Best 6.5 Creedmoor Chamber - Prefit Barrel Comparison

Preferred Barrels 6.5 Creedmoor chamber comparison with factory ammo, groups, velocities and bullet jump

Best 6.5 Creedmoor Chamber

September 2023 Update: We have updated the .150"FB chamber option to Alpha Munition's .160"FB version.  It is only a slight change - it will also allow for that little bit of room that you guys have been asking for!

Preferred barrels has multiple chambering offerings within the 6.5 Creedmoor. These offer three freebore options which allow the end user to tune the chamber for factory ammo or help with magazine length restrictions by bringing the rifling closer to the bullet. When looking for the best 6.5 Creedmoor chamber keep reading as we break them down. There is a .110” Freebore option which is the shortest OAL chamber. The .150” Freebore brings the lands closer than SAAMI (.199" FB) while still allowing most factory ammunition to chamber without issue.

To test our barrels we used multiple common brands of factory ammunition that are loaded with bullets that are available as individual components with a variety of bullet weights, shapes and brands. In addition to our testing with the loaded ammunition we broke down each offering to measure the overall length to help with load data for each chamber to find the distance to the lands.

details below6.5 Creedmoor .110"
details below6.5 Creedmoor .150"
details below6.5 Creedmoor SAAMI

6.5 Creedmoor .110" - Best 6.5 Creedmoor Chamber

.110" 6.5 Creedmoor Chart Summary:

Brings Factory ammo closest to lands. Some ammo is not compatible due to jamming the bullet into the lands. Better performance than SAAMI

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.110" 6.5 Creedmoor Ammo Testing Summary:

  • Sierra 130 Gamechanger - Tipped Hunting Bullet, Optimal Jump, Highest Velocity ammo tested.
  • Berger 140 Hybrid Target - Furthest from the lands of all ammo, very consistent velocities, Lapua brass
  • Hornady 143 ELD-X - Tipped Hunting Bullet, optimal jump, lowest velocities.
  • Barnes 140 Precision Match - On the lands, consistent performer.
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6.5 Creedmoor .150" - Best 6.5 Creedmoor Chamber

.150" 6.5 Creedmoor Chart Summary:

Works great with all of our test ammunition, places some factory ammo very close to lands. achieved the best groups for most ammo tested and lowest average group size across all ammo we tested. 

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.150" 6.5 Creedmoor - Ammo Testing Summary:

  • Sierra 130 Gamechanger - .055" Jump, losing accuracy, most expensive ammo tested.
  • Berger 130 OTM Tactical - On the lands, high velocities, Lapua brass
  • Berger 140 Hybrid Target - .100" jump, struggled to get great groups, most were .75"
  • Hornady 140 ELD-M - On lands, great group, consistently shot great groups.
  • Hornady 143 ELD-X - Outstanding accuracy, low consistent velocities
  • Barnes 140 Precision Match - Optimal jump, Low spread, great group.
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6.5 Creedmoor SAAMI - Best 6.5 Creedmoor Chamber

SAAMI 6.5 Creedmoor Chart Summary:

SAAMI (.199"FB) Standardized chamber to work with all types of factory ammo, still shot great with awesome groups and velocities. Furthest distance to lands will lead to shorter barrel life. Not as much material to chase when reloading, longest OAL to lands may cause OAL issues in some magazines.

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SAAMI 6.5 Creedmoor - Ammo Testing Summary:

  • Sierra 130 Gamechanger - .100" Jump, shoots better closer to lands
  • Berger 130 OTM Tactical - Strange velocities
  • Berger 140 Hybrid Target - .150" Jump, Consistent velocities for all freebores
  • Hornady 140 ELD-M - Match line is on pace with other 140 velocities
  • Hornady 143 ELD-X - one hole group, best shooting ammo every time
  • Barnes 140 Precision Match - consistent good groups and velocities through all freebores
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Summary of The Best 6.5 Creedmoor Chamber

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Our goal with providing this 6.5 Creedmoor best chamber data is to inform and educate, not to persuade towards or against any of our offerings. Shooters who only shoot factory ammo can select the appropriate chamber based on the performance and consistency given by any of the three options. Reloaders can optimize their COAL for their selected projectiles by using the charts with confidence, which is very helpful if binderless 2.950" magazines are used. In our testing both chambers with less freebore slightly outperformed SAAMI, therefore, our staff will be recommending the .150" FB option for anyone who asks what we feel is the best all-around chamber based on our results from this test.

-Preferred Team - Fall 2020

September 2023 Update: We have updated the .150"FB chamber option to Alpha Munition's .160"FB version.  It is only a slight change - it will also allow for that little bit of room that you guys have been asking for!