6.5 Creedmoor vs 243 Winchester

I’ll be trustworthy. In terms of the 6.5 Creedmoor vs 243 Winchester, I lean in the direction of the 243. Once I was a child my father took me with him to purchase his first deer rifle. He walked out of the sporting items retailer with a 243. He used that rifle for the remainder of his life to take a whole lot of deer and a whole lot of groundhogs. His success endeared me to 243 and its functionality as a cartridge for large recreation and varmints. However right this moment the 243’s reputation has been diminished by the 6.5 Creedmoor. Is the Creed actually a greater choice? Let’s dive into the info to seek out out.

.243 Winchester

The .243 Winchester was a direct sensation. It was launched in 1955 at about the identical time Remington launched their .244 Remington. The .244 held extra gunpowder and had a slight velocity benefit over the 243. Nevertheless, Winchester was smarter. Remington’s .244 had a 1 in 12 rifling twist and Winchester specified a 1 in 10 twist for the .243. This allowed it to higher stabilize 100-grain bullets, and most deer hunters thought they wanted a 100-grain bullet.

Remington tried to appropriate this by renaming the .244 the 6mm Remington and giving it a sooner twist charge. It was too late, the .243 had run off and left it. Not solely did the .243 Winchester kill the 244/6mm Remington, it significantly lower into the gross sales of the .257 Roberts, which was additionally thought of an awesome, both-ways rifle for varmints and massive recreation.

The .243 makes use of a .308 Winchester case necked down to just accept a 0.243-inch (6.17mm) diameter bullet. It’s loaded to a most common strain (MAP) of 60,000 psi, with an instrumental velocity of three,880 fps with a 55-grain bullet and 2950 fps with a 100-grain bullet. Although many deer hunters foolishly consider the caliber too small, and a 100-grain bullet too mild for deer, within the latter a part of the final century it was a extremely popular deer cartridge. Oddly right this moment, many relegate the .243 to youngsters or girls resulting from its mild recoil. Nevertheless, males can kill deer with it too. Additionally, as a result of it will possibly make light-weight bullets scream, it’s implausible for looking groundhogs, rock chucks, and numerous predators. 

6.5 Creedmoor

The 6.5 Creedmoor was not a direct success. It was launched in 2007/8, primarily for long-range competitors. Basically mirroring the ballistics of the .260 Remington, which additionally had roots in competitors capturing, its benefit was the identical benefit the .243 had over the .244—it had a sooner twist barrel.

Although many declare the 6.5 Creedmoor owes its success to a savvy advertising and marketing marketing campaign by Hornady, in reality it largely owes its success to the film, American Sniper, which got here out in 2014. Very like the Soiled Harry films drove curiosity within the .44 Magnum, the film about Navy Seal Chris Kyle made everybody wish to shoot stuff at silly lengthy distances. When these want-to-be snipers started researching rifle cartridges, they got here throughout the aggressive success of the 6.5 Creedmoor, and the cartridge was pushed to stardom.

It was once when a producer launched a brand new rifle they chambered it for the .30/06, .270, .308, and .243. Now most firms chamber new rifles in 6.5 Creedmoor. It’s one of the vital fashionable centerfire rifle cartridges. The 6.5 Creedmoor is loaded to a MAP of 62,000 psi, with an instrumental velocity of 2900 fps for a 120-grain bullet and 2690 fps for a 140-grain bullet. Its mixture of sunshine recoil and flat trajectory have made it extremely popular with hunters who wish to attain out.

6.5 Creedmoor vs 243 Winchester: Velocity Comparability

A straight-up velocity comparability is absolutely solely sensible whenever you evaluate bullets of the identical weight. Hornady’s quickest 95-grain load for the .243 Winchester has an marketed velocity of 3185 fps. The one 95-grain load they’ve for the 6.5 Creedmoor has an marketed velocity of 3300 fps. Hornady’s 95-grain .243 load is loaded with an enormous recreation bullet and their 95-grain 6.5 Creedmoor load is loaded with a varmint bullet. Mockingly, the ballistic coefficients are virtually equivalent.

Hunters usually tend to evaluate varmint load to varmint load, and massive recreation load to large recreation load. Hornady’s 58-grain V-Max load for the .243 has a velocity of virtually 4000 fps. That’s 21 p.c sooner than Hornady’s 95-grain varmint load for the Creedmoor. Primarily based on my expertise, the most effective big-game load for the .243 Winchester is the 85-grain Nosler Partition—extra on that in a second—and in Nosler’s Trophy Grade ammo line that bullet has a velocity of 3225 fps. I additionally suppose among the finest large recreation masses for the 6.5 Creedmoor is Nosler’s 140-grain AccuBond—extra on that too—and in Nosler’s Trophy Grade line of ammunition, it has an marketed velocity of 2650 fps.

With the identical weight bullet, the Creed has the benefit, however from a pure velocity standpoint, the .243 Winchester wins out. From a looking standpoint velocity isn’t every part, but it surely issues, largely as a result of velocity is what makes bullets work. A sooner varmint bullet will present extra dynamic kills, and a sooner big-game bullet provides hunters a wider vary of affect velocities to work with.

Benefit: .243 Winchester

6.5 Creedmoor vs 243 Winchester: Vitality Comparability

Some consider kinetic power is the most effective issue to find out a cartridge’s skill to cleanly kill recreation. There’s little question it performs an element within the killing method—the issue is, nobody actually is aware of what the killing method is. Nevertheless, most agree that the more durable a bullet hits, the higher.

In case you evaluate what I take into account the 2 greatest large recreation masses for these cartridges, you’ll see that at 100 yards the 6.5 Creedmoor impacts with about 1900 foot-pounds, and a bit greater than 1200 foot-pounds at 400 yards. The .243 Winchester doesn’t hit as arduous. At 100 yards it should ship about 1600 foot-pounds and solely about 800 foot-pounds at 400 yards. The 6.5 Creedmoor wins within the power division, partly as a result of it will possibly launch a heavier bullet, and partly as a result of these high-BC bullets retain velocity—and power—higher.

Benefit: 6.5 Creedmoor

6.5 Creedmoor vs 243 Winchester: Recoil & Trajectory Comparability

One of the interesting aspects of the 6.5 Creedmoor is how flat it shoots in comparison with the recoil it generates. There’s no query that some cartridges shoot the identical or heavier bullets flatter, however they accomplish that with a rise in recoil. With a flat capturing large recreation load, the Creedmoor will smack you with solely about 13 foot-pounds of recoil. The .243 recoils about 15 p.c much less.

As for a trajectory, there are a number of methods to take a look at these two cartridges. The primary is to check the utmost point-blank vary, which is the space that each cartridges will be sighted in in order that the bullet by no means rises or falls greater than three inches above or beneath the road of sight. Easier put, it’s how far both cartridge can push a bullet in one-third of a second. The 85-grain Partition from the .243 Winchester has a point-blank vary of 300 yards. The 140-grain Nosler AccuBond out of the Creedmoor has a point-blank vary of 275 yards.

As a lot because the Creedmoor is touted for its flat trajectory, it can’t overcome the speed benefit of the lighter and sooner .243 Winchester bullet. Even at 1,000 yards, the 85-grain Partition drops lower than the 140-grain AccuBond. If we evaluate the heavier and better BC 90-grain AccuBond out of the .243 Winchester, which can also be an excellent large recreation bullet, it shoots even flatter.

However trajectory isn’t every part. In terms of hitting what you’re capturing at, wind drift issues too. That’s the place the upper BC bullets from the Creed actually shine. With a constant 90-degree, 10 mph crosswind, at 300 yards the 140-grain bullet from the Creed will drift about an inch lower than the 243’s 90-grain AccuBond. At 1,000 yards it should drift about 20 inches much less.

Benefit: Tie

6.5 Creedmoor vs 243 Winchester: Area Expertise

Numbers are how people evaluate every part from cartridges to NFL quarterbacks. Nevertheless, I don’t suppose numbers are an alternative to subject expertise. I’ve carried out a whole lot of looking with a .243 Winchester and a great bit with the 6.5 Creedmoor. Sufficient to supply some sensible feedback on their in-the-field efficiency.

The light-weight varmint bullets out of the .243 Winchester are wickedly explosive on smallish critters. Out to 400 yards, I’ve seen numerous .243 Winchester big-game bullets work to perfection on deer and pronghorn. My spouse used a .243 and an 85-grain Nosler Partition in Africa to take gemsbok, wildebeest, and impala, all with one shot every. (Now you see why I respect that bullet a lot.) For all method of varmints and for small to medium large recreation, I believe the .243 Winchester is a perfect cartridge inside 450 yards.

As a result of my son likes the 6.5 Creedmoor, I’ve seen a whole lot of animals taken with it. His first was a blesbok at greater than 500 yards in a gale-force wind. Inside 400 yards, and on recreation as much as 500 or so kilos, I’ve by no means been capable of inform the distinction within the efficiency of the Creed and the .243. I’ve taken some bigger beasts with the Creed than I’ve the .243. Even with some unhealthy capturing on a Newfoundland hunt, I took an enormous black bear, a woodland caribou, and a moose utilizing a Creed and Nosler’s 140-grain AccuBond.

Benefit: Tie

Learn Subsequent: Dude, the 6.5 Creedmoor Sucks!

Which Cartridge is Greatest? 

I do suppose that with animals heavier than 500 kilos, and photographs past 400 yards, the 6.5 Creedmoor ought to have a bonus. Nevertheless, I critically doubt I’ll ever be capable of show it as a result of I’ve no intention of capturing at any unwounded large recreation animal that far-off, with any cartridge.

I do just like the 6.5 Creedmoor—it’s very comfy to shoot—and it’s my son’s favourite rifle cartridge. I additionally suppose the Creedmoor is overhyped and sometimes used outdoors its sensible limits. If I needed to shoot competitively at distance, the Creed or the 6.5 PRC could be my cartridge of alternative. Nevertheless, for a lot of the varmint, predator, and massive recreation looking I do, the .243 Winchester ought to serve me simply as nicely. I believe Dad knew what he was doing when he purchased that .243 so a few years in the past.