Load data for Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor brass

[Leatherneck105]

I currently working up a load for new Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor brass. I started at 41.0 and worked up to 42.0 of H4350 using CCI br-4 primers. At 42 I'm only getting 2726 fps. I read that you need to reduce your load a full grain because of case capacity. My go to load is 140 VLD in Norma brass with 42.3 with fed 210 m primer at 2779 velocity. Shooting AIAT with 24" barrel. Any information appreciated.

 

[Supersubes]

Were these results with the same 140 eld? Is 42 gr in the lapua brass a max load, or just where you stopped? Ive never used norma creedmoor brass, so I cant speak to that. Ive shot the lapua creed brass, and you dont need to back down a grain. In fact, id wager that you can run with a bigger charge than you ever did with a hornady case. Imagine how the 6.5x47 guys produce velocities on par with the .260 and hornady creedmoor loads? Ridiculously strong brass.

Most importantly though, just work up the load as you normally would. If youre comfy with your ability to see pressure, keep on truckin. Or if it's shooting great, leave it, and shoot the shit out of it.

 

[Niles Coyote]

Running my usual load of 42.6 of h4350 in both Hornady and Lapua brass, 10 shots each, Lapua was 19fps faster. This was using 140 eld's.
Backing off 2 tenths of a grain and velocity matched.

 

[Sendit6.5]

I'm running 140gr Nosler BTs on top of 42gr of H4350 and BR4 primers and getting 2825fps in my Lapua brass.



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[AuburnBLK]

I know it's not exact apples to apples - but my converted Lapua brass is running avg 4860 with 140 hybrids over 42.8 gr of H4350. So I would think with the small primers you could certainly get there. Just watch for pressure signs as usual

 

[pell1203]

Auburn, you might want to edit your post to correct velocity. Either that or check your batch of H4350. A muzzle velocity of 4860 fps is smoking!!!

 

[AuburnBLK]

Auburn, you might want to edit your post to correct velocity. Either that or check your batch of H4350. A muzzle velocity of 4860 fps is smoking!!!

Working to clean up that ES a bit

 

[gamewarden]

Any more info on loads with the Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor brass? When are you guys seeing pressure signs?

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[Jimmy31593]

140 rdf
new unfired lapua brass
43.8 grains h4350.
Worked up to 44.2 with no pressure signs
26.5" barrel
Tl3 action
2.830 oal. Seemed long to me but shot awesome.

 

[gamewarden]

What was your MV?

 

[Jimmy31593]

I have to chrono it again. Can't seem to find the Index card I wrote it on when doing load workup. I'm guessing 2900ish. High 2800s

 

[Rebelirons]

140 rdf
new unfired lapua brass
43.8 grains h4350.
Worked up to 44.2 with no pressure signs
26.5" barrel
Tl3 action
2.830 oal. Seemed long to me but shot awesome.

I've had better luck with RDF's loaded a bit long in my gun as well. 2.840 inches for me. I just got my batch of Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor brass. Just got to find some time to get em loaded and shot

 

[dirthead1]

I'm running the following load in my Christensen Ridgeline 6.5 Creedmoor with 24" barrel.

Lapua Brass
CCI 450 Primer
41.8 gr RL-16

2821 fps

 

[impactaddict]

6.5CM 24" Krieger

Lapua Brass
130gn Berger Hybrid
CCI 400
42.2gn H-4350
.10 Jump

2860fps
~7SD

I'm going to test some CCI 450 this weekend to compare.

 

[Equinoc]

Below are my most recent loads I have been able to test. I hope it is helpful to others. The standard disclaimers apply, these are my loads that worked safely in MY gun, proceed with caution and replicate load at your own risk.

All loads were shot in my Ruger Precision Rifle Enhanced (Gen2) chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. All loads were measured using a Caldwell Chronograph G2. I know the numbers are not the best but as you will see below I am playing around several powders, powder loads, COL's etc. so I am just providing some numbers for others to go by and possibly start with themselves as well as maybe introduce others to new possible powders outside of H4350. I have particularly been impressed most recently with Hodgdon's SuperPerfomance especially on the Berger 130gr Hybrids. I have not cared much for H414 but tried it based on postings by others. I may play with it a little more as I was very conservative loading with it since it was my first time using it.

Tested on 8/24/2017

130gr Berger OTM AR Hybrid
Lapua 6.5 CM Brass (New) Sized w/.288 Bushing
CCI BR-4
H4350@40gr.
2.800 COL
Temp: 78F BP:29.99
Average FPS: 2537
SD: 45.47

140gr Hornady ELD-M
Lapua 6.5 CM Brass (NEW) Sized w/.288 Bushing
CCI BR-4
H4350@40gr
2.800 COL
Temp:79F BP: 29.99
Average FPS: 2536.20
SD: 13.10

130gr Berger OTM AR Hybrid
Lapua 6.5 CM Brass (NEW) Sized w/.288 Bushing
CCI BR-4
[email protected] gr
2.800 COL
Temp: 78F BP: 29.98
Average FPS: 2573.25
SD: 25.54

140gr Hornady BTHP Match
Lapua 6.5 CM Brass (NEW) Sized w/.288 Bushing
CCI BR-4
IMR4350@40gr
2.800 COL
Temp: 78F BP: 29.98
Average FPS: 2400.60
SD: 25.65

Tested on 9/07/2017

140gr. Hornady ELD-M
Lapua 6.5 CM 1xFired Sized w/.288 Bushing
CCI BR-4
Hodgdon SuperPerfomance@44gr
2.800 COL
Temp: 81F BP: 29.98
Average FPS: 2726.75
SD: 23.91

130gr Berger OTM AR Hybrid
Lapua 6.5 CM Brass 1xFired Sized w/.288 Bushing
CCI BR-4
Hodgdon SuperPerformance@45gr
2.815 COL
Temp: 81F BP: 30.17
Average FPS: 2863.80
SD: 20.27

140gr Hornady ELD-M
Lapua 6.5 CM (NEW) no Sizing (straight from the box)
CCI BR-4
[email protected]
2.820 COL
Temp: 81F BP: 30.17
Average FPS: 2598.11
SD: 22.99

130gr Berger OTM AR Hybrid
Lapua 6.5 CM Brass (NEW) no Sizing (straight from the box)
CCI BR-4
H414@38gr
2.810 COL
Temp: 81F BP: 30.17
Average FPS: 2570.50
SD: 41.00

140gr Hornady ELD-M
Lapua 6.5 CM Brass (NEW) no Sizing (straight from the box)
CCI BR-4
H414@ 38gr
2.820 COL
Temp: 80F BP: 30.16
Average FPS: 2499.14
SD: 37.62

 

[Jimgal62]

For a 24inch Barrel the node is around a MV of 2800 with a 'jump' of 0.020 to 0.030 inches

 

[Timberstalker]

I am new to the 6.5 CM and very excited to get started. I've done quite a bit of handloading on and off over the last several decades of other cartridges but this time around I decided to go with bushing dies vs standard FL & neck so I'm a newbie to bushing / tension adjustment. I hope I'm not complicating my standard procedures that commonly produce .5 MOA or better ammo with this bushing technique.

I'm trying to get a better understanding of how tight to make them. Breaking her in with Hornady but also have 100 Lapua on hand. Hornady Match& American Whitetail that I'll use for barrel break in all measure .291 at the neck unfired. Lapua out of the box and once fired Hdy all measure .015 neck thickness. So that gets to .294 with "no" tension. .291 is a .003 squeeze, .288 is .006 squeeze which seems like a lot. I don't even know how one gets down to that dimension starting with .264 + .030. What's happening here, is the bullet getting the brass squished into it? From what I've read, .001 -.002 is what to shoot for so I bought .289, ,291 and .292 bushings.

Also, the RCBS Gold Medal bushing dies I bought have an expander ball which I don't understand because I thought that defeats the purpose of the bushing approach.

Please help me understand.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sendit6.5]

I am new to the 6.5 CM and very excited to get started. I've done quite a bit of handloading on and off over the last several decades of other cartridges but this time around I decided to go with bushing dies vs standard FL & neck so I'm a newbie to bushing / tension adjustment. I hope I'm not complicating my standard procedures that commonly produce .5 MOA or better ammo with this bushing technique.

I'm trying to get a better understanding of how tight to make them. Breaking her in with Hornady but also have 100 Lapua on hand. Hornady Match& American Whitetail that I'll use for barrel break in all measure .291 at the neck unfired. Lapua out of the box and once fired Hdy all measure .015 neck thickness. So that gets to .294 with "no" tension. .291 is a .003 squeeze, .288 is .006 squeeze which seems like a lot. I don't even know how one gets down to that dimension starting with .264 + .030. What's happening here, is the bullet getting the brass squished into it? From what I've read, .001 -.002 is what to shoot for so I bought .289, ,291 and .292 bushings.

Also, the RCBS Gold Medal bushing dies I bought have an expander ball which I don't understand because I thought that defeats the purpose of the bushing approach.

Please help me understand.

Thanks in advance.

Normally, most precision bolt action reloaders use .002 as a neck tension. This is enough tension to hold by 300wm reloads in place under recoil. I used to use .002 for my Creedmoor but when I got a custom rifle built in 6.5cm I switched to .001 tension. There's so little recoil that I don't see any reason for me to go higher. Any more tension than 2 'thou' seems unnecessary unless maybe you're shooting a gas gun. Somebody earlier posted .288 bushing with Lapua brass and that's going to yield .0055 to .0065 tension - way too much IMO.

I sent 2 different lots of Lapua brass to AMP Annealing's Lab for testing and it all measured .014 +/- .0005


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[Timberstalker]

New data.
22" Xbolt.
130gr VLD Hunting .020 off lands
Lapua 2nd firing.
.289 bushing. left expander ball in that is .262" diameter which lightly touches mouth on the way out.
CCI BR2.
H4350
< .25 MOA accuracy at
2708fps - 42.5gr
2821fps - 43.4gr

I typically shoot 4 round groups during workup, sometimes 5. Rinse and repeat the same ladders at least twice.
Interestingly, first time fired brass gave 2708 with 41.6gr and had the same degree of accuracy.
No pressure signs at all.
With these loads often my first 2 shots go into the exact same hole; hard to tell there are 2 rounds.
All tests so far at 105 yards. Need to go out to 400 - 600 to verify velocities- these were taken with a ProChrono.
I am a happy camper now.

 

[kthomas]

New Lapua brass (no case prep)
CCI BR4 primers
Hornady RDF's 140gr
42.9 gr H4350

Avg. velocity of 2780 fps (node for my 26" bbl) and single digit SD's. I just wish the RDF's would group better, they are finicky. I'm swapping to Berger 140 hybrids.

 

[padom]

Yea I've had much better accuracy with pretty much every other 130 and 140 6.5 bullet out there. 130 TMK, 130 ELD, 130 Hybrid, 140 ELD, 140 Hybrid

 

[nexusfire]

42.8 gr h4350
130 hvld
0.010 jump
cci450 primer
2875 fps
sd 4

 

[Mrfjones]

I used used this load today, with a slight modification to shoot a 3 shot group of .25 moa group at 550m.
I used once fired hornady brass (because that’s what I had) and a CCI 200 primer.

Thank you for sharing this data, it worked very well in my rifle.

130gr Berger OTM AR Hybrid
Lapua 6.5 CM Brass 1xFired Sized w/.288 Bushing
CCI BR-4
Hodgdon SuperPerformance@45gr
2.815 COL
Temp: 81F BP: 30.17
Average FPS: 2863.80

 

[triplecelectric]

Running same load in 4451 with both brands of brass and using CCI 450 primers in lapua and 210m’s in Hornady. Effectively identical and both shoot lights out.

 

[Liftman101]

I am new to reloading. I have a new precision rifle on the way in 6.5 Creedmoor. My friend shoots 6.5 Creedmoor and offered to reload some rounds for me. On a lark, I ordered some Warner 121 gr flatlines and some lapua brass for us both to try. Any ideas where to start? Based on what I see here I assume 43-44 gr of H4350.

 

[spife7980]

I am new to reloading. I have a new precision rifle on the way in 6.5 Creedmoor. My friend shoots 6.5 Creedmoor and offered to reload some rounds for me. On a lark, I ordered some Warner 121 gr flatlines and some lapua brass for us both to try. Any ideas where to start? Based on what I see here I assume 43-44 gr of H4350.

With those solids start lower and work your way up, the solids will raise your pressures compared to the lead bullets

 

[TimeWillTell]

Just to add more data: I have 308 lapua brass, sized down, trimmer and neck turned. 0.8 gr less H4350 to get same velocity in my rifle. 42.2 with lapua brass, 43.0 with Hornady brass for 2850 fps. Took lapua up to 42.9 and although I didn't see pressure signs, it was 2894 fps which I felt was likely a little hotter than I wanted, especially since that load was tested at 50F. I'm still working on the load but I expect to end up somewhere 42.2 to 42.5 with my resized lapua brass.

 

[Liftman101]

Thanks for the info. It makes sense that the solid bullets behave differently. I see the H4350 on Warners load data list now. It is way down the list using much less powder than top loads they suggest for producing high velocity.

 

[Timberstalker]

Regarding an earlier comment I made about not understanding why I couldn't seem to get my ES and SDs down to what other guys seem to be able to, here's an update. I've been using a Chrono Pro for the last 8 or 9 years. Got a Magspeed V3 recently. Same loads that SDs were in the teens are now showing single digit. Glad I made the change. V3 does affect the POI (lowers it) and group size on a sporter contour barrel from what I've been able to tell so far.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Out today with virgin Lapua brass, 142 SMKs and charges of H4350, and CCI450s

Barrel is a 26" MTU Criterion 1:8

42.6g Avg 2790fps
42.8g Avg 2810fps
43.0g Avg 2815fps
43.2g Avg 2825fps

Barrel only has 90 rounds on it now so it will more than likely add a few fps before she settles in.

 

[H1n1]

I'm having all kinds of pressure issues with lapua brass. I'm 3 grains under my load in hornady brass and im piercing primers. Has anyone else had this issue? Pic is 40 grains h4350 using the lapua brass with cci 400 primers

 

[yakstone]

I'm running 42.5gr of H4350 in virgin Lapua brass and getting 2808fps out of my AI AT with 26" barrel. Gun has approximately 600 rounds through it.

Using CCI BR4 primers and 140gr Berger hybrids.

 

[Codiekfx400]

If more velocity is what you seek switch powder to rl16 or rl26. I am shooting the 147 eld out of my 26” rock creek barrel at 2780 with 40.5 gr of rl16 and a fed 210m primer.

 

[spife7980]

I'm having all kinds of pressure issues with lapua brass. I'm 3 grains under my load in hornady brass and im piercing primers. Has anyone else had this issue? Pic is 40 grains h4350 using the lapua brass with cci 400 primers

If youre shooting small primer brass in an large pin unbushed bolt you will get that.
You can just keep lowering your charge, not what I would do.
You can switch to a large primer brass, maybe but not what I would do.
Send it into someone like gretan and have him bush the bolt to make it a small firing pin.

 

[Rick7353]

Normally, most precision bolt action reloaders use .002 as a neck tension. This is enough tension to hold by 300wm reloads in place under recoil. I used to use .002 for my Creedmoor but when I got a custom rifle built in 6.5cm I switched to .001 tension. There's so little recoil that I don't see any reason for me to go higher. Any more tension than 2 'thou' seems unnecessary unless maybe you're shooting a gas gun. Somebody earlier posted .288 bushing with Lapua brass and that's going to yield .0055 to .0065 tension - way too much IMO.

I sent 2 different lots of Lapua brass to AMP Annealing's Lab for testing and it all measured .014 +/- .0005


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I use a .292 bushing on my Hornady 6.5 creedmoor cases and I based that on measuring a new factory loaded case. IF YOU NECK TURN the use the case neck thickness x 2 + bullet size as I add .001 for bench bolt rifle.