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Thread: 6.5CM vs 308

  1. #1
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    6.5CM vs 308

    Which is more deadly? 6.5CM with 140 grain fodder vs 308 with 168 fodder? Or whatever is a fair comparison. Wonder what Military experts say or ballistic experts say? I'm sure this has been beaten up somewhere but I couldn't find it.

    I believe both are great, but is there a winner winner chicken dinner?

    I know shot placement is key but other than that..?

    PB
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pappabear View Post
    Which is more deadly? 6.5CM with 140 grain fodder vs 308 with 168 fodder? Or whatever is a fair comparison. Wonder what Military experts say or ballistic experts say? I'm sure this has been beaten up somewhere but I couldn't find it.

    I believe both are great, but is there a winner winner chicken dinner?

    I know shot placement is key but other than that..?

    PB


    HUGE fan of the 6.5CM. Definitely a big believer that the accuracy/external ballistic advantage was worth it. The ballistics experts said nay-nay...terminal ballistics are inferior. OK with only match bullets...I can see that argument.

    Enter non-match bullet selection (hunting style...off which several tactical rounds have roots) for the 6.5CM...I think ok NOW the 6.5mm can party but many experts still say nay-nay. I thought this was BS until I started seeing some data on weight retention. While certain 308 rounds (168gr) were retaining say 88-90% weight retention through mediums, the same bullet style in the 6.5CM was only showing about 50% weight retention for an already 30-40 grain lighter bullet (thus only bringing to bear the same bullet weight as a 5.56)

    You're still going to see plenty of pull for the 6.5CM as a LR open air round (not unlike a pumped up Mk262) where it's ability to connect is the big factor...and that a less terminal performance hit is better than the more devastating miss. But as far as the performance through barrier stuff...limited data shows the 308 has the advantage coming out the other side. I certainly wouldn't scrap my 6.5 to go back to 308 any time soon, but I'm aware of its disadvantages.
    Last edited by pointblank4445; 05-05-20 at 22:04.

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    The numbers for the 6.5CM pull ahead of the .308 starting about 700 yards.

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    From what I was told by a sniper who was there for testing, the 308 had better terminal ballistics at closer ranges. I don't know what the testing involved ( I want to say ballistic gel but I cant remember exactly) and it was a LE test so it only went out to a few hundred yards. He did say they believed the 6.5 would overtake the 308 out past 500 yards or so, but that wasn't actually tested.
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    I don't have a 6.5 hunting gun, but I would use on Whitetail if I did. For Elk, the magnums are by far the winner. Two legged creatures would certainly fall to a 6.5. I can see how that long skinny bullet would not retain as well as the chubby 308 by comparison.

    Thanks for the replies, was just curious what the current thought leaders were saying.

    PB
    "Air Force / Policeman / Fireman / Man of God / Friend of mine / R.I.P. Steve Lamy"

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    First question is "what barrel length"?
    But even then, with all else being equal, when it comes to hunting I favor .308, as I have produced more consistent "on the ground/no-tracking" kills with task-specific .308.
    When it comes to taking humans out of the fight, I'm going 6.5.
    The first step to good terminal ballistics is getting the projectile into the target, and it's easier to do that in real conditions with 6.5 at distance than it is with .308, all else being as similar as possible. There's a reason we've kept the 5.56 as the primary service cartridge for so long. 6.5 kinda splits that difference, but still suffers from low on-board and on-body ammo capacity. I am a 6.5 fan, but I am realistic about what it is and what it is not.
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    I'm going to throw a kink into this. Take a look at the 6.5PRC. Think of it as a 6.5CM magnum. It's about 300fps faster depending upon the load. I hunt with both the 308 and the 6.5PRC. There are a lot of people using the 6.5PRC for Elk sized game. They are using Berger bullets and Accubond bullets when choosing a bonded bullet. I shooting 140gr Berger Elite Hunter from Copper Creek and they have been great on deer so far. I'm not putting the 6.5CM down at all but the more I read about the 6.5PRC the CM ended up going by the wayside and I haven't even had a 2nd though about it. With all of that being said would I ditch my .308 permanently as a hunting rifle for the PRC. Not sure at this point but definitely leaning that way.
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    Barrel life edge goes to 308. Did I see that Berger has a 156 Gr hunting round in 6.5? To me, the 6.5PRC is about distance, like past 1200-1400 yards. I guess speed kills, and more speed would make a better hunting round, but if the bullets are coming apart at lower speeds...
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    IDK about large game, cause hunting is not my jam.


    But if I recall correctly; SOCOM just chose the Barrett AR10 style rifle which is a 6.5 Creedmoor with 18" barrel.

    https://www.militarytimes.com/off-du...-65-creedmoor/

    I can vouch for the Army's finding's with 6.5 being more shooter friendly than 308. My 308 just felt like a snappier cycling of action where as my 6.5 is a smoother push.
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    Quote Originally Posted by turnburglar View Post
    IDK about large game, cause hunting is not my jam.
    But if I recall correctly; SOCOM just chose the Barrett AR10 style rifle which is a 6.5 Creedmoor with 18" barrel.
    https://www.militarytimes.com/off-du...-65-creedmoor/
    I can vouch for the Army's finding's with 6.5 being more shooter friendly than 308. My 308 just felt like a snappier cycling of action where as my 6.5 is a smoother push.
    Nah, they are KAC guns. That's literally my program.
    Ultimately 6.5 was selected because it puts projectile into people at longer range more consistently than .308, at lower recoil.
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