Struggling on where to hang my hat on a long range set up. heres where i'm at so far and i'm in need of some help on which one to go with.

6.5 creedmoor vs. 300winmag (this is the real debate) or say **** it and just go w/ a 338 or buy both -___-

300 winmag has a longer effective range, but i dont see myself shooting out to 1500 yards on a living target or target shooting. 6.5 shoots laser beams and has less noticeable recoil (could be used by my gf when she hunts) but ammo is less readily available and is around the same price as 300winmag. but i would like to have the 300winmag for higher energy potential on target because i plan to go elk hunting and go to alaska in the next year or so which makes the winmag more attractive.

i REALLY like the new savage ultralite which doesnt come in 300win (only comes in shortmag configuration), but does come in 6.5 creed. i've also looked at bergara and weatherby and i've found a couple of their offerings that i do like and come in both calibers.

so I pretty much need a push in one direction or the other

Easy get a 300 WSM.

Some rambling thoughts.

It almost sounds like you would be best served by 2 guns. An ultralightIsh 300WM and a 6.5CM that is more of a target set up. If you go With 1 I'd lean 6.5 in whatever hunting set up you want. Plenty of elk have been killed with 6.5mm bullets and even in a light setup you can still comfortably put lots of rounds down range. A lightweight 300 can be an unfun thing to shoot so you may not get the range use out of it that it sounds like you want, or if you go with a heavier 300 set up for better range fun, you may be not enjoy hauling it around in Alaska.

good points, forgot to consider the weight of a rifle hiking around hills and mountains

Do you reload, or plan on reloading for this gun?

its a thought i have had, yes. i have the room to set it up in my house. i would assume the 300win is the better choice?

by the time i have kids i'll have the "kids and wife" account and then the "guns, hunting, cars, bs" account

Go with one of the higher horsepower 6.5's

highvelocity said:

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its a thought i have had, yes. i have the room to set it up in my house. i would assume the 300win is the better choice?

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If you don't already reload or are actively setting up to do so I don't think I would go with the .338 Lapua. I love mine but at $80-120 a box for factory ammo, you probably won't want to do much target shooting.

Given your constraints I'd definitely go with the 300 WinMag over the 6.5 CM. I also don't think the 300 would be too much recoil for your GF, especially if it has a break/suppressor on it (and I feel confident that it will have both).

Ive had a few female friends/family members shoot my .338 and they don't have much trouble with it (granted they are only shooting a handful of times) but unless she plans on doing extended range sessions with the gun or you go with a super light mountain, gun recoil won't be a problem. My SRS isn't light but its not all that heavy at 12# and the recoil is quite manageable.

thats helpful. another reason i've gravitated towards the savage line is because of their new recoil management systems being implemented in their rifles. its similar to what benelli did with their shotguns. i shot one in 6.5 creedmoor a couple weekends ago and it felt like a 22-250 / 243. i would guess that the 300 has a similar "this feels much lighter than what you would think" feeling

I normally wouldn't throw out another caliber to muddy the waters even more, but take a look at the 300 PRC. Ultra long range capability, flat shooting for a .30 caliber bullet, plenty of energy to take out large targets at long range, and with a muzzle break I don't think the kick is bad at all for the round you're shooting.

The caliber was designed as an answer to a military RFP looking for a round that could hit a human sized target at 2,000 yards at least 50% of the time. I killed a Nilgai with a Christensen Arms ELR and despite not making a great shot the impact knocked over a 450lb animal and vaporized both lungs before he "ran" about 20 yards. The guide I was with said in his 30 years he'd never seen an impact plum knock one over like that that wasn't dead on the spot.

The ELR isn't the lightest rifle, but they have other models that are lighter weight. If you end up going smaller caliber they also make a 6.5 PRC that is a complete flat shooter (flatter than the creedmoor and with better energy retention) and is good to go out to about 1,000 yards.

I vote for the buy one of each and don't worry about which one then

My .02- as I own both. A custom ultralight .300WM and a Bergara HMR 6.5CM

With a brake, the light .300 isn't bad to shoot. True, it has more lethal range, but honestly- you will never likely shoot past the 6.5's range on animals. That's a negligible point to me. If you are looking at going to Alaska and chasing elk in the mountains- get a lightweight .300WM.

That being said, I've shot elk with my 6.5, and wouldn't hesitate to do it at effective ranges. THAT being said, if a .300 and 6.5 were sitting beside me, I would choose the .300 to poke holes in elk.

I think the 6.5 is a better all around gun. It's a crazy flat shooter, and I can shoot it more accurately than my .300 at long ranges. It's a ton of fun to shoot. If you will mainly be shooting steel, and whitetail, with only the occasional big game animal- choose the 6.5. If you will be spending money on chasing elk and Alaskan game, get the .300- you will never regret having it.

The perfect answer, though: get both. - .300 for big furry things and 6.5 for steel and smaller furry things.

I vote 6.5 CM. It's cheaper per round and a lighter rifle. It's basically the perfect round for what you're wanting to do anyways

Or you could get a SRS and a barrel for each occasion... That is what I'm doing with mine, A .338 Lapua for when the hurt needs to be applied at long range and a 6.5x47 Lapua for paper and smaller game. (Another plus is you can splurge on high quality glass).

If you are planning on Alaska I would stick with a 30 cal. 300 win or even the 300 PRC are great options. You really can't go wrong.

6.5 or 6.5 PRC will be cheaper and more enjoyable to shoot but less effective for large game.

7wizzum
Or the 6.5 lapua
I wouldn't take a creedmore elk hunting, but that's just, like, my opinion, man

Or 28 nosler?

6.5 creed. Less recoil same ballistics out to reasonable distance. Cheaper plinking and match ammo costs. Great for hunting.

I have both a 6.5 CM and 300 WM. All I will say is if you decide to hunt with your 6.5 use Barnes bullets. I have shot several animals with the Hornady PH 6.5 ammo and every single time there has been little to no blood trail. This is fine in open country as they seldomly run over 30 yards, but in South Texas on my place where at the edge of the sendero it is a wall of brush, it definitely becomes a problem.
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I shot this buck at 125 yards blew the top half of his heart off and double lunged. He ran 40ish yards and the only blood was about 10 yards before I found him. Which is why I will not use Hornady PH ammo anymore.

Thank for the report on the Barnes. I might have to give them a try sometime.

Hornady ELDX in 6.5 has been amazing for me. Have shot pigs, antelope, whitetail, mule deer, and elk with its. Ranges from 70-375 yards. All went boom-flop pretty much. The bullet doesn't scream through and make 2 holes like my .300. It goes center mass and dumps all of its energy. Turns stuff to jelly, amazing damage. Cow elk last year went about 30 yards, and though she only had 1 hole, she was pumping like a fire hydrant out of the entrance. I think because of the internal damage.

Just saying, give them a look.

And, the ELDX seems to shoot exactly like the Match Ammo, which I use for steel.

Thats a toss up. I think you would be happy with all 3. I would go Nightforce or Steiner. The Vortex weight is over a pound heavier.

If it's mainly a hunting gun I'd go sfp and get a NXS in whatever magnification. It's not as new and cool as ffp though.

I'm thinking SFP too. Had eyeguy and a buddy suggest the leupold vx6hd line as well. Which I think I like because leupold will optimize your BDC for you based on caliber of choice which I found kinda cool

Misleading that they are calling the cds turrets "custom bdc" these days... they're just custom turrets which are available in the aftermarket for lots of brands. Wouldn't let that sway your decision.
I will agree that while ffp for hunting makes sense in theory, I've never used it in practice. I use a rangefinder for distance estimation, and if a critter is far enough away to hold over I'm on full zoom anyway. Just make sure you have your holdovers right for the full magnification on sfp... many times the measurements are not correct at full zoom (leupold has a little triangle on the magnification ring). Probably not telling you anything you don't already know here...

highvelocity said:

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Struggling on where to hang my hat on a long range set up. heres where i'm at so far and i'm in need of some help on which one to go with.

6.5 creedmoor vs. 300winmag (this is the real debate) or say **** it and just go w/ a 338 or buy both -___-

300 winmag has a longer effective range, but i dont see myself shooting out to 1500 yards on a living target or target shooting. 6.5 shoots laser beams and has less noticeable recoil (could be used by my gf when she hunts) but ammo is less readily available and is around the same price as 300winmag. but i would like to have the 300winmag for higher energy potential on target because i plan to go elk hunting and go to alaska in the next year or so which makes the winmag more attractive.

i REALLY like the new savage ultralite which doesnt come in 300win (only comes in shortmag configuration), but does come in 6.5 creed. i've also looked at bergara and weatherby and i've found a couple of their offerings that i do like and come in both calibers.

so I pretty much need a push in one direction or the other

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Go look at weatherbys new backCountry Ti chambered in their new 6.5 RPM it checks all of your boxes and they have used it to take down all of north americas big game in testing it the last year and half. I'll be picking up this rifle for my new elk gun and for moose and caribou

My thing is, go with sfp so your reticle is visible and useable at all powers, not just the upper half. You should almost always have a range finder or known distances from a blind. Depending on animal and zero distance I'd guess most rifles will have a mpb range of 2-300 yards. Anything further than that just dial.

I think we're agreeing? Only difference is my FFP scopes (SWFA MQ and swaro TDS) the reticle basically turns into a dot/blob at minimum magnification, so it still works as an aiming point

I had the VX6 for a while. It was ok. Never used the BDC and sold it. Ended up with the Nightforce NX8 and an Eotech Vudu 5-25. I like those better. But it is all personal preference.

i found a steiner m5xi 3-15 on the CHEAP last week i'm going to use and see if i like it. i got it to upgrade the glass on my 308 bolt gun, but going to try it on the creedmoor for a bit first before spending another couple grand on another optic.