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6.5 Creedmoor

140 MB RL16 42.9 Lapua sm primer brass 5 shot group
 

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Just got done doing some load development for my Archimedes 6.5cm. So far I'm really liking the H4350 140gr eldm easy button, seems like everything I've tried likes 41.5-42gr. The group side is excusable since I didn't have my bipod or front rest with me and just used a pack. Speeds are from the magnetospeed v3. Started seeing pressure at 43gr. So going to load up some 42gr and do some seating depth testing.

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Just got done doing some load development for my Archimedes 6.5cm. So far I'm really liking the H4350 140gr eldm easy button, seems like everything I've tried likes 41.5-42gr. The group side is excusable since I didn't have my bipod or front rest with me and just used a pack. Speeds are from the magnetospeed v3. Started seeing pressure at 43gr. So going to load up some 42gr and do some seating depth testing.

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Case and primer, please
 
This is what I got from Bob Blaine at Berger for the 153.5. Will try them out next week when I am home. I bought some loaded ones from Berger and they shoot very well at 100-200yds so far(new Sig Cross) so far. 2548fps. SD7
Thanks for posting that. 40 grains of H100V with Peterson cases and CCI 250's with 156 Bergers got me 2613FPS ES6, SD3 at 30F out of a 22" Barrett. Shot bugholes when cold. Groups opened up as the air/rifle heated up, might drop down to 39.8 or so. Loaded .005" off the lands, really long COAL of 3.00" (minor cratering of primer, spicy but not scary hot)
 
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Getting back to reloading for 6.5cm and bolt action again. Found some fed 210 locally and picked up 1k. Tried to trade local but figure I can still use the lrp for 1k rds and get better at long range in the meantime, definitely will be in this thread a lot as i buy more components 💪
 
Several reloading questions.

I'm Currently using the old prime brass.. Imported. How many reloads are you getting approximately with safe loads with these cases? (I am still fine tuning the load as the barrel is just recently broken in. <140 Amax, 210, 41.8.0 H4350> is what I am currently shooting/tweaking.

When these cases go south I will try SPP Lapua brass.

When you made the switchfrom LRP to SRP brass, understanding each barrel and chamber is different, how much tweaking of your pet load was required ?

I'll likely switch to 140 ELDM's when my stock of Amaxes is used up, although last time I was at the range I shot a few Berger 130 VLDH test loads @ 1K and the results were promising there too.

Decisions, Decisions....
 
I have way more H4831SC than H4350. Hodgdon shows 39.4 to 46.3gr for the 6.5. All the loads I see here are 4350. Any love for 4831 for the 6.5?
 
I've had excellent results with 6.5staball under a Berger 130 at 2800 fps. The eldm 140 was "ok" but best I could do repeatedly was about .45" . The 130 bergers I am at .18" - 3 round group and .24" - 5 round group and can do so very regularly so I just gave up on running the 140 and stick with the 130s. If I need to get past 1350yds I can go out further with the eldm 140gr. Really don't need to shoot that far with 6.5cm anyway so.... I think the proof carbon prefit just doesn't like the heavier bullets ad well. Might do better with H4350 but there's not really a reason to for me and with powder so hard to come by and 6.5staball metering so well, kind of hard to find a reason to do anything else with it.
 
load test on my buddy's 6.5 creedmoor cadex rifle today. 147gr eld match rounds, hornady brass, cci large rifle primers. h4350 powder. seated 20thou off the lands. found the perfect load. 41.4 grains. almost the same speed as my rpr with a IBI barrel.
 

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Trued the axial form factor in 4DOF of my 140 ELDM load at 525 and 780 yards Thursday evening. First 3 shots at 780 were .1 mil below the waterline. Re-painted the target and the next four wer .1 mil high. Repainted, pulled my head out and made the correction I needed, fired 3 shots without holding any wind, and heard 3 impacts. Drove down to the target and thought I only saw one impact. Had 3 shots in 1.5". My rifle is ready for the NRL Hunter match next week, hopefully I am.

40.5 gr Rl16. Peterson brass, CCI450, .055" off the lands, 2844 fps, Sd of 4.
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43.5 gr Staball , Berger 130 hybrid otm. Starline brass, CCI BR2. 2850 MV. Only 3 shot group but still pretty good.
 

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New criterion 8twist 26inch 6.5creed.

had 51 rounds of old Horn Amax factory 140ammo. Ran it through barrel with a few cleaning cycles in between. Averaged bout mid .6

processed that hornady brass and tested following

Staball6.5
WLR primers
147eldm @ .020 off - this chambers freebore must be a lil short because this puts average OAL @ 2.858"

ran velocity ladder and found a flat spot from 44.2-44.4 ( 2761fps. )

Group and dope tested 44.3 w/ [email protected] off.

Group at 100 was bout high .3

dope out to 1007yds confirms velocity at 2760 using a G7 of .340?? ( will revisit this because its been quite windy this morning )
Im sure the barrel will speed up a lil bit over next hundred or so rounds... Im quite pleased w/ velocity as is though!

easy button / love it when it goes down this easy!!
 
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Hey guys, I haven't been on in a while, but I went back through the last couple of pages. But is anyone using Shooters World 4350? I grabbed 8 lbs recently and the only thing I've been able to find is that it's the slower of the 4350 powders. Anyone having good results with 140 ELDMs? I'll be using hornady brass and 210M primers.
 
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I'm in the process of building my 6.5 Creedmoor and I have a few boxes of their 120gr AMAX factory loads, but once those are gone it to the table. I've seen a few loads on here, but they are spread out all over the place. Figured we need a spot for all of them to go. Bullets I'm interested in using are: 130/140 Berger VLD, 120/140 AMAX, 123/139 Scenars, 142 SMK, and 142 Matrix. Haven't decided powder yet, but mostly will go wth H4831sc or H4350.
22" Barrel
130 gr Berger Hunting VLD
42.0 gr H4350
REM 9 1/2 Mag primers
2.80" coal
REM 700 action with a factory barrel in a HS Precision Stock
 
newbie. Just set up reloading room. Where do you guys recommend purchasing powder and other reloading supplies ???
Midway is starting to get more powders in stock. I check 3-5 times a day and find something I need once every week or so. I’ve picked up varget, IMR 4350, RL16 and retumbo in the last month. Powder valley has some now and then also.
 
Just started hand loading august of 2021 and I’m deep down the rabbit hole at this point. Recently picked up a Daniel Defense Delta 5 at the recommendation of a friend.

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Have 250 rounds through it so far. More on the gun later. Here’s the load I’ve found it likes:

Lapua SRP Brass
CCI 400 primers
40gn IMR 4350
142gn Sierra Match King
2.277 BTO

Got a personal best 5 shot SD (1) and ES (3) with this load cruising at 2600fps at 550’ elev and get groups consistently around .3 moa ..a little on the slow side, but I’m after accuracy for this rifle.

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Took it out to 515 yards last weekend and got a ~.45 moa group with ~8mph wind (my second time ever shooting past 200yards so I’m still learning the wind thing). The impressive thing to me was the < 1 inch of vertical in the group.

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Daniel Defense guarantees a .75 moa on this gun and through load development I’ve seen very few 5 round groups larger than .75 moa. It seems to be an accurate barrel.

The gun itself is nice, but for the price I have a couple of disappointments. The stock is flimsy. I have a KRG on another rifle and this thing isn’t even close. You can twist the front of the stock and bend it up to touch the barrel. Stiffer would be better. My other complaint is the action. The bolt is not smooth at all. Nothing like you’d expect from a $1800 gun. My stock Remington 700 feels like glass compared to this thing.

Overall, I like the gun and I do enjoy shooting it, but will probably swap the stock if I end up keeping the rifle long term. The action does make me want to try other models, however. I have a Christensen Arms BA tactical in 6.5cm on order and have higher expectations for it on fit and finish. Will post my loads developed with it and thoughts on it once it comes in and I have some rounds down range.
 
Usually 5x5 for powder ladder and then 3x5 for seating depth. There's something out of that looks good I will take that load out to confirm at least two more times to ensure that it repeats. So another 20 rounds. If it doesn't repeat then I revisit. But it really depends on if it is a new cartridge a new powder a new bullet a new barrel or am I just brushing up on a barrel I haven't shot in a year.
Typically you do the .5gr increments or go down to .2? I just picked up an 8lb'er of staball and have read the threads that it likes to be at or just a hair over book max. Going to be shot out of a 20"tikka ctr and i know they typically run slower
 
Does anyone have any info on 156 eols in their 6.5creedmoor? Trying to figure out the jump and get it up to 2600fps in my 20" barrel to stabilize better. Jumping 0.070 off right now and the 200 yards groups were not good(40.8gr-41.4gr). The charge ladder work up were touching almost every shot at 100 yards.

Tikka ctr 20" suppressed
h4350
Lapua lrp
fed 210m

Since I am limited by my mag i ran then as long as i could with an OAL of 2.944. Thinking about jumping 0.100-0.120. Which would put me at 2.914-2.894. If anyone has ran these and has some info I am all ears. 41.4grains averaged 2577fps. Haven't seen any pressure yet but I was shooting at like 26 degrees
 
Does anyone have any info on 156 eols in their 6.5creedmoor? Trying to figure out the jump and get it up to 2600fps in my 20" barrel to stabilize better. Jumping 0.070 off right now and the 200 yards groups were not good(40.8gr-41.4gr). The charge ladder work up were touching almost every shot at 100 yards.

Tikka ctr 20" suppressed
h4350
Lapua lrp
fed 210m

Since I am limited by my mag i ran then as long as i could with an OAL of 2.944. Thinking about jumping 0.100-0.120. Which would put me at 2.914-2.894. If anyone has ran these and has some info I am all ears. 41.4grains averaged 2577fps. Haven't seen any pressure yet but I was shooting at like 26 degrees
Being a 300wm fan myself, I understand wanting to throw the weight, but 156 may be a little much for that gun. Check the “stability factor” on the applied ballistics app. You want to make sure it’s 1.5 or higher.
 
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Being a 300wm fan myself, I understand wanting to throw the weight, but 156 may be a little much for that gun. Check the “stability factor” on the applied ballistics app. You want to make sure it’s 1.5 or higher.
I totally understand and I did check it I am at 1.46 being at 2577fps and I am still loading up i expect to get to 2600. which would put me at 1.5 or 1.6. Trust me id much rather tune loads for my 300 but it is already tuned. Just having fun shooting targets and working up loads. Got a box of 156's and figured why not. The factory stuff shot really well at 700. Haven't tried it out further yet.
 
I totally understand and I did check it I am at 1.46 being at 2577fps and I am still loading up i expect to get to 2600. which would put me at 1.5 or 1.6. Trust me id much rather tune loads for my 300 but it is already tuned. Just having fun shooting targets and working up loads. Got a box of 156's and figured why not. The factory stuff shot really well at 700. Haven't tried it out further yet.
I forget how much the temp & elevation factor. I bought some 153.5s to try but changed my mind after looking at the stability score. I’m at ~550ft w/ highs in the 60s right now, but I might could pull off something heavy like that in the Texas heat this summer.

I like your style. Send it!
 
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I totally understand and I did check it I am at 1.46 being at 2577fps and I am still loading up i expect to get to 2600. which would put me at 1.5 or 1.6. Trust me id much rather tune loads for my 300 but it is already tuned. Just having fun shooting targets and working up loads. Got a box of 156's and figured why not. The factory stuff shot really well at 700. Haven't tried it out further yet.
Factory stuff shot really well for me too - in an 8 twist 20” Bartlein at around 800’ elevation.
 
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What is everyone using for a reloading the 6.5 and is anyone using the Dillon presses? Thank you in advance!
 
New criterion 8twist 26inch 6.5creed.

had 51 rounds of old Horn Amax factory 140ammo. Ran it through barrel with a few cleaning cycles in between. Averaged bout mid .6

processed that hornady brass and tested following

Staball6.5
WLR primers
147eldm @ .020 off - this chambers freebore must be a lil short because this puts average OAL @ 2.858"

ran velocity ladder and found a flat spot from 44.2-44.4 ( 2761fps. )

Group and dope tested 44.3 w/ [email protected] off.

Group at 100 was bout high .3

dope out to 1007yds confirms velocity at 2760 using a G7 of .340?? ( will revisit this because its been quite windy this morning )
Im sure the barrel will speed up a lil bit over next hundred or so rounds... Im quite pleased w/ velocity as is though!

easy button / love it when it goes down this easy!!
This combo is shooting great for me but I have had to true out the G7 of the 147eld to .305 to get it to work out with real trajectories.
Did this with JBM & AppliedBallistics and both jived to within .005 G7.
Speed been verified with 2 different magneto speed units.
I have accounted for temp variance with the staball6.5 powder at .6fps per degree.
 
That's like a G1 .600. You might have some other factors going on there
The barrel twist measures out to be about 8.2 / not enough loss of BC to account for real world results..

Not concerned bout it . Its doing what it needs to do for the now!

Once barrel has bout 150 rds on it Im going to develop on a different bullet anyway.. Just thought the data might be useful to someone.
 
Got about 500 rounds worth of staball6.5 down range so far in 2 different chamberings. From 19 degrees F to 76 degrees F over last couple months it's definitely doing very close to .6 fps per degree.
On the 147 ?? Have no clue. But it definitely dopes out at MV of 2760, G7 of 305 at 455, 605, 747, 904 & 1007 yds. On 3 different outings across 50 or so rounds down range.... IDK
 
Weird "crazy" high ES...
I have recently started loading for 6.5 Creedmore, been getting some high ES numbers ~50. On my 6GT load, using the same equipment and technique I am usually around 8-12 ES.

Here is what I got:
Alpha Brass
H4350 and CCI 450
140gr and 147gr ELDM
20 thou off the lands
~3 thou Neck Tension

The 50 ES was one a ladder test.

Here is one new thing I am trying, Neolube N2, could this be the cause?!
 
I recommend the 550 if you're looking to get a Dillon. The 650 will frustrating for a beginning reloader. The primer feed and case feed are automatically progressive so when you're trying to do load development or setting a toolhead up you need the aftermarket "shut-off" gadgets. A 550 is a lot easier to manage. I would recommend a 750 over a 650 if you're dead set on a full progressive just because of the primer feed system.

If you're pretty confident in your skills with a full progressive a 650/750 will shine when you're doing more high volume stuff like X00's of PCs of brass in case prep, converting 300BO brass, loading 1000rds of 9mm more comfortably, loading match .223 ammo in bulk.
What he said. 550, is easy to use and very versatile. 650/750 for high production. A 650/750 without a case feeder is like supper without food.
 
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Shot my first 6 5cm loads today.
Pretty happy with the results.
I wasn't able to get to my regular reloading equipment, so I used my backup stuff.
My impromptu setup was a Lee hand press, old gem pro 20 scale, Lee PPM, Franklin trickler and a Lee die set with their collet neck sizer, of which I polished the mandrel in my drill stepping up to 5000g sand paper and light oil. It looks like a mirror.
I settled on
41.5gr H4350
Cci450 primers
140gr Eldm
Lapua virgin brass

I lightly lubed the inside of each neck with imperial wax and collet sized.
Cleaned the wax out with 99%iso and a qtip. Everything went smoothly.
Pretty happy with the groups.
Thought some of you may get a kick out of the minimal setup and results.

Btw, the targets with the large diamonds were not printed to scale. The 1 moa squares are more like .85moa

Top left target 10rds. All other groups 5rds
 

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Weird "crazy" high ES...
I have recently started loading for 6.5 Creedmore, been getting some high ES numbers ~50. On my 6GT load, using the same equipment and technique I am usually around 8-12 ES.

Here is what I got:
Alpha Brass
H4350 and CCI 450
140gr and 147gr ELDM
20 thou off the lands
~3 thou Neck Tension

The 50 ES was one a ladder test.

Here is one new thing I am trying, Neolube N2, could this be the cause?!
Are you saying the 50 ES was from different loads?