Gents,

Friday, was range day for my new rifle. My partner and I arrived at the Wren, Oregon range and got the rifle set up on the 100 yard line for initial testing and break-in. We broke in the barrel while getting the scope set up using Hornady 140 grain match loads. The scope is a Kahles 225i and I can't say enough about the optics. Incredibly crisp and clear!

Once the rifle was broken in, we proceeded with groups and cronographing. Here's a pic of the rifle on the bench:



The rifle shot about 3/4" groups with one 5 shot group coming in at 5/8". I was frankly disappointed, but remembered that my "Rock" had performed similarly when new. Also, the barrel has to break in and I need to get used to the new rifle. I'm sure that once I get my feces cohesive that it will do much better.

Chronographing:

Hornady 140 grain match factory ammunition
Average: 2,721

Handload:
142 Gr. Sierra Match King
Hornady Brass (new/prep'd)
41.5 Gr./H4350
Fed 210M primer
OAL: 2.824"
Average for 10 rounds
2,637 FPS
ES/SD 16.7 FPS

Overall, a very good day at the range.

Fritz, I'd be interested in you and other's comments.

Wes

What is your break in procedure?

Stlhead and all,

I use a breakin procedure of fire one and clean for about 10 rounds. Frankly, with Bartlein barrels it's not really need, but it's what I use. The barrels were coming clean after the second patch after the second cleaning. Pretty darn smooth!

Which reminds me it's time to do rifle maintenance today, lock down my mounts, etc., and get everything ready for the next trip...next Friday!

Wes

Any plans to try other bullets?

Stlhead and all,

Give me a breather. I have good luck with Hornady Factory ammo, and usually use Sierra Match Kings because they are generally very good for the price. Haven't had good luck with Noslers, but time will tell. Will I use other bullets...YES, but usually am very satisfied with SMK's in my .308's and limited use in the 6.5's.

I will, in particular, look at Berger's offerings and maybe some of the custom makers, as well.

Wes

From your post history, you're a reloader, correct? When you get a chance, the Berger 140gr Hybrid Target and H4350 powder are a match made in heaven for 6.5 Creedmoor. I personally am still using my stash of IMR 4451 so I can leave the 4350 for the Gay Tiger, but when that's gone I'll transition to H4350 in earnest.

In my experience with premium lapped barrels, evidence of copper fouling generally stops after 2-3 rounds. Carbon fouling generally decreases noticeably in 3-7 rounds. It varies a little from barrel to barrel -- patches tell the story. I do a shoot-1-clean-1 for the first five-ish rounds. Depending on how the patches look, I will taper off in frequency after that, and maybe do a final cleaning in the 10-15 round ballpark.

I use the first 5 rounds to get the scope pretty well zeroed at 100 yards. Fine tuning the zero occurs in shots 6-10 or so. Once I have 3 or 4 rounds on top of each other at 100 yards with a precision rifle, I generally switch to targets in the 400-500 yard ballpark. I'm more concerned how the loads hold vertical at distance than group sizes at 100. I find that a barrel shows its accuracy potential from the get go. In other words, a 1/2 minute barrel will produce 1/2 minute results by round number 15 or 20.

I don't get too excited about muzzle velocity until there are 75-ish rounds down the tube. I find that most barrels reach their maximum MV in this range. MV increases from the first few rounds to final stabilized MV can be anywhere from 20-100 fps. I had one Bartlein barrel that had a second MV increase in the 150-200 round ballpark. Evidently that's quite rare, and it caused me a few head scratching moments on long targets that day -- which was during a steel match.

I shoot factory Hornady 140 ELD-M pretty much without exception in my 6.5CM barrels. I realize that handloading would produce lower velocity SDs, but I'm OK with the results. Every barrel and every batch of factory ammo has been capable of 1/2 MOA accuracy or better -- consistently day-to-day, month-to-month. The challenge I have have with Hornady ammo is their inconsistent MVs among manufacturing lots. At its worst, I worked with SGAmmo and Hornady reps to show the variability. Hornady initially denied the variations, stating their proof-barrel results were consistent. I sent them loads from various lots, along with pictures of chrono readings. Hornady tested the ammo, then agreed with me, and sent me a fair amount of ammo for my work.

Anyway, I now tend to buy 6.5CM ammo in lots of 400 or 600 rounds, requesting that SGAmmo send all of a given order from the same lot. I then chrono each lot and group them into comparable MVs -- for when I have to change lots during a match.

My slowest lot has an MV of around 2770. It's one of the most accurate lots, working well for two different barrels. I've won a match with this lot.

I have a few lots with MVs of around 2800. I have some fast lots with MVs of about 2850. My barrels are 26".

The various ammo lots shoot well. They all have the same POI at 100 yards. It's at long distance where the elevation requirements differ.

The reason I asked if the OP had any plans to try other bullets was because I have seen a tendency for barrels to prefer one bullet over another in a certain weight class. I do not shoot 6.5, but in 6mm especialy some barrels will shoot best with a Berger hybrid, while others do better with a Nosler RDF, and still others do not seem to care. Even if shooting factory ammo, I would expect there to be some benefit from trying different stuff to see if the rifle performs better with a different brand.

Bullets for handloads, based on what I've hears from others...

Hornady ELD-M is really a decent bullet.

It's tough to go wrong with SMK. The older "low-ish" BC matchkings are so much more consistent with different barrels, different chambers, and with different jumps to the lands than Sierra's new "high-ish" BC bullets.

A number of buddies swear by, and shoot well with Bergers.

Nosler factory loads don't shoot well for me -- across all my rifles and calibers. The handloaders I know state that they won't even consider shooting a Nosler bullet.

****
BTW, its nise two see sum-one who aktually nose how two spel Creedmoor. Or is it Credemore? I get so confused at times.

I guess my circle must be the outlier on the Nosler. We have had really good luck with some of the nosler bullets, the custom comp 155 in 308 and 69 in 223, the 55 ballistic tips in 223 and 110 in 308, the RDF 105 in 6mm and the 175 in 308. For rifle bullets I pretty much just use Berger and Nosler. Mostly Nosler in gas guns and Berger in bolt guns other than 308, the 175 RDF over 40 gr of Varget is my go to 308 practice load. I can't say anything about the Nosler factory ammo I have never tried any other than a few boxes I got off a prize table. I can give the Berger ammo a thumbs up in 300 Norma. I bought a case of it when I could not find any brass for a new rifle and it is solid, I would assume they make decent stuff in 6.5 using their bullets as well.

fritz, Stlhead, and all,

I'm currently at a loss for load data. I'm currently out of my old handload and left shooting this factory Hornady Ammo:



So, I'm looking for any 6.5 Creedmoor load data you may have, and are willing to share with me, to help me in developing my own data. My old load seems to be lacking, so I'm stuck with factory for now. You help is solicited...

Wes

fritz, stlhead, and all,

Just ordered some Berger 140 gr. Hybrids and some 144 gr. SMK's for testing. I think the Hydrids may do the trick. Until then I have of the 142 gr. SMK's that shot very well in my tikka and my 6.5 x .284. Time will tell. For now I have mostly Hornady Brass. Need to get some Lapua and/or Petersen...

Wes

quote:

Originally posted by Weshowe:
Just ordered some Berger 140 gr. Hybrids and some 144 gr. SMK's for testing.

That will give you some options.

As I've noted previously, I don't shoot all that much paper at 100 yards. I definitely do this for a new barrel, and I'll confirm that the loads perform at 100. But then I move on to longer distances. I will confirm a 100 yard zero here and there as the barrel ages, but it's mainly a couple rounds -- then back to distant targets.

Every 6.5 Bartlein barrel I've owned is capable of at least .3" to .4" 5-round groups at 100 yards with Hornady factory ammo -- with my ham-fisted shooting. Understand that I don't shoot 1/3 MOA groups every time out, but sub-MOA results are consistent. Instructors at precision rifle courses can cut my group sizes in half. Barrel #2 was my most accurate 6.5 bore so far. My local 'smith said it was likely the straightest barrel he had ever plumbed. He joked that if I didn't shoot well with it, he would no longer work on my rifles. Using Hornady factory 140 ELD-M, a .194" group. Prone, bipod, rear bag, in the middle of a cow pasture.



This was the first outing with the new barrel, with maybe 20-25 rounds on it. I was still futzing with a perfect zero. The vertical variation at distant targets was outstanding, so I came back to 100 yards to see what it could do. The good news was that my 'smith decided to continue working with me. A couple of rifle instructors have produced .1" groups with this barrel, using my ammo.

That sure is a pretty group. Someday, when I grow up . .

Gents,

Here is the initial group shot with Hornady 6.5 CM 140 grain ELD bullets:



Next range day this Friday 10/25/1024.

Wes

The Hornady ELD-M 140 is a hard one to beat.
Nice shooting.