I have a Tikka T3x Vail in 6.5 Creedmoor. Love it but it is LONG supressed. It has a 24.3" barrel and i run a Nomad Ti. Since the can is light it is not terrible but it is long.

I would like to be able to take elk out to 400-500 yards and pronghorn or coyote further. I know the Creedmoor is already questionable at that range and needs the long barrel. I have looked at the Creedmoor "balistics by the inch" type test. It looks like if i go from 24.5" to 22ish i will only loose about 50 fps which is fine. Going down to 20" would be really nice but i dont want to get greedy. Velocities are fine for reliable expansion but energy numbers at 500 yards are questionable for big game.

I know i am splitting hairs here with energy. But i absolutely love the rifle and dont want to regret going too short and handicapping my effective hunting range.

Is anyone using a short barrel 6.5 for big game out west? Any opinions of barrel leangth?

I know some people will say they wont notice 2" off the barrel in weight and size. Maybe you wont, but i think every little bit matters when hanging a supressor off the end.

I'm thinking about cutting down a t3x lite 24" 6.5 CM, for a suppressor. But am just going to run the suppressor on a .308 tikka CTR before actually committing to it.

I was thinking of cutting down to 18". I don't have anywhere to practice beyond 400 yds, and I am personally unlikely to take a poke at an animal beyond 300 yds.

I am lucky and have access to a 1100 yard range and another 1000 yard range. I would have said the same thing about the animal. But i just took my first elk. Shot her at 358 yards. I admit my 2nd shot was rushed and not good. But first shot was dead on. I think if you know your dope and have a good solid shooting position it is very doable. Wind is another issue all together.

I am not saying i would go out tomorrow and shoot at a animal at 500 or 600 yards. But with more practice i could see doing it. I would like to have the balistics to handle it.

20” probably in your case.

In a gas gun I would just do 16” and be ready for follow ups.

My 6.5 creed is a 20" Tikka CTR.  I'm seeing velocity losses....

I know that speeds printed on ammo boxes are always ambitious, if not outright bullshit.  With that in mind, I find Im getting REALLY low speeds.  Hornady says their flagship Precision Hunter 143ELDx is supposed to clock 2700.  I'm registering 2474 average...   Actually, that's so damn low I questioned my Chrono, and tried two others.  All high 2400's...   Thats 220 fps off the stated claims...

Its not a huge deal.  I reload.  I have found that published data for the 6.5 seems strangely conservative, and the customary H4350 loads and 140's /143's are still low running mid 2500's.  Thats NOT a lot of speed.  I finally found loads using RL16 that are giving me 2680's with 140's.  Thats "okay" in my book....  But I'm shooting sub300 yard ranges...  A 400 yard shot around here is nearly unheard of.

I bought the 20" since its largely a blind rifle.  The short barrel is handy I permanent stands and blinds.  I will be honest.  If I were to buy this rifle again, I'd strongly consider a 24 incher

Since muzzle velocities are mild, my impact speeds are low.  Bullet expansion is very modest.  I've deliberately gone to softer, rapidly expanding bullets (Nosler Ballistic Tips and Hornady SSTs).  I most certainly would not want lower speeds...

I would not consider a barrel shorter than 20". 22 is likely the sweet spot.

Tikka CTR barrels are famously slow.

Thats good information. Maybe i will just stick with where i am. With my Tikka and the 24.3" barrel my chrono reads exactly the listed speed on the boxes for Barnes LRX, Accubonds and federal Terminal Assent. Maybe I will consider myself lucky and not mess with a good thing.

I love the 6.5 in all its iterations.

I have 4 of them

I have killed a lot of elk over the years and a hell of a lot of African game including using my 6.5x54 on my last trip over.

The 6.5 CM and the Swede as well are simply not 400 yard+ elk rifles.

I wouldn’t push my 264 WM that far either.

For me that’s 7 Mag/300 Mag territory. Can an 06 hit that far? Yep. I’ll take the extra punch at that range.

If you are bound and determined to do this every inch of barrel length helps.

Get real chrono readings and take a card with you with your drops in 25 yard increments past 350.

Also you will want a laser rangefinder that is reliable as far out as you thank you can put all your rounds into a 6” circle. In know it probably shoots great at 100 but that does not extrapolate well past 300. So get out there and burn up some ammo getting good food practice in from FIELD POSITIONS getting ready for the hunt.

That’s the real reason for the 6.5–with affordable ammo, good accuracy and light recoil people can shoot enough that their rifle does amazing things that weren’t possible with two boxes of “7mm” annually.

I’m not sure you will gain much handling by lopping two inches.

Just know your non-suppressor dope, and when hunting go suppressorless , count on god and auditory exclusion for the one or two rounds you’ll fire.

This is with my sig cross (18'' barrel) using hornady outfitter 120 grain CX. I have taken a pile of deer with it out to 400 yards and have not had any issue with it at all and have shot steel to 1,000. I did take it to Idaho elk hunting this past September and I admittedly felt under gunned for a lot of the potential shots there but felt fine in the timber. I will have a magnum before I go west again but I didn't get a shot opportunity this past season.

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