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Help Me Decide

Cjwise5

Owner PRN
Full Member
Minuteman
May 23, 2014
546
499
Missouri
www.youtube.com
I've been running 6 Dasher as my competition load. Tiny SD/ES and groups, but I've had cycling issues. I have already made the switch to 6 Creedmoor, but have only been running factory match ammo thus far. Usually get single digit SD, but low 20's for ES with each of the 6CM ammo I've tried. Groups are usually better than 1/2" at 100y and I don't seem to have trouble hitting my targets out to match distances.
I'm trying to decide if handloading for the 6CM would be worth it just to get the single digit SD/ES and probably 1/4" better groups. Help me decide. Thoughts?

Terminus action, bartlein barrel, trigger tech diamond, MDT chassis, Leupold MK5 glass.
 
Buy an Fx120, guaranteed to shrink that SD/ES.

If you want better barrel life, get a 109 up to 2950 and call it good.
 
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Play with the numbers and use that to guide you. What does going from a an ES of 20 down to 10 really get you? Simulate your extreme spread by using your ballistic calculator. (example below)

Using Hornady 4Dof: (guessing at speeds)
6mm 103Gr Eld-X, at 1000yds with 10mph wind at 3 o'clock.
3100fps = 6.67 Mil up & 1.64mil wind <-- Low Spread
3110fps = 6.61 Mil up & 1.63mil wind <-- Average speed
3120fps = 6.55 Mil up & 1.62mil wind <-- High Spread

A 20fps extreem spread at 1000 yards will change your trajectory by 0.12mils. That's 4.32 inches at 1000 yards.
A 1/2 MOA shooting rifle can change 5.2 inches at 1000 yards from top to bottom.
If, in the off change, you get both of these to happen at the same time you could be high or low by 9.5 inches. That is shooting WITHIN 1MOA at 1000 yards and its stacking the errors to get the worst possible situation. If you figure the average its +- 2.1" for ES and +-2.6 for the rifle group making the likely errors to be 4.7" at 1000 yards. Is there any reason to reduce this? Plus, wind is not issue.

The Ammunition shoots, and its Consistent. Hammer away with the factory stuff!

I enjoy Reloading, that's why I do it. I also save money which makes the wifey happier. (plus no kids gives me free time to reload)

Selfishly - I'd rather you bought factory so you can do more awesome videos! (wink wink)
 
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@Jack Master excellent breakdown. Thanks! I tend to agree with you.

BUT, I think it comes down to peace of mind sometimes. If I use factory Ammo and shoot poorly, I might be tempted to blame the ammo. If I handload and have a bad day, I’m probably going to blame myself.
I know it’s my fault either way, but those are the brain games I play. LOL
 
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I don't see the downside, you get to the blame the ammo when you know it was your fault... Every shooter's dream there.

I suspect if you shot the factory ammo enough and became confident in it, you'd be able to get over the mind game. Maybe investing in a bulk order to get the same lot of ammo would also help the mind games. One lot would let you know it will all shoot the same.
 
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I'm going to be doing a big 6CM factory ammo comparison video soon. From that "test" I will pick the ammo that the rifle likes the best and run that until break-in is complete. (barrel stops speeding up). Then I'll decide if that ammo is sufficient or if I'll use the once fired brass and start reloading. I'm sure I'll reload enough to figure out the perfect load for the rifle just incase I want or need to make my own ammo in the future.
 
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For a few years I kept an excel spreadsheet to track all the equipment and tools and disposable (powder primer brass) to see if reloading saves money. Bottom line is that it hasn’t in five years because I haven’t reloaded enough and because As I learn I will find a new tool that makes some task better or easier. Maybe after ten years I’ll run out of room for equipment or money or both. But for certain you’ll save money making better ammo. Whether you are able to pay off all your reloading gear depends on you
 
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For a few years I kept an excel spreadsheet to track all the equipment and tools and disposable (powder primer brass) to see if reloading saves money. Bottom line is that it hasn’t in five years because I haven’t reloaded enough and because As I learn I will find a new tool that makes some task better or easier. Maybe after ten years I’ll run out of room for equipment or money or both. But for certain you’ll save money making better ammo. Whether you are able to pay off all your reloading gear depends on you
Stop coming in here with logic. No way we’ll pay off $300 single stage presses, $1300 annealers, $1300 powder dispensers, $500 brass trimmers, $300 chrono’s, or $10k rifles lol.
 
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I enjoy loading and I like having peace of mind that every round is as close to perfect as I can get. That said, I’ve won matches with factory hornady 6cm.

What I do now is have a 6cm barrel for times I might want/need to run factory ammo and a 6gt barrel for loading.
 
I always ask my old lady how much she thinks my stuff cost. Over a few years I got her thinking that slings and bags are about $300. So I’m pretty safe. She did buy me a sling for Valentine’s Day and she’s all excited because she got a padded triad sling for $50. She’s still in shock that she found it on sale for $250 off lmao.

we’ll see how long it takes for the light bulb to go off.
 
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Well somehow we need to track this for our wives so if we die before them they dont go giving it all away at the best damn garage sale ever.
 
I've been running 6 Dasher as my competition load. Tiny SD/ES and groups, but I've had cycling issues. I have already made the switch to 6 Creedmoor, but have only been running factory match ammo thus far. Usually get single digit SD, but low 20's for ES with each of the 6CM ammo I've tried. Groups are usually better than 1/2" at 100y and I don't seem to have trouble hitting my targets out to match distances.
I'm trying to decide if handloading for the 6CM would be worth it just to get the single digit SD/ES and probably 1/4" better groups. Help me decide. Thoughts?

Terminus action, bartlein barrel, trigger tech diamond, MDT chassis, Leupold MK5 glass.

Here's your first problem - you went from a dasher to a 6 creed.