6.5 Creedmoor vs 300 Win Mag vs 338 Lapua

Today I’m going to show you the difference between .338 Lapua vs. 6.5 Creedmoor.

Índice Show

.338 Lapua: A Brief History
6.5 Creedmoor: A Brief History
Power and Range
Wrapping It Up
Which is better 300 Win Mag or 338 Lapua?
Is a 300 win mag more powerful than a 6.5 Creedmoor?
What is the difference between a 338 Lapua and a 6.5 Creedmoor?
Is a 338 Lapua bigger than a 300 win mag?

Including:

Cost
Ballistics
History of each cartridge
Lots more

So if you’d like to know the difference between the two cartridges, you’ll love this article.

Let’s get started!

.338 Lapua: A Brief History

The .338 Lapua Magnum was developed in the eighties specifically to provide Military snipers a round capable of delivering high powered impacts to targets at extended range.

(If you’re looking for the best .338 Lapua rifle, check out this guide).

The cartridge has been held in high esteem since its introduction by professional and amateur shooters alike, being described as a “death laser” for its propensity to maintain pinpoint accuracy up to and past a mile.

In 2009, CoH Craig Harrison used a Lapua round to hit two insurgents at a range of 2,707 yards, or roughly a mile and half!

6.5 Creedmoor: A Brief History

The 6.5. Creedmoor is the brainchild of Hornady Manufacturing Company.

Inspired by the classic .308 Winchester, the Creedmoor was developed specifically for long range target shooting in partnership with Creedmoor Sports, from which its name is derived.

When testing the ammunition at 1000 yards, Ray “Raydog” Sanchez called it “boringly accurate.” The Creedmoor has also been used with some success to hunt big game, and has become a wildly popular cartridge since it’s introduction in 2007.

But which one is better…

That may be an unanswerable question due to a plethora of variables. But one question that can be answered is…

Which Cartridge is best for you?

Depending on what your long range shooting needs, and the funds that you have available to supply the habit, you might find that one cartridge or the other better suits your needs.

Power and Range

If you’re determining your success by the distance that you can reliably hit dead-center bullseye, than the .338 Lapua is fat and beyond best bet.

The cartridge claims a maximum effective range at 1750 yards, so anything short of a mile can be consistently gunned down.

Further more, the billets that are propelled by a Lapua cartridge are expelled with so much force, they can penetrate body armor of better-than-standard issue quality at 1000 yards.

The Lapua is lazer-accurate and death ray-effective.

The Creedmoor also delivers astoundingly consistent accuracy, but not at quite such long distances.

It’s effective range peaks at 1000 yards.

The reduced maximum range packs a smaller whallop, as well, and as a result, the Creedmoor has a substantially reduced recoil, making it easier to use as a target-practice round, or in a more rapidly firing weapon.

The United States Special Operations Command, or USSOCOM, adopted use of the Creedmoor for its Long Range precision snipers as well as carbines and assault machine guns.

In short:

If you are looking to hit a target further than 1000 yards, load the Lapua Magnum every time.

If you aren’t trying to knock a moose off it’s feet at 1000 yards, want to avoid shooter’s fatigue from rifle recoil, or are aiming at targets within 100 yards, the Creedmoor might be more reasonable.

Cost

Cost is where the Creedmoor really begins to separate ourself from the Lapua in terms of efficiency.

Straight from a commercial retailer, Creedmoor ammunition starts at .70 cents a round.

The Lapua starts at $2.70 per round.

Even if you are all prepared to reload ammunition yourself at home, with all the dies and scales necessary, you’re still looking at $1.15-$1.60 per round in reloading costs.

At the end of the day it boils down to a question of budget. If you have the time and money to invest into firing .338 Lapuas downrange every weekend, enjoy every minute of it.

The Creedmoor is definitely the more affordable cartridge.

Wrapping It Up

To recap:

If you’re going to hit long-range targets (1,000 yards+) and willing to spend $2.70 (on average) per round, then go for the .338 Lapua.

However, if you aren’t doing that long of range shooting and want to save money on ammunition, then the 6.5 Creedmoor is for you.

With all that said, now I’d like to hear from you:

Have you ever shot a 338 or 6.5? If so, what are your thoughts on it? Let me know in the comments down below.

Which is better 300 Win Mag or 338 Lapua?

The difference is that the 300 win mag will do it with a 180 grn bullet, whereas the 338 lapua will do that with a 250 grain bullet. That weight makes a big difference in ME with the 300 win mag doing 3500 ft-lbs at the muzzle compared to the 338 lapua's mighty 4832 ft-lbs. That's approaching safari rounds.

Is a 300 win mag more powerful than a 6.5 Creedmoor?

300 Win Mag fires larger diameter and significantly heavier bullets at a higher velocity than the 6.5 Creedmoor. The . 300 Win Mag has a flatter trajectory and has significantly more kinetic energy at typical hunting ranges, but the 6.5 Creedmoor has much less recoil.

What is the difference between a 338 Lapua and a 6.5 Creedmoor?

338 Lapua has a flatter trajectory than the 6.5 Creedmoor. There's just a 3.9” difference between the two at 500 yards, which is certainly not an unmanageable difference for fans of the straggling 6.5 Creedmoor. However, once you get out to 1500 yards, the 6.5 Creedmoor is dropping a full 157.6” more than the .

Is a 338 Lapua bigger than a 300 win mag?

The first major difference that we see is that the 338 Lapua fires a larger caliber bullet (0.338” diameter) than the 300 Win Mag (0.308” diameter). The 338 Lapua has a slightly longer case length and higher case capacity that allows it to fire significantly heavier bullets than the 300 Win Mag.