Looking for recos. Should I buy into the 6.5 Creedmore hype?

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capable, flat-shooting rounds with fairly light recoil for him and the 6.5 Creedmore kept coming up.

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It fits all those criteria well.

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if the round is really worth the hype

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Nah. It's reinventing a formula literally as old as smokeless self contained metallic cartridges (6.5x55 swede). That doesn't mean it isn't a great all around caliber, it's just very overhyped as some kind of miraculous laser death ray. It really just used a good sized bullet for deer at reasonable velocities.

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if there are any recommendations that y'all may have otherwise

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In 2022 its really difficult to intelligently recommend anything else for a general use deer rifle. Due to the massive popularity, the ammo companies are making shitloads of it. 6.5 Creedmoor and .308, because of their popularity with the tacticool bullet hoarding community, have effectively killed ammo availability for other calibers. Both just happen to be great deer calibers as well.

Bought my son (12) a 6.5 Creedmore, I have been way less than impressed on the impact performance on deer. It doesn't have the punch needed, even on well placed shots.

How old is your son and how big is he?

Answer that, first.

If he is 12 on up or a little under and a stout kid, get him a .308. It's a lifetime rifle and ammo is plentiful. There is not a whitetail out there that a .308 won't kill cleanly if shot correctly. I started with a sporterized M1917 30-06 at age 12, and have never regretted beginning even with that round.

If he is under 12 or on the small side, get him a .243 or 7mm-08. Ammo is not as available, but their recoil is generally less than .308, they can be lifetime rifles, or he can graduate to a larger caliber later.

A 30-30 lever gun also wouldn't be a bad first rifle option for a smaller child. My sister still stacks deer with hers. I have offered to buy her a .308 but she flat refuses.

I'm not a ballistics expert, but here is my uneducated theory on the 6.5 Creedmore:

The 6.5 Creedmore was designed as a long range target round. Its BC lends to great penetration and probably over-penetration without expansion at traditional hunting ranges in the South (50-250 yards) and with today's trend in faster rounds. Couple this with folks that may not have a lot of trigger time on the trendy and (relatively) new cartridge, and it has gained the nickname 6.5 Cripplemore.

Get a .243 for him. I have a .270 and .243 which are both perfectly fine for deer. More and more people are coming to realize that the .243 packs quite a punch.

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6.5 Creedmore

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Kills deer as dead as any other hunting projectile.

My son has several on his wall that stood in front of the 6.5cm. I use it and we’ve never had to track one.

It does nothing better than any other hunting bullet designed for medium/big game. If someone is using match projectiles on game, they are not very informed.

Barnes ttsx, Hornady eldx, Federal Fusion are my favorites.

I’m not fond of recoil, so the 6.5 suits me fine.

Seems like those who hate it, like to tell you how they are tired of hearing how great it is…but they are the only folks saying that. My safe contains .223, 243, 30/30, 6.5cm, .308 and 30-06.

They’ve all put meat in my freezer (except 223, never used it).

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my sis in law shoots a 6.5 howa, I shoot a .308 Kimber.
her gun is SO HEAVY. I'd never want to carry that through the woods on a regular basis. I feel like if the gun isn't comfortable then it's going to make your kid less inclined to want to be in the woods. If I were in your shoes I'd take him to a shop on a few different occasions and let him see what feels right for him.

I’ve noticed the 6.5 CM threads and what pistol should I get my wife threads Always end up the same way. Not sure why anyone even ask here anymore. I could write the whole thread myself. Must be bots.

30.06 or .308 is all you need.

I expect ammo to become harder to get as this country becomes more socialist. You may want everyone shooting the same caliber, so you use each other's ammo. My two boys and I all shot 30.06, whenever I see a box I buy it, that way if only one of us is seriously into hunting 10 years ago, he will have plenty of ammo.