6.5 Creedmoor
- Thread starter Sportin Wood
- Start date
I tried the 144s with h4350 not too long ago and got up to 2800 without having any pressure signs so it works there too. But I probably won't be running them that fast. I'll back down to 2760ish or 2780ish to preserve brass life.
Has anybody tried 153.5s in a 18-20” barrel? If so, what was your MV and powder? I’m trying to build an NRL open light rig with hopes to cut weight by going to a 18-20” barrel, Then compensate loss of speed with weight.
First 6.5, stock tikka ctr 24" stainless.
Went with 41.2gr H4350 under 140gr Hornady bthps just to get the gun shot in. Very happy, those are both 5 round groups. These were the first two groups after 6 rounds getting newly mounted scope on paper. A little slow but should be fine inside of 1200, brass looks like it will last.
Tried some 120 ELDs with superformance and got up to nearly 3000 fps with no real pressure signs, will probably settle around 2930ish and see how they group. Just shot single round charge weights checking speed and brass for pressure. Did Varget too.
Went with 41.2gr H4350 under 140gr Hornady bthps just to get the gun shot in. Very happy, those are both 5 round groups. These were the first two groups after 6 rounds getting newly mounted scope on paper. A little slow but should be fine inside of 1200, brass looks like it will last.
Tried some 120 ELDs with superformance and got up to nearly 3000 fps with no real pressure signs, will probably settle around 2930ish and see how they group. Just shot single round charge weights checking speed and brass for pressure. Did Varget too.
Attachments
Here are my results with Varget and Superformance, Hornady brass, CCI 200s, 24" factory tikka. 5,000ft, 50f.
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I run 153 ATips with 40.6grns of H4350 loaded at 2.860” in Hornady brass.
I was thinking of trying 40.0g and 40.3g. Just get close to book max for Berger
Hodgdon lists 41 as their max load with Hornady brass and at saami oal so you should be good in that range.
Those superformance loads are hot, even on the lower end so be very careful and work up.
Hey guys, quick question. What is considered a far bullet jump when loading from magazines. I’m using an XLR chassis with Hawkins Mags and currently jumping .145 with 140 TMK or 140 Berger Hybrids. I can probably load .020 closer to the lands but I’m just trying to get a feel for how far off I am compaired to others who mag feed there bolt guns…
Yes. 2750 to 2800 is common. If I recall correctly the 6.5 creed was designed to run a 140 at 2750, may have been 2700 to 2750, but those speeds are normal.
To get 140 hybrids to fit in several brands of mags it’s not uncommon for them to fit to be jumping .120 if your using 140 hybrids and there not accurate at any amount of jump then there’s something wrong with your rifle. Don’t be afraid of massive jump they just don’t care. You can buy mags with no binder plate and jump less if you want but if using the 140 hybrid don’t waste your money and just load them to mag lenght, likely they’ll shoot great.
140gr bullets are what the 6.5 cm seems to like the best.
It's difficult to make a 140gr bullet, no matter who the mfg is, not perform well.
Obviously a bit of tweeking might be needed to get the "perfect" load, but they tend to not really care what oal and what jump you choose to load to.
It's difficult to make a 140gr bullet, no matter who the mfg is, not perform well.
Obviously a bit of tweeking might be needed to get the "perfect" load, but they tend to not really care what oal and what jump you choose to load to.
Had my first head separation over the weekend, goes about 300 degrees around the brass and is above the sizing die mark. Looking for some input/advice to look out for.
2x fired hornady brass, this was the 3rd firing. Picked up 300 once-fired brass from gunwerks (not doing once fired anymore, I know) and 200 factory hornady brass from my gun that I am loading. Second loading on all brass was done with a lee full length sizer with ~.002” shoulder bump. Annealed after the 2nd firing and all sizing for the current (3rd firing) loads was done on a SAC die with bushing and mandrel for .002” bump and neck tension. Not running a hot load, cci 200 with 42.5gr staball 6.5 with 140gr eld-m @2650 fps in a 24” bergara HMR.
Is it possible I just got one piece of bad brass? I shot ~80 rounds and this is the only one I saw this on. I visually checked all the brass before loading and looked fine though (I am pretty conservative and turned any I had any hesitation on into dummy rounds that were probably still fine) did not do the paperclip test though as it was only the 3rd time it would be fired. I checked half of the ones fired the same day and some of the ones I have not loaded yet with the paperclip test (dental curved pick) and none seem to have any groove forming inside. I have reloaded a lot of hunting ammo but only up to 3x so far, but with starting PRS shooting, is there anything I am missing that I should be doing besides running the paper clip test? This one scared me a little.
Have a barreled action being spun and will be using lapua brass in that but will still load and shoot this.
2x fired hornady brass, this was the 3rd firing. Picked up 300 once-fired brass from gunwerks (not doing once fired anymore, I know) and 200 factory hornady brass from my gun that I am loading. Second loading on all brass was done with a lee full length sizer with ~.002” shoulder bump. Annealed after the 2nd firing and all sizing for the current (3rd firing) loads was done on a SAC die with bushing and mandrel for .002” bump and neck tension. Not running a hot load, cci 200 with 42.5gr staball 6.5 with 140gr eld-m @2650 fps in a 24” bergara HMR.
Is it possible I just got one piece of bad brass? I shot ~80 rounds and this is the only one I saw this on. I visually checked all the brass before loading and looked fine though (I am pretty conservative and turned any I had any hesitation on into dummy rounds that were probably still fine) did not do the paperclip test though as it was only the 3rd time it would be fired. I checked half of the ones fired the same day and some of the ones I have not loaded yet with the paperclip test (dental curved pick) and none seem to have any groove forming inside. I have reloaded a lot of hunting ammo but only up to 3x so far, but with starting PRS shooting, is there anything I am missing that I should be doing besides running the paper clip test? This one scared me a little.
Have a barreled action being spun and will be using lapua brass in that but will still load and shoot this.
No, it was through gunwerks. There’s a 60% chance it was one of the once fired since I mixed the 300 once fired with the 200 factory brass I fired. Just kind of a sanity check here, I dont think I did anything wrong that would have caused this. Load process is
1. Deprime
2. Wet tumble
3. Anneal (only plan to do every 3 or so)
4. imperial dry lube on neck and imperial wax on body.
5. Size to .002 bump
6. Trim and chamfer
7. Wipe brass with rag with alcohol on it to remove wax
8. Charge with autotrickler
9. Seat
Hope this is just a bad piece of brass or I figure out something I am missing that caused it.
It could be bad brass, but 90% of the time it is caused by excess head space, either in your rifle or the one your "once" fired brass came from.. If your loading for more than one 6.5 Creed your technique is great, since they have to fit multiple chambers. However, if your reloading for just one 6.5 Creedmoor, your bolt action Bergara, then the best case gauge is your rifle's own chamber.
To do that you must neck size only. Then test a dummy round to see if it fits. If it does, it does not need a shoulder bump yet. If it does not fit, then do a partial FL resize, in small increments, until that case just fits.
You may have a chamber that's on the large end of SAAMI tolerances and a resizing die that's on the small end of SAMMI tolerances. At least this is a easy and inexpensive way to check how your brass fits before you bump it back .002 or whatever. It's trouble shooting 101.
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I primarily load SRP Lapua, on my 4th firing, but have a loaded Hordany, S&B and Federal.
In my experience Hordany is very soft compared to others that I have put through the press.
It’s possible you got a bunk piece of brass that slipped through Hordany QC.
In my experience Hordany is very soft compared to others that I have put through the press.
It’s possible you got a bunk piece of brass that slipped through Hordany QC.
So, the second loading was actually .003” bump. I had been full length sizing with a .002 to make sure I have reliable feeding. I figured if It were still growing it would grow on the second firing more than half what it did after the initial firing. The fired brass will fit in the chamber and the bolt will close. After sizing, it does not fully fit in the lyman case gauge I have. Should I be looking to neck size only or setting no bump on the first loading?
I took these measurements on headspace:
Factory ammo new - 1.557-1.559
Factory ammo fired - 1.5635 (grew .0055)
Once fired sized - 1.5615
Once fired shot - 1.5645 (grew .003)
Twice fired sized - 1.5615
Twice fired shot - 1.5645 (grew .003)
Twice fired that separated 1.5660
And yes, I only have the one 6.5 creedmoor right now. All shooting I have done is with this gun, then whatever the “once fired” brass was from. I mixed the brass like an idiot so no way to tell if this was that or my original factory also the last time I’m messing with once fired.
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