I bought a Savage 10 Ashbury precision rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor. It has a 1-8 twist barrel.

I would like to work up some loads.
Any suggestions for starters?

H4350 at 43Gr for either a 140 Gr Hornady AMAX or the Hornady ELD-M is my load for an RPR. Hornady brass and CCI or Wolf primers - 2750-2760 fps depending upon the bullet.

You should run a OCW from about 41.7 to 43.2 or so and work up for your rifle. You're probably whizzing in the wind until you break the barrel in. So shoot it and then work up.

Good Luck,


RMD

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rduckwor,

I have had my best luck with H4350 also, a little north of 42 grains

quote:

Originally posted by rduckwor:
H4350 at 43Gr for either a 140 Gr Hornady AMAX or the Hornady ELD-M is my load for an RPR. Hornady brass and CCI or Wolf primers - 2750-2760 fps depending upon the bullet.

You should run a OCW from about 41.7 to 43.2 or so and work up for your rifle. You're probably whizzing in the wind until you break the barrel in. So shoot it and then work up.

Good Luck,


RMD

Whats your break in procedure?

quote:

Originally posted by armored:

Whats your break in procedure?

Shoot... Shoot some more.....

Patch at 20, then 50, then 100..... then only when accuracy falls off.

Andrew

Barrel break in sounds like it needs a new thread in the rifle section.
Interesting subject with I'm sure, lots of opinions.

Break in varies depending upon whom you ask. Five, clean, ten clean twenty five clean, shoot the crap out of it. As said above, do not over clean. You'll likely notice a velocity increase within the first 100-150 rounds. Then work up your load.

RMD

I touched on this in your other thread before I saw this one. Now that I see you load, try IMR Enduron 4451. It is becoming my go-to powder for many loads. The copper reducing is not just a gimmick. I've shot all day, come home to clean, and can't get a blue patch. The stuff really works.

Funny you should ask this. An hour ago I just bought a Hodgon 2017 Annual Manual, and low and behold on page 30 is an article "Handloading the 6.5 Creedmoor." The two powders they recommend are H4350 and IMR4451. So there you go.

ETA: I just snapped a pic of the final page of the article. I'd recommend you purchase a copy of the mag if you don't already have one.

Take a look here you will find a wealth of 6.5 Creedmoor information http://www.65creedmoor.com/index.php?board=6.0

Bump for reference.

quote:

Originally posted by John_Tall:
I have had my best luck with H4350 also, a little north of 42 grains

H4350 does seem to be "the" powder for 6.5CM, although I've been hearing good stuff about IMR 4451 as well (just bought some of it to try out). My H4350 load uses less powder than most - 40.5gr - because the guy who made my barrel recommended it and he cuts his chambers a little on the snug side. But now that I've got a few hundred rounds through it I should go back and re-check it. I also just bought some new Lapua brass, which uses a small primer instead of the large primer the Hornady brass uses, so I need to re-work my load also. Seems like maybe a good opportunity to try out the 4451. I've used both the Hornady 140gr AMAX and the Berger 140gr Target VLD, both shot very well though I'd give a slight edge to the Berger. I want to try out the Berger 140gr Hybrid, but I can't find any of them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Expert308,

Been using 40 grains of Alliant RL17 with a 147 grain Hornady ELD Match (G1 BC of .697). About 25 thousandths off the lands. Digging it.

quote:

Originally posted by Brother:
Been using 40 grains of Alliant RL17 with a 147 grain Hornady ELD Match (G1 BC of .697). About 25 thousandths off the lands. Digging it.

I have a load with RL 17 as well. 42.5 Gr with Norma Golden Target 130 Gr bullet. I was trying to duplicate the Prime ammo loading, but discovered that loading these bullets LONGGGGG (2.9X) near the lands made for a fast and accurate load using the once-fired Prime brass and RL 17. Of course, they are now single loadings as they won't fit the mag, but no loss as I have a bobsled for the rifle.

Please be careful and work up your loads, my rifle is not your rifle.

RMD

Be careful with R17. It's been my experience and others around me that R17 shoots best right up against max pressure and it's very temp sensitive. Work up a load in cooler temps, shoot in hotter temps....over pressure.

quote:

Originally posted by offgrid:
Be careful with R17. It's been my experience and others around me that R17 shoots best right up against max pressure and it's very temp sensitive. Work up a load in cooler temps, shoot in hotter temps....over pressure.

I agree. This is my winter single loads for steel matches. Summer time? Right back to the good old H4350 and ELD-M's.

RMD

Thank you gentlemen; that is the word around here too, that RL17 is very temperature sensitive. I am moving slow, 2550 FPS out of a 22" barrel, no pressure signs at 40 grains, plus bullet is out there a bit, with a COL of 2.865. Should be good to go in winter.

quote:

Originally posted by rduckwor:

quote:

Originally posted by offgrid:
Be careful with R17. It's been my experience and others around me that R17 shoots best right up against max pressure and it's very temp sensitive. Work up a load in cooler temps, shoot in hotter temps....over pressure.

I agree. This is my winter single loads for steel matches. Summer time? Right back to the good old H4350 and ELD-M's.

RMD

Yeah this is a few years old, sorry.

Just starting to reload this caliber.
Have H4350 and StaBALL 6.5 powder.
TMK 130 and ELD-M projectiles.

Have not run any tests yet although I did load a batch of each.

I see a LOT of support for the old stand-by H4350 and the Hornady bullets.
But anyone tried the StsBALL 6.5?
It sure meters great.
A tad slower than H4350.
Just looking for ideas.

In regards to 6.5 Creedmoor,
I have had good luck with Hodgdon 4350, Accurate 4350 and Shooters World Long Rife.

Not all 4350s are alike and my Accurate load and Hodgdon behave quite a bit differently.

I've had a 136gr Lapua Scenar-L and 135gr ATip work quite well with a Tikka CTR and Osprey barrel with 44.1 grains of Accurate 4350, F205M Primer and 0.015" from the lands (2740fps 24" Osprey barrel, 2656fps in 24" CTR). In comparison, H4350 will produce the same velocity with just under 42 grains. It (Hodgdon) shoots quite well with the set up above but with 42 grains (2773 fps).
For a 139 Lapua Scenar-S I have had best luck with 40.5 grains of Hodgdon 4350, F205M Primer and 0.015" from the lands (2700fps). This same load has yielded good results with a Hornady ELD-M but 0.050" off the lands.
In the CTR barrel I had good success with 41.1gr of Hodgdon 4350 as well as Shooters World long rifle with a 147 ELD-M 0.025" off the lands (2680fps) in the Osprey barrel and .010-.040" in the CTR (~2650 fps).

I haven't been able to get 140gr Barnes Match burners, Sierra Matchking and Berger 144gr LRT to be under 1/2 MOA like those above, but I'm sure it's just not having the right jump and load combination yet.

Of course, this are my loads, my equipment, my environmentals. Please use your reloading manuals and refer to the above simply for reference.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
But anyone tried the StsBALL 6.5?

Most of my loads are. I started to reply because off to my right is a target whose load I've been meaning to duplicate. So I reached over and grabbed it, only to find everything but the actual load written on the target. Doh!