What's your 6.5CM Pet Load

RSKYBSNS

RSKYBSNS

God save the Queen, man! -Brandon
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What seems to be a recipe you know of that everything 6.5 likes to eat? I've never heard of a 270win that doesn't like the 50 something grain neighborhood of IMR4350, so theres gotta be something like that in the world of 6.5.
Like any 308, it looks like people tend to say a good off the shelf box standard for a 1/8 is the Hornady 140gr match stuff as well as FGMM 140s. I guess the Federals come in both SMKs and Bergers. So I'll likely start with one or a few of those to get some formed brass and accompanied with the new rifle.
The tube I'm using will be a 26" proof comp contour with a 1/8" twist.
I'll appreciate hearing any incite as well as some gathered data from you fellas!
 
The 6.5 CAROLINA LOAD

44.3 grains of H4831SC.

Do a search if you don't believe me.

:D
 
Glad this thread was started. Im ready to start loading 6.5C for the first time. I have new Lapua brass primed and ready to drop powder. I have the Hornady 140 bullets, as well as the 130. I was planning on loading up one batch with H4350 and another with Staball 6.5.
 
Toprudder said:
Glad this thread was started. Im ready to start loading 6.5C for the first time. I have new Lapua brass primed and ready to drop powder. I have the Hornady 140 bullets, as well as the 130. I was planning on loading up one batch with H4350 and another with Staball 6.5.
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Let us know what you find outšŸ˜
I'm gonna give some AAC 6.5 a try. Just picked up 3 boxes today. They load it with a 140gr SMK. For the price they ask... the brass alone is worth it.
I just hope they dont load it with factory second pills. The Hornady 223 seconds I got just for fun were all over the place. Like bullet base to ogive was .035" off between one to the next. So, if these AACs have good fps spread and arent factory seconds bullets.... they should fly pretty nicely at distance.
 
What OAL are you guys running with the Hornady ELD? Iā€™ve got the 140 ELDM, with it set to max mag length for my rifle (2.860ā€, Bergara) it is about .020 off the lands, so I think I will start there.

I have several other bullets to try.
Hornady 130 ELDM
Lapua 139 OTM Scenar
Berger 140
Hornady 140 BTHP
 
Toprudder said:
What OAL are you guys running with the Hornady ELD? Iā€™ve got the 140 ELDM, with it set to max mag length for my rifle (2.860ā€, Bergara) it is about .020 off the lands, so I think I will start there.

I have several other bullets to try.
Hornady 130 ELDM
Lapua 139 OTM Scenar
Berger 140
Hornady 140 BTHP
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I run the OAL the book calls for. Tbh Iā€™m not 100 percent sure on how to measure to the lands.
 
tdovea10 said:
I run the OAL the book calls for. Tbh Iā€™m not 100 percent sure on how to measure to the lands.
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The easiest most repeatable way to measure the lands is take the barrel off the receiver and seat a bullet long, drop it in the chamber and keep seating shorter until itā€™s flush. Mark Gordon, SAC, has a good video on this.
 
Jimbob78 said:
The easiest most repeatable way to measure the lands is take the barrel off the receiver and seat a bullet long, drop it in the chamber and keep seating shorter until itā€™s flush. Mark Gordon, SAC, has a good video on this.
Click to expand...
Iā€™ll have to find another way. I donā€™t have a way to take my barrel off.
 
@tdovea10
The going by feel/seat and measure repeat method works and the Hornady OAL gauge is definitely the easiest way, even better is to use a modified case from your rifle like @Jimbob78 said.
Although a bit uncivilized lol, I usually take a fired case from the rifle, deform the case neck just enough to hold tension on the bullet, set it in the chamber and run the bolt. They say to take the extractor plunger out so it doesnt add extra pressure. If you do that enough times and get a repeatable number, I've found it to work half decent.

After I find a good powder node my rifle likes, I usually seat my bullets at .005" off the lands and work my way back seating it at .005" increments deeper until I see the result I like.
I use the Hornady comparator tool and measure cartridge base to bullet ogive as opposed to OAL. If you have the same equipment as someone else, your CBTO measurements may read different from theirs due to machining tolerance differences in the equipment you're using. As long as you use the same gauge every time your ammo will be spot on from one to the next.

Also worth mentioning if you shoot long range.. a lot of times (not all of the time) if you find a good powder node that groups well, you'll usually tend to see a correlation in nice consistent velocities with low spreads. I'm sure you're savvy on reloading and probably knew this or have your own methods but that's my regimen after finding the landsšŸ™‚
 
If you are going to load the 140 ELD-M then seat them .020ā€ off the lands. They shoot great there. They will shoot well farther too. Factory ammo is about .070ā€ off in a .199 freebore SAAMI chamber.

I am usually in the 41.5-42.5grn of H4350 in Hornady brass with Fed210 primers. As stated velocity is usually in the 2750-2820fps in my 28ā€ barrels.
 
Rob01 said:
If you are going to load the 140 ELD-M then seat them .020ā€ off the lands. They shoot great there. They will shoot well farther too. Factory ammo is about .070ā€ off in a .199 freebore SAAMI chamber.

I am usually in the 41.5-42.5grn of H4350 in Hornady brass with Fed210 primers. As stated velocity is usually in the 2750-2820fps in my 28ā€ barrels.
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Thanks!

The Lapua brass I am using are small primer. I have Federal 205-MAR primers that I will use. The loads I have worked up so far are from 40.5 to 42.0 of H4350.
 
Looking at what you fellas have as well as reading in some other forums, H4350 seems to be the ultimate go to for 6.5creed. Reloader 16 seems to be a solid second place, but still doesn't touch the H4350 popularity.
I guess ya cant go wrong with either one.
 
RSKYBSNS said:
Looking at what you fellas have as well as reading in some other forums, H4350 seems to be the ultimate go to for 6.5creed. Reloader 16 seems to be a solid second place, but still doesn't touch the H4350 popularity.
I guess ya cant go wrong with either one.
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H4350, Berger 140 hybrids, Lapua brass, and br2 (large rifle) or br4 (small rifle) primers is a pretty difficult combination to mess up.
 
Jimbob78 said:
H4350, Berger 140 hybrids, Lapua brass, and br2 (large rifle) or br4 (small rifle) primers is a pretty difficult combination to mess up.
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I run the 130 AR OTM Hybrids in both my bolt and gas gun.. Litz did a helluva job on that profile.

But I had a case of 140ELD-M's that I got for Brass that I put through 2 competitions and jeez it was throwing darts at 800+. It was a case I bought in 2016 maybe? That 140 doesn't fall off as much as the 130s, and if those Hornady's are good -- those Bergers have to be wicked.
 
VA_GENTLEMAN said:
I run the 130 AR OTM Hybrids in both my bolt and gas gun.. Litz did a helluva job on that profile.

But I had a case of 140ELD-M's that I got for Brass that I put through 2 competitions and jeez it was throwing darts at 800+. It was a case I bought in 2016 maybe? That 140 doesn't fall off as much as the 130s, and if those Hornady's are good -- those Bergers have to be wicked.
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I have shot a lot of OTMs out of several 338s Iā€™ve had and they flat out PERFORM!!
 
Tried my first 6.5c loads, Hornady 140 ELDM and H4350. The max charge of 42.0 gave me a three shot cloverleaf at 100, standard deviation was 9.17. I had six charge levels, and it was interesting to see the group-center climb and then drop, I think the last group was at or near the end of the barrel swing. I am going to work up a few more test rounds and venture up to 42.5gn, I think there is a velocity node just above 42.0, as the velocity increment was decreasing between the last three charge levels. (0.3gn increments).

Still need to work up loads using Staball 6.5 powder. And more bullets to try.
 
Toprudder said:
Tried my first 6.5c loads, Hornady 140 ELDM and H4350. The max charge of 42.0 gave me a three shot cloverleaf at 100, standard deviation was 9.17. I had six charge levels, and it was interesting to see the group-center climb and then drop, I think the last group was at or near the end of the barrel swing. I am going to work up a few more test rounds and venture up to 42.5gn, I think there is a velocity node just above 42.0, as the velocity increment was decreasing between the last three charge levels. (0.3gn increments).

Still need to work up loads using Staball 6.5 powder. And more bullets to try.
Click to expand...

Iā€™d stick with the H4350 over the Staball mostly for the H4350 temp stability.
 
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