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6.5 Creedmoor: New Hunting Rifle Choices??

7K views 84 replies 17 participants last post by  Loggy 
#1 ·
Not sayin I'm in the market :smile2: but what if I were looking for a 6.5 Creedmoor in a bolt action price range $1,000 or less? What rifles would be amongst your favorite candidates and why??? Thanks!!
 
#3 ·
Tika T3 is hard to beat. A nice rifle that can be had for about $700....even better if you're lucky. I bought a .270 Win at Gander Outdoors in October,with sale price and 10% off coupon I ended up paying $450. I didn't need it, but the price was soooo good I couldn't pass. Probably be hard to find one at that price, but keep an eye open, you might. I wanted a 6.5, which is offered in the T3, but the store didn't have it in stock, so I settled on the .270.

My reason would be overall quality. A well built rifle for the price. I just feel it's a great rifle for the price.

But I'm still partial to my older 700s .:biggrin:
 
#9 ·
Tika T3 is hard to beat. A nice rifle that can be had for about $700....even better if you're lucky. I bought a .270 Win at Gander Outdoors in October,with sale price and 10% off coupon I ended up paying $450. I didn't need it, but the price was soooo good I couldn't pass. Probably be hard to find one at that price, but keep an eye open, you might. I wanted a 6.5, which is offered in the T3, but the store didn't have it in stock, so I settled on the .270.

My reason would be overall quality. A well built rifle for the price. I just feel it's a great rifle for the price.

But I'm still partial to my older 700s .
It's Tikka.
 
#4 ·
I bought my beloved CZ 550FS 6.5 Swede in 2009 and each year it's becoming increasingly more difficult to find factory ammo loaded up to optimum Swede performance levels. Right now I'm using factory Norma PH 156 grain Oryx ammo(2,560 Muzzle FPS) and love it...but currently try to find it....almost impossible??? Bought a couple boxes from Europtics before hunting season but been on backorder since then. Midway, MidSouth, Brownells, Graffs, Natchez, Cheaper than Dirt etc etc all out of stock. I was shooting factory Hornady Superformance 140 grain SST/Interlocks(2,735 Muzzle FPS) and liked their performance on deer but leaned towards the Norma 156 Oryx bonded ammo for bear. Like staying with one bullet for both. I was into reloading years back(got rid of all eqt, chrony etc) and at this point happy to stay with premium factory fodder. Price no concern as I'm not a high volume cf shooter. I'm in love with the 6.5 caliber so looking down the road thinking Creed....plus mebbie doing a lil dreaming too! :smile2:
 
#15 · (Edited)
Well, today I made a mistake by stopping by my ole Browning dealer(a Platinum Dealer)this evening after babysitting the 3 Grandkids. He happens to be 1/2 mile from my Daughter's house where I keep the kido's which ain't good!!:smile2: Well, looks like I'm an owner of a Browning X-Bolt Stalker 6.5 Creedmoor(pic below)!! His price was actually lower than any of the online dealer prices I've found. I previously bought my Browning Gold Stalker Semi 3.5" 12 ga plus my 9MM Browning Hi-Power from him. Great to give a local dealer my business.

Joe's sites is not real up to date but least contact info etc is there: https://www.artisticedges.com/shopping/gun-shop-artistic-edges/

 
#19 ·
Well, today I made a mistake by stopping by my ole Browning dealer(a Platinum Dealer)this evening after babysitting the 3 Grandkids. He happens to be 1/2 mile from my Daughter's house where I keep the kido's which ain't good!!
Well, looks like I'm an owner of a Browning X-Bolt Stalker 6.5 Creedmoor(pic below)!! His price was actually lower than any of the online dealer prices I've found. I previously bought my Browning Gold Stalker Semi 3.5" 12 ga plus my 9MM Browning Hi-Power from him. Great to give a local dealer my business.

Joe's sites is not real up to date but least contact info etc is there: https://www.artisticedges.com/shopping/gun-shop-artistic-edges/

Excellent. The Browning was the best choice.
 
#21 ·
I have the X-Bolt walnut hunter in 375 H&H and the A-Bolt III in 7mm mag. They are both outstanding rifles. I know on the other site they were saying the AB3 is a "budget" gun but considering they run around $600 I don't know whose budget we're talking about?
Remington 783's and Ruger Americans are budget rifles. The AB3 is twice the gun they are. And the X-Bolt is the creme de la creme.
And btw, I left the other site because those guys argue with everything I say.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Good choice, that's the exact same rifle I have in the 6.5 Creedmoor, there is so much to like about the rifle besides it being a tack driver, the palm swell on the pistol grip is one of my favorites and the soft feel to the stock makes for a solid grip and when you shoulder it there is no moving your head to focus on the scope like some other rifles I have. I've found the lighter 120 grn. Sierra Pro Hunter bullets and 123 grn. Hornady SST bullets shoot most accurate and work best on deer. Good luck with your new rifle.
 
#33 ·
Now playing musical chairs with my scopes. Moving a Leupold Vari-X III 3.5X10 from my TC ProHunter ML to Browning X-Bolt, moving a Leupold VX-II 2-7 from my Custom White Rifle Super 91 ML .504 to TC ProHunter ML. Sooooo.....my White Rifles Super 91 .504 Caliber is left standing & now needs a scope!! Sorta thought there would be someone left standing when the music finally stopped!! lol
 
#41 ·
New rifles and scopes, what a beautiful dilemma to have.
Doesn't seem to be a blessing for me. This 340 Weatherby came with a 6-24x scope which seems excessive to me. Combine that with the fact that it has poor eye relief and weighs too much and it has to go. But I cant think of any rifle I want to switch with. I don't want a 6-24 power on anything else either. It's too heavy for my already too heavy 7mm mag.
 
#49 ·
You can put a great looking, tack driving 6.5 Creedmoor rig together with very little effort and save a bunch of cash, too. Get a Ruger American for $385, take it home and remove the plastic stock. Replace it with a Boyd’s laminated stock for $190. Next, put a Weaver 2-10X scope on top for $160. You’re good to go with a durable, economical outfit that will also perform at longer ranges.
 
#50 ·
I know the original Ruger Americans had a cheap plastic bolt shroud plus plastic trigger guard. Guess they should be upgraded too which tacks on another $100 plus. Umm...now your within $4.00 at what I have in my Browning X-bolt. Possibly a barrel upgrade/bedding job too to make a reasonable comparison to the X-Bolts frt & rear custom glass bedded action(vs pillar) plus a recessed muzzle crown on it's hand chambered barrel? When your done bringing a Ruger American up a Browning comparable platform....likely you could buy 2 Brownings.
 
#58 ·
I went through a stage where all I bought were Browning A-bolts.I had a 30-06,.308,300 wsm,7mm-08 and .223.All were either stainless stalkers or composite stalkers.They all functioned fine and shot good,except the 7mm-08.I just chalked that one up to being a lemon.I liked them and they would probably still be my rifle of choice but the much lighter weight of the Kimber's suits my style of hunting better.I've read a bunch of bad press on the Kimber's over the years but never experienced it myself.Two of mine were bought about 15 years ago,right around the time my son was born and the last three were bought in the past 5 years.Make no mistake about it,a Browning is never a bad choice.I've also read about Kimber's poor customer service.I only had to use it once.My son's .308 occasionally would fail to feed another round from the magazine.I called them and they sent me a new follower spring.Problem solved.My kimbers all shoot 1 moa or better.I won't own a rifle that doesn't.My 300 wsm is a legitimate 1 ragged hole at 100 yards rifle.The only issue is,they have pencil thin barrels that heat up fast but that doesn't impact in the field accuracy.
 
#59 ·
Owned a A-Bolt SS Stalker 7MM Mag about 15 years ago & it was a tack driver but traded....my hunting needs changed plus too much firepower for my kinda hunting. Currently in Brownings have a Gold Hunter 12ga 3.5", Hi-Power 9mm, Dad's ole Belgium A-5ga 12 and my new X-Bolt. So far I'm very pleased.
 
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