Range Report Handicap'n my 6.5mm @ 2738 fps

[demolitionman]

Hi guys I wanted some feedback on this please; 6.5 Creedmoor 24" bbl and 140 eldm's. My current load of 41.7 h4350 bugholes at 100yds. Magneto speed shows 2738 avg with an sd of 13. depending on the day it takes about 8.5 to 8.7 mills to 1000yards.

i just this year started shooting comps with yardages from 300 to 1300 and want to do as well as i possibly can, and amongst talking to others at comps and perusing the loads on here i noted im shooting a fairly soft load comparative to other's 65 creedmoor's.

i guess im wondering if im really giving up alot of real world behind the reticle performance versus just ballastic data? Have any of you went up say 50 fps and been like: WOW THE PERFORMANCR GAIN Is amazing? Do you notice it much? Am i handicapping myself much? Im still a newbie on the line but always wondered if i should be shooting a hotter load...

 

[LOBO]

I say don't worry about it. Find a consistent and accurate load (which it appears you have done), and practice.

 

[demolitionman]

I say don't worry about it. Find a consistent and accurate load (which it appears you have done), and practice.

Thanks. Took it out to a match today and it absolutely hammered all the way from 230yds to 1000yards(8.6mills) and everything in between. Im not messing with it one bit. Best ive ever shot.

 

[Clearlight]

I always favour an accurate load over chasing another 100 yards
of supersonic range . If I need more range , I use a bigger caliber .
Happy to hear your load is working well .

 

[FishDr]

I agree with above. When i developed my 260Rem load for competition, i had two good nodes and both were accurate. I actually shoot the lower node of the two, and only give up about 80fps. The lower node was tighter on ES and SD. I figured it might give me a bit longer barrel life. I didnt want to push it to the ragged edge, since the higher node was just under max for my gun. So far, it is consistent and very accurate.

 

[cruze5]

as long as it shoots small groups it shouldn't matter.

my 260 with a 20" barrel is going 2751 with 140's. i have no desire to go any faster. maybe i'll save some wear and tear on the barrel

 

[djarecke]

Jerry Karloff is one of the top PRS shooters and is shooting a very mild 6.5 load like yours. His accuracy is sickening and it's absolutely no handicap to his performance. I'd stay slow and accurate and carry on!

 

[canezach]

I have a friend who was asking essentially the same question. He developed an accurate load that was in the low 2700s and was concerned he was going to be at some sort of disadvantage. My response to him was that he is well above the velocity necessary to maximize the bullet's BC and I showed him that he wouldn't even begin to enter the transsonic zone, given our elevation, until the bullet reached 1300 yards. I don't know about you, but an overwhelming majority of my matches don't have a 1300 yard COF and I'd venture to say for every shot at 1300 yards in a match, I take at least 20+ shots inside of 800. An extra 100 fps isn't going to make you any better at the 99.999% of shots you'll realistically take in matches.

 

[usafa77]

And, why give up some barrel life ?

 

[Supersubes]

Do the math between your load and a 28xx load. Its a click or two at a thousand. Not worth worrying about.

 

[Ledzep]

As the others have said, most of what we obsess about is lost in the noise. You get wrapped up in what you think the rifle could be doing-- right? go online and look for the highest velocity numbers anyone has posted for that caliber/barrel length and hope yours replicates it with the highest BC bullet in the tightest groups.... but as was mentioned, it's small potatoes; another click or three elevation, and less windage.

It's all a trade-off, and you have to make a lot of small changes (a few of inches of barrel, 100fps worth of charge, new higher BC bullet, etc.) to get something that is really noticeable. I had two loads for my .260, a 140hpbt @ 2738, and a 143ELDX @ 2855... Very little practical difference between the two until I got past 800. It wasn't until I changed to a 28" 6.5 SAUM barrel that I really noticed a performance difference. 400fps faster with the same bullets, it's a laser beam. Nonetheless, you're still plagued by the same issues at long range. Wind blows and doesn't always tell you exactly what it's doing... Performance can make things a little easier, but there's no replacement for experience.

 

[Niles Coyote]

One of my biggest lessons I learned last year while shooting a AR-Creedmoor against great bolt rifle shooters was you don't need to compete with them on velocity in order to win matches. Now that I have gone back to a bolt I am running 41.5 for 2733 from a 25" barrel and at my first match finished 4th due to my own screw up and first at my second match. Don't worry about winning the velocity game. It's better to stick with a nice wide and consistent node... the barrel might just last longer too. Win/Win

 

[gigamortis]

I have noticed that most accuracy nodes are about 80-120 fps apart. If you go chasing the next faster node for at least a 80fps gain, barrel and brass life will suffer.

 

[Jedi]

Have you identified max load for that combo?
you never know how much fps or accuracy your giving up if you have not found max for said load combo in your rifle
most stop at first load that shows some promise. Few actually seek max load ceiling via testing
Your cuurent load is a good start point, load 5 each .3 incrementally higher until you are a full 2.0 gr higher
basically you are seeking pressure ceiling for said load,once you see ejector wipe etc. back off .3gr that is max for that bullet, powder combo in that rifle
Now work backwards from max load until you get accuracy you desire, done deal
This method ensures you have the fastest/accurate load for rifle
Always work back from max, thou most just work up from x baseline having never found max load
shoot me a pm if you have questions etc