6mm Creedmore Useage??

MARKZERO

Member
Short and sweet, anyone using the 6mm creed as a primary coyote rifle, and if so, for how long and how many rounds??
THANKS,
MARK ZERO
 
I dont have a 6mm Creed but I do shoot a .243. Figured I'd comment since you weren't getting much feedback. Been shooting it for a few years and it probably has 400-500 rounds through it. I figure the barrel is probably about half done with the prime of its life? May go another 1000 rounds, but at this point I have several loads dialed in and it's going to last me probably about 5 more years. I'd expect a 6 creed to last at least as long but probably a bit longer.
 
I think longevity of a barrel is going to depend on how its taken care of. Hot loads, over heating and abuse will surely take a toll on a barrel. One guy may get a couple of thousand rounds through his barrel and the next guy maybe only 600. Generally speaking not necessarily the 6 CM. A rifle that sees a couple hundred rounds a day on a PD field may not live near as long as the same type rifle used to hunt coyotes and punch a little paper.
 
Thanks for your reply, I figured not to many predator hunters were on this caliber and the replies prove my theory. The hard predator hunters use the standard calibers, nothing fancy, 22-250.223,220, 243,,,etc. I use my 22-250 the most,223 second. The heavy bullet weight on the creed seems to much for what I do, however, I liked the ballistics ....Thanks again to desertcj and pyscodog for your time.
MARK ZERO
 
I'm working on a 243 right now. Nothing fancy at all. It shoots 80 grain bullets really well. I don't kill enough coyotes to worry about hides and figure if a hog comes into the picture, the 80 grain bullet will be enough to stop him too. I have a 223 and a 22-250AI and like both of them as well. But I figure the CM's have and do take their fair share of coyotes as well and used as a coyote rifle the life of the barrel should be pretty long. I doubt the CM's are any harder on a barrel than a 243.
 
6mm C will hammer coyotes, I put it in the same bracket as the 243 but not quite 25-06 level. Any of the 3 will provide you a long range hammer for predator calling when a far shot or windy conditions are present. Barrel life kinda depends on how you treat it, don't heat it up bad and don't shoot high volumes of max loads in it and I bet you will get a couple thousands rounds out of it. Even after that the rifle may go from shooting your pet load at under a 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch.......you may be able to live with that just fine for a few more years if not more. I didn't really jump into the Creedmor rounds but they are great cartridges. I always tell people that if I wasn't interested in pelts and just needed to hammer coyotes off a property or ranch for serious numbers control I would shoot my 243 or my 25-06, 6mmC would be no different.
 
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I've had a 6mm Creedmoor for a year now. I agree that it is basically a 243 win. The only advantage a 6mm Creedmoor has over a 243 is that it is designed for longer bullets like the 115gr bergers or Hornady ELDX. I was intending to buy a 243 a year ago but I bought the 6mm Creedmoor because I was able to get a good deal on it and I already have a 6.5 Creedmoor and load my own ammo, so brass should never be a problem. I would still recommend a 243 for varmint hunting over a 6mm Creemoor because the design of the 243 is for shorter bullets which is what you will be using for varmints anyway. The 243 win also has a better selection of factory ammo available. The 6mm Creedmoor and 243 win mag are so similar that they both should have very similar barrel life. I have about 300 rounds out of my 6mm Creedmoor and should get at least 1000 more rounds, possible 2000 rounds before I see any issues with accuracy.
I took my 6mm Creedmoor with me for the first time calling coyotes Friday because it was windy and the larger 80 gr 243 bullets don't get pushed by the wind as much as 40 gr bullets from my 223 or 55 gr bullets from my 22-250. The 6mm was nice to have because I had one coyote "wind me" and was leaving but stopped at 300 yards and gave me a broad side shot with a 20+ mph wind at 45 degrees. Coyote dropped in his tracks and I didn't have any fur damage. I would have probably still killed him with my 223 but I would have had to hold more for wind and the 80 gr bullet has more than 3 times the energy at 300 yards as my 40 gr bullet. Beyond 200 yards I feel my 223 with a 40 gr bullet starts to lack terminal energy to give me confidence it will consistently provide quick kills on coyotes.
The 6mm Creedmoor is a good gun for windy days or longer shots but I don't think it will be my primary rifle used while calling coyotes. I like the 223 because the recoil is lighter so I can watch them drop in the scope and it has proven very effective at dropping coyotes in their tracks without much risk for fur damage. The coyote I shot Friday had only a 243 entrance hole and no exit hole but I'm expecting it to make a mess of some coyote hides. If the 6mm was my only coyote rifle I would consider 55 gr bullets which would make it similar to a 22-250.
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I just recently got a 6creed and though it is mainly for ringing steel I have been playing with it for a mid-long range coyote gun. So far the 105bthp from Hornady have left me less than impressed with it as a fur gun. I can show you a pic of 5 that I shot if you would like but it's not pretty.
I just recently worked up a load for 107matchkings that I will try on fur and if they still make a mess I will use it only for those long 500+ yard pokes at one of the baits.
 
Originally Posted By: YotarunnerI just recently got a 6creed and though it is mainly for ringing steel I have been playing with it for a mid-long range coyote gun. So far the 105bthp from Hornady have left me less than impressed with it as a fur gun. I can show you a pic of 5 that I shot if you would like but it's not pretty.
I just recently worked up a load for 107matchkings that I will try on fur and if they still make a mess I will use it only for those long 500+ yard pokes at one of the baits.

I'm guessing that you are getting exit wounds? I shot an antelope with the 105gr hpbt last year and it pin holed in/no exit. Quite a bit larger animal than a coyote though.
 
Originally Posted By: desertcjOriginally Posted By: YotarunnerI just recently got a 6creed and though it is mainly for ringing steel I have been playing with it for a mid-long range coyote gun. So far the 105bthp from Hornady have left me less than impressed with it as a fur gun. I can show you a pic of 5 that I shot if you would like but it's not pretty.
I just recently worked up a load for 107matchkings that I will try on fur and if they still make a mess I will use it only for those long 500+ yard pokes at one of the baits.

I'm guessing that you are getting exit wounds? I shot an antelope with the 105gr hpbt last year and it pin holed in/no exit. Quite a bit larger animal than a coyote though.

Long story short I seem to be turning the coyotes inside to the outside. We skinned one of the better ones and the hole is the size of my palm
 
Originally Posted By: desertcjYeah, 55gr bullets from a .243 are death on coyotes. My concern is what they are going to do to fox!

I would think it won't be pretty.
 
I don't have many bodies on it yet, but I just switched to a Q "The Fix" in 6mm Creedmoor as my primary predator rifle. Only taken one fox and one coyote thus far and both where with the factory 108gr ELD-M load. Both exited of course but surprisingly neither of them blew up bad, a little bigger than 1/4 size exits which I believe is just dump luck because I've seen the destruction that these bullets do. I only used them because it's just what I had when I bought the rifle. I developed my load with the new Barnes 95gr LRX yesterday and the load I settled on is 3090fps average at the muzzle and I expect it to pick up some velocity once the barrel breaks in and speeds up and be well over 3100fps. Barnes tech support says that this bullet will expand down to 1700fps and I've used the 80gr TTSX in 243 with excellent results so I expect the same. They're always caliber size in and nickel size out at worst unless you catch a rib and then you might get a quarter.

I've shot a lot of coyotes with fast twist 243's which for all intents and purposes is the same as far as terminal ballistics go. They both achieve equal velocities with the same bullets, the difference is standard twist rates used in most rifles which directly relates to what factory ammo is produced. Yes there are a few niche 243 rifles with 8 twist but most are 10 and some are 9 whereas the factory 6 Creeds are all 7 or 8 and can handle the longer heavier bullets. 243 was always the same thing for me, everything but the Barnes 80gr TTSX I'd load was either very destructive or inconsistent. Lighter bullets would often splash on the entrance and the heavier bullets I'd run (my Berger 105 Hybrid match load mostly) would usually leave nasty exits. I'm talking blow the entire side out especially if it's within 200 yards, even beyond 200 yards most of the time there would be no stitching up the destruction done.

As far as barrel life, I think it's reasonable to expect 2000 minimum for hunting but 2500 is probably more realistic. 6 Creed is a prominent PRS cartridge and the guys running it are running nuclear loads most of the time and the average stage we crank out 10 rounds in a 90 second time limit, and there's usually 2-3 in a match that are 12-14 rounds in the same time. That's a lot of heat on a barrel and most guys are seeing 1500 rounds on average on 6mm Creeds and other fast 6mm's launching 105-115gr bullets just below the 3200fps speed limit. The accuracy requirements are much different for match shooters too, when that barrel is pulled when it's "done" it still has a ton of life left it it, but match barrels are swapped once they start dropping off velocity in even the least bit, if it loses 30fps in the course of 200 rounds then it's done as far as serious competition shooters are concerned and many will use them still for training or hunting because that barrel is still going to be just as accurate as it always was, it's just dropping velocity from a torched throat which means you have to track your dope throughout the weekend of a match and you may get a random flyer from time to time.

PRS barrel life data is probably the best you're going to get though because thats the only group consistently burning barrels out enough to give an accurate suggestion of barrel life and PRS is really the worst case scenario for barrel wear.
 
Originally Posted By: Yotarunner
I just recently worked up a load for 107matchkings that I will try on fur and if they still make a mess I will use it only for those long 500+ yard pokes at one of the baits.

If they're the newer pointed ones they'll just pencil through unless you're very close (well within 100 yards) or you hit a a good bone. 115DTACS run the same way since they're essentially just a heavy SMK (Sierra makes them and they're pointed too). Usually just clean in and out. I got runners most of the time unless it was a quartering shoulder shot and there was enough bone fragment being pushed in to wreck the vitals.

They should be fur friendly 90% of the time though. I just don't like them because they run and they don't bleed much from a 1/4" hole.
 
2000-2500rnds in a 6 Creed is just silliness. I ran 1400rnds out of my 6creed this summer, running a full 2.7grn below max, and the barrel was really done at about 1100. I’m losing 15fps per 100rnds at this point, and have fallen more than 250fps on these loads vs. new. I started losing speed at 800rnds and my groups started creeping larger and larger, and it took a fast turn at 1100. At 1400, I’m flogging a dead horse.

Love the round, killed my buck Monday morning with it.
 
I’m on my 3rd 6CM, I’ll never not have one. Currently shooting one in a Desert Tech, 105gr Berger, 26” Benchmark barrel, @ 3150ish. Rifle weights 20lbs but I don’t walk far. Farthest kill 485, closest 200. Worst fur damage was maybe a little larger than a 50 cent piece on the exit. If you hit bone it’s going to be brutal.

I live out west and space is wide open, I wouldn’t recommend this setup for tight places.
 
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