What are you guys running? I have a 22" Dracos barrel coming in and plan to run 108 ELD-Ms through it with H4350. Hoping to get above 3000fps without trashing the brass in one firing.
6 Creed Gas Gun Loads - H4350
- Thread starter Desert_Racer
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With 9 rounds down the barrel of my frozen 22" Ex-Caliber (it has rifle gas and a rather short freebore) it appears that between 41-41.5 is where I will end up. IIRC, GAP said 42.3ish was the place to be with his chamber, which has a much longer free bore than mine. 41 gave me 2856 & 2862 for two and 41.5 gave 2910 & 2918 for two. I expect this barrel to speed up once it's had a hundred or so through it. And I was using Hornady 105 bthp's which tend to be a bit slower than Berger hybrids so I'd bet i'll be in mid to upper 2900's once it is broken in and shooting hybrids.
Mine will have the +2 gas system. I’ll have to see what the chamber measures out to when the barrel shows up this weekend. Seems like most folks are able to get around 3050 with 41.6ish H4350 and a 22”-23” barrel.
How did your brass look with those loads?
Case heads were as new up to 41 grains, 41.5 I noticed a very slight polished mark. Not quite an ejector swipe but close. I was running a full mass carrier at the time. Depending on where the node ends up at I may have to use my heavier jp scs/buffer.
I will be following closely CSAR FE, I have a dracos 6mm barrel inbound as well. I will be running jp bolt, Lomas carrier, and silent capture sping. Looking at rubber city armory adjustable gas key. I will run it with 9 inch .338 suppressor first and see if I need the gas key adjustment.
I was running 105 berger hybrids with H4350 so only a benchmark for your efforts.
22" rock creek barrel, adjustable gas block.
It could push them to 3050-70 but the sweet spot/node seemed to be 2950-75.
The ELD-M's may do same.
I'll bet 3k with the 108 will be a little tough on the brass.
R
22" rock creek barrel, adjustable gas block.
It could push them to 3050-70 but the sweet spot/node seemed to be 2950-75.
The ELD-M's may do same.
I'll bet 3k with the 108 will be a little tough on the brass.
R
Just doing some research and the dracos 6 creedmoor has a 9 twist. Looks like 75 to 95 grain will stabilize best and will be able to be pushed at higher velocity, and will fit/feed better in ar platform. The heavier high bc bullets look like they aren't going to work well with the 9 twist/ar platform feeding. You don't know til you try though. Looking forward to hearing your results.
I called Dracos and talked to Nick (super nice guy). He said he’s running 105s out of his (9 twist) and they “run phenomenally”. He said he’s also shot 107s and they didn’t show any signs of destabilization downrange.
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I'm glad to hear that! I have no experience with the 6 creedmoor, and have just starting researching. I hope to be able to shoot some of the heavier bullet options as well.
The Berger twist rate calculater shows that the 105gr Nosler RDF will stabilize with only a marginal impact on the BC out of a 9 twist (2% reduction). Shouldn’t be an issue.
Got my Dracos barrel in and installed it. I'm running a JP Gen 1 SCS and LMOS BCG w/High Pressure bolt. I also installed a Rubber City Armory gas key. I was shooting suppressed. Took it out today and just loaded up about 50 rounds of the following, for sight in and gas system tuning:
105gr Nosler RDF
Converted, 1x fired 6.5 creed brass
41.3gr H4350
2.780" COAL
Avg 2935
SD 24.5
Seemed to shoot good. I took it out to 750 and had no problems. Brass came out looking really good after tuning, minimal ejector marks and primers looked ok. Based off of the primers, I don't think I'd venture north of 41.8 out of this gun. I still need to play with the "dwell time" adjustment, and plan on shooting over the chrono again after the barrel breaks in. I expect it should speed up some. This cartridge feels like cheating.
105gr Nosler RDF
Converted, 1x fired 6.5 creed brass
41.3gr H4350
2.780" COAL
Avg 2935
SD 24.5
Seemed to shoot good. I took it out to 750 and had no problems. Brass came out looking really good after tuning, minimal ejector marks and primers looked ok. Based off of the primers, I don't think I'd venture north of 41.8 out of this gun. I still need to play with the "dwell time" adjustment, and plan on shooting over the chrono again after the barrel breaks in. I expect it should speed up some. This cartridge feels like cheating.
Excellent thread. I too recently grabbed a Dracos in 6mm. I currently have a 243win barrel that I have to shoot up my ammo for, so I won't be installing it for a bit.
In the mean-time, I have some work to do necking down 6.5 Lapua brass. CSAR FE what method (dies, etc) did you use for necking down?
I'm also interested in the adjustable gas key. Is that a must when shooting suppressed?
In the mean-time, I have some work to do necking down 6.5 Lapua brass. CSAR FE what method (dies, etc) did you use for necking down?
I'm also interested in the adjustable gas key. Is that a must when shooting suppressed?
I just ran my 6.5 Creed brass through a 6 Creed set of dies, then proceeded with normal case prep. No fire forming necessary.
The gas block on the Dracos barrel doesn't adjust how much gas is going to your BCG like a typical gas block, so the adjustable gas key is absolutely necessary, especially when running a can. It took me a while to wrap my head around the "dwell time adjustment" until I played around with it and it made sense. You'll note that the adjustment screw on the gas block is fully screwed in when you get your barrel. My theory is, as you back out the adjustment screw, it increases the volume of the gas system; fully screwed in and you have a +2 gas system, fully out and you probably have something akin to a +3 (if such a thing existed).
I was running my 762-SDN-6, and the extraction was pretty violent until I turned the gas way down on the gas key. I believe I'm at about 1.25 turns out from full closed, and it piles up the brass nicely at the 2:30-3:00.
I still need to do some work to get the SD's down and do a ladder test, but even now, this dog will hunt.
EDIT: Mods, if this thread is venturing too far outside the realm of reloading, please move it to the semi-auto section.
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Thanks for the info. I realize I derailed this thread a bit with my gas key questions. I was just excited to find someone doing pretty much exactly what I plan to do.
We can get back to reloading.
I plan to start with the 87gr v-max as this is primarily a varmint rifle. I am getting 3100+ out of my 20" 243 barrel, but with a pretty hot load that is trashing my Federal brass after 3 reloads.
I hope to get that velocity (or better) with a milder load of H4350 with the 22" Creed. Add the small primer pockets of the 6.5 Creed Lapua brass and I expect it to last a long time.
We can get back to reloading.
I plan to start with the 87gr v-max as this is primarily a varmint rifle. I am getting 3100+ out of my 20" 243 barrel, but with a pretty hot load that is trashing my Federal brass after 3 reloads.
I hope to get that velocity (or better) with a milder load of H4350 with the 22" Creed. Add the small primer pockets of the 6.5 Creed Lapua brass and I expect it to last a long time.
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I did a ladder test today with the 105 RDFs, at 200 yards (had to go to the public range and was limited on distance). I'm having to relearn how to shoot a gasser. Last week was the first time in almost a year and a half since I've shot mine. I settled on 41.7 grains of H4350, average speed was about 2960. I think I could venture up to 42.1 grains and be ok, but the brass wouldn't last very long.
I tried some 108 ELD-Ms as well. 41.3 grains of H4350 shot really well and averaged 3018fps, but that was on the cusp of being too hot. 41.5 grains popped one primer and backed out another. Be careful with these and start low. It was 55 degrees today, so I suspect that 41.3 on a really hot summer day would become dangerous.
I tried some 108 ELD-Ms as well. 41.3 grains of H4350 shot really well and averaged 3018fps, but that was on the cusp of being too hot. 41.5 grains popped one primer and backed out another. Be careful with these and start low. It was 55 degrees today, so I suspect that 41.3 on a really hot summer day would become dangerous.
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