Bullet Selection for Indoor Shooting

[Greenday4537]

So as of current, I'm not exactly shooting far distance. I have an indoor 100 yard range and an outdoor 200 yard range I shoot at. I reload for .223 and 6.5 creedmoor. Ourdoors, I know ballistic coefficients matter much more. Higher ballistic coefficients mean better cutting through air and wind. Here's how I've originally broken down my thought process:

Ruger American Ranch 5.56: Torn between 52gr and 69gr SMK's. Either seems valid for outdoor. But with that short 16" barrel, I'm already losing a fair amount of velocity. So would 52gr bullets seem to be the better choice? Especially for indoor shooting?

TC LRR 6.5 creedmoor: It kinda seemed like a no doubter. Go with the 142gr SMK's with their ridiculous ballistic coefficients. The accuracy has been insane. But is it overkill? Especially indoors? Should I just be chasing the fastest velocity at such a short range?

 

[Mike Casselton]

If you're designing loads for strictly indoor, 100yd shooting, I wouldn't concern myself with velocity at all.
I would choose accuracy first.

You might get lucky and have both.
Here's an example of accuracy vs velocity.

17fps difference in average velocity.
Guess which load I would choose 100% of the time.

 

[Greenday4537]

If you're designing loads for strictly indoor, 100yd shooting, I wouldn't concern myself with velocity at all.
I would choose accuracy first.

You might get lucky and have both.
Here's an example of accuracy vs velocity.

17fps difference in average velocity.
Guess which load I would choose 100% of the time.

View attachment 7257356

I guess it'd make sense to say the highest velocity while remaining precise.

 

[1500varmint]

You want to work up a load specifically for shooting at a 100 yard indoor range?

Is this for competition of some kind?

 

[Greenday4537]

You want to work up a load specifically for shooting at a 100 yard indoor range?

Is this for competition of some kind?

Yes, I shoot league indoors. My first rifle league. Shooting 6.5cm indoors is overkill, especially with any kind of optics, but it's good practice. For instance I use 40.3gr of H4350 with a 142gr SMK. Haven't had a chance to shoot outdoors with a chrono since I got the rifle, but it's been a solid choice for now.

But is the 142gr overkill for 6.5cm indoors? Based on Brownells pricing right now, I can get 500 bullets of 120gr matchkings for $0.32 each. 142gr costs $0.43 each for a box of 500. If I'm inside, not dealing with wind and changing conditions, is there really any reason NOT to switch to the 120s?

 

[spife7980]

If youre only going to 200 yards BC means diddly squat. Go for what shoots best and then cheapest.

If youre going to go long range one day then it might be worth it to develop a load for a higher bc bullet just to save the time and effort of developing two loads. If not then Id look at those lighter cheaper match bullets.