6.5 Creedmoor vs 308 Winchester: Which One Should You Hunt With?

In this video I talk about the 6.5 Creedmoor and how it compares to the .308 Winchester.

I think most shooters agree that the .308 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor are both fantastic cartridges for competition shooting. While the .308 Winchester has been around for a long time and also has a well-deserved reputation as an effective cartridge for hunting a variety of game, many hunters are skeptical of the capabilities of the comparatively new 6.5 Creedmoor as a hunting cartridge.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of marketing hype as well as a few genuine misunderstandings regarding the capabilities of the 6.5 Creedmoor that complicate this discussion. For that reason, it's easy to understand how many hunters get confused about the strengths and weaknesses of the 6.5 Creedmoor and the .308 Winchester as hunting cartridges.

In this video, I’m going to conduct a detailed comparison of the 6.5 Creedmoor vs 308 Winchester in order to show the differences between those cartridges so you can make an informed decision on which one will work best for you.

To read a more detailed comparison of the 6.5 Creedmoor vs 308 Winchester visit:

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6.5 Creedmoor vs 308 Winchester
308 vs 6.5 Creedmoor

0:00 Intro
1:11 308 & 6.5 Creedmoor Cartridge History & Development
4:46 Cartridge Sizes
5:42 Trajectory & Kinetic Energy
6:55 Wind Deflection
7:54 Recoil
8:49 Sectional Density & Frontal Area
12:51 Ammo Selection
14:30 Rifle Selection
15:42 308 & 6.5 Creedmoor: Which one is right for you?

[johnkaraphillis]

The CM has impressive down range ballistics in its theatre and the recoil is very modest. In my hunting/shooting theater, I will take .308 without hesitation. Like you say, “ to each his own “. Thanks for presenting 2 very popular cartridges with devout followers. One for the new and the other for the traditional.

[japhethwar]

Use both, I do. Creedmoor has less drop but i'm not sniping deer at 600 yards. At hunting range, say 300 or less, there's little to no difference. They both lay the smack down on anything breathing. The cheaper ammo and better availability of ammo makes .308 the winner for high volume shooting, but if you wanna hit the 1000 yard range, creedmoor's gonna be the choice for sure. Both are great.

[fxfxnytro]

.308 for me. I use it for whitetails and moose within 400 yards. More bullet options are readily available and can be found everywhere.

[russellkeeling]

This year, 2022, I did not hunt but went to help my son try and harvest an elk. Our new neighbor fancies himself to be a long range shooter and I suppose he may be. He's a Creedmoor user. He was hunting in the same area we were. During the season my son and I found a nice 5 point bull elk tangled in the barb wire fence dead. It got tangled in the fence because it could not jump the fence due to a gunshot wound. The elk was tangled trying to escape the property of my neighbor. I can only assume he shot it with a small caliber rifle from the look of the wound which I have no problem with, my first big game rifle was a 6mm Remington, but he didn't follow up. I now have a 5x5 bull rack and only one bugler tooth, he only had one and I have about 20 yards of fence that had to be repaired. If you intend to use a 6.5 Creedmoor use it ethically and don't believe it makes you a long range hunter. The 6.5 Creedmoor was designed as a paper puncher.

[Yelladog]

I shoot/hunt under 500 yards. I chose the 308 for 3 reasons (1) ammo in my area for 308 is cheaper with a better selection and I found this to be true online (2) bullet range from 100gr to 220, typical heavy bullets end at 180gr (3) proven know performance at all ranges in all environments across the globe

[trkjivdlopmd]

Many shots for both hunters and soldiers/marines in theater have been under 600 yards. For me, that’s a plus for .308

[Swampytheroot]

I shoot 308 for most everything. I recently started 6.5 Grendel to teach novice shooters.
Damn! What a round from a micro action CZ or Howa

[yooper]

Very good video. This is one of few videos that state the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge limitations. Sadly, some people feel the 6.5 Creedmoor is a 800 yards elk cartridge.

If I was in the market for a new big game hunting cartridge it would be the 308 Winchester. It is capable of much more over the 6.5 Creedmoor. Plus, 308 Winchester ammunition availability for the non-reloader.

However my 7mm-08 Remington cartridge already covers my needs. I reload and it hard to beat the 7mm-08 Remington with IMR-4350 and Nosler's 140 grain Partition bullets.

[Bigfishday]

Both work for me, all my shots are in the woods. I been using .308 with 165 gr bullets, got 6.5 this year, probably use 140 gr bullets. I don’t take shots past 200 yards. Close is my game.

[jerryreynolds]

I have owned many different 7mmMag, 270, and I have sold all of those and now use the 7mm-08. Deer, Elk, Brown other similar sized game, no problem.... More punch than 6.5, better ballistics than 308, each to their

[MrSchnyderli]

Very good comparison. I use both for hunting and they work really well.

I always keep my shots within 500 since I don't have any possibilities to train on further distances. I've never experienced a big difference between the two within 500 tbh.

I can only add the advantage of 308 when it comes to barrel life. I'd say 308 takes double the shots before the barrel goes south.

[retiredatforty]

I’m not even a hunter, but really enjoyed this. Much appreciated!

[NorthwoodsNomad]

That’s a nice breakdown of these two cartridges side by side . I’ve owned and hunted with A LOT of various caliber rifles from .300 Win Mag / .300 WSM, .30-06, .308 Win, .243 Win and my favorite all time hunting caliber is the .280 Remington ( it seems to be my do it all GO TO rifle in a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight)
But my .308 Winchester (s) yeah I have a couple of them, is the caliber I’ve harvested the most game with throughout the course of my hunting journeys, and the ammunition is ALWAYS readily available in ample variety.

[cliffordschorr]

.308 is going to be my elk rifle this year. Good brands of ammo will keep the the ft-lbs of force over 1500 to around 400 yards.

[adamelam]

For conventional ranges of 300yds or less I'd take the 7mm-08 and .308 both over the CM. The CM and 7mm-08 are a wash out to 500.

[Healthliving]

Short answer-.308 everyday allday. Availability, cheaper, been around for decades, a proven calibre and reliable. The 6.5 creedmore here in Australia are expensive and hard to get.

[valsahr]

I believe that the 6.5 cm, 7-08, 308, 270, 280, &260 are all so close that if you had one you probably wouldn’t NEED any of the others for hunting. Pretty much splitting hairs looking for any sizable advantage in that crowd. Moving up to 7 mag or a 300 mag and such would put you into a different category for big game. If I had a 6.5 cm and wanted something bigger for elk, I would go into the magnum category as a 308 is only slightly better than the cm on bigger animals. As always, accuracy is king. If I had any rifle I was confident with, it’s the one I’d use.

[leeana]

Took my first buck with .308, went down like a sack of potato's. Now in an emergency situation, you can always find or salvage 308. in the field for its a NATO round. Good luck finding 6.5.

[edchoi]

I have both as well but prefer 308 for general hunting as you can find surplus ammo more readily well used to be able to :)

[tylarhaugan]

I use both for elk I just have soft spot in my heart for 308