6mm Creedmore 1:8 twist, 18’’ barrel recommendations, going to reloading store today
- Thread starter Boatninja
- Start date
As in what to load? Before you buy anything you have to figure out the purpose and desired result. Hunting load? What are you hunting? Distance you normally take your game? That will point you in the direction of what to buy. Target shooting as far as you can...that's a different direction.
Some quick thoughts or suggestions :
Hunting - Popular with the 6mm Creedmoor is the 103 ELDx from Hornady and the Berger 105s. Both will use similar powder charges ( similar not same...if your lucky then maybe the same) Powders I would lean toward are usually temp stable variety ( since load development and hunting conditions rarely match) That said RL16, H4350 and IMR 4451 stand out as very stable powders. H4350 is easiest to work with but word on the street is it is hardest on barrel life. RL16 has been my go to since I was turned on to it. This stuff is just great. Fairly easy to work with and rock steady. IMR 4451 gives respectable speeds and accuracy. Have not put the extreme ranges of temp stability to the test but it is good stuff and easier to find usually. All will provide more then adequate hunting velocities up to 350 yards ( debated begin about ethical distance after that usually and I stay clear of them)
Target and LR - 108 ELDM, 105 BTHP from Hornady are solid options the latter for practice the former for maxing the legs. Sierras 110 MKs are about the upper end of your barrels twist capacity ( I would stick to 108s and lower ) Powders here can vary depending on where and when you shoot and maybe your not as worried about temp stability. But the usual suspects include H4350, IMR4350, RL 16, 17, Superformance, 4381SC ...really there are plenty of great powders out there. Heck there are folks having a blast with RL 26 and H100V etc. Really just tons of data out there.
Brass you have lots to choose from and the top contenders are the usual suspects...Lapua, Peterson, Startline, Hornady, Nosler, Norma.....
Always start your journey with the normal manuals and manufacturers web sites. These will get you in the ball park and on a safe path. You sound like its your second go around with the 6mm Creedmoor? If so you have all the above probably in your memory banks already....but that's just my thoughts or suggestions.
Some quick thoughts or suggestions :
Hunting - Popular with the 6mm Creedmoor is the 103 ELDx from Hornady and the Berger 105s. Both will use similar powder charges ( similar not same...if your lucky then maybe the same) Powders I would lean toward are usually temp stable variety ( since load development and hunting conditions rarely match) That said RL16, H4350 and IMR 4451 stand out as very stable powders. H4350 is easiest to work with but word on the street is it is hardest on barrel life. RL16 has been my go to since I was turned on to it. This stuff is just great. Fairly easy to work with and rock steady. IMR 4451 gives respectable speeds and accuracy. Have not put the extreme ranges of temp stability to the test but it is good stuff and easier to find usually. All will provide more then adequate hunting velocities up to 350 yards ( debated begin about ethical distance after that usually and I stay clear of them)
Target and LR - 108 ELDM, 105 BTHP from Hornady are solid options the latter for practice the former for maxing the legs. Sierras 110 MKs are about the upper end of your barrels twist capacity ( I would stick to 108s and lower ) Powders here can vary depending on where and when you shoot and maybe your not as worried about temp stability. But the usual suspects include H4350, IMR4350, RL 16, 17, Superformance, 4381SC ...really there are plenty of great powders out there. Heck there are folks having a blast with RL 26 and H100V etc. Really just tons of data out there.
Brass you have lots to choose from and the top contenders are the usual suspects...Lapua, Peterson, Startline, Hornady, Nosler, Norma.....
Always start your journey with the normal manuals and manufacturers web sites. These will get you in the ball park and on a safe path. You sound like its your second go around with the 6mm Creedmoor? If so you have all the above probably in your memory banks already....but that's just my thoughts or suggestions.
All v aluable information, I am starting over after learning fro mistakes made and bullets pulled and new equipment, I recently saw a post that H4350 was old school now and more up-to-date powders available. Also still another reply to a post I made said that the 105 Berger hybrids were not an optimum weight bullet for the 1:8 twist. It seems like as soon as I settle on something I get headed in a different direction. I had a limited supply of supplies that I have now exhausted and now just want to go back to square 1 with new stuff, I thought some of the short barrel guys might chime in with what they are liking. I have amassed catalogues and online data but nothing is as valuable as the experience that some of you guys have.
There is nothing wrong with the 105s in a 1:8 twist that I ever saw. As I mentioned I shoot up to 108s with 0 issue in my RAP 6mm and RPR when I put the 6mm barrel on it. I think the hardest part we as handloaders have is being honest with what we are going to use the load for....we get on these forums and see the insane groups/velocities/SD/ES etc and think " Ya I want it to do that to!" and then suddenly we spend weeks/months on a load that never gets shot past your 100 yd blind set up. Hunting loads should be accurate but do they need to be 0.1 MOA accurate for the avg joe? No. Target and LR shooting is going to be more involved and yes rabbit holes galore to go down. But again a little bit of brutal honesty and you will see that finding a solid 0.5-1.0 MOA load with the velocity and numbers that make predictable impacts at your given distances is not too hard to find. The sooner you start shooting the load for its purpose the sooner you will find if it truly meets your needs and if it requires more attention.
All true, but the pursuit of that accuracy may be part of the game. It's like the saying that ''Some men fish their entire lives without realizing that the fish itself is not what they are really after''......... I personally, am not and never have been your average joe in anything I have ever pursued ....
I am also the "perfectionist" type when it comes to a goal or task I set my mind to. I have tapered that with being realistic in my desired result. I recently started work up on my new Grendel Bolt action. Its main purpose is hunting. I have 3 projectiles I am focusing on and know my distances I shoot when I hunt. That being known I found my first load almost immediately and while I could try and get more performance out of it the fact is for the 200 yd max shot its beyond good enough. The second load was a bit more tricky and took me an extra 2 trips to the range to lock in on it. Now my final load is in development and then I can focus on using the rifle for its purpose and practicing with it to ensure I am up to the task. Now that said when a slow day arrives will I experiment? Probably!
