The first waves of hunting license sales are now upon us and the applications for the antlerless deer and elk tags have also taken place, but the next phase of the upcoming hunting season is in making yourself at home on the range.

Each year, the advertisements for new rifles and ammunition are on us full bore and seek our purchasing power. I was recently in a local sporting goods store to purchase three cases of shotgun shells for our local clubs’ upcoming fall turkey shoot. The price was decent and I was trying to make an informed purchase and early preparation for the annual event.

To make this event work out, I had visited a lumber store, a print shop, a hardware store and a sports shop. Lest I forget I had to see my favorite grocer to round up turkeys and hams as prizes as well.

My wife tells me that I do not have to always have to help out people with a commentary, but that’s part of my nature … for better or worse?!

Two fellows were talking over a future purchase that they were considering … it was going to be a new hunting rifle and they were debating the 6.5 Creedmoor in a bolt action rifle. One fellow commented that it was a new caliber and that it was not available at a lot of places.

I knew different and wanted to tell him he was mistaken, but I kept my mouth shut for a little while longer. When he spoke up and made mention that ammunition wasn’t available, I knew I couldn’t keep quiet any longer.

The real truth behind the 6.5 Creedmoor was that it has been around since 2007 when Hornady introduced it as a long-range target caliber based on the .308 short action cartridge.

The Creedmoor name came out of the partnership with Creedmoor Sports and Hornady Ballistics in its development. As often is the case, the development of new rifle cartridges is the result of people thinking outside of the box and trying to take the best of different calibers to make an improved rifle cartridge.

Nearly all mainstream sporting arms manufacturers have their presentation of the 6.5 Creedmoor available and in the sporting goods stores now. In fact, the PA Game Commission just approved the cartridge for Pennsylvania big game hunting with a 120-grain bullet.

The bullets are also offered in 139 and 140 grain selections, which I would prefer. The rifle boasts long range capabilities in match shoots and is only limited by the skill sets of the marksman. In all honesty, Pennsylvania hunters will likely shoot no further than 100 yards on most occasions. It’s just the type of habitat that we hunt in for the most part.

However, if you hunt out west for antelopes or deer, the attractiveness of this caliber does make a great deal of sense.

The cartridges potential has not been overlooked by the U.S. military, either. In 2017, the U.S tested the 6.5 Creedmoor against its standard round of the 7.62x51mm NATO and the .260 Remington. They came to the conclusion that the 6.5 Creedmoor was superior to the other choices and was planning in 2019 to convert their MK 20 SSR rifles, carbines and assault rifles.

Whenever the military takes an interest in a firearm, the ammunition prices will be attractive to the consumers.

However good the rifle is toted, I do know that many of my sporting arms perform admirably during my fall hunts. There was an old comment that a man with one gun probably knows how to use it, so it stands to reason that a man who uses the same hunting rifle each season gets to know his rifle and shoots it accurately.

Time spent on the range surely makes you comfortable with your rifle and likely to do well in real life hunting situations.

So, fellows, purchase your new rifle if the idea is really pulling you that way. The ammunition is available as well.

When it’s all said and done, make sure that you are home on the range and getting to know your new sporting arm. Be safe and always be sure you are shooting in a safe manner!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle