New to 6.5cm handloading

[Shanerbanner10]

Hey guys, just a quick background. I am fairly new to reloading but had been handloading precision .308 stuff for about a year. I have now switched calibers to 6.5 cm and have 60 pieces of once fired piece of brass, as well as 240 rounds of ammunition which the brass will be used for reloading after I shoot it.
My questions:
1. Is there anything specific I need to be doing in case prep (other than than the usual's)?
2. Should I bump the neck back on 1x fired brass (all fired from the same rifle), if so approx. how much? To the length of the fire-formed case, or a little further back?
3. Do any of you guys have a preference on primers for 6.5mm? I was using Federal 210m's with my .308.
4. Powders... I am thinking about running RL-17 as I've heard it give a little extra push and then running either the 140 amax's or one of the heavier Lapua bullets or H4350 (if I can find it around here).
5. OAL? Do you guys just load to mag length, put it on the lands, jam or back it off? Its a magazine feed system so obviously it will not be any longer than mag length.
6. Favorite neck resizing, seating and full length dies?
Lastly, 7. Favorite load? This is button rifled barrel with a 1.8 twist finished at 24"

I know some of these questions are fairly subjective to the rifle, but I am curious as to how you guys are doing things. This way I can try different things and see what works and what doesn't. I'm sure I'll have more questions down the road, but this is a starting point and a reference point for when I do decide to start loading which may be a year from now, who knows.

 

[Aimsmall55]

Nothing real hard about loading the 6.5. I bought a redding series "d" seater die and added the vld stem with the micrometer. Works like a champ. Also bought the Whidden Fl Bushing die with a .288" bushing. Bumping the shoulders 2/1000's. Reloader 17 works great with the 140's. I was shooting 42.6 grains and it was a hammer. Don't start that high though. Id say 41.6 is ok.
One thing I've had a problem with on the Creedmor brass is the neck ALWAYS stretching too much when resizing. I guess it's just so thin. ?? So I size and trim with a WFT then deburr and chamfer. Clean primer pockets then tumble. That's after the first load, so I don't have to trim for two or three firings after that.
I shoot a GAP CRUSADER with a 27" Bartlein. My GO TO LOAD in the beginning was 42.4 h4350 with a 140 vld at 2.140 to the ogive. After 1200 rounds I bumped it up to 42.6 to keep the MV the same. I now shoot both the vld and hybrid.

This is 4 or 5 ? Shots at 100 yards with a 140 vld.


This is 4 at 890 with 42.6 h4350


As far as the lands go.... This particular rifle shoots best when I jump the HELL out of them. I've literally not changed one aspect of OAL since I got the rifle and it still hammers

 

[Aimsmall55]

Oh and I use fgm210m primers. Hornady brass. Brass prep on virgin brass consists of uniforming "whacked out primer pockets" and lightly using a vld chamfer tool. Then tumbling priming and loading.

 

[Rob01]

Hey guys, just a quick background. I am fairly new to reloading but had been handloading precision .308 stuff for about a year. I have now switched calibers to 6.5 cm and have 60 pieces of once fired piece of brass, as well as 240 rounds of ammunition which the brass will be used for reloading after I shoot it.
My questions:
1. Is there anything specific I need to be doing in case prep (other than than the usual's)?
2. Should I bump the neck back on 1x fired brass (all fired from the same rifle), if so approx. how much? To the length of the fire-formed case, or a little further back?
3. Do any of you guys have a preference on primers for 6.5mm? I was using Federal 210m's with my .308.
4. Powders... I am thinking about running RL-17 as I've heard it give a little extra push and then running either the 140 amax's or one of the heavier Lapua bullets or H4350 (if I can find it around here).
5. OAL? Do you guys just load to mag length, put it on the lands, jam or back it off? Its a magazine feed system so obviously it will not be any longer than mag length.
6. Favorite neck resizing, seating and full length dies?
Lastly, 7. Favorite load? This is button rifled barrel with a 1.8 twist finished at 24"

I know some of these questions are fairly subjective to the rifle, but I am curious as to how you guys are doing things. This way I can try different things and see what works and what doesn't. I'm sure I'll have more questions down the road, but this is a starting point and a reference point for when I do decide to start loading which may be a year from now, who knows.

1. Nope
2. You should be bumping the shoulder back. Not the neck. .001 is a good amount if full length sizing, as with any cartridge. Too much, over about ,.002" and you are working the brass too much and you might get premature case head separations. .002" of neck tension works great.
3. I used to use 210Ms until i did some tests and found no difference in accuracy, ES/SD or velocity numbers between them and the standard 210s. Now I use the standard 210s and save some money.
4. Have only used H4350 with my Creedmoor as it works great and never found a reason to change. Great velocity and accuracy. There is a thread on here with many pages of Creedmoor loads for data with other powders.
5. I load my 140 AMAX .020" off the lands and they shoot great. I always start at that point and work from there. I never jam into the lands as it's just asking for troubles when unloading a chambered round.
6. I have always used the standard Hornady dies with my loads and it sizes my neck down to .002" neck tension but if you were going to use different brass or wanted to adjust then a bushing neck die will work. I like a seater with a micrometer to set adjustment.
7. Shooting a 8 twist 26.5" barrel now and a good place for you to start with H4350 is around 40-41grns with the 140grn weight bullets. Work up from there. Myself and others use up to 43grns but some people hit pressure before then. Depends on rifle.

 

[wrhunter]

On new brass I like to run the necks through the sizing die (just the neck) and chamfer with vld tool. Makes seating the bullet a little easier and takes care of any out of round necks. Using H4350 as well.

 

[Shanerbanner10]

1. Nope
2. You should be bumping the shoulder back. Not the neck. .001 is a good amount if full length sizing, as with any cartridge. Too much, over about ,.002" and you are working the brass too much and you might get premature case head separations. .002" of neck tension works great.
3. I used to use 210Ms until i did some tests and found no difference in accuracy, ES/SD or velocity numbers between them and the standard 210s. Now I use the standard 210s and save some money.
4. Have only used H4350 with my Creedmoor as it works great and never found a reason to change. Great velocity and accuracy. There is a thread on here with many pages of Creedmoor loads for data with other powders.
5. I load my 140 AMAX .020" off the lands and they shoot great. I always start at that point and work from there. I never jam into the lands as it's just asking for troubles when unloading a chambered round.
6. I have always used the standard Hornady dies with my loads and it sizes my neck down to .002" neck tension but if you were going to use different brass or wanted to adjust then a bushing neck die will work. I like a seater with a micrometer to set adjustment.
7. Shooting a 8 twist 26.5" barrel now and a good place for you to start with H4350 is around 40-41grns with the 140grn weight bullets. Work up from there. Myself and others use up to 43grns but some people hit pressure before then. Depends on rifle.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I definitely meant the shoulder, was tired and goofed up there. I have 210m's laying around so I'll likely be using those, but glad to know they wasn't any difference.

Is there a difference/What is the difference between a VLD chamfer tool and a regular one? (besides the obvious fact that its meant for the VLD bullets)

H4350 is kind of hard to find around here but 3rd gen shooting supply isn't too far away so I may have to hit them up. Probably get a pound of each to do some work ups and go from there.

If I was thinking jamming definitely not something I would want to do in a comp rifle, could be a bad news bears situation.

Appreciate the responses. I will work on getting more info via Google Foo.