I have a 16" 6.5 Creedmoor that I purchased in September and it has fed smoothly and as it should with everything I have shot out of it.
- Hornady Match (140 and 147 ELD-M)
- Hornady Precision Hunter 143 ELD-X
- Barnes Vortex LRP 127
- Nosler 142 ABLR Handloads
- Hornady 143 ELD-X Handloads
- Hornady ELD-M 140 and 147 Handloads
- Nosler 129 ABLR Handloads
- Hornady 130 ELD-M Handloads
Out of the box the bolt was not the smoothest. After lubricating it with CherryBalmz and cycling it, it is smooth as can be. Bolt lift I do not even notice, expected it to be heavy based on this thread, but I cannot really tell when cycling it. Feeding has been no issue no matter if I cycle it fast or slow.
Other than my CZ 527 Varmint in .17 Hornet, this is the first bolt gun I have spent time behind in years, as I have mainly been shooting my KAC SR-15 and H&K MR762A1. It has been a learning experience getting back into the precision game and getting used to shooting such a light rifle. I have had groups in the .6's with 5 shots but have been hampered on much load development and time behind the rifle due to the lack of components. I recently got an 8 pound jug of Winchester StaBALL 6.5, and tonight lucked across an 8 pound jug of H4350 so I should be able to do some good load development soon.
The bullet I have worked on for load development the most has been the Hornady 143 ELD-X. When I got my rifle I started load development with this bullet, Lapua SRP brass and the 1 pound of H4350 I had. I worked up seven 5 round batches working between 40.6 to 41.6 and had a good group at 40.8gr which yielded 2,487 FPS as measured on my LabRadar. This was 4 days before I went on a friends hunt with him, so I loaded the last 65 143 ELD-X bullets I had at 40.8 and went on the hunt with him.
When I got up to the area we were hunting in with him, we went by the range in my hometown for me to confirm zero on The Fix since I had a rough zero established with Hornady Precision Hunter factory ammo that I then went and just shot groups for load development. All I did was adjust the scope based on data from Ballistic-X. I shot 5 rounds based on that adjustment at 100 yards and they were right on. Went to the 8" plates at 407 yards (first time going past 100), used data from Applied Ballistics, and it was spot on. While checking zero my friend decided to check zero on his hunting rifle build and had 3 rounds out of 5 that would not chamber. Maybe it was something with the inclement weather and temperature, or a flaw in his reloading process (Which I gotta admit is way more fucking autistic than me with his Whidden dies and scale that goes to the ten thousandth and his neck bumping shit). He shot 3 rounds out of The Fix and asked if he could use it for the hunt, and I agreed.
I was a little worried on how the ELD-X would perform since it was only moving at 2,487 FPS, but my friend showed that I had nothing to worry about when he plugged his deer at 536 yards with that rifle. Impact was 2" forward of where he was aiming, but the ELD-X punched through the shoulder on the entrance side, through the opposite shoulder, and lodged under the pelt on the exit side. Bullet performed exactly as designed and the deer took 4 steps and flopped over. And now he will forever hold the fact that he killed something with my rifle before me, and further than I had shot the rifle with so far. What an absolute dick.
Since then I have done some load development with the Winchester 6.5 StaBALL and got good results at 42.2gr with the 143 ELD-X seated at 2.810" yielding a velocity of 2,510 FPS. This is measured OAL and not off the ogive or anything since I am currently a savage in the aspect. I have test loads worked up with the StaBALL and the 130 ELD-M, 140 ELD-M, 147 ELD-M, Nosler 129 ABLR and Barnes 140 Match Burner. I had attempted to work up loads with these bullets using the last of the remaining pound of H-4350 I had, and had just chose ballpark loads and did not have good results, so now I will see how they work with the StaBALL and proper ladder tests. When the H-4350 gets here I will revisit the load development on these bullets as well. I recently upgraded from my $40 Lyman digital scale to an RCBS MatchMaster as well, so I should have much better consistency. I have not been out to shoot any new load development since working it up as I have been putting in lots of overtime at work due to OT and Holiday incentives.
Overall I am very pleased with The Fix. I wanted a light weight and handy rifle for hunting and hiking around in the hills, and it excels at these roles. The last 4 years I had been hunting with my H&K MR762A1, and to be straight to the point, humping a near 20 pound rifle around fucking sucks. The folding stock on The Fix is awesome for mobility, makes it easy to get in and out of the truck, and makes it easy to hike around with or to strap to a backpack. The trigger is great, bolt throw and feel is good, and I am very happy with the rifle.
As far as the negatives go, the stock buttpad sucks. Got the Big Butt and now the rifle is much more comfortable. I also got the Bottle Rocket to help with recoil, and while it is very efficient at reducing recoil, the ports are not timed and it just so happened that one of the 3 ended up at about the 7 O'clock position so I get dirt and debris thrown all over me. The Cherry Bomb on its own is not a good muzzle brake whatsoever, but all these issues will be solved in hopefully 7-8 more months since I bought a Jumbo Shrimp to put on it.
These are my thoughts and observations on this rifle so far. After the middle of January I will be able to get out to finish my load development and take the rifle out to further ranges and see what it can do. So far though I am very happy with the rifle. My friend who used it on his deer will more than likely be purchasing one as well, he liked the rifle that much.
EZ