How much does the 6.5 Creedmoor recoil? Many shooters claim it’s mild, which is one reason why it’s taken the long-range shooting community by storm.
In this article, we’ll discuss how much kick the 6.5mm Creedmoor has, what influences its recoil, how it compares to other long-range rifle cartridges, and how to reduce recoil to as little kick as possible.
How Much Recoil Does 6.5 Creedmoor Have?
The 6.5 Creedmoor has an average of 7 ft-lbs of free recoil energy, typically ranging from 6.5 ft-lbs to 8.8 ft-lbs. This is on par with many rifle cartridges, and substantially less than most other long-range ones (magnum cartridges like the 300 Win Mag generate up to 34 ft-lbs of energy).
Most shooters typically find anything over 15 ft-lbs challenging to control. The 6.5 Creedmoor is well below that when fired from a 12-pound rifle.
Factors That Influence Recoil in 6.5 Creedmoor Rifles
Felt recoil is subjective. It varies from shooter to shooter, making it an unreliable reflection of how much recoil a cartridge generates. A seasoned shooter might consider the 300 PRC’s 36 ft-lbs of recoil energy to be manageable because they’re used to firing a 338 Lapua Magnum, which has 41 ft-lbs of recoil. A new shooter, on the other hand, would say the 300 PRC kicks like a mule.
In contrast, free recoil energy is objective. It is determined solely by projectile weight, propellant weight, muzzle velocity, and rifle weight. For example, when a 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge with a charge weight of 39 grains fires a 120 grain bullet at 2,610 fps from a 12-pound rifle, the free recoil energy it produces equals 6.8 ft-lbs. When we increase bullet weight to 140 grain and muzzle velocity to 2,658 fps, but keep everything else the same, free recoil energy accordingly increases to 8.5 ft-lbs.
How 6.5 Creedmoor Recoil Compares to Other Cartridges
The 6.5 Creedmoor’s recoil is very manageable compared to that of many other rifle cartridges. Check out the chart below to compare it to other standard and magnum rifle cartridges. This table assumes 8-pound rifles across the board in the interest of producing as equal a comparison as possible, which is why the 6.5 Creedmoor’s recoil figure differs so significantly from those cited earlier.
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