Bullet choice

[DavidK]

I am a novice at reloading and need some help. I have a custom 6.5cm (Deviant Action, Bartlett barrel) that I want to do custom load development. I have tested several factory loads and the best groups came from Black Hills with Hornady's 147gr bullet. Other loads have that I have shot include 120, 140 and 143. All top name manufacturers. I don't know if those loads did not do as well due to bullet weight/profile or do to the manufacturing process of the factory ammo.

My questions is what bullet do I start my load development tests with, the 147gr?

What is the most popular bullet or does it depend more on the chambering of my particular rifle?

 

[MikeMcCasland]

It depends entirely on what you're doing with the rifle. Is this for target shooting, hunting, or both?

What distances are you going to shoot? What powders are you planning to shoot?

There are advantages and disadvantages to every bullet type/weight/mfg. so it would help to know more.

Thanks!

 

[Ranger188]

What Mike said. What is the purpose of this rifle?
What is the twist of the barrel?
What do you want to see as in accuracy? 1 inch groups, half. What did the BlackHills shoot?
How much are you willing to spend in reloading equipment?

 

[stello1001]

The 140 grain ELD-M is a great all around bullet. Perfect for punching paper or ringing steel and has had really good terminal results on wild game.

 

[Steel head]

The 140 grain ELD-M is a great all around bullet. Perfect for punching paper or ringing steel and has had really good terminal results on wild game.

Kinda hard to beat the 140 ELDm’s, excellent performance for the price.

147’s are good for 1000+ yard performance’s.

130’s are nice for a bit milder recoil and flat to 1000.

142SMKs are usually really accurate if your not needing a awesome BC.

140 Berger hybrids are also awesome if your willing to pony up some more $$ for bullets.

 

[DavidK]

Primary distance is 100 yards as that is what I have available, but i want to be able to reach out to 1000 on the rare occasion that i have an opportunity

Twist is 1:8. 26”. Im looking to get down to 1/4 inch. Best that factory gave me is 0.4 but I know the rifle can do better. Been shooting on a bench with bipod and rear bag

No hunting. I have varget powder but can buy what I need

 

[clcustom1911]

Like said above, you can choose several different bullets to start reloading. I personally recommend pick one and stick with it for at least 500-1000 rounds. Doing endless load development eventually gets boring. When I started reloading I was all about shooting to reload in order to try different powders, bullets, etc.

Eventually I learned to reload in order to shoot more.

For my 6.5 Creedmoor, I've been loading nothing but the 147 ELDm and the for the last several months. It's a very easy bullet to load/tune. I have pet loads with H4350 and Reloder 17. Both run at about 2700 fps at a powder temp of 70 degrees Fahrenheit out of my 24" Proof Research all-stainless barrel. It does a great job from 100 out to however far I can send it.

My 147 ELD-M 6.5 Creedmoor thread Learn from my shenanigans. Wisdom and good judgment come from making mistakes due to bad judgment ????

I'm actually doing a load development for a friend using the Norma 130 Golden Target bullet and Reloder 16 this week. He wants me to duplicate the Prime 6.5 Creedmoor in the rifle. I'm feeling good vibes with Reloder 16.

 

[MikeMcCasland]

If you'll predominately be running Varget and shooting at 100 yards, I'd be looking in the 120 or 107 range for bullets. A 123 Lapua, 123 SMK, or maybe even a 107 TMK.

You'll get some barrel life advantage by not trying to run 140-147gr bullets down the tube with slower powders, they'll probably be slightly cheaper on componet costs, and it'll be easier to tune in.

In your spare time you can grab a couple of lbs of H4350/H4831sc/RL16/RL26 and some 147s for the 1,000 yard line...but if you want to run varget and shoot at 100 yards, there's no compelling reason to shoot the heavies.

I'd start with a 123 Secnar as they seem to shoot lights out in every 6.5 I've ever run them in, and they also make a surprisingly good 1k bullet.

My 2c.

 

[spife7980]

You know your rifle likes the 147 eld, just start there. It could like the others but does that matter if you know it likes the 147?