.264 bullets for PRS other than 140 eldm?

Berger Hybrids

I shoot the 130 Berger AR Hybrid bullets at 2840fps in my 6.5 Creedmoor. I've also used the Norma 130GTX and Hornady 130 ELDm with decent success. The Norma bullets didn't like either of my Criterion barrels but they shoot really good in my new Krieger.

Sierra pointed Matchkings. Hornady Atips

If you’re looking for budget, the Hornady 140 HPBT is better than you might think.

SMK would be my other budget choice, then Matchburner third place.

But personally I run the 130 AR Hybrids when I shoot 6.5CM in competition.

KnowNothing256 said:

If you’re looking for budget, the Hornady 140 HPBT is better than you might think.

SMK would be my other budget choice, then Matchburner third place.

But personally I run the 130 AR Hybrids when I shoot 6.5CM in competition.

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I run the 130gr Berger AR Hybrids as well in 6.5C and 6.5x47L. It was super easy to find good loads with that bullet in a bolt gun and an AR10 with a couple of different powders.

135 grain Berger classic hunter, 130 HPBT or 142 HPBT Seirra match king.

I ran the 142 SMK and the Berger Classic Hunter in 135. Both shot great and wouldn’t hold you back in a match.

ELDMs are about as cheap as you will find--140s were at midsouth in the 45 cent range just this week. Barnes/Lapua are also around. Bergers are about 30% more expensive.

For PRS just pick a good one and stock up. (None of the above are bad suggestions and will do just fine).

139 GN Lapua scenar been working great for me. They seem to get overlooked alot. Better than Berger probably not. better than Sieara yes, more consistent. Better than ELD-m yes. Bergers are great if you can find them but I got tired of searching for them and the price when i found them. The 136 gn scenar would be another option though I have not tried them I wouldn't hesitate to.

Has anyone tried the Matchmonster bullets ?
They look good for the shooter on a budget

salks said:

139 GN Lapua scenar been working great for me. They seem to get overlooked alot. Better than Berger probably not. better than Sieara yes, more consistent. Better than ELD-m yes. Bergers are great if you can find them but I got tired of searching for them and the price when i found them. The 136 gn scenar would be another option though I have not tried them I wouldn't hesitate to.

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139 scenar 41.5 H4350 is one of my favourite creed load and I find it actually much more accurate at 600y than the 136 for some reasons.

SlowMiss6.5 said:

Just curious why would the match burner be #3? Seems to have pretty solid BC (although maybe a little inflated) for being one of the cheaper bullets

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Keep in mind I don't have any experience with it but AB has tested it and gives it a BC variation of .010 which is pretty darn good. G7 averaged .288

I'm a fan of the less expensive stuff. I've had really good luck with the 130gr Norma, 123gr Scenar, and 130gr ELD-M. I bought in bulk when each one was at about $.40/piece. That seems like a tougher order these days.

SlowMiss6.5 said:

Thank for the info! I will update my earlier post so I don’t spread any lies haha

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I was a bit surprised at the results too, glad I looked it up.

SlowMiss6.5 said:

Just curious, what makes them better than eldm? Consistency of weight? O give? Or are you referring to down range performance?

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Well it very well could be just my experience with ELD-M but my loads just don't seem to hold up over time. Why, I have no idea could be me. I want to have a load that works. Load 100-200 rounds ,check zero , Go. Consistent, repeatable performance.

Frank Green said:

Sierra pointed Matchkings. Hornady Atips

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For 6.5cm, what bullets are you running?

Hard to beat these if they shoot good for you. Same bullet Prime had in their ammo back when they started up. They are a great hunting bullet too.

Following. I've always wanted to try the Hornady 140gr match bullets.

SlowMiss6.5 said:

Just curious, what makes them better than eldm? Consistency of weight? O give? Or are you referring to down range performance?

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My down range performance was better but it was always a question of availability.
Here in Canada they are cheaper than the ELD-M.

I've tried 123 scenars, 130 eldms, and 147 eldms in my CM, and 130 eldms and 140 eldms.

I've more or less settled on the 147s, the highest BC possible seems to outweigh the slight reduction in recoil.
I've found they seem to perform better at distance as well, not sure if that's due to the BC or my load is a bit more accurate.

The 147s and 140s seemed the easiest to tune also.

beetroot said:

I've tried 123 scenars, 130 eldms, and 147 eldms in my CM, and 130 eldms and 140 eldms.

I've more or less settled on the 147s, the highest BC possible seems to outweigh the slight reduction in recoil.
I've found they seem to perform better at distance as well, not sure if that's due to the BC or my load is a bit more accurate.

The 147s and 140s seemed the easiest to tune also.

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So I have tired the 140g eldm and Berger 140g hybrids. My rifle just seems to like the ELDM’s no matter the charge of seating depth. Every charge was under 10sd and under 30 Ed where the hybrids had only great numbers at the top end of charges. I’m about to try the 147’s. What powder and or charge weight did you go with?

hairy_pineapple588 said:

So I have tired the 140g eldm and Berger 140g hybrids. My rifle just seems to like the ELDM’s no matter the charge of seating depth. Every charge was under 10sd and under 30 Ed where the hybrids had only great numbers at the top end of charges. I’m about to try the 147’s. What powder and or charge weight did you go with?

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H4350 42.2gr in my 6.5CM Tikka.

From memory load development way very easy, just seated 10thou off lands.

Be careful about switching lot numbers especially with cheaper bullets. I've seen a few guys have a lot of match burners that shot really well, then the next like crap.

beetroot said:

H4350 42.2gr in my 6.5CM Tikka.

From memory load development way very easy, just seated 10thou off lands.

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I’m at 40.4g of h4350 getting 2709fps. .030 off the lands

hairy_pineapple588 said:

I’m at 40.4g of h4350 getting 2709fps. .030 off the lands

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With 147s?
I'm about 2680fps which is a little slow which is probably due to the Tikka barrel.

beetroot said:

With 147s?
I'm about 2680fps which is a little slow which is probably due to the Tikka barrel.

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Oh no 140’s. I’m about to try 147’s this week. Should have specified.

I’ll push back on the 142smk, I shot >500 of them in the past couple of months, mostly practice but also 2 or 3 club matches

They’re accurate and easy to find good loads, but for their price point you can do better. They really aren’t great in wind & the 147 ELDM should pretty much always be cheaper.

beetroot said:

With 147s?
I'm about 2680fps which is a little slow which is probably due to the Tikka barrel.

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This is almost exactly where I settled with the 147's in my Tikka CTR 24" barrel. CHF Tikka barrels are known to be slow, but the thing was an honest .3-.5 moa gun with multiple bullets/loads.

Berger 130 VLD’s and Sierra 130 Matchkings with closed tip (not that green plastic stuff). Both shot exceptionally well for me. Also, as previously mentioned, the 144 Berger Hybrids. But you were somewhat concerned about the cost.

So, that said, the Sierra’s will work and cost less.

The 130 eldms shoot great out of my sporter contour 6.5x47 Lapua. The velocity bump almost makes up for the lower BC.

This is pretty funny thread. All this wagging about different bullets. The cost of competition bullets is irrelevant. If you are worried about the cost, then you cant afford to compete.

90% of the better shooters are running Berger hybrids of some sort. Hornady is hot garbage in comparisons from a bullet construction standpoint which is why they have huge BC variance and blow up over 300k rpm.

Sierra makes a decent bullet (and by extension DTACS made by sierra) but the price difference is not really much in the grand scheme of things. Confidence in our equipment is a huge part of the mental game, and running the best bullets is part of that as well, other than they fly better.

130 beger OTM , 140 berger Hybrid 144 bergers 153 bergers 156 bergerEOL. Pick one. Dont worry about lot numbers. Jump them .020-.120 and they will shoot. If they don't, something is wrong with you or your other gear.

hairy_pineapple588 said:

For 6.5cm, what bullets are you running?

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150SMK and the 135 and 153 ATIPs. The 150SMK and the 153's I'm running them at 2700fps basically. The 135's I'm at 2800+. All out of 23" barrels.

If I want to do a quick zero check or initial barrel break in or just practice etc... usually box 140ELDM ammo.

I don't load 140's at all anymore.

Frank Green said:

150SMK and the 135 and 153 ATIPs. The 150SMK and the 153's I'm running them at 2700fps basically. The 135's I'm at 2800+. All out of 23" barrels.

If I want to do a quick zero check or initial barrel break in or just practice etc... usually box 140ELDM ammo.

I don't load 140's at all anymore.

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Any reason why you left the 140’s?

Rob01 said:

What powder?

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H4350. 41.5gr.

My chamber in my guns also has about a .020" shorter throat then Saami.

I'm like right at or just under 2700fps. / I mean like 2690 or 2695. I'd have to go home and look at my data books.

I shot the 153's at a match where Applied Ballistics had they're mobile lab set up and you could shoot your rifle and they would confirm your bc numbers etc... The 153's out of my gun where only .001 off the advertised Hornady bc numbers which Hornady advertises them at a .355 G7 and if I remember correctly mine came in at .354. I have the data sheets at home still.

hairy_pineapple588 said:

Any reason why you left the 140’s?

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No just don't use them. Years ago I use to run the Sierra 140 matchking. Basically what I see is the 135 or the 150's ballistically have an edge over the 140's ever the Bergers. Berger advertises a G7 of .311. The 135 Atips are at .321. The 153's are at .355. The 150SMK are rated at at the G1 number even a little higher than the 153's are. So I just don't see a need for the 140's at all.

We also made the test barrels for all of those bullets.... when Sierra for example was doing the R&D work on the 150's I got some preproduction bullets that weighed like 144 but it wasn't the final design they ended with them being the 150gr.

Also as far as closing/pointing the bullet Sierra has it figured out. This makes the bullets fly more consistently. Hornady did it by doing the ATips and even the ELDM's I feel is a better option. Not starting any arguments with the plastic tip etc...So again the 135 and 153 and the 150's are my go to bullets.

Rob01 said:

Thanks. Was just wondering as I am running the 153 ATips at 2680fps with 40.6grns of H4350 in my 28" barrel and can see where another grain of powder would keep the 23" there too.

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Welcome!

From all the load data I can find...the max load I've seen listed is 41.4. So I'm loading 41.4/41.5. Doesn't matter if I'm running a manual powder measure or a electronic powder measure set up I did work up to it though. I double check the charges. As long as the charge isn't over 41.5 I've been running it with no issues. So I'll say even though I don't have any hard bolt lift or clickers or flat primers etc... I don't dare go up any more on the powder charge as this load is at the top end.

I prefer the lighter recoil of the 130 class bullets as it is easier to spot your own shots. Most everything in the eastern parts of the country is inside of 1000 yards, so the marginally better wind performance of the 140s can't really be realized. I'll take the 100fps faster 130s.

I'm a big fan of the Berger 130gr OTMs. Nice wide accuracy node out of my 24" RPR barrel from 2820-2880fps. I run them in the middle at 2850fps. Not fussy at all to tune a load. I tried exploring at 2900+, but bolt lift was starting to get sticky and groups opened up. One ragged hole groups at 100 yards and 1/2 MOA or better easily at 800 yards. Very easy on brass as I only have to bump shoulders around 5-6 firings. I suspect this is due to the short bearing surface making it easier to get the bullet down the pipe before peak pressure occurs.

I may try the Sierra 130MKs out when I get close to running out of my Bergers. The pricing on the Bergers seems to be about $.10 more per bullet than the MKs through Powder Valley.