6.5 grendel OAL?

[Bbowl1]

Is there a general preference for oal?

Bullet - 123gr nosler cc
Powder - xbr8208 27.8
Aa brass
Win sr primer

24" AA upper

I am using hornady comparator and the oal gauge with modified case.

I can easily hit the lands before coming close to my mag OAL max with this bullet. 123 Amax seems to be shaped way different.

I guess what I am asking is do these generally like a jump, touching or jammed .010 or so?

I have done load dev with it and mixed results on oal.

 

[svxwilson]

I just started a thread similar to this. I have been having issues using the hornady COL tool with my 6.5 Grendel and the 123gr Amax. Are you using a bent COL tool or the straight one? What did you do to get the Grendel brass adjusted so you could actually use it? The bent tool won't let the bullet seat very far into the case it obstructs the bullet from being able to adjust to deeper seating depths.

 

[svxwilson]

According to the very loose measurements I got with the 123 Amax my lands were at 1.8 ish with the bullet comparator kit on it. Factory 123Amax loads are seated to 1.669 with the bullet comparator tool for a reference. The factory loads shoot 1/2 moa. Havering a jump of more than a tenth of a inch is huge I would expect they would not shoot that good with that large of a jump. Which leads me to believe my measurements are WAY off.....

 

[peligro113]

Are you reloading for an AR or bolt gun? I just loaded some 123 SST's to 2.260" so they fit in a magazine, i don't have my load book with me at the moment so I cant tell you what the measurement with the comparator is. I was under the impression that you can't load long enough to touch the lands and still seat the round in a magazine. I am still waiting for my barrel so I can't check myself.

 

[svxwilson]

Factory Amax 123 measures to 2.240 with 1.669 at ogive. So off those same measurements your 2.260 would measure roughly 1.689 with the comparator.

Edit: for a AR

 

[Bbowl1]

I am using the straight tool. You obvious have to remove the bolt but it does work.

I mailed hornady a case to thread with their weird a$$ thread pattern. Even though they do produce the 6.5 grendel modified case, no where to be found. $15 covers the threading and return ship. I had it back in a week. This way you are also using a fired from your rifle case. I haven't decided if it would be better to go back and size it so it's identical to the brass I load with.

 

[Bbowl1]

Factory Amax 123 measures to 2.240 with 1.669 at ogive. So off those same measurements your 2.260 would measure roughly 1.689 with the comparator.

Edit: for a AR

I have a box of factory hornady 123amax match. I measure 2.248 oal and 1.676 ogive.

My touching 123gr ncc measures 2.240 oal and 1.739 - note the big difference in ogive

I first realized the issue when I based my oal off the hornady and cycle tested one. It was so far jammed at 2.250 it ripped the bullet from the case after a tough hand cycle. Was about to slam the butt on ground to break it loose.

 

[FCS]

Is there a general preference for oal?

Bullet - 123gr nosler cc
Powder - xbr8208 27.8
Aa brass
Win sr primer

24" AA upper

I am using hornady comparator and the oal gauge with modified case.

I can easily hit the lands before coming close to my mag OAL max with this bullet. 123 Amax seems to be shaped way different.

I guess what I am asking is do these generally like a jump, touching or jammed .010 or so?

I have done load dev with it and mixed results on oal.

I'd be jumping 0.020" at minimum, 0.040" won't hurt you any. I see no reason / advantage to jamming, especially in this scenario. Might give BR4, GM205MAR or even Rem 7 1/2 primer a try. Accuracy was better for me with a touch more powder then you mention.

 

[AKONA]

Is there a general preference for oal?

Bullet - 123gr nosler cc
Powder - xbr8208 27.8
Aa brass
Win sr primer

24" AA upper

I am using hornady comparator and the oal gauge with modified case.

I can easily hit the lands before coming close to my mag OAL max with this bullet. 123 Amax seems to be shaped way different.

I guess what I am asking is do these generally like a jump, touching or jammed .010 or so?

I have done load dev with it and mixed results on oal.

IMO you should find out by measuring in your own chamber. Reamers and not always exactly the same and even the same ones produce
slight variations from the 1st cut to the 30th cut. or who knows what else.
So others can say but there is no substitute from taking your bullets and do your measure. Then the max will be dictated by the
chambered max COAL or the magazine max COAL whichever comes first.

 

[Bbowl1]

Like I said. I know that measurement I was just trying to see if there is a general preference. Just because I know where mine touches doesn't mean I know where to load it to. Not looking for others data, looking for general jump preference. My .308 bolt with 175smk seems to like a jump of .025 are for example.