I'll probably just start with a set of plain-vanilla Hornady dies and some 107-grain SMKs. I see Starline is now making 6mm Creed brass in addition to Hornady. Any recommendations on which brand to go with? I would normally go with Lapua, but don't want to deal with possible issues necking down their 6.5 right off the bat. Thanks for any thoughts on this. My plan is to find an accurate, moderate pressure load just to break in the barrel and get used to the rifle at shorter ranges to 300 yards.
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Setting up for 6mm Creedmoor
- Thread starter Billinthedesert
- Start date
I bought some factory Hornady brass for my new 6mm Creedmoor and weight sorted it. It was all within about 1.5 grains, which I thought was rather good. I also inspected all the necks and flash holes and they look pretty darn good. I chamfered the necks and uniformed the primer pockets as well. I bought a set of Hornady Match dies with the .269 bushing and will start with those. I might just be lucky, but I have had great luck with my 6.5 using all plain jane Hornady components, so I decided to stick with the formula for my 6mm. I am going to start out with some 110 SMKs, hoping to get them to shoot well. I have a 7.5 twist barrel and am about 5000 ft above sea level, should be okay I am thinking.
Shields: Glad to hear you are having good luck with Hornady brass. I decided to try a bag of Starline brass to start with. The Ruger PR has a 1:7.7 twist; I am at 4,600 feet.
I fully prepped Hornady brass X 200 cases and found mucho variation in primer seating pressures after 2 firings and a few light seating pressure pockets by the third firing. I have switched to Lapua .308 since and am now on second loads. What I have found is that the primer pockets and flash holes are visibly better formed and the primer seating forces on the new cases was palpably more uniform (I did not measure seating pressure). The brass is much thicker throughout the case and has been proven to outlast Hornady by a huge margin. I did purchase and modify a 7mm'08 die and a std. cheap FL 6.5 Creed die to form the case but the work was not much more effort than I was putting into the Hornady cases. With the Lapua I did not feel the need to uniform the primer pockets or debur the flash holes. I'll have a better grasp on the longevity of the Lapua in a year but I definitely feel it is cheaper over the long haul and I have very uniform brass compared to the H. I cannot speak for the other brands.
I started with Prime 6.5 (Norma) necked down to 6 and have lost some with high pressure testing during load development. Once I settled on a lower node I’m on my 9th firing and a few primer pockets lost here and there.
Now that I have a stable charge weight I’m moving from the test batch of 70 (Now 55) to the remaining 150 of the first group I necked. Still 350 that I haven’t touched yet since firing in my 6.5 so I think I’m good for a few barrels.
I would keep an eye out for Comp shooters using Prime 6.5 who give it away or sell cheap.
Now that I have a stable charge weight I’m moving from the test batch of 70 (Now 55) to the remaining 150 of the first group I necked. Still 350 that I haven’t touched yet since firing in my 6.5 so I think I’m good for a few barrels.
I would keep an eye out for Comp shooters using Prime 6.5 who give it away or sell cheap.
I'm curious to see what you results are. I just started load dev for my 6 creed. 110 SMKs in Hornady brass with BR2s. Went from 39.0-42.5gr of H4350. Topped out at 2947fps at 40F and DA of 1000ft in a 26" 7.5 twist barrel. Going back with loads from 42.6-43.6 and hoping to find a node around 3075 or so. Every group fired but one was sub 1/2 moa (3 round groups)
I will post my results when I get the gun out and shoot a few different combinations with it. I am going to start with some Reloder 16 since I have so much of it. I too am hoping for something around 3000fps give or take.
Alpha Munitions is selling 6 creedmoor large primer brass. That would be preferable to Hornady or Starline IMO.
I'm running Alpha on mine. I'm having excellent results...
24" Benchmark Barrel 7.5 twist
110 SMK's - .020" off
41.2 gr H4350
CCI BR2
Alpha 6 creedmoor LRP brass
3000 fps avg mv
sub 8 SD's
1/4" groups
24" Benchmark Barrel 7.5 twist
110 SMK's - .020" off
41.2 gr H4350
CCI BR2
Alpha 6 creedmoor LRP brass
3000 fps avg mv
sub 8 SD's
1/4" groups
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I've been using Hornady brass exclusively for about 3 seasons of PRS now. I have double digit reloads on the bulk of it without any issues. I still run single digit standard deviations.
I went through about a month ago with a primer pocket gauge and only found about a dozen that needed to be tossed out. I notice a difference in seating pressure, but that does nothing to effect how it shoots, and I've never seen a primer fall out in over 5k 6mm Creedmoor and about 3k 6.5 Creedmoor. I simply have zero issues with it.
I run 44.5grs of RE26 under the Sierra 110gr SMK. I get about 3115fps and as of last check, I had an SD of 5.
I went through about a month ago with a primer pocket gauge and only found about a dozen that needed to be tossed out. I notice a difference in seating pressure, but that does nothing to effect how it shoots, and I've never seen a primer fall out in over 5k 6mm Creedmoor and about 3k 6.5 Creedmoor. I simply have zero issues with it.
I run 44.5grs of RE26 under the Sierra 110gr SMK. I get about 3115fps and as of last check, I had an SD of 5.
I compete using 6cm and Alpha munitions brass. I just started using the Alpha at the beginning of the year and I am very pleased.
Do know which FB reamer was used in your rifle?
Do know which FB reamer was used in your rifle?
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I ended up shooting 110SMK's with:
41.0 G Reloder 16
Hornady Brass
CCI Primers
Shooting right at 3050, 1/2" groups. I got the gun in March and I easily have well over 500 rounds down the tube, I love my 6 Creed. What I am really interested in seeing is my barrel life. Interweb seems to think most folks are lucky to get over 1k out of a barrel, some folks I have talked to seem to be getting more than that. We will see for my particular gun and load combo...
41.0 G Reloder 16
Hornady Brass
CCI Primers
Shooting right at 3050, 1/2" groups. I got the gun in March and I easily have well over 500 rounds down the tube, I love my 6 Creed. What I am really interested in seeing is my barrel life. Interweb seems to think most folks are lucky to get over 1k out of a barrel, some folks I have talked to seem to be getting more than that. We will see for my particular gun and load combo...
I'm using 41 grains H4350 with the 110 smk awesome bullet and I have been using hornady brass but I'm only getting one firing on it before it loses the primer pocket. I think I got a bad lot of brass I bought 200 Alpha small primer pocket cases but haven't switched over yet. This loads worked pretty well for me shooting PRS out of RPR 400-1200 yards.
i like the rl16 best i have less recoil with it shooting the same speed that the 4350 gives
I don't have a 6cm; I shoot 6.5cm. But I was looking into powder options for a friend with quick loads, and it looks like vihtavori N560 powder will produce good velocities with low pressures in the 6cm with heavy bullets. It might be worth a look.
I should have bought the expensive set of Hornady dies (6.5 Creedmoor), it has a bushing neck sizing die and the micrometer seater.
Hornady should have left out the micrometer, made the set $20 cheaper and let people upgrade. I would have definitely stepped up to that and probably bought the micrometer later, instead I have a standard set and I'm probably going to order another brand of neck sizer die.
It's just going to wind up more expensive going with standard dies...
Hornady should have left out the micrometer, made the set $20 cheaper and let people upgrade. I would have definitely stepped up to that and probably bought the micrometer later, instead I have a standard set and I'm probably going to order another brand of neck sizer die.
It's just going to wind up more expensive going with standard dies...
I went with the Redding Type S FL sizing die. The problem I ran into was the inconsistency of the neck wall thickness of the Hornady 6CM brass. I have a ball micrometer and measured neck wall thickness in order to determine bushing size. However after processing the first batch of 100 I found 2 of the first 20 wouldn't hold the bullet securely because the bushing didn't reduce the neck diameter enough. Turns out these had thinner neck walls (I didn't measure 100% of the cases).
My solution for now is to get a smaller bushing and then set neck tension with an expander mandrel. But that requires an extra step and I just wanted to be able to use the bushing only to accomplish the same thing.
My solution for now is to get a smaller bushing and then set neck tension with an expander mandrel. But that requires an extra step and I just wanted to be able to use the bushing only to accomplish the same thing.
I'm running 43.5 of H4381sc, 2900 fps and a single digit sd. I am loading 115 DTAC bullets at 2.800 no pressure signs, 7.7 mils at 1125yds.
Using 3 piece Redding black box dies.
I need more brass, what are you guys having best luck loading with?
Using 3 piece Redding black box dies.
I need more brass, what are you guys having best luck loading with?
Gonzaga: Starline or Peterson make 6mm Creedmoor brass with both large and small primer pockets. I am testing out the Starline at the moment with small primers and they are solid. I also have great luck with my necked down 6.5 Hornady brass. I plan on ordering a batch from Peterson in all my calibers. The 308 pieces I have from them are stellar
