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Compared: Hornady's 6.5mm Creedmoor
and the 6.5mm-284 Norma
for F-Class Shooting
By Dr. Jim Clary
When I read the announcement that Hornady had introduced commercial match grade loads for
the 6.5mm Creedmoor, I became very interested. Like Chuck Hawks, I have never understood why so many in the American
media (as well as hunters) have virtually ignored the virtues of the
6.5mm. It is a great hunting bullet and
superb for competition, as evidenced by the success of the 6.5mm-284 Norma. My
purpose here is to compare the ballistics of the 6.5mm Creedmoor to the 6.5mm-284
Norma. The latter is the most popular
cartridge used in F-Class Open competition. I hope to generate an honest
discussion among shooters and ask some critical questions based upon the data
to determine if the Creedmoor had potential to be a viable alternative.
Because
readers here are located across the globe, I have included ballistics for
elevations from sea level up to 6,000’. Select the elevation nearest your location to get an idea of how these
rounds will perform in your area. The
ballistics for each cartridge were generated by the Exbal NightForce Ballistic
program.
Ballistic Calculations at Sea Level
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6.5mm Creedmoor
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6.5mm Creedmoor
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6.5mm-284 Norma
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6.5mm-284 Norma
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Bullet Manufacturer
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Hornady
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Hornady
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Lapua
|
Sierra
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|
Bullet Weight
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120 gr A-Max
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140 gr A-Max
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139 gr Scenar
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142 gr MatchKing
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Ballistic Coefficient
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0.465
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0.550
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0.615
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0.595
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Velocity at 5,232’
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3020 fps
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2820 fps
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2956 fps
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2950 fps
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Sight in @ 200 yards
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600 yd vert adjust.
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10.50 MOA
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11.25 MOA
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9.75 MOA
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11.50 MOA
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800 yd vert adjust.
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18.00 MOA
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19.00 MOA
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16.25 MOA
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18.25 MOA
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1,000 yd vert adjust.
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27.75 MOA
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28.75 MOA
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24.00 MOA
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26.50 MOA
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10 mph crosswind
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600 yd wind adjust.
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4.25 MOA
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4.00 MOA
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3.25 MOA
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3.50 MOA
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800 yd wind adjust.
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6.25 MOA
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5.50 MOA
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4.50 MOA
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4.75 MOA
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1,000 yd wind adjust.
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8.50 MOA
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7.50 MOA
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6.00 MOA
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6.50 MOA
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Factory or Hand Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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Ballistic Calculations at 1,000’
Elevation
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6.5mm Creedmoor
|
6.5mm Creedmoor
|
6.5mm-284 Norma
|
6.5mm-284 Norma
|
|
Bullet Manufacturer
|
Hornady
|
Hornady
|
Lapua
|
Sierra
|
|
Bullet Weight
|
120 gr A-Max
|
140 gr A-Max
|
139 gr Scenar
|
142 gr MatchKing
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|
Ballistic Coefficient
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0.465
|
0.550
|
0.615
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0.595
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Velocity at 5,232’
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3020 fps
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2820 fps
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2956 fps
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2950 fps
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|
Sight in @ 200 yards
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600 yd vert adjust.
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10.25 MOA
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11.25 MOA
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9.75 MOA
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11.25 MOA
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800 yd vert adjust.
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17.50 MOA
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18.75 MOA
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16.00 MOA
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18.00 MOA
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1,000 yd vert adjust.
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26.75 MOA
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28.00 MOA
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23.50 MOA
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25.75 MOA
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10 mph crosswind
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600 yd wind adjust.
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4.0 MOA
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3.75 MOA
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3.00 MOA
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3.25 MOA
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800 yd wind adjust.
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6.00 MOA
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5.25 MOA
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4.25 MOA
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4.50 MOA
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1,000 yd wind adjust.
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8.00 MOA
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7.00 MOA
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5.75 MOA
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6.25 MOA
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Factory or Hand Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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Ballistic Calculations at 2,000’
Elevation
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6.5mm Creedmoor
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6.5mm Creedmoor
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6.5mm-284 Norma
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6.5mm-284 Norma
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|
Bullet Manufacturer
|
Hornady
|
Hornady
|
Lapua
|
Sierra
|
|
Bullet Weight
|
120 gr A-Max
|
140 gr A-Max
|
139 gr Scenar
|
142 gr MatchKing
|
|
Ballistic Coefficient
|
0.465
|
0.550
|
0.615
|
0.595
|
|
Velocity at 5,232’
|
3020 fps
|
2820 fps
|
2956 fps
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2950 fps
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|
Sight in @ 200 yards
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|
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600 yd vert adjust.
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10.00 MOA
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11.00 MOA
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9.50 MOA
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11.25 MOA
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800 yd vert adjust.
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17.25 MOA
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18.25 MOA
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15.75 MOA
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17.50 MOA
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1,000 yd vert adjust.
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26.00 MOA
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27.25 MOA
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23.00 MOA
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25.25 MOA
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10 mph crosswind
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600 yd wind adjust.
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4.00 MOA
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3.50 MOA
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3.00 MOA
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3.00 MOA
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800 yd wind adjust.
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5.50 MOA
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5.00 MOA
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4.00 MOA
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4.50 MOA
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1,000 yd wind adjust.
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7.50 MOA
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6.75 MOA
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5.50 MOA
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6.00 MOA
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Factory or Hand Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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Ballistic Calculations at 3,000’
Elevation
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6.5mm Creedmoor
|
6.5mm Creedmoor
|
6.5mm-284 Norma
|
6.5mm-284 Norma
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|
Bullet Manufacturer
|
Hornady
|
Hornady
|
Lapua
|
Sierra
|
|
Bullet Weight
|
120 gr A-Max
|
140 gr A-Max
|
139 gr Scenar
|
142 gr MatchKing
|
|
Ballistic Coefficient
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0.465
|
0.550
|
0.615
|
0.595
|
|
Velocity at 5,232’
|
3020 fps
|
2820 fps
|
2956 fps
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2950 fps
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|
Sight in @ 200 yards
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|
|
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600 yd vert adjust.
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10.00 MOA
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10.75 MOA
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9.50 MOA
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11.00 MOA
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800 yd vert adjust.
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16.75 MOA
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18.00 MOA
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15.50 MOA
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17.25 MOA
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1,000 yd vert adjust.
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25.25 MOA
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26.75 MOA
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22.50 MOA
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24.75 MOA
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10 mph crosswind
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600 yd wind adjust.
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3.75 MOA
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3.50 MOA
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2.75 MOA
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3.00 MOA
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800 yd wind adjust.
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5.25 MOA
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4.75 MOA
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4.00 MOA
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4.25 MOA
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1,000 yd wind adjust.
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7.25 MOA
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6.25 MOA
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5.25 MOA
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5.50 MOA
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Factory or Hand Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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Ballistic Calculations at 4,000’
Elevation
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6.5mm Creedmoor
|
6.5mm Creedmoor
|
6.5mm-284 Norma
|
6.5mm-284 Norma
|
|
Bullet Manufacturer
|
Hornady
|
Hornady
|
Lapua
|
Sierra
|
|
Bullet Weight
|
120 gr A-Max
|
140 gr A-Max
|
139 gr Scenar
|
142 gr MatchKing
|
|
Ballistic Coefficient
|
0.465
|
0.550
|
0.615
|
0.595
|
|
Velocity at 5,232’
|
3020 fps
|
2820 fps
|
2956 fps
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2950 fps
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|
Sight in @ 200 yards
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|
|
|
|
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600 yd vert adjust.
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9.75 MOA
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10.75 MOA
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9.25 MOA
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11.00 MOA
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800 yd vert adjust.
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16.50 MOA
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17.75 MOA
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15.25 MOA
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17.00 MOA
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1,000 yd vert adjust.
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24.75 MOA
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26.00 MOA
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22.25 MOA
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24.25 MOA
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10 mph crosswind
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600 yd wind adjust.
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3.50 MOA
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3.25 MOA
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2.75 MOA
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2.75 MOA
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800 yd wind adjust.
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5.00 MOA
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4.50 MOA
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3.75 MOA
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4.00 MOA
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1,000 yd wind adjust.
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6.75 MOA
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6.00 MOA
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5.00 MOA
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5.25 MOA
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Factory or Hand Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
|
Hornady Factory Match Load
|
F-Class Match Hand Load
|
F-Class Match Hand Load
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Ballistic Calculations at 5,000’
Elevation
|
|
6.5mm Creedmoor
|
6.5mm Creedmoor
|
6.5mm-284 Norma
|
6.5mm-284 Norma
|
|
Bullet Manufacturer
|
Hornady
|
Hornady
|
Lapua
|
Sierra
|
|
Bullet Weight
|
120 gr A-Max
|
140 gr A-Max
|
139 gr Scenar
|
142 gr MatchKing
|
|
Ballistic Coefficient
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0.465
|
0.550
|
0.615
|
0.595
|
|
Velocity at 5,232'
|
3020 fps
|
2820 fps
|
2956 fps
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2950 fps
|
|
Sight in @ 200 yards
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|
|
|
|
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600 yd vert adjust.
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9.50 MOA
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10.50 MOA
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9.25 MOA
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10.75 MOA
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800 yd vert adjust.
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16.25 MOA
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17.50 MOA
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15.00 MOA
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16.75 MOA
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1,000 yd vert adjust.
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24.00 MOA
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25.50 MOA
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21.75 MOA
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23.75 MOA
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10 mph crosswind
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|
|
|
|
|
600 yd wind adjust.
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3.50 MOA
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3.00 MOA
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2.50 MOA
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2.75 MOA
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800 yd wind adjust.
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4.75 MOA
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4.25 MOA
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3.50 MOA
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3.75 MOA
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1,000 yd wind adjust.
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6.50 MOA
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5.75 MOA
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4.75 MOA
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5.00 MOA
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Factory or Hand Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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Ballistic Calculations at 6,000’
Elevation
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6.5mm Creedmoor
|
6.mm5 Creedmoor
|
6.5mm-284 Norma
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6.5mm-284 Norma
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|
Bullet Manufacturer
|
Hornady
|
Hornady
|
Lapua
|
Sierra
|
|
Bullet Weight
|
120 gr A-Max
|
140 gr A-Max
|
139 gr Scenar
|
142 gr MatchKing
|
|
Ballistic Coefficient
|
0.465
|
0.550
|
0.615
|
0.595
|
|
Velocity at 5,232'
|
3020 fps
|
2820 fps
|
2956 fps
|
2950 fps
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|
Sight in @ 200 yards
|
|
|
|
|
|
600 yd vert adjust.
|
9.50 MOA
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10.50 MOA
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9.25 MOA
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10.75 MOA
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|
800 yd vert adjust.
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15.75 MOA
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17.25 MOA
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14.75 MOA
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16.50 MOA
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1,000 yd vert adjust.
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23.50 MOA
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25.00 MOA
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21.50 MOA
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23.50 MOA
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10 mph crosswind
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|
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|
|
600 yd wind adjust.
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3.25 MOA
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3.00 MOA
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2.50 MOA
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2.50 MOA
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800 yd wind adjust.
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4.50 MOA
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4.25 MOA
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3.50 MOA
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3.75 MOA
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1,000 yd wind adjust.
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6.25 MOA
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5.50 MOA
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4.50 MOA
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4.75 MOA
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Factory or Hand Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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Hornady Factory Match Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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F-Class Match Hand Load
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On the
surface, the Hornady 6.5mm Creedmoor rounds appear competitive to the 6.5mm-284
Norma, which is the preferred caliber in F-Class Open competitions (no offense
to those of you who use the 7mm or 300 WSM). However, when you look closely at the ballistics data, it is another
story.
120 grain 6.5mm Creedmoor
The vertical adjustment required
at 1,000 yards is comparable with the 6.5-284, but the required windage
adjustment in a 10 mph crosswind is 30% greater, which is not good. The velocity is very high which translates
into a very short barrel life. Hornady
was probably required to go with the 3,000+ fps velocity to compensate for the
poor ballistic coefficient of the 120 grain A-Max bullet
As an experiment, I substituted a muzzle velocity of 2,900 fps into the Exbal program. The objective was to determine if a lower
velocity (which would add to barrel life) would produce reasonable results. The calculated vertical adjustment at 1,000
yards was 30 MOA and the windage adjustment was
9.00 MOA. Both are totally unacceptable. The B.C. of 0.465 of the 120 grain A-Max
bullet is a real problem at lower velocities. As such, if a shooter decides to use this factory load, he’d best have an
extra barrel on order.
140 grain 6.5mm Creedmoor
This load holds promise, but with its 2,820 fps muzzle velocity, it is not
as good as any of the “standard” the 6.5mm-284 Norma loads. For the 6.5mm Creedmoor to be considered by
F-Class shooters it must be as good as or better than the 6.5mm-284 Norma at
1,000 yards, where virtually all F-Class competitions are won or lost. Unfortunately, it is not. Given the lower case capacity of the 6.5mm Creedmoor (~53 grains), compared to the 6.5mm x 284 Norma (~58 grains), it may not be possible to
increase the muzzle velocity to a competitive level.
Conclusion
My conclusion is that the 6.5mm Creedmoor is a satisfactory cartridge for
mid-range shooters who do not want to reload. However, it probably will not be competitive with the
6mm BR that most reloaders use in mid-range F-Class competitions.
The 6.5 Creedmoor has potential, but Hornady a lot of work to do
before it will be seriously considered by the top F-Class shooters
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