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6.5 Creedmoor vs .308 vs .300 Win Mag: Drop, Wind Drift and Energy Compared

Three match loads solved in the same air from 300 to 1,200 yards: come-ups, 10 mph wind drift, velocity and energy, and why the .300 Win Mag drops least but drifts more than the 6.5 Creedmoor.

6 min readSolved with the Ballista engineUpdated October 2026

The .300 Win Mag load in this comparison leaves the muzzle 190 fps faster than the 6.5 Creedmoor with a bullet 50 grains heavier. At 1,000 yards it needs 0.53 mil less elevation than the 6.5 and carries 1.26 times the energy. In a 10 mph crosswind it drifts 77 inches to the 6.5’s 68. Velocity buys drop. Drift follows ballistic coefficient, and the 6.5’s bullet has the higher one.

The 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 are this site’s reference rifles. The .300 Win Mag is a factory match load with its published G7 BC and muzzle velocity. To check that load, we solved it with Federal’s own table conditions (200 yd zero, 1.5 in sight height). The engine matches Federal’s published drop within 0.2 in, velocity within 8 fps and 10 mph drift within 0.3 in out to 500 yd. Your barrel will give a different velocity; the comparison holds as long as each rifle’s velocity is close to its box.

Drop: the magnum is flattest

The .300 needs the least elevation at every range. The margin over the 6.5 is small up close and grows to 0.42 mil at 1,200 yd. Against the .308 the difference is larger: at 1,000 yd the .308 needs 11.94 mil, 3.62 more than the magnum.

Less drop means a range error costs less. Between 800 and 900 yd the .300’s come-up changes by 1.26 mil and the 6.5’s by 1.28, almost the same. The .308’s changes by 1.89. The same 50 yd ranging error at that distance costs the .308 1.5 times the elevation it costs the magnum.

Wind: ballistic coefficient beats velocity

Drift is set by lag time: how far the bullet falls behind the schedule it would keep if it never slowed. The wind drift article shows the formula. At 1,000 yd the 6.5’s lag time is 0.389 s and the .300’s is 0.440 s. The magnum starts faster, but its bullet has a lower G7 BC (0.275 against 0.326) and sheds speed faster in proportion, so it falls behind schedule sooner.

Bullet choice inside one cartridge matters as much. Nosler’s 210 gr RDF load for the .300 Win Mag has a published G7 BC of 0.348 at 2,750 fps. In the same 10 mph wind it drifts 61 in at 1,000 yd, less than the 6.5 and the 190 gr load, while starting 150 fps slower than the 190. Higher BC cuts lag time even at lower velocity.

The .308 drifts the most: 112 in at 1,000 yd, 1.64 times the 6.5. At 1,200 yd it’s 174 in.

Energy and velocity

The magnum’s energy advantage is large at every distance. Its 190 gr bullet still carries 860 ft-lb at 1,000 yd, about what the 6.5 has left at 830 yd. Whether you need that energy depends on the target. For game, energy and bullet construction both matter, and the maker’s recommended impact velocity for the bullet is the number to check.

The velocity columns cross. The .300 starts faster, but from about 710 yd on the 6.5 is moving faster. Each bullet reaches Mach 1.2, where transonic drag begins to change quickly, at a different distance in this air:

• 6.5 Creedmoor: 1,140 yd
• .300 Win Mag 190 gr: 1,070 yd
• .308 Win: 790 yd

The 6.5 stays above that line longest, the .300 close behind. The .308 crosses it before 800 yd, and that’s where its drift starts to run away from the other two. The transonic article covers what happens after the crossing.

What the numbers show

• Drop: .300 Win Mag least, then 6.5 Creedmoor, then .308, at every range from 300 to 1,200 yd.
• Wind: with these bullets, 6.5 Creedmoor least, .300 Win Mag 190 gr close behind, .308 most. A higher-BC .300 bullet moves the magnum ahead.
• Energy: .300 Win Mag well ahead at every range. The .308 carries slightly more than the 6.5 out to about 330 yd and less beyond.
• Above Mach 1.2: 6.5 to about 1,140 yd, .300 190 gr to about 1,070, .308 to about 790, in standard air.

None of this covers recoil, barrel life, rifle weight or cost. Those decide most real choices, and they’re outside a ballistic solver.

Using this for your own rifle

1. Chronograph your load. The box velocity of the .300 was measured in a 24 in barrel; yours may differ.
2. Use the G7 BC the maker publishes for your exact bullet; the 190 gr and 210 gr .300 loads above show how much one bullet change moves the drift.
3. Compare cartridges in your own air. Thin, warm air moves every transonic point farther out.
4. Learn your 10 mph wind hold at three or four distances for the rifle you actually shoot.