The 6.5 Creedmoor vs .308 Winchester

What’s the purpose of a rifle? In general, it’s a long-range option. It’s a stable platform that can throw a single projectile accurately across great distances. How far a great distance is varies a bit, but it’s the long-range shoulder-fired platform. When choosing a rifle, you must narrow how far and how accurate you want to be, and a big part of that is choosing the caliber. 

In 2025, there are more than a few different calibers available. They fall into different categories, but today, we are going to be looking at two of the most popular full-powered, short-action rifle rounds: the .308 Winchester and the 6.5 Creedmoor. The .308 Winchester is the old-school full-powered round that had the 6.5 Creedmoor nipping at its heels. 

The two rounds have a fair bit in common. Both are designed to function in a variety of firearms. Both can reach out well beyond 500 yards, and both rounds can do a solid job of taking down medium to medium-large game. Shooters would arguably be severed well by both, but which would serve you better?

The .308 Winchester History

The .308 Winchester is a baby boomer of a cartridge first designed in 1952. The US military was developing a series of cartridges for their next infantry rifle. The experiment started with the .300 Savage, but eventually, Frankford Arsenal used a trimmer .30-06 cartridge to develop the 51mm long case. 

This led to the 7.62×51 NATO. Winchester saw a market for the civilian cartridge and developed the .308, which has a higher pressure than the military round. The .308 Winchester became massively successful and remains so to this day. 

The 6.5 Creedmoor History

The 6.5 Creedmoor is a Gen Z kiddo that’s greatly impacted the world of short-action rifles. Hornady worked with Creedmoor Sports to develop the 6.5 Creedmoor in 2007. They used a .30 Thompson Case as its parent case, a .264 projectile. The 6.5mm projectile has long been popular for its long-range potential and ballistic coefficient. 

The 6.5 Creedmoor is one of the few rare rounds that’s grown massively popular in short periods of time. It excels at long-range shooting and has even. 

Accuracy and Ballistics 

Admittedly, accuracy is always going to come down to the shooter first, then the rifle, then the cartridge. When I say cartridge, I don’t just mean the caliber; the load, the case, and the projectile can also make a difference. 

You can get a cheap 6.5 Creedmoor round that a match-grade .308 will outshoot each day. Accuracy doesn’t always come down to just the caliber you’ve chosen, at least in most cases. There isn’t a clear winner in the accuracy department. There are just too many factors to consider. 

However, if we were to look at which cartridge has better ballistics regarding the time between exiting the barrel and hitting the target, we could examine which is easier to shoot accurately. Which caliber gives you the ability to hit targets consistently and with confidence? 

It’s the 6.5 Creedmoor. 

It’s not fair to say that the discovery of the 6.5’s excellent ballistic coefficient is new. It’s just that the industry and consumers largely ignored its potential. The ballistic coefficient is the round’s ability to overcome air resistance. Do you know the term high speed or low drag? Yeah, that’s a great way to describe the 6.5mm projectile. 

What does this all mean for you in terms of accuracy? The 6.5 Creedmoor flies straighter and is less prone to wind deflection, meaning it’s easier to shoot more accurately, especially at longer ranges. 

While the 6.5 Creedmoor can be more accurate at ranges and offers better flight ballistics, the .308 does have some advantages. The .308 can carry a heavier bullet. A heavier bullet hits with more energy at closer ranges, creating more penetration, more bone-breaking, and muscle-penetrating power. 

Range 

For a very long time, the .308 was the short-action round of choice for moderate to long-range engagements. It can easily reach 800 yards. Snipers have used the cartridge for a very long time, and it’s proven to be effective and efficient. However, the 6.5 Creedmoor and that great ballistic coefficient come into play once more. 

The Creedmoor design allows for a nice, long, and slender projectile with the right balance of weight and projectile diameter. Hornady’s own ballistic chart shows that the 6.5 Creedmoor can duplicate the trajectory of the .300 WM without the recoil, but it obviously doesn’t have the same energy as the .300 WM. 

The low drag means it can simply go further. To do a like-for-like comparison, we must factor in different bullet weights, barrel lengths, velocities, and zero distance. While the exact numbers vary, the 6.5 Creedmoor consistently demonstrates a flatter trajectory and less bullet drop than the .308 Winchester.

The less vertical adjustment you make, the easier it is to shoot at longer ranges, and the 6.5 Creedmoor wins. 

Recoil 

It almost seems like I’d knock the .308 Winchester over, but the 6.5 Creedmoor again takes the cake. Admittedly, the .308 Winchester isn’t a shoulder-thumping butt-kicking cartridge. The recoil of .308 Winchester feels mild. However, the 6.5 Creedmoor delivers noticeably less recoil. 

Bolt action rifles tend to have the most recoil from these two cartridges, and in a bolt gun, the 6.5 Creedmoor delivers very light recoil. Impressively light for a full-powered rifle round. In an AR-10 platform, the 6.5 Creedmoor hardly hits your shoulder. It’s a soft shooter, for sure. 

Cost 

Here’s the rub. The .308 Winchester can shoot 7.62×51 NATO rounds, giving you a cheaper full metal jacket ammo source. This makes it a little cheaper to shoot the .308 Winchester. The 6.5 Creedmoor is catching up, and the price per case for 500 rounds varies by about 50 dollars. 

If we compare expensive, match-grade, or hunting cartridges, there isn’t a major difference in price. The rounds will all cost more than a dollar and deliver premium performance. 

Rifle Selection 

Ultimately, the .308’s age gives it more rifles and often a better selection of older, more affordable rifles. The 6.5 Creedmoor has become very popular, and there are options in nearly every category. It’s a bit of a wash, but ultimately, the .308 has a greater rifle selection and gets the nod. 

It’s easy to find either caliber in semi-autos, bolt actions, single shots, etc. 

Real World Applications

It will do if you are simply looking for a decent hunting cartridge. The benefits of the 6.5 Creedmoor don’t make much of a difference while hunting. Hunters aren’t taking long-range shots at the game, and most hunting will be done within 300 yards. Within 300 yards, the .308 arguably has an energy advantage. 

Bigger, heavier rifles round shit harder, penetrate deeper, expand more, and ultimately are more capable of taking larger game. Shot placement is everything, but if your shot placement has a little human error, the bigger, harder-hitting round can help cover that. The .308 Winchester works exceptionally well for stopping most four-legged critters. 

For long-range shooting, for total accuracy, and similar roles, the 6.5 Creedmoor takes the cake. If you want to hit targets at longer ranges, fire up the Creedmoor and embrace the new hotness.