Im wating to get into some long range shooting mainly for just target and hog shooting and was looking into the ballistics of a gun but couldn't find a whole lot of people with experience or knowledge of it.

I been looking at the Ruger precision rifle pretty hard but I cant pick a caliber... .308 win. Or 6.5 creedmore. I know the .308 has been around forever and it is proven, BUT this new 6.5 creedmore round is supposed to be flatter shooting at range.. Im curious to know if anyone has experience with this round and the .308 and if the range vs knockdown on them is relatively similar. Thanks

What distances are you wanting to try to shoot?

The .308 has more ft/lbs at longer distances. 6.5 is "supposedly better" ballistics wise. But it is a short action bullet and therefore does not carry the load equally as far as the .308. However for 500 yards in id go creed more honestly. Cheaper bullets and better ballistics. If you really wanting to push it farther go .308 just make sure to spend some money and get a good gun or the ballistics won't matter. CZ America gets my vote.

I'm not a huge fan of Ruger but they really got it right with the RPR. What they have packed into that rifle at that price point is unmatched right now.

The 6.5 is a better long range caliber than the .308, without a doubt. Are you going to reload? If so I'd definitely go 6.5. If you want easy access to less-than-MOA "cheap" ammunition, then that may sway you back to the .308.

I'm looking at the 500+ yards....more like 7-800 maybe 900. I've always hunted south Texas sunderos that you can clearly see 1000+ yards down but that's a bit much for my taste yet. I only have experience with out to 350 yards. I know the .308 is a proven round and I know a vet that has a confirmed kill at 1 mile with .308..but from what little I have found on them, supposedly the creedmore shoots flater at further distance. Where the .308 had a 63" drop at 700 yards (I think that's what it said) the creedmore only had a 47" drop....starting out shooting that kind of distancde i want to be able to have as few variables as possible, like moveing aot of elevation. I probably will slowly learn to reload over time but probably not right away. My grandpa's has all his old reloading tools still so probably what I would use.

I just can't find anything on "knockdown" to say on the 6.5 at that kind of range. The only reason I'm swayed towards the 6.5 is the flater trajectory that it's said to have. I'll probably do mainly target shooting with it but I would like to have a bullet with some punch to it for when I do go to the ranch.

For reference: 308 168gr at typical factory ammo velocities compared to the 6.5 cm with a 140 gr at typical velocities at 100yd zero has .6" more drop at 200 (3.4 vs 4) 2.1" more at 300 (12.3 vs 14.4), 5.1" more at 400 (27.3 vs 32.4), and 9.8" at 500 (49.4 vs 59.2). If you are shooting your rifle at those ranges, you'll never notice those differences and wish you had gotten the other cartridge. The 308 will be cheaper to feed quality ammo, but for hunting purposes only, the difference between those two is negligible, and only worthy of conversation for the sake of conversation. If the shot is on target, you won't notice the recoil difference enough to care, and they'll both kill cleanly.

Btw, post that question on the internet, and you'll have tons of experts show up, ALL with varying opinions.

So basicly it comes down to what you prefer vs what he prefers vs what I would prefer vs availability of ammo..? Lol

at those yardages the 308 will have more energy or knockdown, but if it were just hogs id go 6.5, if i were shooting something i was worried about running then id step up. 6.5 is a neat round. but theres also the 260 thats a little hotter than the 6.5. as Tgunn said if u want factory ammo you will find a large selection of quality 308

i stand corrected the 6.5 running hornady 140 amax is about 100 lbs of energy more than the 308 at 800 yards than hornady 168 amax 308 loads. id go 6.5 all the way, the ruger precision is a sweet gun for the price

Idk what your looking for exactly but the nosler .26 is a very good long range round. Flat out to 400 yards

It's simple. get a mud motor. shoot ducks in the face.

If I can find one...I work at academy so that's the only way I found out about it. Nobody can get one. Managers said I may be able to order one but I would have to go through corporate customer service...

You said the magic words. If you can find it. It's new enough and hasn't caught on enough yet for factory ammo to be readily available. It looks like a nice round, but it's a lot of powder behind that 140 gr bullet. It'll take a heavier rifle to not kick like a mule. With a 325 yard pbr, it isn't enough flatter to warrant going with yet, especially for the cost, in my opinion. For a college student on a budget, probably doesn't quite fit your criteria.

Not talking about the 6.5 caliber, but the ruger rifle in general...I will look into that other ruger but I really like the AR platform of RPR

Ah. Thought you were talking about the 26 nosler

Starting out I'd get the 308 as it's much cheaper and more common ammo if you're not yet set up to reload. As others have said the differences are quite small and much of this stuff is just subjective and what you're into and like owning. A few inches of drop at 500 yards isn't much difference. 308 may seem less exciting or exotic, but it's easy to sell if you decide to someday and 30 caliber bullets fit other 30 caliber rounds so you'd have 300 win mag, 30-06 etc. if you get interested in another round. Long range shooting is addictive and expensive, but there are worse things to spend time and lose money on. The guy who taught me was insistent on the old Remington and pre-64 Winchester actions, custom hart and shilen barrels McMillan stocks and huge gun smithing bills, but I think nowadays with where cnc machining and manufacturing is at combined with metallurgy, there are tons of great shooting guns out of the box available at way less than custom shop prices. Best of luck, and share some of that crazy gun counter talk you are overhearing at work, I love that stuff!

I'm not starting out and I already have a couple long range and hunting rifles. My most recent was a 308. Something about it, and I always wind up back with square one. Lol

I work part time for a gunshot here in illinois and we are the only ones who have had one within 100 miles. they are tough to get right now, but hang in there you'll start seeing them

I talked to my manager today and said he can get me one. He said if its in our system (which it is) then I can have it special ordered. He said it might be 1 week or 2 months but I can get one. That sure would be nice to get it through work, could get a pretty penny off of it lol and put that towards a nicer scope.

I don't mind waiting though, give me time to save up for all the small stuff. Might just make it a Christmas present to my self

If your looking for good long range glass I have a swarovski x5i 5-25x56 that I'll sell you for $3,000. It has been on top of my steyr .308 and I'm in the middle of selling that rifle.

My suggestion would be to attend a long range match[s] and see what is winning and being shot . Talk with the shooters and find out what their coulda's woulda's are and make yourself a note book and keep notes.
Find someone who will or may take you under their wing and work with you. Are you prepared to shoot a lot of rounds daily, weekly and monthly?
What level reloader are you? Reason I ask is unless you are provided live rounds you will need to reload or tap into a rich uncle who will buy ammo by the pallet for you [same lot number].
Getting good at long range is more than a box of ammo off the shelf once in a while.

In not like looking at competition, just more of a fun thing to do. Go out to the range and shoot for a while and to screw around shooting hogs with. Nothing that serious. I know the 500 + yard shots require some practice and I'm willing to do that but starting out I feel comfortable with a 500 yard and that's probably where I'll start and spend my time practicing and then move out to longer ranges.

I suggest u start looking at different hunting bullets available for each caliber and see Wich has the higher BC and sectional density . You not going to want to shot animals with match bullets it be very unethical.

I have a .308 and love it. Honestly if you are think about stretching it out and hunting with it I would take a look as a 300 win mag or some of the other Magnum calibers. Also open up more doors if you end up doing some traveling hunting larger game.

long range is fun but tough lots of fundamentals to think about. it can be done I've personally never went past 500

I finishing up my long range here on the farm ,should be just over a mile long/1760yd was 1280yds.. I do not suggest anyone to shot 500+yd hunting period. Unless u live at a range and do it every day, u not capable to do it constantly enough . Just one man thoughts.

Theres just so many details into long range shots. For consistently putting out 500 yards plus where its truly long range you couldn't give me a "factory" rifle such as a Ruger. Also the scopes are ridiculously expensive to have one that will zoom in enough to see anything at 500. Plus you have to do months of trial and error on finding the best bullet and the best amount of powder to match with that bullet because every gun shoots them different. Plus you won't be using your match grade target ammo to hunt so with that being said now you have to have two bullets and will have to adjust the scope accordingly every time you switch between hunting and targets. Also on the .308 vs 6.5 the barrel on the creedmore will not last as long. It is a much shorter and thinner barrel and that is already being declared one of the rifles down falls. "Supposedly" after the barrel starts to warm the bullets will walk a little due to the thinner barrel but that could just be hear-say among the 308 loving long range crowd. I have owned a custom 308 and I now own a 300 win mag.. Far superior long range cartridge than both other options..
All that aside long range shooting is addictive and expensive just like every other hobby us sportsman seem to get into. You'll be pleased with either gun honestly just make sure it is a quality gun and scope and you can't go wrong!

Factory rifles are more than capable of long range. I've seen factory Remington 700 in 308 shoot 1k yards along multiple occasions with factory ammunition. But the most accurate factory setup I have ever seen was a savage in 308, with a nikon 10 power, was consistently shooting 7.5 inch groups at 1k. He spotter knew his wind calls well, and the shooter knew his fundamentals. I agree on making shots on game at 500 yards isnt smart, even if you have hit a target at that range before, and I still won't shoot that far except at a target, and I compete out to 600 with an open sight, off the rack m16 and m4. A 308 is as good as it gets for a starter rifle due to ammo cost, availability, and rifle options for cheap. People think because they can shoot a 3inch group at 300 yards that they're good, or its not a big deal to shot farther, but it becomes very real past that. Things change dramatically, and require much more knowledge and practice than most people will ever realize or learn. Needing to take a shot 500 yards and beyond means you should work harder at being a better hunter. Long range shooting should be for enjoyment and skill development.

The Creedmoor can be had in any normal barrel length and contour, and doesn't run velocities that would ruin a barrel much faster than a 308 with factory loads. Think of it like this, though. If we expect on the low end 2000 rounds before shooting out a barrel, what is the cost. At 30 dollars per 20, you've now spent $3k on ammo. What's another 300 for a new barrel at that point? So to use that as one of the reasons for not choosing a cartridge isn't considering the total cost to shoot out a barrel. That's also not thinking the majority of the resons a barrel is considered shot out is the throat of the chamber is what's actually worn, and can usually be cut and rechambered for under 150 bucks.

I understand what y'all are saying about the shooting game, but that's not something I would do until I felt comfortable making those kinds of shots at a consistent rate. Even so though, anywhere on the front half of a hog with a .308 would put it down pretty quickly. All the vitals are all within about a foot of each other lol.

Its nothing I would push for competitively, but more of a thing I can do on my days off and work to get better at over time.

I'm not sure if learning to shoot a rifle at range is anything like shooting a bow, but that is something I am able to be really good at, put it down and not touch it for a year and still be just as good when I pick if up again. In 2012 I won the Texas ASA 18 and under division, put my bow down for a year an half then picked it up one weekend and went to the rineheart r100 and shot in the top 5 out of some 300 people. Shooting just comes naturally for me. I know in long range practice never makes perfect but you need all you can get and that's something I would enjoy doing. And that's mainly why I'm wanting to get into it.

It's nothing like a bow. Good rifle, rings, rail,scope, range finder, bags, etc... U talking 3k plus to get started. U also should have someone to spot and spotting gear . So let's say 5k in gear get u started ,then u need to check out long range forums , read every long range book u can find, maybe even go get some real training from a long range instructor . There's a reason we all telling u the same thing , it's not as easy as rang, click ,shoot,and hit...

Yes I understand what it takes, that was just an example I was using..I've got spoting scopes I've got bags I understand windages and elevation and MOA and all that fun stuff. I know what it takes. I'm here asking about caliber vs caliber. I've shot 1000 + yards before but it was on a computerized m82 so technically I don't count it. But yes I'm familiar with it being expensive, what all goes into it and all the small details in it.

Ok then I have made consistent hits out to 1280 with 308 , but never caliber gona do much but pencil threw cause lack of bullet energy transfer . So go big or go home if your stuck on hunting long range. So 300win mag 200gr or bigger bullet . Or even bigger caliber there's your answer if thats all u want. Lol it not gona matter if u can't hit it anyways.lol

Hogs are fine at 500 yards, hell if you think you can hit them at 1000 go for it. They're a nuisance animal that costs millions of dollars in damage every year so I don't see the big deal about it. If you cripple one then he'll die and if you don't get to him something else will eat him. Circle of life stuff.
And Dan it has been stated many times from several reputable long range shooters and on shooting forums that the barrels on 6.5s need replacing every 1500-2000 rounds. And it's not so much the cost of it is the problem but just the hassle of getting it changed out. Cause you know if you start shooting long range you burn through bullets a lot quicker than normal. Either way you go you've got a good gun so flip a coin if all else fails and you can't decide

Tell u what don't like my advice don't read it. Sorry for wasting my time to help u. Good luck , may your aim be true, and bullets fly straight .

Heavy bullets aren't nonsense, but are definitely not necessary either. 155gr is an excellent hunting bullet size out of a 308 and 300wsm.

LOL, I prefer to stay 150 to 175 grain, but I also don't have the collection of shit I used to anymore. After my first deployment overseas in 2004, I had an Accuracy International 308, Barrett .50, and another that was custom milled and everything! that was my top 3, after 6 months of being home I had over 100 pistols and rifles, got out of that shit real quick and am now down to less than 30. lol to each their own.

Download the JBM ballistics app if you have a smartphone.
You can compare factory and hand loads.
Very little difference in the 6.5 and the 308 ballisticly speaking.
The 308 is easier all around (it's proven and has a huge selection of ammo)and will have more energy for hunting.
As far as the ruger goes I'm not convinced they are a precision rifle yet.
I like savage and the Remington 700.

My 700 shot .4 moa out of the box.