What should I get: 6.5x55 Swedish or 6.5 Creedmoor?

1
I've heard that the 6.5 Swedish is a better round. Yet everyone seems to be in love with the 6.5 Creedmoor. I want the 6.5 Swedish but practicality says get the Creedmoor. I was hoping y'all might have some additional wisdom either way.
The rifle will be a CZ 557 American with a 24 inch barrel. It will be used for long distance target/precision shooting.

Thanks
All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated from government, are compatible with liberty.-Henry Clay
Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms.—Aristotle

Re: What should I get: 6.5x55 Swedish or 6.5 Creedmoor?

5
The Creed is favored for long distance shooting. More ammo available.

I think really to see the difference between the two calibers, you have to be shooting at targets too far to walk to. So you gotta buy an ATV. And you can't leave your gear behind if you're going to drive into a new zip code to change your target, so you need a trailer for your ATV. You can't drive the ATV on the highway, so you need a trailer for your ATV and trailer. And you have to have a vehicle big enough to haul the trailer. These trucks are pretty expensive to buy and to register.

So there you have it.

Archery.

:roflmao:

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: What should I get: 6.5x55 Swedish or 6.5 Creedmoor?

8
Both seem to be out of stock. Interesting reading on the performance capabilities of both. No words of wisdom on either rounds, since I've neither owned or shot one. It does seem like an interesting choice to make though and I suspect you won't regret either one considering the rifle you are intending to buy. Look forward to your review of the CZ once you get it and take it to the range!
Image
Image

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!" Loquacious of many. Texas Chapter Chief Cat Herder.

Re: What should I get: 6.5x55 Swedish or 6.5 Creedmoor?

12
senorgrand wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:35 am I know Creed is supposed to eat up barrels. Shoots like a laser though.
Well, yeah. All the speedy calibers will do that, so you have to load your own and find the proper velocity for your task. I think a lot of new Creed owners want more than 3K fps when it's not necessary. If I had one, i'd likely chase a lighter recoil load around 2300 fps unless I was shooting into the next county. .243 is nice also. Lots of ammo.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: What should I get: 6.5x55 Swedish or 6.5 Creedmoor?

14
Hiker wrote: Sat Mar 13, 2021 8:04 pm I've heard that the 6.5 Swedish is a better round. Yet everyone seems to be in love with the 6.5 Creedmoor. I want the 6.5 Swedish but practicality says get the Creedmoor. I was hoping y'all might have some additional wisdom either way.
The rifle will be a CZ 557 American with a 24 inch barrel. It will be used for long distance target/precision shooting.

Thanks
I own and shoot rifles in both. I have a Tikka T3X set up for long range stuff in 6.5x55, as well as a smattering of old Swedish rifles, and an AR-10 in 6.5 Creedmoor.

Ballistically, using commercial ammo, they're about the same. I think the normal load for the 6.5x55 might be a bit slower than creedmoor. The main driver for this is that the 6.5x55 you find on the shelf is loaded to safe pressures for the old M1896 and M38 rifles. 6.5x55 SAAMI is 51kpsi while the Creedmoor is 62kpsi, so that will translate to more wear in the creedmoor barrel over time. However, the creedmoor is a short action cartridge so that means the gun will be more rigid and have a shorter bolt throw which a lot of people like.

6.5x55 can really shine with hand loading. Creedmoor is already going about as fast as you can probably get it safely. 6.5x55, however, can be pushed a lot faster than factory since theres a lot of unused case capacity. Modern rifles can handle a lot more than that 51kpsi, I've been playing with loads that are around the 60kpsi range with my Tikka and haven't seen any pressure signs.

While there is really nice commercial 6.5x55 out there its not stuff you're going to find on the shelf in your local Cabellas. Before the current ammo shortage I never had problems finding any to shoot, most stores had at least some PPU FMJ. 6.5 Creedmoor is always much more common and with a lot more variety to choose from.

If I could only have one I'd probably take the 6.5x55, I have a bunch of rifles that shoot it and its a more interesting handloading project. If I took handloading out of the equation I'd probably go with Creedmoor for better out of the box performance in long range shooting.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests