6.5 Creedmoor

HW - I would think that would depend on the chamber in your rifle. If that is the case (and it is the case with my rifle too) then the good news is you won't be working your brass very hard firing and resizing it.

Got to shoot at the 600 yard electronic F class target Sunday, 3" X ring, 6" 10 ring, 12" 9 ring. At 600 there really wasn't much difference between the rounds loaded with the ChargeMaster vs. the Satorius. Vertical spread stayed in the 10 ring. It might have been better, but some of it might have been me. Consistently shot 94s and 95s with 3-4X on 10 shot strings in switching winds. (No flags, so it's really challenging) Also, no difference in elevation at 600 between Fed 210 and CCI 200 primers at 600. Would need to check at 1000 to see for sure.

Also had the 308 out there. I have to say the 6.5 CM is an order of magnitude better in wind than the 308. I shot an 86 1X on the same target with no sighters. Elevation was as good as the 6.5 - the wind calls were a lot harder. Figured I would have been around 90 with sighters.
 
SkiGolfMike,

Thanks for confirming you experience that as well. This is a factory Savage LRP. I didn't expect the chamber to be that tight. Do you bump back every firing or see if they will chamber before deciding?


Did some load development with it with IMR4350 and 140 AMAX loaded to 2.81 COAL. This is about a .055" jump according to my measurement with LNL OAL gage. Two loads, 39.6 and 41.5, shot 1/4 moa. 38.6 shot 1/3 moa. Had numerous that shot 1/2 moa. This was with no case prep. I loaded the brass straight from the box. I am going to deburr flash holes, uniform primer pockets, chamfer, etc. on next pass.

I may take the load higher as I saw no signs of pressure. However, the temp was in the 40's and it will be in the 90's or 100's here in the summer so I want to test these at warmer temps.
 
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HW - I would think that would depend on the chamber in your rifle. If that is the case (and it is the case with my rifle too) then the good news is you won't be working your brass very hard firing and resizing it.

Got to shoot at the 600 yard electronic F class target Sunday, 3" X ring, 6" 10 ring, 12" 9 ring. At 600 there really wasn't much difference between the rounds loaded with the ChargeMaster vs. the Satorius. Vertical spread stayed in the 10 ring. It might have been better, but some of it might have been me. Consistently shot 94s and 95s with 3-4X on 10 shot strings in switching winds. (No flags, so it's really challenging) Also, no difference in elevation at 600 between Fed 210 and CCI 200 primers at 600. Would need to check at 1000 to see for sure.

Also had the 308 out there. I have to say the 6.5 CM is an order of magnitude better in wind than the 308. I shot an 86 1X on the same target with no sighters. Elevation was as good as the 6.5 - the wind calls were a lot harder. Figured I would have been around 90 with sighters.


The bc of the 6.5 dominates the .308 totally. I've got ga crusaders in each caliber. After shooting the 6.5 I literally have barely shot my .308 in ftr. First time i shot my 6.5 in f open I shot a 586 with 29x. (And I still came in 3 rd) :)
Range was palo alto in lousiana. Those boys are BAD. I call their ftr rifles mini- .300 win mags as most are shooting anywhere from 185 juggernauts all the way up to 215 Berger hybrids. If you can shoot there, in my opinion you can shoot anywhere.
 
I measured my once fired Hornady brass and it looks like the shoulders either didn't move or only moved a half thousandth compared to unfired Hornady brass from the same box. Anyone else see this, or is my measuring suspect? I'm using a comparator gage to measure the shoulder with an admittedly cheap-ass pair of calipers. I have real calipers arriving Wednesday and will double check it.
I crudely measured shoulders on 2 and 3x fired Hornady brass, sometimes I got no measurement and at most a thousandth.....which simply could be my gauge or the fact I was using a 40sw case as the means to get around buying the proper tool.
6.5lrp
 
I resize every firing. In a comp or field rifle you want it to run all the time, so I don't load longer than mag length or in the lands either. I want to the gun keep running and be consistent.

I would wait for 90* temps to see how hard you can push it as IMR4350 is temp sensitive. You should be able to get similar velocities as H4350. I have plenty of IMR4350 as backup to H4350 in case I run out of the former.

I have a GAP Crusader and at 2.810 140 Amax has about a .060" jump. I am currently running the Hybrids at 2.840 for a .060" jump.
 
I resize every firing. In a comp or field rifle you want it to run all the time, so I don't load longer than mag length or in the lands either. I want to the gun keep running and be consistent.

I would wait for 90* temps to see how hard you can push it as IMR4350 is temp sensitive. You should be able to get similar velocities as H4350. I have plenty of IMR4350 as backup to H4350 in case I run out of the former.

I have a GAP Crusader and at 2.810 140 Amax has about a .060" jump. I am currently running the Hybrids at 2.840 for a .060" jump.


Ski... I'm not sure which die your using, but I bought the whidden fl, bump, bushing die and for the $ it works really well. My loaded rounds are .292 at the neck but in order to get the tension that "feels like virgin brass" I've got to use a .286 bushing. I also bump 2/1000"'s on the shoulder which gives a snug fit but not too tight. Have had the series d redding, hornady bushing die , but this by far is my favorite. Just my opinion
 
The bc of the 6.5 dominates the .308 totally. I've got ga crusaders in each caliber. After shooting the 6.5 I literally have barely shot my .308 in ftr. First time i shot my 6.5 in f open I shot a 586 with 29x. (And I still came in 3 rd) :)
Range was palo alto in lousiana. Those boys are BAD. I call their ftr rifles mini- .300 win mags as most are shooting anywhere from 185 juggernauts all the way up to 215 Berger hybrids. If you can shoot there, in my opinion you can shoot anywhere.

The 600 - 1K range at Peacemaker is on rolling ground with lots of terrain to cause swirling winds and eddies, plus no flags. I shot at Camp Perry last year and this was a lot more challenging. Also, shooting a 24" field rifle in F-TR is a big handicap. The 6.5 is about 1/3 less wind than the 308.
 
Ski... I'm not sure which die your using, but I bought the whidden fl, bump, bushing die and for the $ it works really well. My loaded rounds are .292 at the neck but in order to get the tension that "feels like virgin brass" I've got to use a .286 bushing. I also bump 2/1000"'s on the shoulder which gives a snug fit but not too tight. Have had the series d redding, hornady bushing die , but this by far is my favorite. Just my opinion

I also have the Whidden dies. I haven't yet resized a fired case as I just shot my first 48 hand loads this weekend. I got the non-bushing resizer. I may regret it or end up getting the bushing type. I will see how the resizing goes this week with the non-bushing die.

I measured the base to ogive on 48 rounds after seating with the Whidden micrometer seater and they were all within .001". I'm impressed with the dies. I think my action may end up in one of his stocks.
 
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I use a Redding full length bushing die with a .288 bushing and a Redding competition seating die. I actually measure to the ogive with a Hornaday bullet comparator when I load and typically it holds with in .001". Runout at the ogive is typically in the .0005" - .0015" range.

I set the die by removing the firing pin and the ejector from the bolt, then sizing another piece of brass until the bolt just falls. Then I lock it down. This gives ~.001" of headspace and I know that I am not over working the brass. Learned that from a benchrest guy.
 
So, I loaded 50 rounds in new brass last night for this weekend. Cleaned the pilot holes (Yes, they needed it), ran the primer pocket uniformer (some took a little out), ran them through the full length bushing die (it hit all the necks slightly), trimmed (very few took anything off) and chamferred. Installed the Fed 210 primers and Loaded using the Chargemaster set at 42.2 and transferring to the Satorius and trickling up to 42.52 +/- .02.

Seating the 140 Hybrids is where it got interesting. On the once(+) fired I have loaded I can usually hold the seating depth at the ogive to .001". This time they were all over the place. +/-.005 with most +/-.001. Some bullets would seat very soft, some went in pretty hard. You would think neck tension would be the same as all pieces went through the bushing die (the once(+) fired is), but these were not. Since the annealing band is still on the brass you would think they wound all be soft. My guess is the brass is annealed before final forming and the brass all has different degrees of work hardness.

My guess is these will still shoot well. I just found it interesting.

BTW, my necks are .292 loaded and .294 fired. I use a .288 bushing in the sizing die.
 
Three shot groups at 100 yards, IMR 4350 & 140 gr Amax at 2.81 COAL, stock Savage LRP. I did not let the barrel cool while shooting these. I have 68 rounds through it now.

Looks like I have two starting points.
 

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Three shot groups at 100 yards, IMR 4350 & 140 gr Amax at 2.81 COAL, stock Savage LRP. I did not let the barrel cool while shooting these. I have 68 rounds through it now.

Looks like I have two starting points.
Very nice. I had to go to go away from the 140amax to Berger's to get groups like that. This is the only 140class bullet I could find that my LRP shoots nicely.
Berger states that their TARGET and HUNTING bullets have identical BC's and shoot identical as well, the only difference between their target and their hunting are that the Target has a thicker jacket to make up for rapid fire to keep the jacket from deforming in uber hot barrells at extremely high speeds. I'm hoping like hell its true, because I have 2 boxes of 140 hunting vld's and if they shoot the same as these target vld's with the same load its gonna be easy street.... I rung steel 8 out of 9 shots with a 13 mph wind on an even 13 MOA dope at 600 with that load. Seems to buck wind good for all I can tell. I was much more consistent with these than my 120amaxes in the wind(at least so it seemed).
BERGER VLD140 TARGET:
 
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Demo man,
Looks like those are working for you. Seems like the LRP's are pretty good to go out of the box. I would like to hear what you find with the hunting VLD's. I may need to try some of those as well. I shot 40 factory 120 AMAX's through my LRP before I had my reloading stuff in order. I didn't have success with them.

I was able to acquire 140 gr AMAX's and 142 gr SMK's. Haven't tried the SMK's yet. I started snagging components whenever I found them before I even knew what the gun would shoot. I have several powders to try. Since I can't find H4350, I'm hoping to have success with alternate powders. This test made me feel good about the possibility. I need to try them at longer distances. It would be great if the AMAX's hold up at distance as they are cheaper than the alternatives. However, with the lack of availability of components, I'm hoping to be able to shoot more than 1 bullet and more than 1 powder. We'll see.

I need to try some VLD's. I'm going to start keeping my eye out for them. I also would really like to get my hands on some Hybrids.
 
Demo man,
Looks like those are working for you. Seems like the LRP's are pretty good to go out of the box. I would like to hear what you find with the hunting VLD's. I may need to try some of those as well. I shot 40 factory 120 AMAX's through my LRP before I had my reloading stuff in order. I didn't have success with them.

I was able to acquire 140 gr AMAX's and 142 gr SMK's. Haven't tried the SMK's yet. I started snagging components whenever I found them before I even knew what the gun would shoot. I have several powders to try. Since I can't find H4350, I'm hoping to have success with alternate powders. This test made me feel good about the possibility. I need to try them at longer distances. It would be great if the AMAX's hold up at distance as they are cheaper than the alternatives. However, with the lack of availability of components, I'm hoping to be able to shoot more than 1 bullet and more than 1 powder. We'll see.

I need to try some VLD's. I'm going to start keeping my eye out for them. I also would really like to get my hands on some Hybrids.

I loaded 5 rounds up of of each of the 140 vld's targets. STarted with 41.6gr of h4350 and just varied the seating depths on 3 loads. 2.182, 2.185, and 2.190 to ogive. The 2.185 was the obvious sweet spot of the three. I have 550 rounds through my lrp.
 
I just ordered 500 140 Berger hybrids. Have had incredible results with the 140 hunting vlds. I'm assuming (HOPE) that the hybrids will shoot just as good as the regular vlds. Plus that exta bit of bc will help at elr shooting. Also I'm thinking about trying some r17 out. Not exclusively changing but just to see MV. H4350 is incredible out of my rifle so why many of you say why even try it..... It's free...
Any load data on r17???
 
I just ordered 500 140 Berger hybrids. Have had incredible results with the 140 hunting vlds. I'm assuming (HOPE) that the hybrids will shoot just as good as the regular vlds. Plus that exta bit of bc will help at elr shooting. Also I'm thinking about trying some r17 out. Not exclusively changing but just to see MV. H4350 is incredible out of my rifle so why many of you say why even try it..... It's free...
Any load data on r17???

Aimsmall55,

I've been doing some load development with my new Creedmor rifle, and I've been playing with RL17 and the 130g Berger vld's. I've done two OCW tests with it thus far, and there are a couple of charges that are looking really good. My LGS seems to have RL17 on hand all the time, and I've had H4350 on back order for months now with no delivery in sight. I hope to eventually get the H4350, but in the meantime the RL17 is working well. I have however read several comments about possible reduced barrel life with this powder, but I'm not sure I understand that due to the burn rate being almost identical to the H4350.

Kevin
 

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Aimsmall55,

I've been doing some load development with my new Creedmor rifle, and I've been playing with RL17 and the 130g Berger vld's. I've done two OCW tests with it thus far, and there are a couple of charges that are looking really good. My LGS seems to have RL17 on hand all the time, and I've had H4350 on back order for months now with no delivery in sight. I hope to eventually get the H4350, but in the meantime the RL17 is working well. I have however read several comments about possible reduced barrel life with this powder, but I'm not sure I understand that due to the burn rate being almost identical to the H4350.

Kevin

Nice. What rifle?
 
Nice. What rifle?

It's a custom bolt action from Robert Gradous. It's running a 24", 1:8.5 twist Krieger barrel with a Surgeon action in a McMillan A5 stock. When we broke it in initially, it shot a one hole group with the 130g Berger hunting vld's and H4350 at 100 yards. Naturally I've tried to acquire these same components, but the H4350 is nonexistent and for that matter, so are the 130g hunting vld's. I've been able to snag a few hundred of the target vld's though, and they have worked just as well with the RL17 so far. My next step is to take the OCW load from the two tests and run the Berger COL test from their manual. As you can see though, i dont think i will be able to improve that 40.5 load very much.

Kevin
 
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5 shot groups, IMR4350, 140 gr AMAX's, Savage 12LRP 6.5 CM. Got it out to 600 yds today. 39.8 gr is looking pretty good.

I want to test a load heavier than 41.5, but I want to test 41.5 at higher temperature first. Today it was 72 degrees and there were no pressure signs.
 

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Hey guys, what do you all guesstimate my velocites to be with 41.6gr H4350 behind a 140 Berger VLD loaded in my 26" barrelled Savage LRP? it was taking 13 moa to 600 yards. You think I'm seeing between 2650 or 2700fps? (Im scrolling back through this thread now looking for posted velocities)
 
Hornady manual says 2650 fps with 40.9 gr H4350. Berger manual says approx 25 fps per inch over 24" barrel. That would be 2700 fps at 40.9 grains. You are at 41.6, so maybe another 50ish fps? Of course some barrels are faster than others. Did you run it through a ballistic calculator?


EDIT: JBM shows 2725 to have 13.0 moa at 600 yds.
 
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Hey guys, what do you all guesstimate my velocites to be with 41.6gr H4350 behind a 140 Berger VLD loaded in my 26" barrelled Savage LRP? it was taking 13 moa to 600 yards. You think I'm seeing between 2650 or 2700fps? (Im scrolling back through this thread now looking for posted velocities)

I load for a buddy's LRP and he gets 2735 with 41.5 H4350 and 140 amax. By comparison, I get 2835 with 41.7 H4350 out of my 28" Krieger and the 140 Hornady BTHP, and 2860 with the same charge and the 140vld. I jam the vlds .010" and they shoot very well. Every bullet I have tried shoots well at 41.7 and there is a higher node at 42.9 but it is near max load in my rifle during the summer months.
 
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Hey guys, what do you all guesstimate my velocites to be with 41.6gr H4350 behind a 140 Berger VLD loaded in my 26" barrelled Savage LRP? it was taking 13 moa to 600 yards. You think I'm seeing between 2650 or 2700fps? (Im scrolling back through this thread now looking for posted velocities)

Probably 2750 - 2800 would be my guess.
 
I just ordered 500 140 Berger hybrids. Have had incredible results with the 140 hunting vlds. I'm assuming (HOPE) that the hybrids will shoot just as good as the regular vlds. Plus that exta bit of bc will help at elr shooting. Also I'm thinking about trying some r17 out. Not exclusively changing but just to see MV. H4350 is incredible out of my rifle so why many of you say why even try it..... It's free...
Any load data on r17???

My experience is the hybrids will shoot nearly the same dope as the VLDs. You might see a 1/4 moa diff at 1K. In theory the hybrids are not as seating depth dependent and I think they transition through transonic it better. At least that is my experience shooting at 1650 and 1740 yards.
 
Hey guys, what do you all guesstimate my velocites to be with 41.6gr H4350 behind a 140 Berger VLD loaded in my 26" barrelled Savage LRP? it was taking 13 moa to 600 yards. You think I'm seeing between 2650 or 2700fps? (Im scrolling back through this thread now looking for posted velocities)

Just ran #'s and with a 100 yard zero and a scope height of 1.5" your at 2759 fps exactly for 13 moa at 600
 
If i take my time and do my part my rifle will do this every time for the most part. However I've noticed some patterns. For instance, I was shooting at 400 yards the other day and was shooting about a 1 1/2" group... All of a sudden my shots dropped 2 to 3" low and 2" left for no abrupt reason and continued to impact in the same spot (low left) Scope is a NF NXS 5.5 x22x56 mildot with mark IV rings. I haven't had time to check torque on the rings but I really doubt that's the cause. Could it be the bedding??
14A53180-0D2F-4A9C-B990-E82D0174D71C-267-00000028A3855C15_zps4de74ebc.jpg
 
What approximate round count are you guys seeing the groups opening up a bit or before you all are set'n back the barrels? I've never owned a caliber (223,22250,308,) I enjoyed shooting as much as this creedmoor and I'm chewing through primers and pow.
 
If i take my time and do my part my rifle will do this every time for the most part. However I've noticed some patterns. For instance, I was shooting at 400 yards the other day and was shooting about a 1 1/2" group... All of a sudden my shots dropped 2 to 3" low and 2" left for no abrupt reason and continued to impact in the same spot (low left) Scope is a NF NXS 5.5 x22x56 mildot with mark IV rings. I haven't had time to check torque on the rings but I really doubt that's the cause. Could it be the bedding??
14A53180-0D2F-4A9C-B990-E82D0174D71C-267-00000028A3855C15_zps4de74ebc.jpg

My LRP throws the first shot 1/4" off the following ones out of the rifle case-sometimes. I keep wondering if the first recoil sets my recoil lug back in the action a bit and the rest all shoot ontop of each other. I've been meaning to bed the lug to see if it corrects this, although it doesn't bother me much.
 
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Im sit'n in the field now. Shot paper 1 time at 900ft. Needless to say, I'm finally doing everything right. 41.6h4350 ogive 2.183 new brass uniformed, dialed 3.5 moa on elevation. Pumped; yes I am.





I even thumped a crow with the creedmoor at 170 yards. Weirdest thing, when I walked up to the crow, there was a cottontail sitting beside it, I reached down and nearly caught it but it hopped away. Makes one think doesn't it?
 
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My Remington is out getting changed over to 6.5 Creedmoor. What dies do you guys recommend? Keep in mind I'm not looking to drop $300 on dies right away, as I have to drive 2 hours to get to a 1K range so I'm not ready for that investment yet.

A set of good quality, preferably with a micrometer seating die, will do
 
My Remington is out getting changed over to 6.5 Creedmoor. What dies do you guys recommend? Keep in mind I'm not looking to drop $300 on dies right away, as I have to drive 2 hours to get to a 1K range so I'm not ready for that investment yet.

A set of good quality, preferably with a micrometer seating die, will do

I shot that above .475" 300yd group using the non bushed non-micrometer cheapest Redding Dies. I'm not changing a thing.
 
I shot that above .475" 300yd group using the non bushed non-micrometer cheapest Redding Dies. I'm not changing a thing.

Absolutely love my series d dies. I did although get the vld stem for the seater die and bought a whidden fl bump bushing die which is Awsome. But as far as non bushing dies go, two are my favorites , the Lee collet die, and the redding d series... Before I got the whidden, I used the series d neck sizer and had no issues nor loss of accuracy at all
 
Absolutely love my series d dies. I did although get the vld stem for the seater die and bought a whidden fl bump bushing die which is Awsome. But as far as non bushing dies go, two are my favorites , the Lee collet die, and the redding d series... Before I got the whidden, I used the series d neck sizer and had no issues nor loss of accuracy at all

Aimsmall, do you notice much accuracy gain simply neck size'n your creed? I can't imagine I can do much better than I'm Doing now, so I haven't purchased a neck die for mine. Maybe if I was having issues with stretching brass I might. I only trim brass every
3 firings or so.
 
So, here's the question I have about neck sizing only. If you neck size only, you will eventually get to where the bolt is hard to close, so the shoulder is pushing out every firing and ,therefore, the case volume and head space is changing every firing. If you are looking for consistency, why would you want your case volume and head space changing every reload? If you are running tactical matches, wouldn't you want to know that every round is going to feed? Lastly, is there any proof that neck sizing only increases accuracy?

The real question I think you need to ask yourself is what are you using your rifle for. Then the above questions answer themselves.
 
So, here's the question I have about neck sizing only. If you neck size only, you will eventually get to where the bolt is hard to close, so the shoulder is pushing out every firing and ,therefore, the case volume and head space is changing every firing. If you are looking for consistency, why would you want your case volume and head space changing every reload? If you are running tactical matches, wouldn't you want to know that every round is going to feed? Lastly, is there any proof that neck sizing only increases accuracy?

The real question I think you need to ask yourself is what are you using your rifle for. Then the above questions answer themselves.


Ski, I know what your saying. BUT if you'll think about it for a second from another standpoint. First, when I do neck size, I always bump the shoulder 2/1000"s. Just check my brass prefired with a headspace gauge then bump it 2/1000"s after firing. This gives me a snug fit but not too snug. 2. Using a bushing type die will allow you to control how much neck tension you do want...I.e. I know some really good bench rest shooters that have their necks so loose that they allow the bullet to position itself inside the rifle when chambered. (Yeah I know ... If they have to remove it before firing they are screwed) 3. What I do is get a whole bunch fire formed brass .. Meaning like 200 or so and work up a load using that. Not much changes really except that runout is less, your brass is formed for your chamber and unless your loading HOT your brass will last a few more loads.
I know everybody has their methods and with rifles like ours it really doesn't matter cause they SHOOT. And by no means want to come off as arrogant as you've helped me a bit with load info. Just wanted to answer what you asked.
 
Aimsmall, and Skigolf, you both have helped tremendously for getting me on the right track with my creedmoor. Lots of good information from you throughout this thread that i peruse through often. Thanks!