6.5 vs 308 short range

[eric1911]

I am in SF Bay area, there is no nearby range that provides opportunities to shoot beyond 200 yards.
I am close to get a MPA308BA for a good price, but my original plan is to get a 6.5 version of it.
Will 6.5 creedmoor be easier to shoot one hole group than 308 within such short range?
If the answer is yes, I would like to wait for a 6.5 MPA rifle.
Otherwise I will go with .308 because of cost and I don't mind recoil.
Please share your thought

[Longgun308]

[p7m8jg]

There is no replacement for cubic displacement.

.30 cal beats .22. especially at short range.

[theLBC]

i don't think the high BC of 6.5 is going to make as much difference at 200 yards, but if it is windy, i suppose it would be measurable.

[mmlook]

MPA's use a Curtis axiom action.

you can always get a prefit barrel in pretty much any short action 308 bolt face caliber later.
i.e. 6.5cm, 6cm, 6.5x47, 6x47, 6xc, 243win, 260rem, etc..

dont lock yourself to 1 caliber on a bolt gun.

all it takes is a barrel swap to swap calibers.

[ar15barrels]

I am in SF Bay area, there is no nearby range that provides opportunities to shoot beyond 200 yards.
I am close to get a MPA308BA for a good price, but my original plan is to get a 6.5 version of it.
Will 6.5 creedmoor be easier to shoot one hole group than 308 within such short range?
If the answer is yes, I would like to wait for a 6.5 MPA rifle.
Otherwise I will go with .308 because of cost and I don't mind recoil.
Please share your thought

For best accuracy, do a 6BR, 223 or something similar.
Lower recoil makes them more comfortable to shoot small groups and 200yds is not far enough to need high SD to buck wind.

[eric1911]

Appreciate your comments!

[d.f.anonymous]

I don’t even see how there’s not one comment explaining how this doesn’t matter. To a large degree, even recoil doesn’t matter. The cartridge isn’t “inherently accurate” just for being one or the other. Good technique and fundamentals is key. Low SD and low ES help. Making sure you’re scope is level and everything is torqued down is a must. Speaking of level, a level on the scope helps as well. Cartridge....eh.

Wind, which I’m quite familiar with as I’ve been helping with a study on how to calculate and implement wind shear at max ordinate into a ballistic solver. This will have mild affect at what you’re trying to do. The SD that he talking about above is section density, which is a part of BC, bullet coefficient. Bullet coefficient is more important in determining wind deflection vs SD as BC considers form factor of a bullet, but really, it doesn’t matter at 200. I couldn’t imagine if you used a .30 cal 175 gr Sierra match king it would drift much more than .2 mils @ 200y in 12 mph wind. Which would be like 1.44 inches. The BC does not deflect the wind as much as it maintains speed through reduction of arrow dynamic drag. So basically time of flight is reduced and it gets to where it’s going faster then a lower BC bullet, giving the wind less time to affect it as drastically.

[eric n]

How much do you plan to shoot? .308 has better barrel life.
There are better (efficient) options for 200 and closer.

[sigstroker]

As heavy as that gun is and with the muzzle brake there shouldn't be a lot of difference in felt recoil.

The barrel should specify what ammo it was throated for. If you can easily find that stuff you should be good to go.

edit: to clarify, MPA writes on top of the barrel, the factory ammo the barrel was throated for. .308's are likely some flavor of Federal Gold Medal Match.

[1859sharps]

I am in SF Bay area, there is no nearby range that provides opportunities to shoot beyond 200 yards.
I am close to get a MPA308BA for a good price, but my original plan is to get a 6.5 version of it.
Will 6.5 creedmoor be easier to shoot one hole group than 308 within such short range?
If the answer is yes, I would like to wait for a 6.5 MPA rifle.
Otherwise I will go with .308 because of cost and I don't mind recoil.
Please share your thought

lots of "it depends" in your question.

First and foremost..."I want..". If you truly want to play with 6.5 creedmoor, by all means get that.

Given the range you say you will shoot...IF you have an investment in 308 (reloading equipment, another 308 rifle so ammunition laying around, reloading components) financially speaking and I was in your shoes, I would make sense for me to keep using 308. performance wise, I have not yet seen data or arguments that suggest there is an overwhelming advantage to 6.5 at 200 yards.

Then....there is ar15barrels comment about maybe giving 6mmbr and .223 some consideration. I love my 308s, and the "recoil" of a 308 is no where near as bad as some would have you believe....BUT at 200 yards... 223 would be a serious consideration for me...so much so...I bought a 223 bolt rifle for that distance years ago. low cost to shoot, more than handles wind at that distance, easy to reload for. basically an adult 22. has enough recoil to give you much more of a challenge than 22 lr, yet gentle enough you can shoot all day comfortably.

[mtenenhaus]

i've never yet had the opportunity to try 6BR. That said i certainly find the 6.5 calibers so much more pleasant to shoot as compared to the 308. I am very recoil intolerant, not sure why but i am.

at 200 yards i absolutely love the 222 remington (i bet a 223 would be great as well). it's so accurate and easy to shoot, a real pleasure.

[yacko]

Low SD and low ES help. . Cartridge....eh.

.

That's funny... Recoil matters depending on experience and health conditions, and a persons ability to learn and improve because of recoil.

But yeah.... make sure that scope is totally perfectly level because if it's only like -really close- to level ..... It's gonna be ALL OVER THE PLACE AT 200 YARDS! Like.. off by about .6 inches!!!!! Or less.

Low SD and ED "help".....

Not the first time I've seen you give very strange advice...

But please do go on about 'windsheer' and blah blah- because it's like totally interesting... and applies to this OP at 200 yards when he decides to shoot in the middle of a tornado.

[Fjold]

Recoil's a b*****

[d.f.anonymous]

That's funny... Recoil matters depending on experience and health conditions, and a persons ability to learn and improve because of recoil.

But yeah.... make sure that scope is totally perfectly level because if it's only like -really close- to level ..... It's gonna be ALL OVER THE PLACE AT 200 YARDS! Like.. off by about .6 inches!!!!! Or less.

Low SD and ED "help".....

Not the first time I've seen you give very strange advice...

But please do go on about 'windsheer' and blah blah- because it's like totally interesting... and applies to this OP at 200 yards when he decides to shoot in the middle of a tornado.