6.5 CM Factory Ammo

B.A.C. · Sunday at 12:55 PM

Just wanted to share some data from separate range trips. I did not go downrange to get pictures of the groups. I wish we could start a trend of posting SD, ES and average numbers for factory ammo, then let the shooter discover what groups best.

My rifle: 24" Tikka CTR in 6.5 CM.

NAME	WEIGHT (gr.)	AVG	ES	SD	SHOT COUNT
Federal Gold Medal Match	140	2661.8	47.3	11.3	20
Hornady American Gunner	140	2597.2	68.4	16.3	33
Hornady ELD-M	140	2645.5	104.7	24.6	19
Norma Golden Target Match	130	2801.7	108.3	24.8	68

diggler1833 · Sunday at 1:47 PM

I see you must have bought from the same lot Hornady ELD-M as I did. Absolutely atrocious. Fortunately, 98% of the time I handload.

Looks like the Norma stuff isn't going to win any awards either.

vh20 · Sunday at 2:11 PM

My, how Hornady has fallen since Covid. I have about 2K of the 140ELD Match loads from pre-Covid, and it typically looks about like your FGMM, except MV is considerably more, but I see you’re running a 24” Tikka, so that explains it.

The same thing happened to their 225ELD Match load for 300PRC after 2021. It went from really good to terrible.

LR1845 · Sunday at 2:37 PM

I shot both of these ammos in 3 different rifles and my grandson shoots it in his tikka and it has shot outstanding in all...you factory ammo guys might want to give it a try, it ran slow in everything ive shot in in but it hammers...I do not remember how fast the 123s were but for some reason 2800-2850 comes to mind.

https://freedommunitions.com/products/6-5-creedmoor-140gr-new

https://freedommunitions.com/products/6-5-creedmoor-123-fmj-new

Secant · Sunday at 2:47 PM

Hornady ammo in 6CM, 6.5CM, and 7RM has been dogshit the last several years both in terms of downrange precision, and also MV SDs. It’s too bad because they used to be an easy button for at least decent factory ammo.

Turkeytider · Sunday at 8:17 PM

The difference in the ELD-M and the American Gunner , both being Hornady,is interesting. One would think that they would be just the opposite. I know that my Tikka Super Varmint really likes the American Gunner.
And thanks to the OP for opening this thread.

TahoeDust · Sunday at 8:33 PM

Federal GMM 140gr Bergers is by far the best factory 6.5cm ammo I have shot. It is pretty much all I shoot unless I am "plinking", than American Gunner, which has impressed me in every rifle I have shot it out of.

BikePilot · Sunday at 9:44 PM

FGMM is crazy good out of my AI and is mostly what I shoot. I also like Berger quite a lot. Recently I ran a few rounds of 129gr Hornady super velocity, but was limited to a 200yrd range and didn't have a Chrono with me. It seemed spot on though and I think will be my new 'yote round.

Scarface26 · Sunday at 10:26 PM

LR1845 said:
I shot both of these ammos in 3 different rifles and my grandson shoots it in his tikka and it has shot outstanding in all...you factory ammo guys might want to give it a try, it ran slow in everything ive shot in in but it hammers...I do not remember how fast the 123s were but for some reason 2800-2850 comes to mind.

https://freedommunitions.com/products/6-5-creedmoor-140gr-new

https://freedommunitions.com/products/6-5-creedmoor-123-fmj-new

I shot their 123’s for a while and they would routinely cloverleaf. Then a flyer.

Had some a few years back that blew primers. Last bunch had starline brass, tho.

God bless America

Turkeytider · Monday at 6:26 AM

Anyone shoot Sig Sauer Elite Marksman? Have heard good things.

Secant · Monday at 7:07 AM

Turkeytider said:
Anyone shoot Sig Sauer Elite Marksman? Have heard good things.

20-shot group was 0.9-MOA.

wind gypsy · Monday at 9:43 AM

Turkeytider said:
Anyone shoot Sig Sauer Elite Marksman? Have heard good things.

Never in 6.5 but the 107 in 6 CM has been good. Bought a few cases of it for around $1.35/round a year and a half ago. The 6.5 stuff did pretty well in that factory comparison precision rifle blog did a while back, the primary limitation is that the 140 SMK is kind of a turd in the BC department. If they loaded it with 140 hybrids or 142 SMKs to similar precision/consistency it'd be a great choice.

I also have shot a fair bit of the norma factory ammo. Velocity consistency is lousy but it shoots pretty tight for short range practice for close to $1/rd.

The one that was surprisingly bad in my 24" tikka CTR tube is FGMM Berger 130 AR. 2+ MOA IIRC which was quite surprising as that bullet (as a component in handloads) has seemed to always shoot well in other rifles.

Berger factory 140 hybrids shot well. Hard to beat that option if you find berger ammo on sale.

Tailwater · Monday at 12:51 PM

My most recent chrono of 20 rds of Hornady 140 ELD (9/10/25): Avg Velo = 2667; Avg SD = 13.7; Avg ES = 36.65. This is with a 1:8 twist 20" Bartlein barrel. I had a Tikka 20" CTR and it was slower but dang accurate once you got the dope nailed. I'd like try the Berger 140 & 144 hybrids but I've got way too many Hornady 140 ELDs at this point to start chasing velocity and SD.

vh20 · Monday at 5:44 PM

Tailwater said:
My most recent chrono of 20 rds of Hornady 140 ELD (9/10/25): Avg Velo = 2667; Avg SD = 13.7; Avg ES = 36.65. This is with a 1:8 twist 20" Bartlein barrel. I had a Tikka 20" CTR and it was slower but dang accurate once you got the dope nailed.

I mean, that's pretty good for factory ammo (even "Match"), and it is about what I used to expect from 140ELD in the "good old days."
Yes, Tikkas are slow, and accurate. My 20" CTR is about the same as yours.

Tailwater · Monday at 9:20 PM

vh20 said:
I mean, that's pretty good for factory ammo (even "Match"), and it is about what I used to expect from 140ELD in the "good old days."
Yes, Tikkas are slow, and accurate. My 20" CTR is about the same as yours.

Full disclosure, I purchase all my 140 ELD in 2020 so I may have got lucky .

vh20 · Monday at 11:00 PM

Tailwater said:
Full disclosure, I purchase all my 140 ELD in 2020 so I may have got lucky .

Absolutely makes a difference! By my calculation, their stuff went south in mid-2021 when they could no longer source the powders they were relying on due to Covid-related shortages. Hornady doesn't manufacture their own powder, making them totally reliant on others for that critical component. So, yeah - you probably got the tail-end of their "best". And it wasn't just them. Berger's ammo quality seems to have sagged around the same time, just not as dramatically, even though they are under the Capstone corporate umbrella that also includes Vihta Vuori, which one would think would give them an advantage over Hornady in the powder-supply problem.

Turkeytider · Tuesday at 7:20 AM

vh20 said:
I mean, that's pretty good for factory ammo (even "Match"), and it is about what I used to expect from 140ELD in the "good old days."
Yes, Tikkas are slow, and accurate. My 20" CTR is about the same as yours.

13 and 36? I’m beginning to believe that that’s REALLY good for factory ammo.

vh20 · Tuesday at 7:30 AM

Turkeytider said:
13 and 36? I’m beginning to believe that that’s REALLY good for factory ammo.

It is compared to the 140 ELDM coming off the line right now, from what I've seen.

Secant · Tuesday at 8:58 AM

Name	Weight (gr)	Avg	Barrel Length	ES	SD	Round Count
Hornady ELD-M	147	2573	18	90	21.5	20
Hornady ELD-X	143	2523	18	39	9.7	20
Berger Hybrid Target	140	2628	18	44	14	20
Lapua Scenar-L	136	2657	18	54	12.9	20
Norma Golden Target	130	2628	18	59	18	20
Sierra Matchking	140	2481	18	43	11.2	10
Hornady ELD-X	143	2630	22	51	14.7	20
Berger Hybrid Target	140	2743	22	58	18.4	20
Hornady ELD-M	140	2681	22	73	20	20
Federal Berger OTM	130	2766	22	52	12.7	20
Federal SMK	140	2637	22	62	19.1	20
HSM Sierra Gamechanger	130	2665	22	96	26	20
Federal Berger Target hybrid	140	2744	22	89	22.9	20
Sig Elite Marksman	140	2695	22	57	15.1	20
Lapua Scenar-L	136	2781	22	32	9.8	20

For whatever it's worth, Berger factory ammo has been pretty temp sensitive. Federal factory ammo has been less temp sensitive. The ELD-X line has been much better for me than the ELD-M line, until very recently. The Hornady Black has been a mixed bag. Copper Creek has been good and bad for me. Unknown Munitions has been bad. Eagle Eye and Clay Cartridge has been out of stock everytime I've tried to buy ammo.

Secant · Tuesday at 9:11 AM

Turkeytider said:
13 and 36? I’m beginning to believe that that’s REALLY good for factory ammo.

When ES is almost exactly 3x SD, chances are good that those results came from a very low sample (like 3 shots or so). If that's the case, reported SD will likely be off.

mark5pt56 · Tuesday at 9:26 AM

Numbers from Hornady 6mm Arc
108, 20 shots, SD 14.2, ES 63.6
105, 19, SD 11.5, ES 45.5

Yeah, ref low number of shots, I was doing load testing on a .223, 80 SMK and Varget, first three were within 1 fps--then I fired 30 more

kthomas · Tuesday at 9:31 AM

Hornady SD and ES has always been pretty bad.

I started shooting it in 2013, and the ES and SD wasn't really any better than what's being reported here.

I haven't shot FGMM 6.5 Creedmoor, but the .308 stuff is single digit SDs out of my TacOps.

Thump_rrr · 2025-10-02T00:55:08-0400

I never shoot factory ammo in any of my center fire rifles however 2 summers ago I went on vacation to Tennessee.

Being that there is a 1,000y in Tennessee I wanted to try it out.

Dead Zero Shooting Park has electronic targets out to 1,000y. You must hit the gong at each distance before being allowed to shoot at the electronic targets.

To make a long story short I ran out of my hand loads at 600y and bought 2 boxes of FGMM at their pro shop to shoot at 800y and 1,000y.
My best 5 shot group at 1,000y with FGMM started with the first 4 shots at 0.4moa and the SD at 5.9 and average velocity on target at 1429fps the fifth shot brought the group size to 1.55moa SD of 10.5 and average velocity of 1434fps. The worst group was 1.78moa SD 10.0 and average velocity of 1433fps.

I went back down to the pro shop and bought 1 box of Sierra Custom Competition using the same 140gr SMK as the FGMM and 1 box of Hornady 147 ELD Match.

The Sierra shot its worst group at 0.97moa with an SD of 6.2 at 1472fps and its best group at 0.58moa with an SD of 3.3 at 1475fps.

The Hornady shot 0.61moa with an SD of 9.9 and an average velocity of 1558 at the target.
I gave the remainder of the Hornady to my friend to try because his 308 wouldn’t register at the 1,000y electronic targets.

Turkeytider · 2025-10-02T08:01:10-0400

Thump_rrr said:
I never shoot factory ammo in any of my center fire rifles however 2 summers ago I went on vacation to Tennessee.

Being that there is a 1,000y in Tennessee I wanted to try it out.

Dead Zero Shooting Park has electronic targets out to 1,000y. You must hit the gong at each distance before being allowed to shoot at the electronic targets.

To make a long story short I ran out of my hand loads at 600y and bought 2 boxes of FGMM at their pro shop to shoot at 800y and 1,000y.
My best 5 shot group at 1,000y with FGMM started with the first 4 shots at 0.4moa and the SD at 5.9 and average velocity on target at 1429fps the fifth shot brought the group size to 1.55moa SD of 10.5 and average velocity of 1434fps. The worst group was 1.78moa SD 10.0 and average velocity of 1433fps.

I went back down to the pro shop and bought 1 box of Sierra Custom Competition using the same 140gr SMK as the FGMM and 1 box of Hornady 147 ELD Match.

The Sierra shot its worst group at 0.97moa with an SD of 6.2 at 1472fps and its best group at 0.58moa with an SD of 3.3 at 1475fps.

The Hornady shot 0.61moa with an SD of 9.9 and an average velocity of 1558 at the target.
I gave the remainder of the Hornady to my friend to try because his 308 wouldn’t register at the 1,000y electronic targets.
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I envy someone who can shoot like that. I don’t have enough time left on the planet to get that good. Wind reading alone would keep me from it. Those are incredibly good numbers for factory ammo.

Benz1 · 2025-10-02T08:19:32-0400

Here's some Hornady 6.5CM 140gr new production I shot recently

Turkeytider · 2025-10-02T09:14:20-0400

Benz1 said:
Here's some Hornady 6.5CM 140gr new production I shot recently

SD of 31? That’s not good.

Thump_rrr · 2025-10-02T16:39:05-0400

I forgot to mention that 2 weekends ago I was at a shooting competition.
We shoot 4 times a year with mostly the same people.
One of the guys we were squadded with was shooting Hornady 140 ELD-Match in 6.5 Creedmoor.
He had bought 300 rounds of the same lot number.
On the Sunday he had 8 misfires and one round that apparently barely made it out of the barrel.
All the rounds had a decent primer hit.
He was shooting a Bergara B14.
We all told him to call Hornady.

I may be seeing him this weekend at a 2 day pistol course.
I'm curious to see what has happened.

Tailwater · 2025-10-02T17:26:59-0400

Yeah a SD of 31 is not acceptable. Living in the realm of factory ammo requires one to accept inconsistencies. I think you can find a box of ammo from any of the large manufactures that has great velocity, SD and ES and the next box is like they didn't know how to manufacture a cartridge. Every rifle barrel is different and each like a particular ammo brand and grain weight. Just keep charting the results until you find the factory ammo that makes you comfortable.

Turkeytider · 2025-10-02T17:47:18-0400

Tailwater said:
Yeah a SD of 31 is not acceptable. Living in the realm of factory ammo requires one to accept inconsistencies. I think you can find a box of ammo from any of the large manufactures that has great velocity, SD and ES and the next box is like they didn't know how to manufacture a cartridge. Every rifle barrel is different and each like a particular ammo brand and grain weight. Just keep charting the results until you find the factory ammo that makes you comfortable.

Since I don’t hand load , I’ ve reconciled myself to the fact that I’ll never TRULY know just how accurate and precise my rifles could possibly be. My chronograph has been an eye opening educational tool when it comes to factory ammunition and its variability. It has certainly helped me to understand why it’s so difficult to string hits together on a 4” gong at 500 yards with factory loads!

6.5 CM Factory Ammo

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