“The reliability of the 30-06 on most of the world’s non-dangerous game is so well established as to be beyond intelligent dispute.” Finn Aagaard
"Don't fuck with it" seems to prevent the vast majority of reported issues." BehindBlueI's
Thanks.
Okie John
“The reliability of the 30-06 on most of the world’s non-dangerous game is so well established as to be beyond intelligent dispute.” Finn Aagaard
"Don't fuck with it" seems to prevent the vast majority of reported issues." BehindBlueI's
Terminal ballistics, 6.5 CM vs. .308?
I'm going to wait and see on this barrel life thing until the same group of people start transitioning to the 6.5 CM and begin turning in results. The initial figure for the CM barrel life were 2,500 - 3,000 rounds, but those came from the practical shooting crowd. Those are the folks who cry real tears when their quarter-MOA barrels open up all the way to half-MOA. The .308 hasn't been used there much for some time - they moved to various 6.5s years ago - so I don't think those are the folks who say .308 barrel life is 10,000 rounds.
I have no real doubts that the .308 would show longer life than the 6.5 Creedmoor, as the .308 is exceptional for barrel life, but I doubt the Creedmoor will be only half when used for the same things.
Long range and wind - no contest; the 6.5 Creedmoor wins going away. Here's a comparison of the two: http://www.accuracy-tech.com/6-5-cre...08-winchester/
The 7.62x51 (~ the .308) drops over 400 inches at 1,000 yards, while the 6.5 Creedmoor drops under 300 inches. Can't find the link now, but I think the Creedmoor stays supersonic past 1400 yards compared to the .308's under 1,000. I suspect the .308 still has an energy advantage at 500 yards.
It's the long, slim bullets that the 6.5s have used for decades that gets them the numbers they get.
Last edited by Jaywalker; 05-12-2018 at 05:22 PM.
When I was shopping for a new barrel for my Rem 700, there were no 6.5 CM barrels in stock anywhere. Companies like Bartlein had considerable wait times to have one made. When I found the exact barrel profile I wanted in .308 with a 1-in-10 twist on the Bartlein stock list, I slept on it overnight and pulled the trigger on it the next day.
While the 6.5 offers significant ballistic advantages as articulated above, the .308 offers an important one for me - ammo availability. I can go to any local sporting goods store, Walmart, etc. and find a pretty big selection of .308 ammo, which can't be said for the 6.5 CM. Additionally the terrain up here in NH is anything but flat and wide open, one has to really search for a spot that gets much beyond 600 yards (including most ranges). And as already stated, my new Bartlein .308 barrel should last a while based on how many rounds I typically put through it in a year.
No doubt the 6.5 CM is an impressive round for long range shooting that makes sense for government agencies to consider. At some point I may order that 6.5 barrel in a M24 contour and have it installed, but for now the .308 is serving my amateur long range shooting needs perfectly.
How it is used affects barrel life more than just the caliber. It’s not terribly uncommon for SOCOM owned .308 barrels to be unserviceable in a thousand rounds or less.
Despite opinions to the contrary, very few people have even a layman’s understanding of how/why the military makes these types of decisions. Fewer still understand it from the SOCOM perspective.
You can get much more of what you want with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.
There's barrel life and there's throat life. Strings of fire and higher-for-caliber pressures greatly affect the latter. At PRS tempo and loaded pressures it is not uncommon for stainless 308 to drop by 2400-2800, 6.5 around 1800 give or take.
6.5 recoil is as important a factor as its better ballistics.
Last thing I give a shit about as a taxpayer is penny pinching over precision rifle barrels. 6.5CM has demonstrated its efficacy in terms of ballistic efficiency and accuracy relative to 7.62x51. Precision shots are among the most important in terms of small arms deployment. Therefore, I'm not concerned about costs associated with this shift.
By comparison MHS is a farce of spending.