting at over 300yds. I'd bet 75% of my shots have been under 150 yds. And that's all "western" hunting! I'd find a rifle that you can familiarize yourself with, and comes up fast and natural and you can with little notice squeeze off an accurate shot. That is much more important than a lot of the other attributes that folks wring there hands over here. But don't get me wrong, the hand wringing and over-analysis are half the fun - I'm currently doing that over floorless tipis! Good luck, and whichever you choose, get out there and shoot it - and primarily not from a bench or bipod!

 

[R H Clark]

I prefer the 7mm-08 for the available bullet weights but the 6.5 Creedmoor has the edge in long range ballistics and great cheap factory ammo. Either one will do just fine.

 

[WJS23]

I have a 7mm-08 and love the gun nice and light and not a lot of kick