The saying, “Never give a sucker an even break,” is most commonly attributed to the comic actor, W.C. Fields. Confidence men sometimes call a sucker a “mark” – the target of a scheme to defraud or deceive.
Some people want something for nothing. Others are into shortcuts. People who want to get rich quick or who want things for “free” often find that they have been cheated or defrauded in one way or another.
Legitimate businesses “create demand” for “new and improved” products by convincing consumers that they need them. They convince people they will be “in with the in crowd,” or one of the elite, if they buy the very latest version of smart phone or computerized gaming device. It all boils down to the line Danny DiVito’s character says in the movie Romancing the Stone, “He made ya think ya need it – ya sap.”
Now let’s look at the latest rifle cartridge du jour … the 6.5 Creedmore (aka 6.5mm Creedmore or 6.5x48mm); made available commercially by Hornady in 2007. It was developed for long range target shooting, but it has also become a popular hunting cartridge.
The 6.5mm bullet has excellent ballistic characteristics that result in flat trajectories and good retention of velocity and impact energy, especially at long distances. Its wind resistance is better than some other bullets as well. To spare you the details of sectional density and ballistics coefficient, 6.5mm is streamlined.
There! Fundamental fairness has been served. Now we can get to the meat of the matter. The fact is that before the 6.5 Creedmore was introduced, rifles had already been chambered for at least ten 6.5mm cartridges that I know of, and there are probably more. Why then do we need another one?
Most hunters need one or two versatile big game rifles that they can use on deer or antelope, but can also dependably and humanely kill larger animals like elk and moose; using heavier loads. There’s already a plethora of calibers that will do the job, and there is no need, in my opinion, to add more. Examples include the 270 Winchester, 280 Remington, 280 Ackley Improved, 30-06 Springfield, and 7mm Remington Magnum. In a cartridge with a shorter case, you can choose a 308 Winchester or pick from a raft of Winchester Short Magnums.
If the hunter might have an opportunity to hunt large bears or other dangerous game, they should consider the 300 Winchester Magnum. Forgive me if I left out your favorite.
When I sold guns in retail stores, customers would ask for a recommendation about which caliber rifle to buy. If there was a possibility that they might hunt larger big game animals, I would tell them to buy the most powerful rifle that they could shoot accurately. You see, the more powerful the rifle the harder it kicks, which makes it more difficult to shoot well. The 300 Win Mag has over 10 ft. lbs. of recoil per square inch more (recoil) than a 270 Winchester or 280 Remington. If you can’t deal with that it is no disgrace, but you might want to consider a 7mm Remington Magnum, 280 Ackley Improved, or a 30-06 Springfield over the 300 Win Mag. I don’t care how macho you want your friends to think you are, even seasoned hunters have a hard time shooting 20 rounds of 300 Winchester Magnums accurately at one continuous sitting. True, the 300 Win Mag is a favorite among our military snipers, but they use heavier rifles that absorb some of the recoil. Trust me, if you aren’t used to it you won’t like carrying a heavy sniper-type rifle all day, every day for seven days in the heat, cold, rain, or snow while looking for an elk. But, I digress.
A careful reading of a good rifle ballistics chart (available for free online) will show you that the 6.5 Creedmore is not as powerful as most of the standard big game cartridges listed above. Further, some of the streamlined, long-distance projectiles in 6.5mm do not expand dependably after hitting an animal. Good expansion is extremely important to clean kills and the ethical take of big game animals. The Creedmore is okay for deer and antelope, but most of the proven, standard cartridges listed above are better. I strongly urge that the 6.5 Creedmore not be used to take game larger than deer.
When a new cartridge goes on the market, all the gun writers for the hunting and shooting magazines get onboard. Articles are written extolling the virtues of the latest offering. There are always a few dissenters, but they are usually drowned out by the shouts of those in favor. On TV, the outdoor programs allow us to see for ourselves how accurate the new cartridges are. At the sporting goods store, the salespeople recommend 6.5 Creedmore; or better yet its more muscular younger brother the 6.5 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge). (If you check it out, you may find they have more Creedmores in stock than anything else.) 🙈🙉🙊
Cool, but is it best practice to use the 6.5 Creedmore on big game? It makes it easier to hit targets accurately at longer ranges, but that must not become a shortcut used instead of the largest factor affecting marksmanship – practice, practice, and more practice. It is not enough to sight in your hunting rifle at 1.5 inches above the bullseye at 100 yards and expect your shots to strike the target dead center at 200 yards … or about 7 inches low at 300 yards. To be an ethical hunter you must know where your bullets will impact at those ranges. Are you a good enough shot to dependably group your rounds in a 6-inch circle at 300 yards? There is no way to tell unless you set up targets at those ranges and shoot at them.
Modern, bolt action hunting rifles are more intrinsically accurate than they used to be. They have better stocks, triggers, scopes, barrels, and bedding systems. They can give you an edge, but there are no shortcuts to good marksmanship.
Accurate shooting is a skill that goes away unless it is maintained by regular practice. In my opinion, most American hunters do not practice enough to be able to shoot even the most accurate rifle/cartridge combination well enough to cover a 5 shot group with a silver dollar at 200 yards. No rifle or cartridge can compensate for that, and it is, therefore, not ethical for most hunters to attempt to shoot a big game animal at distances over 300 yards. Consequently, manufacturers must not create the illusion that their products alone can enable hunters to do that. Good shot placement is as important, or more so, than anything else in the humane take of big game, and there is a lot more to it than buying the latest rifles and cartridges on the market.
There is nobody who is a stronger supporter of the Second Amendment, hunting, shooting sports, and the firearms industry than I am. I am not against change or innovation. But, the “new” also really does need to be “improved.”
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said
faster horses.”
(Henry Ford, 1911)
So, why do they do it? The simple answer is that manufacturers want to sell every hunter one more gun. The 6.5 Creedmore is no different than the latest model of the iPhone. In my opinion, all it is really good for is punching holes in paper targets at 1,000 yards.
