The conversation takes place at the 2025 NRA Show in Atlanta at the Hornady booth, where the focus is on Hornady’s new 25 Creedmoor cartridge. The 25 Creedmoor is presented as an evolution of the well-known 6.5 Creedmoor, which became a standard in precision rifle competition and hunting due to its carefully designed chamber geometry, twist rate, and ability to stabilize long bullets. That design allowed both budget rifles like the Ruger American and Savage, as well as custom builds, to shoot accurately. The 25 Creedmoor is introduced as the next step in that lineage, intended to offer similar accessibility and accuracy while refining certain ballistic characteristics.
Hornady explains that the 25 Creedmoor is essentially a 6.5 Creedmoor case necked down to .25 caliber, keeping the same overall cartridge length. Traditional .25-caliber cartridges such as the .25-06 used older, short, blunt bullets that lacked modern ballistic efficiency. In contrast, current manufacturers like Hornady, Sierra, and Berger now produce long, sleek 25-caliber bullets with high ballistic coefficients, such as Hornady’s 134-grain ELD Match. Legacy .25 cartridges were not optimized for these bullets and often required custom barrels, twist rates, and reamers. The 25 Creedmoor is SAAMI-accepted and purpose-built to stabilize these long projectiles, making it the only .25-caliber cartridge specifically standardized for modern long-range bullets.
The discussion shifts to how the 25 Creedmoor performs in precision rifle sports. Compared with a 147-grain ELD Match in 6.5 Creedmoor, the 134-grain ELD Match in 25 Creedmoor is lighter, producing less recoil while offering slightly better wind deflection due to improved drag characteristics. Pairing the cartridge with bullets like Hornady’s 138-grain A-Tip further enhances wind performance while still maintaining lower recoil than 6.5 Creedmoor. In PRS-style shooting, reduced recoil helps shooters stay on target and spot impacts or misses without losing the sight picture, which is critical for making fast corrections. The 25 Creedmoor is described as offering a blend of moderate recoil, flat trajectory, and strong wind resistance, helping shooters connect more consistently at longer distances.
After covering competition use, the conversation turns to hunting applications. Hornady notes that factory 25 Creedmoor ammunition includes a 134-grain match load and a Precision Hunter offering with a 128-grain ELD-X bullet. The ELD-X is highlighted for reliable terminal performance across a wide range of distances, from about 50 yards out to roughly 550 yards, providing consistent expansion and quick kills on game. The 25 Creedmoor is positioned as well-suited for medium-size North American game such as black bear, whitetail deer, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope. Its relatively low recoil makes it a practical option for new shooters, recoil-sensitive users, or smaller-framed shooters who want effective terminal performance without the punishment of magnum cartridges.
The discussion then moves to Hornady’s 338 ARC, which is naturally compared to the .338 Blackout (often referred to as 8.6 Blackout). Both use .338-diameter bullets and aim to deliver strong subsonic performance, but Hornady describes the 338 ARC as a more refined approach. The 338 ARC uses a 6.5 Grendel parent case, resulting in a very small case capacity behind a large .338 bullet. This configuration is intended to produce tight muzzle velocity spreads in subsonic loads, which is important because subsonic bullets spend more time in flight and are sensitive to velocity variation. In contrast, the larger 8.6 Blackout case can lead to more variable velocities in subsonic loads due to powder position within the spacious case.
Hornady emphasizes that the 338 ARC was engineered specifically for subsonic use from short barrels at around 1,050 feet per second. The cartridge is paired with a 307-grain bullet designed for reliable expansion at those low velocities, achieving roughly caliber-and-a-half expansion. The recommended barrel twist rate is 1:8, which Hornady considers fast enough for stability but gentler on bullet jackets than the very aggressive 1:3 twist often associated with 8.6 Blackout. This design aims to deliver good accuracy, consistent ignition, and dependable terminal performance below the speed of sound. When combined with a suppressor, the 338 ARC produces very low recoil and extremely quiet shooting, while still providing effective on-target results.
The 338 ARC’s real-world performance is illustrated with hog hunting in Texas, where the 307-grain subsonic load at roughly 1,050 feet per second produced strong terminal effects, including rapid incapacitation and noticeable knockdown on pigs. The bullet’s expansion and energy transfer create significant tissue disruption and hydrostatic shock despite modest overall energy. The small case volume helps maintain tight velocity spreads, which supports accuracy at subsonic speeds. By comparison, 8.6 Blackout’s larger case offers an advantage for supersonic loads due to greater powder capacity, but can be less consistent in subsonic applications. The 338 ARC is designed to fit AR-15–size platforms and compact micro–bolt-action rifles, offering an ergonomic, low-recoil, subsonic-focused option that excels when suppressed and used inside typical hunting distances.
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