6mm BR

I'm looking to see if anyone has used a "ball" powder in their 6BR? I'd like to try Staball Match behind a Hornady 108 ELD-M. The ball powders meters much better than an extruded powder. Any opinions?

texashaag
I’m pretty sure that someone has posted a successful load using StaBall Match in the thousand posts above as I remember it.

I do know that StaBall 6.5 works but is too slow. You can’t get enough in.

If I had some Match I’d try it myself.
 
I'm looking to see if anyone has used a "ball" powder in their 6BR? I'd like to try Staball Match behind a Hornady 108 ELD-M. The ball powders meters much better than an extruded powder. Any opinions?

texashaag
Here’s what Hodgden lists on their site:


They do show a 107:

1755786636541.png


Note that this data is for the 6BR Remington, which differs only in the depth of the bullet in the case due to a shorter throat. So these loads will likely be lower than what you’ll see for the Norma, where the bullet is seated further out allowing for more powder.
 
I've used CFE223. It meters as well as one would expect with "ball" powder (actually it is very tiny flakes). While it's temperature-sensitive and not known for tight ES/SD values, it's relatively inexpensive and available.
 
Here. I found this post from Dec. last year.


It’s a start.
 
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I’m pretty sure that someone has posted a successful load using StaBall Match in the thousand posts above as I remember it.

I do know that StaBall 6.5 works but is too slow. You can’t get enough in.

If I had some Match I’d try it myself.
I must have gotten enough in Lash, checking my notes from years ago I found 35gr staball 6.5 gave me 2910fps with 105 mb’s, max fill under a 112 mb is 34.5gr but I have not used this combo yet.
 
I must have gotten enough in Lash, checking my notes from years ago I found 35gr staball 6.5 gave me 2910fps with 105 mb’s, max fill under a 112 mb is 34.5gr but I have not used this combo yet.

I wasn’t aware of that and didn’t try it myself. I guess my memory is faulty. No surprise there.
I've seen data where staball 6.5 is used with the 110-115 bullets. I dont think it does well with bullets under 100gr.

I wasn't impressed with staball match in my 6 dasher.
 
First 35 through a new barrel. Joining the 6BR club. All Horny Hybrid's (Aeromatch) seated .057" off in new Lapua brass and Federal standard primers.

Nice to see I have a cartridge that might like staball match. Unlike all my other calibers I've tried it in I had zero hang fires with this combo and it seems to want to group too!

View attachment 8572007
Wondering what barrel length was used here.... Do you use Staball Match still?
 
Wondering what barrel length was used here.... Do you use Staball Match still?
28" I haven't revisited that powder for no real reason. I've just been using varget and 109 hybrid's for matches this year. I'm sure those two loads would be about 70fps faster though given what I'm seeing with 29grs of varget and 109's @ 2725.
 
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28" I haven't revisited that powder for no real reason. I've just been using varget and 109 hybrid's for matches this year. I'm sure those two loads would be about 70fps faster though given what I'm seeing with 29grs of varget and 109's @ 2725.
I'm shooting a Savage F class with a 30" barrel. I've been loading Berger hybrid 105's and 30gr of Varget but not getting the results I'm sure this rifle is capable of. I'm gone to load a ladder using Staball Match and Hornady 108 ELD-M's. I'll post back the results. Thanks for the reply. texashaag
 
I'm shooting a Savage F class with a 30" barrel. I've been loading Berger hybrid 105's and 30gr of Varget but not getting the results I'm sure this rifle is capable of. I'm gone to load a ladder using Staball Match and Hornady 108 ELD-M's. I'll post back the results. Thanks for the reply. texashaag
I’ll wager that Hornady bullets with ball powder won’t outperform Bergers and Varget!
 
I would check for excessive copper fouling first. Had several guys in our club shooting Savage rigs that were absolutely terrible with copper fouling. Had to send them back to get new barrels. Also, your rifle may not like that load. My current 6mm BR shot 28.9 grains of IMR4166 more consistent than 30.2. Velocities were 2775 and 2880 respectively.