New to ELR so I took my 6.5CM out to 1000 today and even tho it was windy I was able to get on target consistently once I figured out the wind hold. There is something about hearing steel at that distance. Now it’s on to taking it out farther.
Taking the new 6.5 CM out to 1000 y.
- Thread starter Tundra702
- Start date
You can definitely take your 6.5CM out to one-mile. My first one-Mile was accomplished using my 6.5CM and I was able to get consistent impacts on 18" steel at that range. It is important to keep in mind that this was simply a one-mile shoot, not an ELR match.
However, the 6.5CM is not a good choice for the typical ELR match. It is not that it will not go that far. Instead, you are highly likely to encounter challenging environment conditions where the wind will throw that round in a very unpredictable manner. Furthermore, seeing impacts from that small bullet will be very challenging as well.
My daughter shot her first ELR match with my tried and proven 6.5CM. We were shooting 6 targets from 1000yds out to 2100yds. The match was organized into two stages with the three closest targets (1000-1400) shot in the first stage and three longest targets (1500-2100) in the second stage. We had 5 shots for each target which means 15 shots in the first stage and 15 shots for the second stage. My daughter was able to achieve 13 out of 15 hits in the first stage and 0 hits in the second stage due to the crazy winds.
Hope that helps...
However, the 6.5CM is not a good choice for the typical ELR match. It is not that it will not go that far. Instead, you are highly likely to encounter challenging environment conditions where the wind will throw that round in a very unpredictable manner. Furthermore, seeing impacts from that small bullet will be very challenging as well.
My daughter shot her first ELR match with my tried and proven 6.5CM. We were shooting 6 targets from 1000yds out to 2100yds. The match was organized into two stages with the three closest targets (1000-1400) shot in the first stage and three longest targets (1500-2100) in the second stage. We had 5 shots for each target which means 15 shots in the first stage and 15 shots for the second stage. My daughter was able to achieve 13 out of 15 hits in the first stage and 0 hits in the second stage due to the crazy winds.
Hope that helps...
Went to the range today and I was getting very consistent at 1000. I am seeing my biggest issue is ammo. Stdv is too high. I will string a few consistent speed rounds and hit then I get a few that are much faster or slower. Looking to trying a few match grade rounds and see which ones the rifle likes best.
Hornady 140 ELD-Match, and Berger 140 or 144 LRHT are the most likely ones to win.
I found the Berger 140gr VLD to be my overall go-to bullet for the 6.5CM. I found that a MV of 2850avg MV worked very well for one mile. I had some N555 on hand, which is supposed to be designed specifically for the 6.5CM, and developed some loads with it. What I found is that I am limited to appx 2800 MV with the 140gr Berger. However, i settled on a load giving me 2770 that was very very consistent so i stopped there. I would not take that load to one-mile but out to 1000 is just fine.
If I were to do longer range work with the 6.5CM, I would test the Berger 153. If you can get a reliable load with it at 2840, i think you will like it a lot. I have developed a load with this bullet but found that i have to go with the N550 over the N555 in order to get the higher velocities.
Some lessons learned ... first of all, are you reloading or using manufactured loads?
If you are reloading, i found the biggest culprit for fliers is neck tension. other things do come into play such as consistent powder loads but in the end, trimming and sizing the necks are uber critical
as for factory ammo, Hornady is pretty good but i heard that Berger ammo is the bomb... one thing to consider is purchase 20 or 40 rounds of Berger ammo just to see if you are getting good consistency. If not, then your inconsistency problem might not be ammo related.
just some thoughts to consider
I think he is only looking at factory ammo, not handloads, so I limited my suggestions to that.
Unfortunately I am using factory ammo. Hornady. I want to get into rifle reloading but still researching what loader to get
What VH20 said below the American gunner is good to about 600 yd? Then it starts wandering around the horny. ELD140 will Do a much better job at distance
FGMM and Berger ammo make current Hornady ammo look retarded. Don’t even waste your time with it.
Good point. All my Hornady 6.5CM 140 ELD Match ammo was stacked deep well before Covid. Still have over 2K left. It shoots great in every 6.5 I’ve tried it in (my AI actually prefers it over Berger from the same time frame). But around 2021 things changed and quality suffered. Berger too for that matter, but less so. I haven’t bought any 6.5 ammo since before Covid, but I was shooting Hornady 300PRC 225 ELD manufactured both before and after 2021 and the difference is night and day. New stuff is accurate but horrible ES/SD, pretty unusable for ELR. I wouldn’t be surprised if their 6.5 ammo suffered the same fate.
Get some norma golden target 143gr. It's cheaper than Berger and Hornady and has much lower sd/es than both. Very consistent bullet. Start with a .305 g7 and tweak the BC from there as you tune it. It's not even worth buying any other factory ammo at this point IMO. The brass is also much better than Hornady for reloading, and can be sold off to offset your ammo cost if you decide to stick with factory ammo.
1k is a good range for a 6.5. going to a mile with it can be done, but it's kind of a waste of ammo. People saying they are getting reliable hits on a 18" target at a mile....yea not common or particularly believable for a bullet well Into subsonic making consistent hits on a 1 moa target at 1700+ yards. Don't believe everything you read on the internet. You could plug the data into WEZ and see the realistic impact probability.
I actually just picked up 200 rounds of Norma GT 143 bc a buddy highly recommended it. Plan is to see how it compares. From what has told me, the round does a lot better at longer ranges.
I know the 6.5 isn’t great for a mile. It’s or of a “I hit a mile” more than anything. 1000 is more of the range I like practicing at. I am actually building a 7mm PRC that will be more one mile rifle.
140 ,144, 153 and 156 bergers are all killers. I like the 130 AR hybrid for inside 1000, you can get the speed up and it's almost a clone of the 105/109 hybrids with more energy.
My experience as well. I enjoy 6.5 Creed to 1000. 6.5 to a mile is just to say you did it and feels like I am waisting loads. It is not consistent at that range. I shoot Berger VLD hunting 140's....mainly because I hunt with all my rifles and that bullet is a good killer and good long range bullet. The hybrids are easier to work a load up. VLD's are more sensitive to seat depth and like more jump most of the time.
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