My wife has inspired me to buy a new rifle — lol.

She was purging old jewelry the other day, getting rid (selling) pieces she had not worn in many years and had no sentimental value. This got me looking at my guns and realizing that I have a few that not only have I not used in a long time, I probably won’t use again. To that end, I decided to divest myself of a few (have not done so yet) and put together a rifle package that I will use.

What I am trying (not very successfully) to put together is an ugly weather (read that as SS or coated barrel and action and synthetic stock), PA deer rifle for hunting from a tree stand (read that as weight isn’t too important, but length is). Further, the two properties I hunt have limited shooting distances of less than 125 yards.

My first inclination was a shorter bolt action (it must be a bolt gun), so a short action cartridge like a .308. The .308 was chosen, again for the short action, but also semi mild recoil (I’m planning on installing a suppressor to take the recoil to near zero) and the ability to use a heavier bullet (165-180 grain, probably in a ballistic tip or something similar) that would, with a shoulder placed shot, remove the possibility of the deer getting off my property and onto the neighbor’s, who considers your land as their land and their land as don’t encroach an inch on mine.

I had several makes and models of rifles in mind to look at to see what I was drawn to, but after visiting about a dozen gun shops, small to huge, the reality of supply chain issues has hit home since I was only able to find one of the makes/models I was looking for and although it was in the .308 caliber, it was not the version of the model I had any interest in.

Since I could not find 5 of 6 of the make/model I wanted to check out, I was forced to look at some different makes/models that I had not considered before. The problem was, none are available in current inventories in .308 and the shops (and to the same extent, the internet) have zero prediction on when they may see the supply chain change.

Because of a boom in popularity, however, there were several rifles I would consider, in current inventories, that are chambered for 6.5 Creedmore. However, other than what I have read, I know nothing about this heavy-for-caliber round.

Does anyone have actual experience with a 6.5 Creedmore that you would like to share?

Accuracy? Recoil? Results on animals shot? Bullet preferences?

Any help would be appreciated.

I would normally just wait until what I am looking for became available, but the suppressor permit takes so long (was 6-9 months with the paper forms, but now that the system has switched to e-forms and fingerprints it is 12-14 months instead of the 3 that was promised —lol), that I want to get this moving along.

I personally don't own and never will a 6.5 creed. It's just another fan boy caliber that's been around for years. It just got popular idk why. It's no better then anything else. Couple buddies bought them in various models and makes. It's just fine for deer. I'll stick to my 308 or 300 mag if I was going to elk hunt or 7mm. Realistically Nothing is that much better then anything else ballistics wise by a large margin. Imo it's more about the availability of ammo. I almost got a 28 nosler until I seen it was 5$ a bullet I was out pretty past ha.

I, too, had no real interest in a 6.5, preferring a .308, but at times, one needs to face reality and the reality here is the supply chain. I was in a dozen gun stores and all total, there were three .308 in stock (all had them ordered, some told me that orders they placed in late 2019 are slated to be delivered in mid 2023, maybe).

None of the .308 in stock fit my criteria — either the barrel was too long, 24-26, which would be unwieldy when a suppressor is added, or they were not threaded for a suppressor.

Those same gun shops had dozens of 6.5 in stock, although only one of the six makes/models I wanted to check out because I had never handled them. I had seen the ones they had in stock before and some would work fine if I could get some real world experiences with the 6.5. That’s why I posted this thread.

I have already missed the paper permit process window to get the suppressor before this year’s rifle season, but am hoping the ATF gets their e-form system on track and I can get the tax stamp and suppressor before this season. But that means getting a rifle before the end of March.

While the rifle is not needed to start the suppressor process, it kind of is. The suppressor is serialized to the purchaser only at the time of application, so that means I need to buy a suppressor with the correct thread pattern to fit the rifle I buy. There is no “standard” thread pattern, but rather three popular ones. I need to know the specific one before starting the suppressor process.

As stated in the original post, this is for PA deer, in the woods, under 125 yards. I’m done elk hunting, in fact, one of the rifles I will divest myself of is a long range rifle in .300 Weatherby.

I hunt with a Remington 788 carbine with an 18 inch barrel, in 7mm-08. Flat shooter. Awesome balance. With Hornady superformance sst's in 139gr. bullets, has no problems knocking them down. Maybe something to consider.
 
BH

My nephew’s son lives in Charlotte NC. He recently sent me a picture of a nice buck he harvested. Used a 6.5 Creedmore. Said he took it at 280 yards.

I don't own a creed but have several buddies that do and have shot theirs. 6.5 is considered by many caliber snobs to be the most efficient diameter from a ballistic coefficient standpoint. For those that want to shoot the "latest and greatest" or those that just like to shoot something different, there is an attraction there. For those that just want to have a good shooting rifle that is ideal for deer sized game, the creed fits that bill nicely. So does the 260 Remington, 7mm-08, and 308. The differences between all of them on deer is splitting hairs. 

That’s what I was thinking (to the last three posters). Back in the day, I was a BC, velocity, and flatness geek.

For a custom .257 Weatherby, I went through about 30 different bullets and 8 different powders with loads worked from min to max for each bullet and each powder. All shots were run through a chronograph and velocity, with standard deviations were noted, along with the averages of a minimum of five five-shot groups.

It was a fun exercise at the time, but none of the deer shot with any of the different loads killed the deer any deader than another.

At one point, I had shot over 30 deer with not a single repeat on load used — different calibers, different bullets, different powders, different powder charges, etc. None of those deer survived or came back from the dead.

I was shying away from the 6.5, for no good reason other than not wanting to give in to the cult of popularity. But, with the supply chain being what it is, especially for rifles not produced domestically, and inventories being what they are, I may have to give in to the dark side in order to get the suppressor process rolling within the next 30 days.

Been  shooting a Ruger #1 in 0/6 for many years--even in these short years for ammo supplies can always find something appropriate.
Availability of ammo would be a huge factor to me
My youngest often shoots a Marlin .356  336 with presentation wood-talk about hard hitting--wow - ammo is near impossible to find

Agreed. For short action rifles, .308; .243; and 6.5 seem to have ammo readily available. 7MM-08 is a bit tougher to find.

I’ve always had the urge for a single shot rifle. Back when, the Browning was the jewel.

When in a gun store last week, they had a dozen of them, obviously used because they haven’t been made in a long time, but all in great condition and in various calibers. It took a lot to walk by and leave them there.