Range Report Hornady 6mmCreedmoor 103 ELD-X and 108 ELD match too long

[David Lott]

Hi, I recently had an MPA bolt action rifle built in 6 Creedmoor and during barrel break-in I noticed 6-7 rounds out of the box were really tight and blew primers out. I attributed that to being a new rifle with tight tolerances. Just for grins we loaded a few rounds in a factory Ruger Precision rifle and same thing, the bullets are being pushed into the rifling 80-165 thousandths. If you try to eject a live round that went in tight it will actually pull the brass from the bullet and bullet stays lodged in the barrel. Any body else experience this?

 

[Rob01]

Don't get that at all with the 108 in my .183 freebore chamber on my custom rifle. The factory 108 is about .020" off lands at factory length. Check and aee what reamer was used on the MPA. Probably a shorter one for use with VLDs. Not sure why the Ruger is doing that as it should have a longer .183 freebore being a factory rifle but you should check.

 

[ajwcotton]

I can't say what is going on with the mpa, probably a short throat chamber possibly a .145 freebore. My chamber is a 145 and is set up for 105 hybrids and the 108s touch by about 20 thou.
I have seen a couple 6 creed rpr's that had basically 0 freebore, customer sent it back to ruger and got it fixed.

 

[David Lott]

The part that is not making sense to me is IF there is a Saami spec why is it not being adhered too

 

[OH58DViper]

I would buy a modified case, pull one, and check the distance to the lands and then measure the factory Ammo. Things get spendy with shipping rifles back for fixes especially when there’s nothing wrong with the rifle. Then again it could be the rifle ha. Before I got into reloading I picked up a surgeon 308 the was cut super shallow and I would get lands marks almost all the way to the brass, I sent it to mile high and had them cut it with a specific reamer, now it’s a hammer. Seeing as how it happened in two different rifles I would bet Ammo is the culprit.

 

[Rob01]

Measuring the ammo is easy. It will tell you the OAL and if it is in spec then the compatibility issue is the rifle chamber. Neither have to be wrong but they just don't go right together. Checking the chamber is the best was to figure out what the rifle is set up for as far as OAL. The MPA isn't surprising but the Ruger is where I would check.

 

[sharpdoug]

The exact same thing happened to me. New 6 Creedmoor rifle made by one of the top manufacturers and gunsmiths. I pulled all the bullets and seated Berger 105s to his advised cartridge OAL. Grouped and shot extremely well after that. I’d never by Hornady factory ammunition for that rifle again. Seated incorrectly is my opinion. Had similar results with Hornady factory in my Savage model 12 LRP 6.5 creedmoor. Hornady blamed Savage.

 

[Rob01]

The exact same thing happened to me. New 6 Creedmoor rifle made by one of the top manufacturers and gunsmiths. I pulled all the bullets and seated Berger 105s to his advised cartridge OAL. Grouped and shot extremely well after that. I’d never by Hornady factory ammunition for that rifle again. Seated incorrectly is my opinion. Had similar results with Hornady factory in my Savage model 12 LRP 6.5 creedmoor. Hornady blamed Savage.

Did you find out what freebore your rifle was made with? I am betting it was less than the .183 which the Hornady ammo is made for. Not the ammo seating issue if a shorter freebore is used.

And yes Savage is well known for short chambering their 6.5 Creedmoors. Search the net and you can find many stories. Savage fixes it if you contact them.

 

[David Lott]

Thanks for the replies, this has been a steep learning curve. Seems there is NO STANDARD for the 6 Creedmoor right now. MPA is making it right for me but they set it up short with the thinking most people that buy a precision rifle will be reloading and therefor load to the rifle. I will be shooting 115 DTACS so I loaded 2 rounds and sent to them. Hornady loads to overall length and don't measure for bottom to Ogive. For grins I purchased an OAL indicator and bullet comparator from Hornady and boy what an eye opener. The Ruger precision had an even shorter throat 2.158 with the MPA at 2.213. Now for the eye opener, Hornady 103 ELD X BTO was 2.217, 108 ELD Match was 2.237, Berger 105 Hybrids 2.193, 115 DTACs are 2.253.

all that said what have you guys found to be the optimum free bore for a 6 Creedmoor?

 

[Rob01]

Thanks for the replies, this has been a steep learning curve. Seems there is NO STANDARD for the 6 Creedmoor right now. MPA is making it right for me but they set it up short with the thinking most people that buy a precision rifle will be reloading and therefor load to the rifle. I will be shooting 115 DTACS so I loaded 2 rounds and sent to them. Hornady loads to overall length and don't measure for bottom to Ogive. For grins I purchased an OAL indicator and bullet comparator from Hornady and boy what an eye opener. The Ruger precision had an even shorter throat 2.158 with the MPA at 2.213. Now for the eye opener, Hornady 103 ELD X BTO was 2.217, 108 ELD Match was 2.237, Berger 105 Hybrids 2.193, 115 DTACs are 2.253.

all that said what have you guys found to be the optimum free bore for a 6 Creedmoor?

Read your post again. As you see it depends on the bullet you use. No generic optimum. I use a .183 freebore and it shoots the 108 ELD factory ammo great. Both your rifles have short throats. The MPA is probably set up for the 105 Bergers being .020" off. Not sure what is up with the Ruger. I would call them and check as that seems very short.

 

[ocabj]

Hornady 6mm Creedmoor 108gr ELD Match ammo is also too long for my rifle. I documented it here:

https://www.ocabj.net/precision-rifle-project-series-american-rifle-company-mausingfield-part-4/
https://www.ocabj.net/precision-rifle-project-series-american-rifle-company-mausingfield-part-5/

I specifically told the gunsmith that I wanted it setup for Berger 105gr Hybrid.

Note: I (re)seated the factory ammo by about 0.033" deeper for my chamber and it shoots very accurately.