270 vs 6.5 creedmore

I’m looking for a new hunting rifle that will be suppressed and I wanted yalls thoughts on which you would choose I rarely will shoot 200+ yards usually closer to 100 but I want something that is capable of I need it. Also which one is better kick wise, I have 308 now and after shooting it a few times it’s unpleasant ( I know not manly),
Lately I’ve been going after more exotics axis and blackbuck and plan on going after stag.
I’m also open to other calibers if it is offered in the tc compass series.

In the same weight rifle the 6. Creedmoor will recoil less than the 270 even if both are using the same weight bullet. There is nearly 20% more powder in the 270 but a less efficient case design. Both should do what you are thinking about or another to think about is the 7mm-08 which though a larger diameter bullet is really in between them in game performance

Generally the short action cartridges are better in short barrels mostly I think you get more actual bullet in the barrel for a bit further (difference in case length to be exact) and a shorter powder column. With the 7mm-08 you also have the ability to go with 160 gr bullets in reloads or from custom loaders which is not a bad idea for the Stag hunt

This is very confusing... you title it “ 270 vs. 6.5 Creedmoor” but then say you shoot a .308 and complain about recoil....shoot the 6.5 Grendel.

If you think a .308 has too much kick, You will not like the .270. The 6.5 will have slightly less kick. Maybe you should look into a semi-auto rifle? The semi-auto action does a lot to mitigate felt recoil.

I had been hearing that both of them recoil less just going off what I had read from magazines ect.
I haven’t ever had the chance to shoot them but that’s what made me think those rounds. But I know it’s true you can’t always believe what you read on the internet.

If you are ‘recoil sensitive’ , the 6.5 Grendel or the .243, (also other 6mm variants) will do the job handily with far less recoil.

The .308 must not be suppressed or is extremely light, because my suppressed .308 is really tame. Suppress your .308, get some 150s or even 125gr loads, and go hunt. A .270 is gong the wrong direction, a 6.5 won’t be much different than the .308.

Also, the .308 isn't considered a heavy kicking round. What rifle are you shooting? What recoil pad is on that rifle?

It’s a Remington 700 and it doesn’t have a recoil pad on it I’ve just shot it as it came out the box, it’s weird to me that gun kicks more than my 12 gauge does even with 3.5 inch shells.
Everyone I have let shoot has said the same thing they don’t like to shoot it much, two three shots isn’t bad but if I want to go to the range and shoot a box then you notice it.

Your right the 308 is not suppressed and it is light, I thought about threading the barrel but for the price of threading It and the work I can buy the compass already threaded. I’m also not a fan of the trigger in my Remington.

One of my favorite cartridges has been mentioned above 6.5 Grendel and recoil is noticeably less than the other cartridges listed. It is not available in the Compass but is in Ruger American, Howa Mini, and CZ527.

So, it's just the hard plastic buttplate? Limbsaver makes a very good pre-fit recoil pad that is unbelievably soft. You may want to look at that. It could make that .308 a soft shooter.

Agree with unclebubba. A Limbsaver pad will make the .308 pleasant.

Every .270 I’ve ever shot was a hateful, mean, sob compared to performance. I’d rather shoot 338 or 375 magnums. Yes seriously.

If you’re just wanting a new gun there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s a great plan. I also highly recommend the 7-08, it will perform well on anything you’ve mentioned at further distances than you’ve mentioned. Recoil is less than the 308 and 270 as well and will outperform both at extended ranges. Yes I know extended range is not your goal, just tossing it out there.

As much as I hate to say it if you’re not a reloader or know one who will load for you the 6.5 Needmoor is an excellent option when shooting factory ammo. So is the .308 you already shoot. Not just in the accuracy department, but with the wide availability of different bullets they are Very versatile.

Recoil wise. . . the 308 is more of a push. The 270 is a sharper kick. As said, the 6.5 or 243 will be very tame.


BUT for the best, most underrated round of all time, get the 270.

I’ve owned a .270(700 ADL) for over 45 years. Recoil as felt by me is too close to call between a .270 and .308. I’ve had a 6.5x55 for around 10 years and theoretically it’s recoil should be about the same as a 6.5 Creedmoor. My 6.5x55 has less felt recoil than my .270 but not by much. Both rifles weigh about the same.

For light recoil in a new rifle, get the 6.5 CM and shoot 100 gr bullets. Way less recoil than my 270 or my 308. The 120 gr bullets in the 6.5 also don’t kick much.

I hunted for 35 years with a 270 and killed a bunch of deer and never really noticed the recoil. About 10 or 12 years ago I switched to a 260 (near twin to the 6.5CM) and kept on shooting deer, but did notice the reduction in recoil. Now, shooting off the bench, the 260 is not unpleasant, but my old 270 will kick you like a mule.

All that said, I do think my old 270 will knock a big buck a little flatter. I just don’t need the extra horsepower on small Texas deer, so happily on I go with the 260.

Well ...

I would keep the .308 as it's ideal for suppression, especially for the purposes you describe. As others have suggested, add a quality recoil pad, then install a muzzle brake style suppressor mount. Once the suppressor is mounted, it will feel like a .22-250.

Put a Limbsaver on it and a brake if recoil is an issue. If it is suppressed already recoil should be fairly light in comparison though.

Get the Creedmoor and shoot 120 or 123 gr bullets. Mild recoil kills deer/ hogs just fine. This is from shooting 200+ pigs and lots of deer /antelope and even 1 elk( grandkid @420 yds)

I’ve shot a 270 for over 20 years and killed piles of deer with it.

It’s a great round.

My opinion is, a .270 and a 6.5 cm will both kill deer just fine.

If hunting bigger game than deer I would lean towards the .270 however.


Recoil has never been an issue

If you are set on the TC Compass, then I would honestly go with the 7-08 or 308 version, although the 6.5 Creedmoor will work.

Although the Ruger American in 6.5 Grendel would be a great choice as well for your stated use.

I’ve owned a .270 for years, maybe 20??

But if I were start over and pick one, I’d prob run 6.5

Same game, little less punch

This shouldn't even be a question. Any rifle dedicated for suppressed hunting should have the smallest case capacity that will still be effective for the application. A suppressor doesn't do much good if you screw it on the end of a cannon.

You definitely want a short action and not a 270. I find it very hard to believe ANY rifle in 308 has recoil that can't be managed. Sounds like instead of spending $400 on a new rifle you need to spend $100 getting the barrel threaded and the other $300 on some instruction from FiremanJG on how to properly shoot a rifle. Not trying to sound like a jerk..... but you've got the equipment you need already. You just need to learn how to use it.

Put a recoil pad on your 308 and load some 125 grain nbt's or sst's at a slightly reduced velocity and it will recoil like a 243.

If the recoil of your 308 is bothering you I would make a bigger step than from it to 6.5 CM, I would look at a 243 win, 6.5 Grendel and maybe a few others. Honestly think a lot of your current issues can be fixed with a recoil pad a better fitting stock and possibly a different load.

You better just shoot a .22. No recoil

I’ve shot the 6.5 creed quite a bit now and I do like the round. My buddy has one in a Christensen arms , maybe weighs 6 lbs and it’s pleasant to shoot.

The 6.5 Grendel IMO is 21st century equivalent to a bolt action .30-30. I was not very impressed with that round. Ok for kids and 100 yard shots but after that it’s a stretch.

Not saying I think the Grendel is Gods gift to deer hunters by any means. I think It would work.

Just that a 270 likely has more felt recoil than a 308 and a 6.5 CM using similar powder charge and a bullet only 10-20 grains lighter than a 308 win isn't going to have substantially less felt recoil.

I can see where a rifle that has a wood/metal/plastic but plate might be uncomfortable. I think trying a nice cushy recoil pad may help a lot.

I’ve shot other guns that have recoil and it doesn’t bother me 12 gauges with 3.5 inch shells and 30-30 but the only bolt gun I’ve shot was the 308, I never thought about a recoil pad that would probably fix it. The gun just has a uncomfortable plate on back wasn’t sure if that’s how all bolt actions are.

Thanks guys I’ll try a limb saver and see if that helps.

It does not necessarily have to be a limbsaver recoil pad. There are a lot of different manufacturers of good recoil pads. Limbsaver is just the one that I chose to put on my Marlin guide gun. I load that rifle very stout to "Marlin action only" pressures. It would pound the snot out of anyone brave enough to shoot it. The Limbsaver pad was a pretty close fit right out of the box, and did an excellent job of taming the felt recoil. I think you might be very happy with that rifle once you put a pad on it...and you'll save yourself quite a bit of $.

Limbsavers, Pachmeyer (sp) and Kick-eez are all good. I know I have had to replace Limbsavers more often then Pachmeyer. Decelerator pads.

You may also consider reduced recoil loads. If you handload you can make them yourself very easily. If you don't you can try some of the commercially available reduced recoil loads I believe several manufactuerers are available, or a commercial custom reloader like Chad on our site can fix you up with something that will shoot like a dream.

I loaded some reduced 125 grain bullets for a 30-06 I have and my twin 8 year old nephews shot it this weekend as well as their mom and my wife and all said it didn't kick and didn't hurt. It has plenty of pop to kill deer at 100 to 150 yards or so.

I would disagree.

I am getting 2500fps with a Hornady 123 gr. SST bullet and 2590 with a 105 gr. Cavity Back MKZ. The 123 grain SST has a BC of .501 and is still carrying over 1100 ft-lbs of energy at 300 yards and about 5.5 MOA low at that range (with a 100 zero) which means you don't have to twist turrets if using one of the newer BDC scopes.

The 105 gr CCB bullet has a BC of .480 which means it is also carrying 1000 ft-lbs at 300 yards and is only 5 MOA low at that distance.

In comparison, the 30-30 with a 150 grain interlock bullet only has around 830 ft-lb at 200 yards and is 3.85 MOA low at that range. The newer Flex-Tip offerings from Hornady are close to the 6.5 Grendel, but at the expense of more recoil.

KMON, educate me. You say that the 270 has a less efficient case design.

Again, I know around here you'll get advice on 99 hardware solutions for every 1 software solution.... but recoil management is a function of how you're driving the rifle. Getting a new recoil pad isn't the ultimate solution.

Well, I know the deer I shot with the 6.5 Grendel seemed to be soaking up the round pretty well.

One issue was the SST bullet was shedding its jacket.

OP, any updates?

Just remember that a lightweight stock is going to increase felt recoil since there is less mass to absorb it.

There's a photo that has been tossed around the net of an old, over-sized shotgun that was used around the turn of the century to shoot into large flocks of ducks. At first glance, you might wonder how anyone could shoot such a thing without getting thrown on their butt. However, when you consider how heavy it must have been, you realize how the added weight helped remedy the situation.

Worst kick I ever got from any firearm was from a cheap 12-gauge single shot that had no recoil pad and seemed light as a feather.

Gun weight is big. I relized that early. The rifle I did a lot of my beginning shooting/hunting with is a 280 rem rem 700 mountain rifle pretty light rifle. My rifle is a rem 700 sendero in 270 win. Shooting 150's in both it is night and day difference in recoil! Of course one weighs 3 pounds more than the other.

Normally I am fine with recoil I shoot 12 gauges and shoot 3.5 inch shells while crane hunting and the recoils doesn’t bother me. It was just my 308 that bothered me it just has a flat piece at the back that has zero cushion so makes it uncomfortable for range days. I had never thought about putting a pad on it I figured they where snakeoil.

A plain rubber pad isn’t gonna do much.

A limbsaver is good

Keep the 308, use light for caliber bullets that are loaded mild, and put a Limbsaver or something similar on it. That’ll do it. If you don’t reload, I’ll bet Chad can work up a good light load for you.

Heck, if you live close to me in east central Texas, come on over. I’ll set up to reload and you can use my gear and guidance to tailor a load to suit you. I need to load up some 220 and 260 anyway. Bring some 125 gr Nosler BTs

If you suppress any of those calibers, the recoil will be mild.