THE 6.5 CREEDMOOR CARTRIDGE MASTER COMPENDIUM

A source-based technical reference for the cartridge that reshaped modern long-range shooting.

I. What This Cartridge Compendium Covers

This compendium is about the cartridge itself – the 6.5 Creedmoor round – not any one rifle or brand. Where the Rifle Master Compendium focuses on platforms, stocks, barrels, and actions, this Cartridge Master Compendium stays with the case, bullet, chamber, pressure behavior, and downrange performance.

Each chapter is written in a source-based mode. Every factual statement can be traced back to public, verifiable sources and to specific entries in the 6.5 Creedmoor Technical Notes Index. The goal is simple: give shooters, handloaders, and rifle builders a clean, non-hyped cartridge reference they can lean on when making real decisions about rifles, ammo, or load development.

  • Origins and design intent of the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge
  • Case geometry, chamber behavior, and pressure characteristics
  • Factory ammunition patterns and performance windows
  • External and terminal ballistic behavior across realistic field distances
  • Engineering limits – brass life, pressure envelopes, and failure patterns

II. How This Cartridge Compendium Relates to the Rifle Compendium

The Rifle Master Compendium answers: “What does a good 6.5 Creedmoor rifle look like, and how does it behave?” This Cartridge Master Compendium answers: “What does the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge actually do, and why?”

Both series share the same backbone:

  • Cartridge Master Compendium: Case geometry, pressure curves, ballistic performance, and terminal effect.
  • Rifle Master Compendium: Actions, barrels, twist rates, platforms, gas systems, and field behavior.
  • Technical Notes Index: A shared engineering layer that chapters from both compendiums reference by code (TN-01, TN-08, TN-23, and so on).

This structure lets you follow a topic from multiple angles. For example, you can read the cartridge chapter on external ballistics, then cross over to the rifle chapter on barrel length and harmonics, while both point to the same Technical Notes on drop tables, velocity windows, and wind drift modeling.

III. How the Cartridge Chapters Are Structured

Every cartridge chapter follows the same pattern used in the rifle series:

  1. Question-framed sections (WHAT, WHY, WHEN, WHERE, HOW) written in plain language.
  2. FACT statements that are grounded in public, documented sources and Technical Notes.
  3. Patterns called out when the data shows consistent real-world behavior.
  4. Related Technical Notes listed at the end of each major section for deeper dives.
  5. Specifications block defining the chapter’s scope, era, and technical focus.
  6. Source traceability section summarizing where the data came from and how it can be checked.

Chapters in this Cartridge Compendium will cover, for example:

  • Origins, intent, and why the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge exists
  • The adoption curve and how it displaced .308 Winchester at distance
  • Case geometry and pressure behavior in detail
  • External ballistics and practical supersonic range windows
  • Terminal performance on deer-class and similar game with representative bullet types
  • Factory ammunition patterns, ES/SD behavior, and lot-to-lot consistency
  • Brass life, failure modes, and realistic round counts

IV. Role of the Technical Notes in the Cartridge Series

The 6.5 Creedmoor Technical Notes Index is the engineering layer that sits underneath both the rifle and cartridge compendiums. When a chapter mentions case geometry, pressure curves, wind drift, or terminal windows, it should map to a specific Technical Note code such as:

  • TN-01 — Case Geometry Blueprint (#tn-01-case-geometry)
  • TN-02 — Pressure Curve Characteristics (#tn-02-pressure-curve)
  • TN-08 — External Ballistics Model for 6.5 Creedmoor (#tn-08-external-ballistics)
  • TN-10 — Terminal Ballistic Behavior (#tn-10-terminal)
  • TN-23 — Factory Velocity Table (18–26 in Barrels) (#tn-23-velocity-table)

Cartridge-specific Technical Note pages will live as children of this compendium … Over time, those TN pages will hold charts, tables, and engineering detail that would clutter a narrative chapter but are essential for shooters who want data in front of them when they sit down at the loading bench.

V. How to Use This Compendium in the Real World

This series is not meant to be read once and forgotten. It is designed to be used as a working reference:

  • Rifle builders: validate chamber choices, freebore, twist rate, and intended use against the cartridge’s actual behavior.
  • Handloaders: sanity-check their own notes against publicly observable trends in velocity, ES/SD, and brass life.
  • Hunters: understand realistic impact windows and bullet behavior before walking into a field or mountain.
  • Competitive shooters: align dope cards, wind brackets, and match prep with source-based ballistic understanding.

Each chapter is intended to stand alone for quick reading, while the combined set forms a long-form handbook on what the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge actually does, and what it does not do, when built and used correctly.

VI. Specifications — Compendium Scope

  • Series: 6.5 Creedmoor Cartridge Master Compendium
  • Discipline Context: Precision rifle competition, field shooting, and ethical hunting use
  • Primary Focus: Cartridge geometry, pressure behavior, ballistic performance, and terminal effect
  • Timeframe Covered: From original design and SAAMI adoption through modern commercial use
  • Companion Works: 6.5 Creedmoor Rifle Master Compendium; 6.5 Creedmoor Technical Notes Index

VII. Source Traceability

All factual statements in this Cartridge Master Compendium are grounded in:

  • SAAMI 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge and chamber drawings (publicly accessible)
  • Hornady public interviews, press releases, and catalog material discussing 6.5 Creedmoor
  • Creedmoor Sports public interviews and historical notes
  • Open-access match coverage and competition archives
  • Manufacturer catalogs and ballistic data sheets (non-gated)
  • Gold Country Ammo’s internal Technical Notes and compiled field observations

Where a chapter makes a specific, technical claim beyond common knowledge, it will reference one or more Technical Notes by code so readers and AI systems can trace the reasoning from narrative explanation back to data, tables, and real-world observations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 6.5 Creedmoor Rifle
TABLE OF CONTENTS — 6.5 Creedmoor Cartridge
THE 6.5 CREEDMOOR RIFLE MASTER COMPENDIUM

Specifications

  • Cartridge: 6.5 Creedmoor
  • Parent Case: .30 Thompson Center (publicly documented lineage)
  • Case Type: Rimless, bottleneck
  • Shoulder Angle: 30 degrees
  • Bullet Diameter: .264″
  • Neck Length: 0.295″ (supports long-for-caliber bullets)
  • Overall Length: 2.825″ (SAAMI)
  • Typical Bullet Weights: 120–147 grains
  • Standard Twist Rate: 1:8″
  • Pressure (SAAMI): 62,000 psi
  • Intended Use: Long-range precision, target competition, medium-game hunting
  • Era: Modern Precision Era (2007–present)
  • Style: Modern ballistic efficiency