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Range Report 6GT Project/Range Report

4000 pieces of Hornady! 6GT brass. Got 4 other club members spinning up barrels so we should have a lot of data flowing shortly.

Looks good and from what I am told, case capacity is about .5 less than Alpha, which I prefer running Varget. Dan is on the range this AM with it.

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4000 pieces of Hornady! 6GT brass. Got 4 other club members spinning up barrels so we should have a lot of data flowing shortly.

Looks good and from what I am told, case capacity is about .5 less than Alpha, which I prefer running Varget. Dan is on the range this AM with it.

qdDl8qp.jpg
I gotta ask, why would you guys go with Hornady over Alpha? Just current availability or you guys are part of pre-production testing?
 
This is production Hornady brass. We were not a part of pre-production testing of the Hornady brass, or the Alpha really. We got some late in the game and provided whatever data we could. Most of the data was to confirm what was already known and to give end users a glimpse of what was to come.

Why Hornady? I guess I would say, why not?

For me personally?

1. Cost effective. 72.00 per hundred is easier to swallow when you lose brass, screw some up while reloading, or just need to chuck them.

2. I have had pretty good luck with Hornady products in the past, so I am already a fan.

3. I am not that anal when it comes to keeping my brass all separated. I prep about a 1000 and just throw it all in a bin. Grab what I need to reload for a match or practice and run with it.

4. Availability. We have 4 to 5 of our club shooters spinning up GTs and need brass now. I wish I can claim all 4000 pieces, but the woman would probably kill me.

5. I am curious about how it will compare to Alpha and my formed Lapua brass. Once I get my hands on some Alpha, I can do a side by side on all 3.
 
If Lapua would jump on board with this brass and label it Gay Tiger I would be in for sure lol.

I do not trust Hornady brass though. I had enough troubles with 6.5 creed to not go back. Alpha has some horror stories around here for 6 creed brass as well.
 
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I've been around long enough to hear horror stories for all brands, products, and whatever. Some kinda hold water, some are due to end user error, and some are dead nuts true.

As for Lapua getting on board, good luck with that. As for Hornady and Alpha, only time and data will tell.
 
If Lapua would jump on board with this brass and label it Gay Tiger I would be in for sure lol.

I do not trust Hornady brass though. I had enough troubles with 6.5 creed to not go back. Alpha has some horror stories around here for 6 creed brass as well.

So far the Hornady GT Brass has been GTG. Weighed a handful of cases out of a batch of 1000 pieces, all were within a half grain in weight. Ran a mandrel through the necks and chamfered new brass, loaded some up and had some extremely consistent velocity spreads. Primer pockets felt great, even after a stout load. Time will tell but so far so good on the hornady brass.
 

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So far the Hornady GT Brass has been GTG. Weighed a handful of cases out of a batch of 1000 pieces, all were within a half grain in weight. Ran a mandrel through the necks and chamfered new brass, loaded some up and had some extremely consistent velocity spreads. Primer pockets felt great, even after a stout load. Time will tell but so far so good on the hornady brass.

Load and velocity? I'm guessing the 2871 was just a starting point?
 
Load and velocity? I'm guessing the 2871 was just a starting point?

That was the load I ran over the weekend at the Bakersfield PRS match with the 112s. 35.8 H4350, 50 off. Just a quick load I threw together before the match but didn't have a lot of time. Varget works well too with low SDs. Planning to go back out this week with once fired brass and do some more development with different bullets as well.

My plan for the gt was to run similar to dasher speeds at lower pressures. I've been running the 112s in the dasher at 2860-2880 so I just ran with that load for the match.
 
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@NorCal Vu
Or anyone with Hornady brass. Could you post what the neck measures on a loaded round?

Alpha brass too?
I don’t have brass in hand yet, but was told by Alpha directly that their neck thickness was 0.01275”, leaving ~0.004” total clearance in the 0.273” neck diameter of the GAP spec reamers.
 
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My loaded Hornady rounds are around 270, I may skim the necks to give a little more clearance. I like running 4-6 thou neck clearance, usually prefer 5-6 actually.
 
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I loaded some 112's in Alpha brass today. They measured .2650-.2655", loaded.

I do not have a fancy ball micrometer but with my Mitutoyo thousandths caliper most measurements on neck thickness in Alpha was .0120". Some measurements on neck thickness were as low as .0105 for me.
 
I loaded some 112's in Alpha brass today. They measured .2650-.2655", loaded.

I do not have a fancy ball micrometer but with my Mitutoyo thousandths caliper most measurements on neck thickness in Alpha was .0120". Some measurements on neck thickness were as low as .0105 for me.
I wouldn’t trust neck thickness unless it’s with a ball mic. But the loaded round neck diameter shouldn’t be that far off.

If you measure a bullet, do you get 0.243” dia? Then measure a loaded round and get 0.265”?

Seems like it’d be a bit odd for them to be putting out brass with 0.011” neck wall thickness. Plus the GAP reamers are 0.273” neck diameter, which Alpha told me would be right at 0.004” clearance.
 
I wouldn’t trust neck thickness unless it’s with a ball mic. But the loaded round neck diameter shouldn’t be that far off.

If you measure a bullet, do you get 0.243” dia? Then measure a loaded round and get 0.265”?

Seems like it’d be a bit odd for them to be putting out brass with 0.011” neck wall thickness. Plus the GAP reamers are 0.273” neck diameter, which Alpha told me would be right at 0.004” clearance.

Yes sir, bullets measure right on .243" and .265" is loaded round dia on a few more I loaded up.
 
Yes sir, bullets measure right on .243" and .265" is loaded round dia on a few more I loaded up.
What batch of Alpha brass do you have? I’m waiting for some from batch #2, I hope by now they have the neck dimensions dialed in. 0.011” just seems too thin.
 
After 1050 rounds, I pushed the 112s out .35 thou to stay 20 off the lands.

Not bad considering I ran this gun hard over the last 6 weeks in a bunch of local matches and then the Bakersfield PRS match.

0 velocity drop, same 33.5gn of varget @ 2900fps.

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You're welcome. It's been fun and is getting me back on the range.

We had a two other guys spin up GTs last week and they hammer the exact same load with Hornady brass. 33.5 112s, 2880 2900. Shooting in the .3s out of a new barrel at 300yds load developing.
 
If I'm looking at rebarreling into the 6mm world it seems the GT would be a go to. Coming off a Nucleus barreled with a Proof 6.5creed I'd be looking at a having to pick up everything from scratch. I was set on Dasher but with Hornady making more affordable brass for the GT it seems like it'd be fairly easy to buy into the cartridge with RCBS dies. I have little interest in 9001 step brass prep so snagging factory brass that will run from the beginning is hugely appealing.

Really appreciate all the work you guys have done in the early adopter phase for the rest of us.
 
My problem with the GT is brass. Hornady is junk after a few firings and it’s not consistent. Alpha has had all kinds of problems as well and their brass runs into pressure problems before you get desired speed.

This caliber seems to be almost the perfect combo but man we need the brass giant to pick it up.
 
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My problem with the GT is brass. Hornady is junk after a few firings and it’s not consistent. Alpha has had all kinds of problems as well and their brass runs into pressure problems before you get desired speed.

This caliber seems to be almost the perfect combo but man we need the brass giant to pick it up.
I’ve been wanting to try Alpha brass for a while now, and this is the perfect caliber for me to finally do it. I’ve heard WAY more good about Alpha than bad, so I can’t imagine it’s going to be some sort of disaster scenario based on what the initial testers are showing.

My goal with pretty much any match cartridge I shoot is to run the low node, avoid pressure, and gain more barrel life with less recoil. So Alpha possibly running into pressure sooner doesn’t bother me at all. Four years of 6.5x47L at 2700-2750 fps will do that to you haha. Slow and steady stays in tune longer and giving up a tenth of wind at distance doesn’t matter.

If you’re hoping for 6GT Lapua brass you may be waiting...indefinitely.
 
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My problem with the GT is brass. Hornady is junk after a few firings and it’s not consistent. Alpha has had all kinds of problems as well and their brass runs into pressure problems before you get desired speed.

This caliber seems to be almost the perfect combo but man we need the brass giant to pick it up.

Not going to dispute this as I know they have had some inconsistencies in the past but the Hornady GT brass I received(over 1000 pieces) are extremely consistent so far and I was pretty surprised actually. On my second firing now with the batch I'm running and pockets feel great still.

I ran new Hornady GT Brass at the Bakersfield PRS match with zero issues.
 
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My problem with the GT is brass. Hornady is junk after a few firings and it’s not consistent. Alpha has had all kinds of problems as well and their brass runs into pressure problems before you get desired speed.

This caliber seems to be almost the perfect combo but man we need the brass giant to pick it up.

And Tom (the T in GT) just posted in the face book group that he ran a hornady case 20 times, testing for longevity and the primer pocket is still tight...
 
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My problem with the GT is brass. Hornady is junk after a few firings and it’s not consistent. Alpha has had all kinds of problems as well and their brass runs into pressure problems before you get desired speed.

This caliber seems to be almost the perfect combo but man we need the brass giant to pick it up.

peterson!
 
With a ball mic, I measured virgin Alpha brass (1st batch) from .0115-.0136" for neck thickness. Most measurements landing in the .0125" range.
 
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Shot a match today and there was TONS of talk about the Gay tiger.

There was also more horror stories about Alpha dasher brass.

I guess Hornady is the way to go.
 
Shot a match today and there was TONS of talk about the Gay tiger.

There was also more horror stories about Alpha dasher brass.

I guess Hornady is the way to go.

What was said about alpha dasher brass?
 
You're welcome. It's been fun and is getting me back on the range.

We had a two other guys spin up GTs last week and they hammer the exact same load with Hornady brass. 33.5 112s, 2880 2900. Shooting in the .3s out of a new barrel at 300yds load developing.

@NorCal Vu - could we push things a bit further here and get some feedback (or video, even better) of the GT feeding through std AICS & AW mags? I think you've said previously there were no issues but just wanting to see if time and further testing had changed anything? Would be much appreciated.

Cheers
 
@NorCal Vu - could we push things a bit further here and get some feedback (or video, even better) of the GT feeding through std AICS & AW mags? I think you've said previously there were no issues but just wanting to see if time and further testing had changed anything? Would be much appreciated.

Cheers

No problem. We have our monthly LR match this weekend so I'll try to get that done. That being said, we have about 5GTs online now and zero issues with AW or AICS mags.
 
No problem. We have our monthly LR match this weekend so I'll try to get that done. That being said, we have about 5GTs online now and zero issues with AW or AICS mags.

Thanks very much. Would be great to see - final piece of the puzzle for me, at least.
 
@NorCal Vu , what barrel lengths have you guys been running? I've got a 31" blank and thinking about going 30".
 
Has anybody tracked down shops that are turning out prefits? I'd like to stash one away for my ARC nucleus after I blow out and get tired of the creedmoor.

X-Cal is currently running 25% off barrels and reached out to see if they had a reamer but hadn't updated chamber offerings.

Not having to "invest" in mag kits and not having to run the bolt harder than a freshman on prom night is intriguing.
 
Has anybody tracked down shops that are turning out prefits? I'd like to stash one away for my ARC nucleus after I blow out and get tired of the creedmoor.

X-Cal is currently running 25% off barrels and reached out to see if they had a reamer but hadn't updated chamber offerings.

Not having to "invest" in mag kits and not having to run the bolt harder than a freshman on prom night is intriguing.

LRI will do pretty much anything and they have some really fancy fluting options if you're into that.


Area 419 has 6 mm and 6.5 mm on their website, I suspect they can do whatever if you contact them.