Big dilemma: 6XC or 6.5x47 Lapua or 6.5 Creedmoor???

[icebug]

A friend of mine is ordering a new custom R8 Jagdmatch BBL, he is ready to pay more and make it 26" long.
His big dilemma is, which caliber should he take for target shooting up to 800-100 meters?
I'm referring to better accuracy, resistance to wind, ease of finding a good load, barrel length vs. caliber...
Consider the standard Blaser rates of twist, which are 1:8" for 6mm and 1:8.66" for 6.5mm I believe.

He has to know what would be the best option till TOMORROW, so please, kindly give you inputs.
Bob Stokes, your opinion will be very much appreciated!

Thanks to y'all!

[stokesrj]

All three are wonderful cartridges and for these three Blaser uses the proper twist for heavy bullets. So there really is no wrong answer here.

I don't own a 6.5X47 so I don't have a valid opinion on it, but I do own three 6.5 Creedmoors and one 6XC. I have both caliber barrels for my McMillan Tub 2000 and the 6.5 Creedmoor out shoots the 6XC by a hair. I have seen both calibers win matches shooting against the other caliber and I've seen both set new records at 600 and 1,000 yards.

If it were me, I would go with 6.5 Creedmoor, Blaser uses a 1:8 twist for this caliber, so it will handle the heavy bullets. And if your friend doesn't reload, high quality ammunition is available at much lower prices for the Creedmoor.

[icebug]

Thanks a million Bob for your opinion!
I'd go with 6.5CM if I was in his shoes, actually I just ordered a Tikka T3x TAC A1 in 6.5CM, so maybe I'm a bit biased.
I didn't know that Blaser offers a 1:8" twist for 6.5CM?
Where did the Blaser barrels twist rates link disappear?

[dchamp]

Like Bob said all three cartridges are good. I shoot the 6XC in the R8 with std. barrel and it has become my favorite 6mm. It's stupid easy to load for and is accurate but no more so than the other two. I think if I were your friend I would look at the availability of ammunition and components to solidify my choice. In Europe I would think that would go to the 6.5x47, in America the 6.5 Creedmoor. I don't know about down under.

[Corjack]

I actually think the 6.5X47 is the best of the three, but in my case I have access to affordable factory ammo, that shoots well. That is why I have several Creedmoors. If the ammo situation was different I would own several 47s.

[7x57]

Like Bob said all three cartridges are good. I shoot the 6XC in the R8 with std. barrel and it has become my favorite 6mm. It's stupid easy to load for and is accurate but no more so than the other two. I think if I were your friend I would look at the availability of ammunition and components to solidify my choice. In Europe I would think that would go to the 6.5x47, in America the 6.5 Creedmoor. I don't know about down under.

Agree that all three cartridges are excellent. Your point about looking at ammunition and components is a valid one and was why I initially purchased a 6.5 x47. I was looking for quality components such as Lapua brass, small primer pocket etc. Now that Lapua brass is available that would make the Creedmor a real option as well.
I have come to really enjoy the 47 FWIW.

[SPEEDY]

Where's the Swede?

But any of the 6.5's should do but that 1:8" twist for 6.5CM is a big advantage.
Anyone know what the twist on the LRS2 Swede barrel is?

[icebug]

Tank you all guys!
6.5x47 is the one he chose.

[Corjack]

Tank you all guys!
6.5x47 is the one he chose.

Another thing you will like is, the 47 case is enough smaller that Varget works great with this size case. The Creed prefers H4350 burn rate.

[ebrownw2]

Tank you all guys!
6.5x47 is the one he chose.

Another thing you will like is, the 47 case is enough smaller that Varget works great with this size case. The Creed prefers H4350 burn rate.

Not being a smart ass here, but why is that an advantage? There's obviously something I don't know being a newby reloader.

[SPEEDY]

Some powders perform really well in either a shorter efficient case like BM2 and some are outstanding in an overbored case like RE25.

It's a preference thing efficiency Vs top performance but generally speaking IMO the former producers better accuracy.

Someone will jump on and go into detail about burn rates and pressures and a million other little things that go into top ballistics, but if your a hunter it's irrelevant, I prefer ADI powders that are temperature and climate stable, but that's probably an even longer topic.

So if you hunt then all you need to know is some powders perform better in some cases, and if you into LR, BR or some other R then it becomes important.

[Corjack]

Tank you all guys!
6.5x47 is the one he chose.

Another thing you will like is, the 47 case is enough smaller that Varget works great with this size case. The Creed prefers H4350 burn rate.

Not being a smart ass here, but why is that an advantage? There's obviously something I don't know being a newby reloader.

H4350 is always hard to find. You use about 41.5 grains of H4350 in a Creed, takes about 37 grains Varget in the 47. Less powder burning should have the 47 barrel outlast the Creed 500+ rounds.

[7x57]

Another thing you will like is, the 47 case is enough smaller that Varget works great with this size case. The Creed prefers H4350 burn rate.

Not being a smart ass here, but why is that an advantage? There's obviously something I don't know being a newby reloader.

H4350 is always hard to find. You use about 41.5 grains of H4350 in a Creed, takes about 37 grains Varget in the 47. Less powder burning should have the 47 barrel outlast the Creed 500+ rounds.

Agree with what Corjack says. H4350 equivalent is ADI 2209 which is easily obtainable in Oz and the go to powder for many of the othe 6.5 calibres with increased case capacity.
In the 6.5x47 my testing produced good results with both powders but Varget did so with less powder. There was still room for increased powder in the Varget however I was looking at compressing the 2209 which isn't an issue but Varget (2208) is just easier. I'm running Bergers and Varget is also one of the preferred powders from their reloading manual.
In Oz I can also buy Varget in larger jugs which is a bonus.