Here are clips for Hornady Superformance ammo in 6.5 Creedmoor 129gr SST and the 25-06 117gr SST. Kinda speaks for itself.
6.5 Creedmoor 129gr. SST
25-06 117gr. SST
6.5 Creedmoor 129gr. SST
25-06 117gr. SST
Last edited:
I have a couple of antelope tags this year and am considering a new rifle.
My toss up is either going to be the 6.5 creedmoor or the 25-06 what are my pros and con to these firearms never shot or owned either?
Hornady ELD Match ammo shoots in both of my Creedmoors as well as my best handloads......shot with it out to 1300 yards at NRA Whittington Center! Excellent Factory Ammo and I know quite a few hunters that swear by it! I've shot 25-06s for over 45 years and never found any factory ammo as good as my handloads!Everyone I know that has a 6.5 creedmoor extolls the virtues of it, Some hunt, some long range bench shoot (1000M steel chickens). NONE OF THEM shoot factory ammo. They all claim that the rifle shoots a whole lot better with handloads. 25-06 has lots of off the shelf ammo that performs adequately for antelope sized critters out to 700-800 yards. If you go with the 6.5 you are kind of up against the schedule to learn alot about reloading. Not that factory 6.5C ammo isn't up to the task..... but when every shooter that I know that shoots the 6.5C (that's like 45 shooters) NONE use factory ammo, that is quite a testimonial.
Here are groups shot with ELD Match in one of my Creedmoors....notice the velocity, as well.I agree with stx. Here's the last group of the day, a while back, shooting Hornady factory 120 AMax ammo in my 6.5 CM. I shot this ammo out to 700 yards with excellent results. I mostly hand load my 6.5 CM ammo but no doubt Hornady 6.5 CM is excellent. IMO it would be hard to find 25-06 ammo as accurate. Since no one, I know, makes factory target grade ammo for the 25-06.
View attachment 148824
The classic vs the new kid on the block...I have owned both, I love the 25-06 round, fast and flat and the 115gr bergers hit like the hammer of Thor. If you are hunting in wind, I would opt for the 6.5 with a heavy high bc bullet to cheat the wind a little bit. If you aren't worried about wind, 25-06 all the way. Also, I would forget the creedmoor and go with a 260 if you decide to go with a 6.5 of some sortI have a couple of antelope tags this year and am considering a new rifle.
My toss up is either going to be the 6.5 creedmoor or the 25-06 what are my pros and con to these firearms never shot or owned either?
Good advice..vertical distance on antelope behind shoulder is 17" and about half of that is kill zone..these are not big animals and if you shoot past 300 yds you better practice putting 2-3" groups on target with cross wind!!! That's what you will see a lot in Wyoming..terrible to miss hit any animal, period.A lot of these guys are talking about the advantages of 25-06 vs 6.5 Creedmore in long range shooting and I can agree with their conclusions! However, I'd advise against thinking about shooting an antelope further than 200 -- 300 yards unless you have a lot of experience at shooting those distances. Even at that, I'll only shoot at any game animal from a solid rest when the range is 200 yards or greater -- otherwise I won't shoot! If you plan on shooting at any game animal, you owe it to the animal to make an instant kill and not wound it -- therefore plenty of practice at the ranges you might shoot!