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Scorpio64

Caliber - Precision - Economy

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Back in '13 I was talked into a .243 caliber rifle because of it's long range accuracy and light recoil.  I can't really complain because the recoil is light and it's incredibly accurate out of my Ruger American Rifle.  The only problem is it's only accurate for the first three or four shots.  Now, when I say accurate what I mean is sub MOA accurate.  After the 4th round, the groups open up to about 1.25", which is still plenty accurate for deer hunting.  The RAR and .243 cartridge, great economy.

So, the plan was to upgrade to an affordable ($1,000.00 at the time)  Ruger Precision Rifle in .243 for a little more velocity and harmonic stability out of a longer heavier barrel.  Ruger absolutely screwed me when they dropped the .243 cartridge from the RPR line in submission of the 6mm Creedmoor when they came out with the RPR v2.0.  Now I'm thinking about saying screw it, the cost of 6mmCM isn't worth it compared to .243 so why not go with a totally different caliber all together.  If I'm going to have to pay $1.25/rd I may as well hop on the 6.5CM bandwagon.  Or, should I?

In my research I learned a thing or two about Creedmoor.  The most obvious thing was that both cartridges were practically unnecessary.  6mm CM and 6.5mm CM are just rebrands for .243 Win and .260 Rem.  Both .243 and .260 were already fast flat shooting rounds, so, why did they reinvent the wheel?  I can only guess that it's easier to sell a "new and improved" product over a tried and true one.  Adding Creedmoor to the end of a cartridge name, apparently,  automatically makes it more sexy, I guess.  Something else I learned is that the brass for these CM calibers is typically soft and does not last very long.  Precision shooters are also typically reloaders.  So, what's up with the soft brass?  Is it just another way to sap $$$ from the pockets of shooters?  .243 and 260 brass is substantially stronger than the softer CM cousins.  Is there a legitimate (technically rational) reason for soft CM brass?

I don't perceive that there is any exceptional increase of value in Creedmoor, (over existing cartridges) to justify the increase in cost, so now I'm expanding the possible cartridges to replace .243.  I may still go with 6.5CM but I will need a very convincing argument to do so.  In the running is 30-06, .260, .270, 7mm-08, 308 or 6.5Grendel.  Long range accuracy, cost per round and ballistic coefficient are the three major factors I'm considering.  I guess everyone has their idea of a perfect round, for me, economy is also a big factor.  I may just stick with .243 and get a Ruger American Predator rifle, which is the same as the RAR but with a heavier barrel and has a disgusting green stock.  I dunno.

 

Anyway, I'm always down for a good caliber wars thread.  No matter who loves what, I always learn something new.

 

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I am new to precision shooting and very recently purchased a RPR in 223/556.

Have shot it once and my initial impressions are very good. Shot it at 100 yards with a variety of ammo. Was able to achieve several sub-moa groups (.7 thru .9) using premium factory ammo. Am very happy with the RPR and am confident it is more accurate than I am. Recoil was very light.

Check out the snipers hide forums. A wealth of information there from people who are true experts.

One thing I do recall reading there is that with calibers such as 6.5Creedmore, barrel life is limited, as compared to 223/556 and 308.

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, oldguysrule649 said:

One thing I do recall reading there is that with calibers such as 6.5Creedmore, barrel life is limited, as compared to 223/556 and 308.

One of the brilliant design elements of the RPR is that swapping barrels is as easy as swapping a barrel on an AR.  I believe the barrel life expectancy on a 6.5CM is about 3K to 4K rounds before accuracy begins to drop.  Basically a .50 moa rifle becomes a 1 moa rifle.  I the competition world that is important, in the hunting or hitting a 9" gong at 1000 yds, not a big deal.

If I do go with 6.5CM it will be through the RPR.

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6 hours ago, Scorpio64 said:

One of the brilliant design elements of the RPR is that swapping barrels is as easy as swapping a barrel on an AR.  I believe the barrel life expectancy on a 6.5CM is about 3K to 4K rounds before accuracy begins to drop.  Basically a .50 moa rifle becomes a 1 moa rifle.  I the competition world that is important, in the hunting or hitting a 9" gong at 1000 yds, not a big deal.

If I do go with 6.5CM it will be through the RPR.

I’m thinking 6.5 in an RPR also.

everthing I’ve seen points me and my wallet there.

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The grendel is a fun round but the creedmore overtook it so I would eliminate that. You have more options for CM.

In general it may not be the most accurate route but I aim for rounds that I can get brass for readily and inexpensively. Sure I want a 375 cheytac but don't really have anywhere to shoot it. 308 has been my go to. but in your lit the 3006 would be my bet as bullets and brass are the cheapest and you have plenty of factory options

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Regarding soft brass, here is my completely uneducated but sort of makes sense guess...

Perhaps to allow the cartridge to seat better upon firing, resulting in that much more pressure pushing the bullet forward (minimizing the amount of gas that escapes?). That might not be a thing... but i suppose there is some logic behind it..:blink:

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1 hour ago, Lambo2936 said:

Regarding soft brass, here is my completely uneducated but sort of makes sense guess...

Perhaps to allow the cartridge to seat better upon firing, resulting in that much more pressure pushing the bullet forward (minimizing the amount of gas that escapes?). That might not be a thing... but i suppose there is some logic behind it..:blink:

I investigated the soft brass thing a little this morning.  Apparently Hornady brass is a problem with reports saying cases are only good for about 6 reloads.  Hornady also uses a large rifle primer and the primer pockets loosen up.  Lapua took a different tack and uses small rifle primer pockets, to be used with magnum primers, along with a different recipe for brass.  One review of Lapua brass said it was good for at least 15 reloads and they did the test without annealing.  Not sure about the wisdom of that.

The more I read about 6.5CM the more I want to stick with .243.or go with another mainstream caliber.

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