Creedmoor has been carrying the gun market
Time to talk guns.
Every now and then a gun goes on the market that makes a major impact on sales. Sales fall into separate categories. holiday gifts, sales to regular hunters and collectors, and home protection sales throughout the year.
This year, the gun market has been tricky. So, few guns have been available. For a gun to have made such an impact is remarkable.
The anti-gun protesters have also had an impact on gun sales. It is not politically correct to want to collect guns these days. But guns do not get up and shoot people. Guns have been around since America began and will continue to be collectable.
The market is incredibly soft, and firearms are very scarce.
Enter the gun sales of the Creedmoor 6.5 chambering. This Creedmoor is chambered for many military-style rifles. In 2007, Hornady introduced the 6.5, which was developed at Creedmoor Sports. The cartridge is a necked-down .30 Thompson Center Fire. The 6.5 was designed specifically for long-range target shooting.
Very few cartridges have been as widely talked about as this popular cartridge. It is selling very well. To me, this is strange as there is no magic in cartridges. There is nothing wrong with the Creedmoor, and it is helping gun shops to stay alive, but why is it so popular? While the Creedmoor is a relatively new round it does not outperform many of the old rounds. All 6.5 cartridges, and there are others, have a good ballistic coefficient. Any 6.5 cartridge if the muzzle velocity is the same and the ballistic coefficient is the same, they should shoot the same. Still the Creedmoor has been carrying the market.
Does the military use factor in its popularity? Let’s look at some facts. In the American military, the U.S troops are using the Creedmoor 6.5 in all their carbine and assault machine guns. In 2020, the United States Department of Defense decided to replace the Mk13 .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifle with a 20-inch barrel semi-automatic AR-10 platform chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. Perhaps this influence is what is fueling the cartridges
Remember the influence of the military rifles used during the first and second world wars would go on to change the chamberings of rifles thereafter. It was during World War II that the semi-automatic rifle was developed. After the war collectors started buying and collecting these military weapons. The military popularity increases the press and knowledge of the guns. People bring them home from war and share stories of the weapons they used.
Ease of use and speed could come into play here. The 6.5 Swedish Mauser or the 6.5 Creedmoor both push the same size cartridge, so it would be other factors that must influence the buyers. Is the recoil the same? What about the price? The rifle action length? Either way the Creedmoor 6.5 has had a major impact in the market this year.
It is interesting that at a time when we cannot find guns or cartridges the Creedmoor 6.5 is more popular than ever. When and if the gun market does come back, will this popular chambering and cartridge still be king? Looking back through gun history things always change but when? That is the question.