Gents,

After an 8 month wait my new 6.5 Creedmoor "Crusader" arrived from G.A. Precision on 8/15/2024. After the wait, the rifle was shipped to Guncrafters in Salem, OR for unboxing and inspection. In short, it's stellar! Everything we've come to expect from one of Georges rifles.

This one features a fluted and threaded 23" Bartlein barrel, in 6.5mm Creedmoor, with a 1:7.75" twist. This threaded into a Templar action and bedded into a McMillan A5 stock cut for my length of pull. All in all a real peach.

Here's some pics...the Norwegian drag bag I ordered for the rifle. Some goodies that came with the rifle and a left and right view of the rifle.



Some goodies that came with the rifle:



Left and right view of the rifle:





Overall, I'm very pleased with the rifle. Range day on 10-18-2024 for initial sight in, break in, chronographing, etc. I will report back the results.

Semper Fi,

Wes

Keep 'em comin' ... enjoying the show.

How do you like the Ulfhednar case?

beautiful. congrats Wes.

Oof, hurts my checkbook just looking at it.

Very nice.

I have two Crusaders. The 6.5CM is on its third barrel. The 308 has enough mileage on its original barrel that it has to be hanging by a thread. They're great rifles.

So jealous! One of these days...

Gents,

Thanks for the kind works and comments. I'll try to answer your questions for you...

Tgrshrk99, The ULFHEDNAR rifle case/drag bag is their "Field" model and is very high quality. There are no "Irish pennants" visible and it's obvious that top quality materials are used in its construction. This one was purchased from OpticPlanet. They are available in several colors and sizes. Do a search on ULDHEDNAR and they will pop up. The company is Norwegian. From what I've seen and how my case loaded out I can recommend them...

fritz, I thought owning one Crusader would be enough, but you own two! Wow! If you've shot out three 6.5 CM barrels you obviously shoot yours A LOT. What are you getting for barrel life? I would think five to six thousand rounds is doable. I'll be frank, my experience with the 6.5 CM is limited to a Tikka I had several years ago, so any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated. I'll initially be shooting Hornady Factory 140's and a load I used in my Tikka that shot very well.
The load was:

6.5 Creedmoor
142 Gr. Sierra Match King
41.5 Gr. / H4350
Federal 210 M primer
Hornady Factory Brass(new/prep'd)
OAL: 2.824"

Again, many thanks for your comments. Your advice is solicited, as always.

Wes

Barrel life heavily depends on how hot you let the barrel get and what accuracy you require.

Some steel/PRS/NRL/precision matches require 10-12 rounds shot per stage in 2 minutes or less. With maybe 10 stages in a summer's day, the barrel never really cools down and throat erosion occurs. With such use, a 6.5CM (or 260 Remy or 6.5x47 Lapua) barrel will often be retired after 3000 to 3500 rounds. Said barrel will be losing velocity and accuracy will be compromised -- especially at distance. Said barrel may still produce 1 MOA groups at 100 yards. But it won't meet the demands of a precision shooter -- consistent sub-MOA performance at many hundreds of yards.

I've never heard of a competitor who took their 6.5CM barrel past 4000 rounds. A casual plinker or a hunter probably could have a serviceable barrel beyond 4000 rounds -- if they shot slowly to keep the barrel cool, and if they aren't overly concerned about accuracy.

I retired my 6.5 Bartlein SS barrels at around 3000-3200 rounds, which seems pretty typical of the guys who still shoot 6.5 bores. Many steel match shooters have gone to 6mm bores, which have even shorter lives.

5k to 6k rounds is the realm of a precision 308 that's pushed hard in steel matches. A 308 in FTR competition may not even make it to 5k rounds, due to the hot loads they use. My GAP 308 Bartlein SS barrel has some 6300 rounds, is losing speed, and is beginning to show signs of inconsistent accuracy. Pretty certain it will go tits up between 6500 and 7000 rounds. My local 'smith is amazed it's gone this far. If I competed with a 308, the barrel would already be gone. It's primarily a training rifle, so I'm curious as to how far the barrel will go before I get frustrated with its results.

*****
GAP consistently makes great rifles. George Gardner has assembled a great team of 'smiths and has maintained quality control. But GAP doesn't have a corner on the magic sauce to assemble great rifles. On Sigforum, jelrod1 makes rifles that are every bit as good as GAP -- if not better. He's working on a precision 22lr for me at the moment.

I generally use a very talented local 'smith who is every bit as good as GAP -- if not better. Manners/McMillan/Grayboe stock, Bartlein/Krieger/Proof (or similar quality) barrel, Defiance (or similar quality) action, TriggerTech (or similar quality) trigger. With uber careful attention to reaming the barrel and overall assembly. He's built 223 Remy and 6CM rifles for me that exhibit accuracy equal to my GAPs -- if not better.