Which of these 3 bullets for long range 6.5?

[Crang]

Yesterday I ran ladder tests for load development for my Tikka Tx3 6.5CM with a 24" barrel. Brass was virgin well prepped Norma and powder was H4350. Bullets tested were Lapua 139gr Scenars, Hornady ELDM 140s, and Berger 130gr VLD Targets. Chrono was a Labradar. Distance shot 100 yards. Groups were all 5 shots. I found the fastest accuracy node for each and just got a surprise crunching numbers. Plugging them all into TRASOL with a 5mph crosswind the come ups and windage at 500 and 1K were identical despite different speeds, BCs etc.

Lapua printed .3MOA at 2740 FPS with an SD of 4. It was at max pressure at this speed.

Hornady printed .25MOA at 2680fps with an SD of 7.6. It was 100fps below max pressure at this speed.

Berger printed .5 MOA at 2760 with an SD of 2.9. It was 40fps below max pressure at this speed.

The SDs on all are close enough. The group size of any is likely fine as 1 group shot of each for each charge I used isnt a good sample set. Come ups identical to all and the only difference was a 1K the Hornadys had .1mil less wind deflection. So close it doesnt matter. It was 105 while I was shooting, so there is no concern shooting in hotter weather spiking pressure for the Lapuas which were at max charge. The Hornadys have 50-75 more ft/lbs of energy at 1K over the other 2. Although its subjective and I dont recall specifically I assume the Hornadys have less felt recoil as they arent being pushed too hard.

I was hoping to have a clear winner so I can buy in bulk and forget about it. Just concentrate on seating depth and be done with it. Also- the only reason I didnt test Berger 140 Hybrids was they are impossible to find at the moment. That could change things....Cost isnt a factor in my decsion between the 3 though. My gut says go Lapua shooting .3" with an SD of 4 but have no real reason for this other than hoping they do better at distance than the Hornadys and less finicky than the Bergers. If the Hornadys have the same consistency as the Lapuas they have a tiny endge on the numbers but quite frankly I trust Lapuas a bit more when it comes to precision.

I will be doing some distance Testing next week taking whatever I pick out to 1K.

So dang- which to pick?

 

[flyer]

I would try a couple different ballistics solvers because that sounds like a really odd coincidence.

 

[emann1022]

They are all very close. I would probably buy the 2000 bulk pack of 140 eldm. They have a higher BC if you decide to go up to the higher node and they are usually easy to find if you need more. I love Bergers but they can be hard to find when you need them.

 

[LG65CM]

I think it is great you have three bullets you've found loads for that shoot that well. To me that means you will always be able to buy at least one of them and be able to load and shoot. I'd load up some more of all three and see how they actually do at the distance you are going to shoot at. Then decide. my2centsworth, lg

Oh- while you are on a roll, and if looking for a 4th bullet; give Sierra's 142 Matchking a try. Add to your dilemma. LOL

 

[padom]

I've shot 1000's ot 139L and 140 ELD. 139L shoot tight ass groups. The 140 ELD's buck the wind better past 600yd. I have lots of both but I prefer the 140 Hybrids over them all. They are the most accurate of the bunch at distance in my 6.5x47L with the 140 ELD a very close second.

 

[Supersubes]

I always had extremely consistent performance with the lapuas. The bergers have always been good too. The Hornadys seem to be no worse, and way way cheaper most days.

 

[Crang]

Yeah the Hornadys shot the tightest groups and have a tiny tiny edge on wind and energy while being cheapest. SD was double the others but at 7.9 fps probably wont mean too much. I recall seeing a WEZ analysis on SD and hit probability and seemed like once in single digits it didnt change a whole lot. I reran the numbers with a 20mph crosswind out at 1K and the ELDs did .3 mils better than the Lapuas and .2 better than the Bergers. Not a lot but thats something seeing how gusty the wind is here.

Havent shot them at distance so had some concerns they wouldnt do as well as the Lapuas when stretched out. I havent measured and weighed a bunch of them for consistency vs the Lapuas- should have done that before I shot them up. For the cost and availability going to exclude the Berger 130s although will try the 140s when available again.

Funny thing is this rifle hasnt shot well with all the different factory loads I tried- Prime, all the Hornadys and FGMM with the Bergers all printed .75 to 1.4 MOA. Was starting to wonder about this one. Interesting to see some of the same bullets shoot so well just shooting 40 fps slower than the factory loads although I am anal in my brass prep and reloading steps.

 

[300ATT]

Use the one that gives you the most confidence.

 

[Crang]

I had a few days off so tested again yesterday at 200. My 1K range doesnt open till tomorrow but loading some more up today for it. Managed to find a higher node for the ELD-Ms but scratching my head. Had one group print .5 MOA at 200 but SD was 12.7. Next charge up I had was .3 grs more powder. SD was an amazing 2.3 on a 5 shot group with an ES of 5 BUT it shot 1 MOA. It was strung horizontally 2" but vertical dispersion was only .6". Having a hard time interpreting that.

I loaded for hunting rifles and gas guns for 15 years but loading for a precision bolt gun is totally new to me as is having a chronograph that gives SD. Just looking at paper I would normally go for the 1" at 200 but looking at SD now the 1 MOA group is theoretically a better load I would think and wind/shooter error was responsible? Its not normal for me to shoot that bad though from a bench.

The good news is with the faster node, the ELD-Ms are the clear winner so going to tweak those loads a bit more and call it good. I hate bench shooting!