25 Creedmoor vs. 6.5 Creedmoor

Announced late last month, the 25 Creed has garnered a healthy amount of praise along with its fair share of cold water. It’s early days for this cartridge, and we’ll know more in the months and years to come, but I still wanted to do a deep dive into the data to see how it stacks up against its extremely popular 6.5mm predecessor.

Hornady bills the 25 Creedmoor as filling a “gap” between the 6mm and 6.5 Creedmoor. I don’t know how many hunters were clamoring for that gap to be filled from a ballistic perspective, but the nostalgia is strong when it comes to .25-caliber cartridges. The .257 Roberts and the .257 Weatherby Magnum (not to mention the .25-06) are beloved by deer hunters from coast to coast, and I’m sure many will jump at the chance to use a more modern quarter-bore.

But we’re not here to talk about the feels. We’re here to analyze the data. And the data suggests that, in most comparisons, the 25 Creed has the 6.5 beat.

Right now, the 25 Creedmoor is only available in two factory-loaded bullet offerings: a 128-grain ELD-X for hunting and a 134-grain ELD-M for competition. That 128-grain bullet leaves the barrel at 2,850 feet-per-second (fps) and boasts a pretty impressive .633 ballistic coefficient.

For comparison, this 140-grain 6.5 Creedmoor leaves the barrel at 2,700 fps. The bullet is heavier than the 25 (and also slightly wider), so at the muzzle it delivers 42 additional ft.-lbs. of energy. But that slight energy advantage is erased at just 100 yards, where the 25 hits with almost 100 additional ft.-lbs. of energy. It never loses that energy advantage, and at 600 yards has increased it to over 200 ft.-lbs.

Drop is also in the 25’s favor. With a 100-yard zero, the 25 drops 3.3 inches, 11.8 inches, and 26.3 inches at 200, 300, and 400 yards, respectively. The 6.5 is in the same ballpark, dropping 4, 14.2, and 31.7 inches at those distances. But the 25’s advantage jumps to 10 fewer inches at 500 yards and 17 inches at 600 yards.

Same story on wind deflection. The 6.5 sticks with the 25 until about 500 yards, where the newer cartridge opens up a six-inch drift advantage. Both cartridges do a great job bucking the wind, but in this comparison, the 25 wins the battle.

Part of these advantages are due to the higher barrel twist rates recommended for the 25 Creedmoor. While the 6.5 Creed’s 1:8 twist barrels are fast by historical standards, the 25’s 1:7.5 twist can stabilize high-ballistic coefficient (BC), heavy-for-caliber bullets at higher velocities, which promotes bullet stability and long-range consistency.

25 Creedmoor (128-grain ELD-X)

6.5 Creedmoor (140-grain Accubond)

Of course, the Accubond bullet used in the comparison above is an excellent projectile, and many hunters would rather use that time-tested design than chase the highest BC and greatest energy.

However, even if we go with the higher-BC 143-grain ELD-X projectile in the 6.5 Creedmoor, the 128-grain 25 Creedmoor still beats it. As you can see in the table below, the 25 continues to hold an energy advantage, and trajectory and wind drift are also in the 25’s favor. The margins are smaller, but they’re there.

6.5 Creedmoor (143-grain ELD-X)

At this point, you might fairly point out that hunters care about much more than bullet drop and wind drift. When you want to kill an animal, especially a big one, it helps to have a wider bullet, and the 6.5 Creedmoor uses a bullet that measures .264 inches compared to the 25’s .257 inches. That added width gives the 6.5 a greater sectional density (0.293 vs. 0.277) in the ELD examples mentioned above.

But that’s only a 5% difference in width and sectional density, which in my mind isn’t enough to outweigh the 25’s slight, but very real, advantages in the other ballistic categories.

In fact, when I spoke to Derrick Ratliff of Horizon firearms, he said the only real knock on the 25 Creedmoor is that Hornady may not be getting everything it can from their new cartridge.

Ratliff and his team have been shooting the 25 Creedmoor for almost a year, and he says their handloads were producing 3,100 fps from a 134-grain bullet while the current factory offering only clocks in at 2,800 fps. If that’s true (and I have no reason to think that it’s not), the 25 Creed leaves the 6.5 even further in the dust.

“If you like new calibers, and you have a nostalgia factor, and you didn’t get on the 6.5mm bandwagon, this is the thing for you,” Ratliff said.

I usually make a big deal about recoil in the “Shootability” category, but the 25 Creedmoor is so new that we don’t have great data on how much recoil it produces. But from what’s been reported, and from what Ratliff told me, I’m confident in saying that it produces slightly less recoil than the 6.5, but not enough less to really matter. Both cartridges are pleasant to shoot, and with a suppressor or muzzle brake, you’ll be able to see your hits.

The more important question is ammo and rifle availability. The 6.5 Creedmoor is absolutely everywhere, so I can tell you right now (spoiler alert) it’s going to win this category. But how hard is it to find the 25 Creedmoor a mere four weeks out from its unveiling?

As far as I’ve been able to find, those Hornady options linked above are the only two factory loads. I’m sure other companies have their own 25 Creeds in the works, but right now that’s the only game in town. A search on AmmoSeek reveals one Hornady match-grade option in stock from a California company, but there might be more or less when you hit that link.

The good news is that if you’re willing to roll your own, you’ll have better luck. MDT’s Marcus Hom points out that the 25 Creedmoor has actually existed as a wildcat cartridge for a long time. Reloading dies and brass are available from several companies, and Berger, Sierra, and Hornady offer .25-caliber bullets in the heavier weights the 25 Creed was designed for.

When it comes to rifles, Hornady has posted a list of gunmakers who are currently or plan to offer long guns chambered in 25 Creedmoor in the near future:

• Alpha Munitions
• Carbon Six
• Christensen Arms
• GA Precision
• Helix 6
• Horizon Firearms
• HS Precision
• MOA Rifles
• Preferred Barrels
• Proof Research
• Seekins Precision
• Straight Jacket Armory
• Stuteville Precision
• TS Customs
• Uintah Precision
• Weatherby
• West Texas Ordnance

Most of the guns from these companies are, unfortunately, expensive. The 25 Creed won’t cost more than the other Creedmoors, but right now a rifle will take a good chunk out of your vacation fund. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rugers and Savages of the world jump on board (they may have by the time you read this), but that’s still up in the air.

Ratliff, whose companies produce rifles in the 25 Creedmoor and sell the cartridge itself, reports that demand for the 25 has been stout.

“We’ve seen it take off. We’ve sold exponentially more 25’s than 6mm Creedmoors, already,” he said. “There are a lot of companies that make this and will be making this. There’s no reason to watch and see whether ammo is going to be available for this one.”

Still, as it currently stands, availability should give hunters pause if they’re thinking about going all-in on the new Creedmoor. When I covered the new 7mm Backcountry last month, many commenters said they planned to take a wait-and-see approach. I think that’s wise. The Creedmoor line obviously has staying power, and there is a dedicated cadre of quarter-bore fans who may very well keep the 25 Creed afloat. But early adopters always run the risk of getting stuck with a rifle and no ammo to shoot through it. For that reason, the 6.5 wins this round.

Most 6.5mm and .25-caliber rifle cartridges excel on deer-sized animals, and that’s true of these two as well. Both are great for deer and antelope and would also do a fine job on coyotes, wolves, hogs, black bears, mountain lions, and other similarly-sized critters.

The real question is whether the 25 Creedmoor can step up to larger game like elk and moose. The 6.5 has been around long enough that we know the answer to that question. It may not be the perfect choice for large game, especially at longer distances or awkward angles, but it’s more than able to get the job done with a broadside shot within 300 yards and a good hunting bullet.

According to Hornady, the 128-grain 25 Creed is suitable for medium game between 50 and 300 pounds, while the 143-grain 6.5 Creed can also step up to game between 300 and 1500 pounds. Ammo makers have an incentive to be cautious about those recommendations, but it’s worth taking seriously what the inventor of a cartridge says about its limitations. If Hornady’s engineers are to be believed, the 6.5 Creedmoor is the more versatile cartridge.

Still, I do wonder how they justify their differing recommendations. As we covered in the Ballistics section, the 25 Creed hits with more energy at every distance despite its lighter bullet. The bullet is slightly narrower, but I don’t see 0.007 inches making all that much difference.

It’s also worth pointing out that the 25 Creedmoor may end up offering a wider range of bullet weights loaded in factory cartridges. Right now, only the 128- and 134-grain options are available, obviously because Hornady wanted to highlight the new quarter-bore’s ability to shoot those heavier bullets. But wildcatters who’ve been necking down 6.5 Creedmoor cases to accept .257 bullets report that the 25 Creed can be loaded with bullets as light as 70 grains to create a super-fast varmint cartridge. That’s a 68-grain range for the 25 Creedmoor, which does indeed rival the 6.5 Creedmoor, which can be had from the factory with bullets between 90 and 156 grains.

Ratliff also pointed out that the 25 Creedmoor could be a better competition round than the 6.5. Competitors in NRL Hunter matches (shout out to current national champion, MeatEater’s Garrett Long) try to use cartridges that meet the minimum power requirements but still allow them to see their impacts.

“Just by sheer math coincidence, you could run a 25 Creedmoor with that 134 and hot rod it just barely above minimum power factor. It was the smallest capable cartridge to do the NRL,” he said. “You get better wind results with less recoil than you do with the 6.5.”

While all that may be true, it’s hard to argue that the 25 is *more *versatile than the 6.5 Creedmoor. The 6.5 Creed has already won its share of competitions, and while Ratliff says he would be comfortable taking the 25 on an elk hunt, the 6.5 has already proven itself in the field.

When I choose a winner, one of the questions I ask is, “Which cartridge would I recommend to my hunting buddies?” I’d be more than happy to wax eloquent about the 25 Creed’s ballistic capabilities, but given the range of rifles and loads currently available (not to mention the uncertainty of any new cartridge’s staying power), I’d have a hard time recommending that another hunter go out and buy one.

At the same time, even though the 6.5 Creedmoor is more widely available and slightly more versatile, I can’t fault the 25 Creedmoor for being new. The 25 is less available and less proven in the field simply due to the fact that it’s only been out for six weeks. And even with the loads that are available, it still beats out the 6.5 from a ballistic perspective.

For that reason, I’m calling this one a draw. The 25 Creedmoor is everything a modern quarter-bore should be, but right now, it’s too early to draw any firm conclusions about how it will stack up to the 6.5 Creedmoor in years to come.