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6.5 Creedmoor powder

K

kaufy5

Private
Minuteman
Dec 3, 2018
9
2
#1
Hi guys new to the site, friend told me about and all the knowledge that can be gained. I have started reloading my own 6.5 Creedmoor rounds and am looking for some advice/ or input on the topic. I am loading Hornady ELD Match into Hornady brass using IMR 4895 powder. Has anyone else used this powder to load their 6.5 and have any recommendations on powder charge?

Found a few other places that recommend 42.3g of powder, I am working my loads up slowly, shot a decent group at 36.5 but could tell velocity was down as I had to mill up more than anticipated... any advice is welcome.

Thanks!
 
#2
Welcome to the hide. If your using the 140 gr eld then I would suggest about 2800 fps for your accuracy node. IMR 4895 will not get you to 2800 fps so switching to another powder such as rl16 or Hodgdon H4350 would be ideal. The correct way to do a load work up is called the ocw method and you can read about it here. http://www.ocwreloading.com
 
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#3
sorry thought I mentioned it, using the 147gr... did loads with 147gr and 140gr and the 147gr shot much better. at roughly 700yrds i was almost a full mill higher on the 140gr than the 147gr
 
#4
What speed are you getting with 4895? Like mentioned above, other powders in the 4350 burn rate will get you higher velocities to take advantage of the 140 and 147 grain bullets.
 
#6
The more details you can give us the better. Coal. Brass manufacturer. Primers. Jump to lands etcetera...
 
#7
running Tikka T3x Tac A1 with 20" barrel..... Havent had the velocity checked, planning on doing that next trip out, im guessing around 2500fps based on mills i had to move compared to a software program i used to get a starting point to help dial everything in
 
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#8
36.5 is way too low for good performance. It's up to you to determine what is safe, but after many years of loading this is what I do...measure overall length of chamber to ogive. Set bullet seater .020 off. Research a bit to see what powder works best. Pick one and start 5% low from book max. Find max in my rifle by checking pressure signs. Find accuracy node in charge weight. Adjust seating depth to tune groups. I do use a chronograph some, but have learned not to waste too much time with it.
 
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#9
Okay now we are getting somewhere please do not load more than 37gr of Imr 4895 powder into the Creedmoor case with the 147 eld bullet. Hodgdon is listing a max load of 36 grains for a 140 eld they don’t even list the 147 with that powder. The 42.3 that you see people recommending is H4350. H4350 at roughly 41.5 grains is what I would recommend for that bullet.
 
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#10
Exactly. Powder choice is determined mainly by bullet choice. The bullet weight to bore size to powder capacity determines the suitable powders.
 
#11
C.O.A.L- 2.792

Found the forum for the IMR4895 and near max load is actually 38.5gr
Psi- 63205
90% velocity-2692
muzzle velocity- 10032
IMR also burns a little slower than Hogdon 4895
 
#12
In a small case like the 6.5 Creedmoor you don't want a small charge of fast burning powder. Especially with the 147. I would try H4831SC with the 147. If you max out case capacity and are still to slow then try some of Alliants powders.
 
#13
38.5gr near max load
Psi- 63205
90% velocity-2692
muzzle velocity- 10032
 

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#14
The Creed case can hold 43+ of powder. Pushing a 147 you will want to have that case stuffed full of a slower powder to keep shoving that heavy bullet all the way down the tube. Look at a different powder.
 
#15
Found my notes, with the 36.5gr shooting 147gr ELD Match at 700yrds I was 6.2 mills. The software program I used, which I can input velocity, is showing 5.59 mills at 700yrds with a velocity of 2550.
 
#18
Powders I found work well in the 6.5 CM with the 147 ELDs and their pros and cons:
H4350- The go to powder for all that is Creedmoor. Easy to find a solid load with good SD/ES. Middle of the road velocities (IMR 4350 is good too just not as temp stable)
RL17- Faster velocities and just as easy to find good load with just be careful its a little sensitive to temp and does not seem to enjoy compressed loads
RL16- the answer to all that's wrong with RL 17. Very stable and ridiculously low SDs/ESs found. Using OCW usually find 3 nodes. will be a step up in speed. Only down side is Carbon rings. Keep them on lock down and you will enjoy the fruits of a fine powder.
Superformance- Another easy powder on the slower end of the burn spectrum. I like to call it Magnum powder lite. Use Magnum primers with Superformance and you will see how simple it is to find a great load. Will allow heavy pills to fly faster without pressure seen using 4350
RL26 - Folks have begun using this gem to really get these heavies moving. Its burns slow, cool and is temp stable. Even though you will run into compressed loads I have had no pressure signs. My magic load has this powder pushing 147s out of my RPR w/24" barrel at 2880 with single mid digit SD. Don't use SRP brass and you will be golden
H1000 - Similar to RL26. Performance they run nearly identical in my rifle
HV100 - See superformance

There are plenty of others but those are what I used so far.
 
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#20
Also if you can’t find any H4350 IMR 4451 is pretty close to it just not as temp stable I’ve ran IMR 4451 in my first barrel when I couldn’t find any H4350 end of last year. Then ran H4350 when I could find it for another barrel.
 
#21
bfglowkey said:
Powders I found work well in the 6.5 CM with the 147 ELDs and their pros and cons:
H4350- The go to powder for all that is Creedmoor. Easy to find a solid load with good SD/ES. Middle of the road velocities (IMR 4350 is good too just not as temp stable)
RL17- Faster velocities and just as easy to find good load with just be careful its a little sensitive to temp and does not seem to enjoy compressed loads
RL16- the answer to all that's wrong with RL 17. Very stable and ridiculously low SDs/ESs found. Using OCW usually find 3 nodes. will be a step up in speed. Only down side is Carbon rings. Keep them on lock down and you will enjoy the fruits of a fine powder.
Superformance- Another easy powder on the slower end of the burn spectrum. I like to call it Magnum powder lite. Use Magnum primers with Superformance and you will see how simple it is to find a great load. Will allow heavy pills to fly faster without pressure seen using 4350
RL26 - Folks have begun using this gem to really get these heavies moving. Its burns slow, cool and is temp stable. Even though you will run into compressed loads I have had no pressure signs. My magic load has this powder pushing 147s out of my RPR w/24" barrel at 2880 with single mid digit SD. Don't use SRP brass and you will be golden
H1000 - Similar to RL26. Performance they run nearly identical in my rifle
HV100 - See superformance

There are plenty of others but those are what I used so far.
Click to expand...

What’s the deal with RL26 and SRP brass? My 100 yard groups look great, but ES and SD were terrible. Went to 4350 and back to super low SD/ES but down to 2780 FPS instead of 2880.

I invested enough in Lapua brass I’m not very tempted to switch at the moment. Anyone know what’s the deal with 26 and SRP brass?
 
#23
Kaufy5; the Tikka's run really slow, seen it on almost all of them, plus your running a
20 inch barrel. I'd just go for groups, cause none of the data is going to compare
with a lot of the guy's here, as for speed. Mostly running 24-26 inch tubes.
The best choices for powders have already
been told to you, H4350 or RL16 are the top 2 and others in that burn speed.
 
#25
Just an update, apologize on not getting back quicker. Everything worked well with my load, no pressure signs on the brass, decent group at 100yrds, I think the variation was on me, couldn’t get comfortable behind the rifle, .25 inch group of 3. Hit targets out to 750yrds consistently with not much variation in placement. Might work the load down a little to tighten things up.
 
#26
What powder did you end up going with? I'm in the same position as you are. I have a CTR in a 20" barrel. Was running factory 143 ELD-X's this weekend. Getting good results but was EXTREMELY SLOW. Very consistent to 920 yards but it took 9.6 mils to get there. DA was around -700, so that probably had something to do with it...

I'll probably load the 140g ELD-M's, but wanted to know what you were using for a powder.
 
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#28
kaufy5 said:
Hi guys new to the site, friend told me about and all the knowledge that can be gained. I have started reloading my own 6.5 Creedmoor rounds and am looking for some advice/ or input on the topic. I am loading Hornady ELD Match into Hornady brass using IMR 4895 powder. Has anyone else used this powder to load their 6.5 and have any recommendations on powder charge?

Found a few other places that recommend 42.3g of powder, I am working my loads up slowly, shot a decent group at 36.5 but could tell velocity was down as I had to mill up more than anticipated... any advice is welcome.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I have found that H4895 is very mild on recoil and Hogdon says it can be decreased load capacity which I loaded for my wife. I loaded it at 33 grains with 147 ELD M and it wasn't very accurate at 100 yds. My first choice for my Savage 12FV is H 100V of 41 grains for 100 yds. Work up to 43 plus looking for usual signs for longer distance. MY SECOND LOAD is with 41.5 grains of H4350.
 
#31
Hey guys been a while, lost track of time, started a new job in 2019 shortly after I created this and then we all know what 2020 was like. I do have an update on how everything went. IMR4895 with Hornady ELD Match 147gr in once fired Hornady Brass running 37.6gr of powder shot very well. I was not able to measure velocity but I did backtrack into it based off MILS and distance. I am estimating the velocity about 2875fps, at 600yrds I was at 3.3 MILS in 40 degree weather. No pressure signs on the brass which is great, my biggest downfall was getting comfortable behind the gun, had a hard time doing that so will need to adjust my scope placement a little and re-zero. Hope everyone is doing well, stay say!
 
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