6.5 Creedmoor

Where the speed nodes and accuracy nodes are. I am trying to conserve my precious components as much as possible lol.
There's no such thing as a powder "node" but you will find that somewhere between 40.8- 41.8 gr of 4350 will shoot with that bullet with lapua brass. I'm not sure how your brass compares to lapua though. I definitely understand wanting to conserve your components. If I can help just let me know, I have some data with that bullet in my book that I could give you when I get home tonight
 
  • Like
Reactions: mike278
Im in need of some help. I have a rifle that i just put together. its a terminus zeus with a 24inch 1:8 twist 5r M24 bartlein barrel. I have it in a mdt acc chassis and a vortex razor on top. I have tried nosler 130 rdf, berger 140grain Long Range Target. federal 210m, lapua brass Im cleaning after every range trip. Before this rifle i had a bergara LRP and i made that thing shoot 1/4 moa on the regular. this gun i cant get it under .5moa. im tired of throwing components at it. Anybody have a good bullet load combo that you guys can recommend? I have a total of 500 rounds thru it. the barrel is from southern precision rifles ( bug holes).
 
Im in need of some help. I have a rifle that i just put together. its a terminus zeus with a 24inch 1:8 twist 5r M24 bartlein barrel. I have it in a mdt acc chassis and a vortex razor on top. I have tried nosler 130 rdf, berger 140grain Long Range Target. federal 210m, lapua brass Im cleaning after every range trip. Before this rifle i had a bergara LRP and i made that thing shoot 1/4 moa on the regular. this gun i cant get it under .5moa. im tired of throwing components at it. Anybody have a good bullet load combo that you guys can recommend? I have a total of 500 rounds thru it. the barrel is from southern precision rifles ( bug holes).
Go 30 thou off the lands and see what happens.
 
Im in need of some help. I have a rifle that i just put together. its a terminus zeus with a 24inch 1:8 twist 5r M24 bartlein barrel. I have it in a mdt acc chassis and a vortex razor on top. I have tried nosler 130 rdf, berger 140grain Long Range Target. federal 210m, lapua brass Im cleaning after every range trip. Before this rifle i had a bergara LRP and i made that thing shoot 1/4 moa on the regular. this gun i cant get it under .5moa. im tired of throwing components at it. Anybody have a good bullet load combo that you guys can recommend? I have a total of 500 rounds thru it. the barrel is from southern precision rifles ( bug holes).

I have a very similar set up and man I would look at the Berger 130 OTM. You can run it a litter faster and it will do whatever you want. It will shoot too. That with 4350 and that bullet, it should shoot. There's tons of guys who shoot that bullet well though so
 
  • Like
Reactions: eamieva02
Im in need of some help. I have a rifle that i just put together. its a terminus zeus with a 24inch 1:8 twist 5r M24 bartlein barrel. I have it in a mdt acc chassis and a vortex razor on top. I have tried nosler 130 rdf, berger 140grain Long Range Target. federal 210m, lapua brass Im cleaning after every range trip. Before this rifle i had a bergara LRP and i made that thing shoot 1/4 moa on the regular. this gun i cant get it under .5moa. im tired of throwing components at it. Anybody have a good bullet load combo that you guys can recommend? I have a total of 500 rounds thru it. the barrel is from southern precision rifles ( bug holes).
If you can, measure your distance to lands. Then load two rounds .020 off that distance, then load two more each at .023, .026,.029, etc. in .003 increments. Shoot and you will find best group seating depth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eamieva02
Hkmiller - I'm not disputing your recommendation, especially since I have none, but would not barrel erosion (relatively) soon impact precision if the barrel was jump sensitive to ± .003"? (Just hoping to learn.) The OP obviously made a best effort - I would contact Bartlein.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eamieva02
Hkmiller - I'm not disputing your recommendation, especially since I have none, but would not barrel erosion (relatively) soon impact precision if the barrel was jump sensitive to ± .003"? (Just hoping to learn.) The OP obviously made a best effort - I would contact Bartlein.
Barrel erosion would not be an issue with this. This is commonly used to find proper seating depth.
 
140 ELD-m
Alpha SRP
CCI 450
H4350
5 shot group

AE393477-46A0-4812-81DF-AD4029F1BBE5.jpeg
 
That reloder 26 is magical pixie dust. Kinda why it's selling for$150 or more a pound. I know if i sell mine, I'll prob never find more

It must be made from Sasquatch turds and Unicorn Tears, because it was un-obtainium before the Plandemic.
I'll buy a couple of 8lb's if it ever resurfaces.
My .284 Winchester loves the stuff.
 
  • Like
Reactions: russkim04
T3x Lite w/ original barrel cut to 19.25". New starline brass 1x resized w/ CCI primers & H4350. Measured w/ a magnetospeed sporter attached to a suppressor w/ sensitivity on Hi 2.

Went through a ladder with some 140s and 143s today just to get an idea of what velocity I'm getting. 32 degrees out. 70 in the house and I brought rounds out 3 at a time and shot them in different orders each time. Just trying to see if I get pressure signs anywhere. Loaded as long as they'd fit in my CTR magazine. I have all the measurements written down and how far off the lands they are in a different book. I loaded these a year ago and never got around to shooting them. Will post headstamp pics later and see if anyone has an opinion on pressure signs. Maybe a minor swipe at 43+ but I get that fairly often from this gun so hard to say.

One thing that's interesting is that the 143s are slightly faster than the 140s. Guessing that has to do w/ bullet shape and bearing surface? 147s are also faster but it was 15 degrees warmer when I shot those.

140 Hybrid Target
H43506.5 CMCharge
36​
37​
38​
39​
40​
40.5​
41​
41.5​
42​
42.5​
43​
43.5​
140 HybridBook Velocity2378 @36.5
2634​
Berger34-40.3Chrono Velocity
2298​
2354​
2435​
2450​
2509​
2529​
2556​
2605​
2634​
2657​


140 Elite Hunter
H43506.5 CMCharge
38​
39​
40​
40.5​
41​
41.5​
42​
42.5​
43​
43.5​
140 Elite HunterBook Velocity
2471​
2731​
Berger38 to 42.3Chrono Velocity
2290​
2344​
2408​
2460​
2479​
2512​
2570​
2598​
2633​
2649​

143 ELD-X
H43506.5 CMCharge
36​
37​
38​
39​
40​
40.5​
41​
41.5​
42​
42.5​
43​
43.5​
143 ELD-XBook Velocity
2400​
2500​
2600​
2650​
2700​
HornadyChrono Velocity
2344​
2405​
2444​
2511​
2503​
2557​
2563​
2629​
2651​
2662​


Older data for reference
156 EOL shot at 42 degrees
H43506.5 CMCharge
37​
38​
39​
40​
40.5​
41​
41.5​
42​
42.5​
156 EOLBook Velocity2405 @36.52627 @ 40.3
Berger34-40.3Chrono Velocity
2265​
2282​
2354​
2449​
2447​
2473​
2500​
2536​
2576​

147 ELD-M w/ CCI Primers at 47 degrees
H43506.5 CMCharge
36​
37​
38​
39​
40​
40.5​
41​
41.5​
42​
42.5​
43​
CCI147 ELD-MBook Velocity
2400​
2500​
2550​
2600​
Hornady34-40.3Chrono Velocity
2252​
2291​
2321​
2455​
2495​
2491​
2548​
2553​
2583​
2616​
2629​


147 ELD-M w/ WIN Primers at 47 degrees
H43506.5 CMCharge
36​
37​
38​
39​
40​
40.5​
41​
41.5​
42​
42.5​
43​
WIN147 ELD-MBook Velocity
2400​
2500​
2550​
2600​
Hornady34-40.3Chrono Velocity
2254​
2323​
2370​
2430​
2510​
2534​
2558​
2590​
2621​
2658​
2637​
 
26” Bartlein MTU
Virgin Alpha OCD SRP brass
.002 neck tension
H4350
CCI450
CBTO 2.233 (.030 off my lands)
62F 56% humidity 30.23 inHg -7.1’ DA

Measured with Magnetospeed v3
 

Attachments

  • 2FD7349F-7401-4161-8752-59F9BD9F0DA8.jpeg
    2FD7349F-7401-4161-8752-59F9BD9F0DA8.jpeg
    236.5 KB · Views: 211
  • Like
Reactions: dmuffman80
Good testing. Great database. It looks a little slow
I don't shoot as much through the summer but am curious to send some across the chrono when it's warmer. I have a few velocities from before the barrel was cut in my log book and it's always been a little on the slow side. Not sure if 400 is really far enough to true up a velocity but the dope to 400 matches the MV I'm getting with my .223 across the same chrono and setup the same way with the suppressor.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eamieva02
I’m pretty new to reloading and wanted to get some input. Building load for 16inch barrel Fix. 136gr lapua scenar and came across a deal on a bunch of shooters world precision powder. Found a node between 38.7 and 39.0 with only 6fps difference. SD was 10.44 so I need to work on seating depth to hopefully lower it a little. Started at .020 jump. My biggest question is 2443fps average out of 16 inch barrel slow for that round? No known data on that round and powder especially out of 16inch barrel.
 
That's very slow for creed on the whole, but might just be your barrel/powder combination. If it meets your needs, run it.

I might consider going down to a 123 scenar to get some speed back from the short barrel, but IME the 136 is a great bullet.
 
I thought a little about a lighter projectile. Came off of shooting 123 factory ammo and was getting 2600ish. Maybe I’ll run a little and build a card and see how far it goes. The 123s I got out to 1000 but not consistent at all. Got thrown around by any wind quite a bit as the speed fell off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hoss47
Tikka Barrels tend to run on the slow side, Short Barrel ( My CTR was a 24" for max MV ) and cold temps.
Load some RL16 in place of H4350 and see what it does.
RL16 - 41.8gr, on 140 eldm, 2780fps es24 sd8 - below is a group of 10 at 100yds - from 24" bergara lrp2.
top circle there on a target is a 1/2" diameter.
SD can be lower with more attention given to brass uniformity and measuring drops better, best i had was in area of 3-5 SD and grouped about of 1/4 MOA at 300yds.

1674612413829.png
 
RL16 - 41.8gr, on 140 eldm, 2780fps es24 sd8 - below is a group of 10 at 100yds - from 24" bergara lrp2.
top circle there on a target is a 1/2" diameter.
SD can be lower with more attention given to brass uniformity and measuring drops better, best i had was in area of 3-5 SD and grouped about of 1/4 MOA at 300yds.

View attachment 8056882
I'd say that it's working for you...
 
I generally reload more accurate rounds than those commercially available. In the attachments you can see my attempt to continue this. The wider group is my reloading attempt. The tighter group is from Hornaday 6.5 Creedmoor 147 gr ELD Match rounds.

My reloaded rounds are Hornady brass, cleaned, trimmed, and sized. I used Federal match primers and a RCBS Chargemaster for the powder. I used a caliper to emulate the dimensions of factory rounds.

I don't recall the powder or charge weight but I did step up the weight and what you see is my tightest group.

I would appreciate any advice on how I might be able to tighten my grouping.
 

Attachments

  • 20200314_145202.jpg
    20200314_145202.jpg
    541.6 KB · Views: 98
  • 20200314_143048.jpg
    20200314_143048.jpg
    505.3 KB · Views: 100
I generally reload more accurate rounds than those commercially available. In the attachments you can see my attempt to continue this. The wider group is my reloading attempt. The tighter group is from Hornaday 6.5 Creedmoor 147 gr ELD Match rounds.

My reloaded rounds are Hornady brass, cleaned, trimmed, and sized. I used Federal match primers and a RCBS Chargemaster for the powder. I used a caliper to emulate the dimensions of factory rounds.

I don't recall the powder or charge weight but I did step up the weight and what you see is my tightest group.

I would appreciate any advice on how I might be able to tighten my grouping.
What is your distance that your shooting? Also good to know what your powder charge is, make sure you have consistent neck tension and seating depth. Try doing a ladder test too to find a charge that can get you a better SD (single digits).
 
  • Like
Reactions: DubfromGA
After reading a lot of posts here and other forums.... when it comes to reloading 6.5 Creedmoor, the most common powder agreed upon is 4350, about equal between Hodgdon and IMR brands...
That being said, I'm going to buy a pound and give it a try.... I like to get close to 2700 fps with a 140gr Hornady ELD-M. I'll ladder from 39.7gr to 40.4gr in .10gr steps.
Hodgdon load data says 40.0Cgr gets 2660 fps.
Chrono: Labradar
Ballistics: Kestrel 5700 Elite
Gun: Bergara HMR Pro 6.5 Creedmoor, 24" 1:8 twist,
Optics: Vortex PST Gen 2 5-25 ffp, zero 200yrd .75 tmoa
Cartridge: Lapua brass, Federal 210 primer, trim 1.917, oal 2.792
I'll post back on how the 4350 performs in this rifle..

texashaag

My current powder in use is Staball 6.5 42.7gr consistent hits at 1000 yards on 10" gong
 
I should have waited to post until I had time to get the powder and weight. I was shooting at 600 yds.

Thanks guys. In your experience, what will happen with too little or too much neck tension. Also, do you think fire formed brass would make a difference.
 
After reading a lot of posts here and other forums.... when it comes to reloading 6.5 Creedmoor, the most common powder agreed upon is 4350, about equal between Hodgdon and IMR brands...
That being said, I'm going to buy a pound and give it a try.... I like to get close to 2700 fps with a 140gr Hornady ELD-M. I'll ladder from 39.7gr to 40.4gr in .10gr steps.
Hodgdon load data says 40.0Cgr gets 2660 fps.
Chrono: Labradar
Ballistics: Kestrel 5700 Elite
Gun: Bergara HMR Pro 6.5 Creedmoor, 24" 1:8 twist,
Optics: Vortex PST Gen 2 5-25 ffp, zero 200yrd .75 tmoa
Cartridge: Lapua brass, Federal 210 primer, trim 1.917, oal 2.792
I'll post back on how the 4350 performs in this rifle..

texashaag

My current powder in use is Staball 6.5 42.7gr consistent hits at 1000 yards on 10" gong
40.4 is a very light load in lapua brass. That’s where most guys start. Didn’t notice ejector swipes or primer signs in my alpha brass until about 42.3 of h4350. I was getting about 2680 at 40.4 at 2.233 cbto. Alpha brass has slightly less case capacity on average than lapua, resulting in pressure/velocity increase faster. A known node for lapua brass is around 41.5 gr h4350 at .030 off the lands with the 140eldm.
 
40.4 is a very light load in lapua brass. That’s where most guys start. Didn’t notice ejector swipes or primer signs in my alpha brass until about 42.3 of h4350. I was getting about 2680 at 40.4 at 2.233 cbto. Alpha brass has slightly less case capacity on average than lapua, resulting in pressure/velocity increase faster. A known node for lapua brass is around 41.5 gr h4350 at .030 off the lands with the 140eldm.
Point taken.... thus the reason for a ladder... thanks
 
I should have waited to post until I had time to get the powder and weight. I was shooting at 600 yds.

Thanks guys. In your experience, what will happen with too little or too much neck tension. Also, do you think fire formed brass would make a difference.
To little neck tension you run the risk of bullet seating depth moving when chambering the round. I usually always run .002 to .003. neck tension. From my experience neck tension is not to big of a deal as long as you are consistent with it. I have tested .003 and .002 and I didn't really see a group size difference. I set neck tension using a bushing die and mandrel.

Fire formed brass is the only way I would test it because I believe it gets the brass more uniform and you can set the headspace appropriate to your chamber. Fire formed brass almost always shoots better out of my rifles.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Janderson32151
I generally reload more accurate rounds than those commercially available. In the attachments you can see my attempt to continue this. The wider group is my reloading attempt. The tighter group is from Hornaday 6.5 Creedmoor 147 gr ELD Match rounds.

My reloaded rounds are Hornady brass, cleaned, trimmed, and sized. I used Federal match primers and a RCBS Chargemaster for the powder. I used a caliper to emulate the dimensions of factory rounds.

I don't recall the powder or charge weight but I did step up the weight and what you see is my tightest group.

I would appreciate any advice on how I might be able to tighten my grouping.
Emulating factory ammo is likely not the best approach. For seating depth you should start with the specs your reloading data lists. Consider getting a Hornady tool that will measure maximum cartridge length in the chamber, so you can load precise lengths and controlling the jump of the bullet to the rifling, or as normally referred to as jump to lands.
Berger and Hornady ELD bullets can often like a jump of .040 give or take to the lands. So if your max chamber length, max cartridge length at which point the bullet is touching the lands is 2.875 (for instance) you might start loading for a .040 jump, which would be a COL of 2.835. Then you might reduce by .005” until you find your best seating depth.
Then there is BTO measurement which is a much more accurate and precise measurement related to length and much more precise related to chamber size, and seating depths.

You will find a wealth of information here and likely better described and communicated than I am able.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DubfromGA
40.4 is a very light load in lapua brass. That’s where most guys start. Didn’t notice ejector swipes or primer signs in my alpha brass until about 42.3 of h4350. I was getting about 2680 at 40.4 at 2.233 cbto. Alpha brass has slightly less case capacity on average than lapua, resulting in pressure/velocity increase faster. A known node for lapua brass is around 41.5 gr h4350 at .030 off the lands with the 140eldm.
That would be around 42.0 IMR 4350, no? I don’t have primers to be able to test that yet lol. I am amazed this yet continues.