Cartridge Families
Cartridge families have been a thing since shortly after the first cartridges were made. A family refers to a group of cartridges based on the same parent cartridge, and it’s how some of our best cartridges came into being. A well-known family would be the 30-06 Springfield clan, with the .270 Winchester and the 25-06 Remington being some of its popular kin. Today we are taking a look at the Creedmoor Family Tree, on their ascent to being one of the great dynasties in the cartridge world.
6.5 Creedmoor History
Back in the early 2000’s, the Creedmoor was developed by a group of folks looking to design a perfect cartridge. Their goal was a flat-shooting, low-recoil cartridge with high ballistic coefficient (BC) bullets that would feed well from a magazine. They based the cartridge from the 30 Thompson Center, another cartridge looking for fame. The case was shouldered at thirty-degrees and necked down to .264 and the Creedmoor was born.
Since then, the cartridge has been adopted widely by nearly every corner of the shooting market. Much to the chagrin of Creedmoor haters, whose sophomoric insults are blind to the obvious performance of the cartridge.
The 6.5 Creedmoor has also spawned a whole family of descendants that have become well-known titans in their own bore-size. There is no free lunch however, so the advantages of each come with their liabilities as well. Today we’ll look at some of them and evaluate their attributes and how they might best fit into your next rifle purchase.
22 Creedmoor
Barrel Life Estimate: 800-1100 rounds
Bullet Weights: 50-80 grains
Max Effective Supersonic Range Estimate: Approximately 1500yds
Component Suppliers: Hornady, Alpha Munitions, Petersen, Nosler
Let’s start at the bottom of the pile, with the 22 Creedmoor. Necking is the process of narrowing the case mouth of a cartridge to hold a different caliber bullet. The 22 Creedmoor is the result of necking the 6.5 down to .224 caliber, I understand there is some thinning of the neck during this process as well to make it work.
The result is a hot-rod overbore 22 centerfire cartridge, similar to the extremely popular 22-250. The 22 Creedmoor has done very well in the hunting and target shooting arenas. Mainly because it has large displacement and the horsepower to push even the large .224 caliber bullets fast. Typically made with a 1:8 twist, the 22CM can push big 75 and 80 grain bullets well over 3200 FPS. This leaves cartridges like the 22-250 and 220 Swift in the dust. And makes the 22CM an obvious choice for varmint hunting and long-range target shooting.
Feeding the 22CM is easily done from popular magazine systems, and it cycles well from all the popular actions. Handloading is fairly easily done with support from companies like Hornady and Redding. You can buy ammunition and components from Hornady, Alpha Munitions and others. The scorching performance of the 22CM come at a cost, as it has an appetite for barrel throats. Making this cartridge a choice for the bold shooters out there.
6mm Creedmoor
Barrel Life Estimate: 1500-2200 rounds
Bullet Weights: 58-115 grains
Max Effective Supersonic Range Estimate: Approximately 1700yds
Component Suppliers: Hornady, Alpha Munitions, Petersen, Lapua, Nosler, Starline
The next step up in the necking process is the 6 Creedmoor. Very comparable to the venerable .243 Winchester, the 6CM offers high speed 6mm/.243 bullets for either sport or hunting. The 6CM uses a faster twist than the older .243 design, typically 1:7 to 1:8 twist. This gives the 6CM the ability to shoot more modern bullets, many of which were basically designed for this cartridge. The longer high BC bullets of today won’t fly from the 1:10 or 1:9 twist rates of decades passed. This gives the 6CM a leg up over cartridges like the .243 and 6mm Remington.
The 6CM offers the same performance as those older cartridges when shooting comparable bullets. And its optimal for use in the same types of hunting situations, arguably better due to efficiency. Getting similar velocities from the Creedmoor with less powder and bore erosion than the other cartridges mentioned. It would be an excellent choice for a light big game hunting cartridge, or as a competition cartridge as it has been used extensively over the years.
Whether you wish to shoot 58-grain bullets at coyotes or 115 grain match bullets in a PRS match the 6mm Creedmoor has a diverse hand of talents. It has been pushed aside somewhat by smaller 6mm cartridges in the competition circuit, due to its lower barrel life and recoil. But still has quite a following of dedicated loaders and shooters, thanks to the support from the companies I mentioned above.
25 Creedmoor
Barrel Life Estimate: 2000-3000 rounds
Bullet Weights: 86-135 grains
Max Effective Supersonic Range Estimate: Approximately 1900yds
Component Suppliers: Hornady, Alpha Munitions, Petersen
Coming out of nowhere, the 25 Creedmoor is one of my favorites, likely because I was part of it’s renaissance. The 25CM came about because of new bullet designs that made the 25 caliber a better option than the original 6.5CM. Bullets with higher BC and lower weight meant that the 25CM could shoot faster than the 6.5, and enjoy flatter-still trajectories and more energy on target.
This made the 25CM an outstanding choice for many shooters. Hunters and competition shooters alike have adopted the 25CM, and once again the aftermarket has stepped in to support it as well. Hornady only recently legitimized the 25CM, but Alpha Munitions and Petersen Cartridge Company have been making brass for it for some time. This is one Creedmoor that has actually gotten more love from companies besides Hornady, at least till now. With excellent components available from Sierra and Berger.
Using the 25CM in competition like the NRL Hunter matches has become very popular due to its power and low recoil. It might be one of my favorite hunting cartridges as well, the incredible consistency has allowed me to make many one-shot kills on deer and elk. Some of which were so far out that it’s better to leave unsaid.
6.5 Creedmoor
Barrel Life Estimate: 3000-4000 rounds
Bullet Weights: 90-150 grains
Max Effective Supersonic Range Estimate: Approximately 1800yds
Component Suppliers: Hornady, Alpha Munitions, Petersen, Lapua, Nosler, Everyone at this point
The OG Creedmoor, a cartridge that stormed the precision rifle shooting circuit when it came out. At the time (2006-ish maybe) there were three 6.5 cartridges fighting for dominance. Besides the Creedmoor, the 6.5×47 Lapua and .260 Remington were all extremely popular. But likely due to support from Big Red and others, the 6.5 Creedmoor quickly became the dominant 6.5.
Still an excellent choice for many competitors, the 6.5CM might be the only cartridge today that has a shot at taking the place of the 308 Winchester in popularity. The 6.5CM does everything the 308 does, and it often does it better. The narrow 6.5 bullets have a higher ballistic performance and speed than the old Winchester, making it an excellent successor. The 6.5CM is the easy-button of sharpshooting, and because of that it enjoys support from nearly every corner of the shooting world. Whether you are looking for semi-auto rifles or bolt-action there is a great option in 6.5CM. And ammunition options are as deep and diverse as any other cartridge.