16” 6.5 Creedmoor barrel worth it?

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If using 123 grain or lighter projectiles I wonder if 6.5 CM is worth the bulk over 6.5 Grendel, especially if center of gravity is a motivating factor as one could get away with a somewhat longer barrel on the AR-15 action.

The 142 grain load is in another league however as in that weight the bullets eat up the limited Grendel case capacity.

RifleShooter.com shows 120 grain Creedmore trending toward about 2600 fps from a 16" barrel.



With an 18" Grendel barrel Andy Hobein averaged as much as 2534 fps with Federal ammunition. Other brands were slower.

Man I couldn't tell you jack about how those 120's compare to 123 Scenars...so I don't know.

I'll note that with that 130gr NORMA, I'm seeing 2885-2860fps out of a 24" (Chrono'd a new lot just yesterday in fact). A good baseline for numbers comparison, but not a perfect representation. I do love that resource though.

Again, it comes down to how much you willing to sacrifice?

You want a 120gr 2600+fps out of 16" in a hamstrung large frame?
or
you want 120gr maybe 2500 out of an 18" eeking out every thing you can from a small frame?


Then at what point do you stop and start looking at a 6mm?