Best 6.5mm Creedmoor Ammo
Every load we price, sorted by cost per round delivered to your state
We track 6 6.5mm Creedmoor loads from 3 dealers. The cheapest delivered to AR, shipping included, is Winchester USA 6.5mm Creedmoor 125gr Open Tip Range Ammo at $1.01 a round. By use: Target & Range from $1.01, Hunting from $1.23, and Competition from $2.13.
The 6.5 Creedmoor is a short-action target and hunting cartridge that Hornady designed in 2007 from the .30 Thompson Center case. It fires .264" bullets, mostly 120 to 143 grains at about 2,650 to 2,950 fps, and it runs in bolt guns and AR-10 pattern rifles. It was designed around long, high-BC bullets, so it drifts less in wind than a .308 and kicks less.
For practice and steel, use the 120 to 125 grain open-tip range loads. For matches, pick the 140 grain ELD Match. For deer, use a hunting bullet: the 129 grain InterLock or SST for whitetails, the 143 grain ELD-X for longer shots on bigger animals. Open-tip match bullets are not built to expand reliably on game. Fire only 6.5 Creedmoor in it; the 6.5 PRC, 6.5 Grendel and .260 Remington share the bullet diameter but are different cases.
All 6.5mm Creedmoor Loads
Compare ballistics and prices across 6 products
| PRODUCT ↕ | GRAIN ↕ | VELOCITY ↕ | ENERGY ↕ | BC ↕ | USE CASE ↕ | BEST PRICE ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Federal American Eagle 6.5mm Creedmoor 120gr OTM Ammo
120gr
• 2900 fps
• Target & Range
|
120gr | 2900 | 2241 | .421 | Target & Range | $1.23/rd |
|
Hornady 6.5mm Creedmoor 140gr ELD Match Ammo
140gr
• 2710 fps
• Competition
|
140gr | 2710 | 2283 | .326 | Competition | $2.13/rd |
|
Hornady American Whitetail 6.5mm Creedmoor 129gr InterLock Ammo
129gr
• 2820 fps
• Hunting
|
129gr | 2820 | 2277 | .445 | Hunting | $1.23/rd |
|
Hornady Precision Hunter 6.5mm Creedmoor 143gr ELD-X Ammo
143gr
• 2700 fps
• Hunting
|
143gr | 2700 | 2315 | .625 | Hunting | $2.02/rd |
|
Hornady Superformance 6.5mm Creedmoor 129gr SST Ammo
129gr
• 2950 fps
• Hunting
|
129gr | 2950 | 2493 | .485 | Hunting | $1.89/rd |
|
Winchester USA 6.5mm Creedmoor 125gr Open Tip Range Ammo
125gr
• 2850 fps
• Target & Range
|
125gr | 2850 | 2254 | .371 | Target & Range | $1.01/rd |
6.5mm Creedmoor Trajectory Calculator
Calculate drop, velocity, and energy at any range
Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros
- Against .308 Winchester: less wind drift at long range with 140 grain bullets, and less recoil.
- Fits short actions and AR-10 pattern rifles, so rifles stay light and compact.
- The table covers range, match and hunting loads in one caliber, so you can practice with ammo close to what you hunt with.
- Standard 1-in-8 twist stabilizes the long 140 to 147 grain bullets the cartridge was built for.
Cons
- Against .308 Winchester: lighter bullets, so less energy up close on elk-sized game.
- Against 6.5 PRC: roughly 250 fps slower with the same 140 to 143 grain bullets.
- Wears barrels faster than a .308 at the same round count.
- Against .270 Winchester: lighter bullets at lower speed, so less reach on elk.