6.5 creedmoor thoughts

[MTTSS]

Bushnell 6.5 Creedmoor AR Scope

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2...-300-blackout/

[MTTSS]

Stag Arms AR10

http://www.guns.com/2017/07/09/stag-...6-5-creedmoor/

[A-R]

Reviving this thread in order not to create yet another one and having to rehash the whole history of the cartridge again.

So Camdix in Krugersdorp had (have?) a great special on Howa barrelled actions, 24" heavy barrel, in 6.5 Man-bun calibre. Much too good to let pass.

I personally lean more towards the 260 Rem calibre, but the two 6.5's are very close ballistically. The availability of factory rifles in 260 limit it's options a little.

The purpose for owning this rifle would be for the wimmin and children to shoot steel at longer ranges. (I won't admit to shooting it easily. ) Organized long range steel plinking has finally made it to our side of the bush and we need something more capable than the 308 and more affordable than the 338LM to play with.

The current plan is to mount it into a AIM Alpha chassis with a FFP MRAD type scope on top.

Reloading component choices are a bit of a puzzle to me.

Bullets: I am looking at high-BC bullets, somewhere in the 140 - 155 gn range, that will still stabilize (Sg 1.5+) in the 1:8" twist barrel. Hornady, Berger, Nosler and Sierra have some options, not all readily available here. Which are the proven performers? Are there any suitable turned mono copper bullets available? The Peregrine 117gn Rangemasters seem not really comparable in terms of trajectory and drift, way out there where the big gongs graze.

Cases: I lean heavily towards Lapua brass, having had excellent consistency and concentricity with the brand in the past. The 6.5Cm is available in both Large and Small primer pocket options. I understand the reasoning for the small primer option, but I have already seen local shooters struggling with hang-fires. So powder and primer selection becomes critical, a luxury we may not be able to entertain here in SA. The large primers eliminate all the ignition issues. I will just have to keep pressures in check to not stretch the case heads. That is normal for any other calibre, so no sacrifice for me there. (As a side note, David Tubb opted to design the 6XC with a large primer pocket, saying that a small primer works well up to +/-35gn of powder, then ignition gets iffy. The 6XC operates at the same or even higher peak pressure than the 6.5Cm.) Any thoughts?

Powder: I see VV N555, Reloader 19 and Somchem S365 seem to be very good choices with the 140gn+ bullets. Any suggestions?

Barrel life: I guess the barrel should last for at least 3k rounds. Any experiences?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[pblaauw]

Bullets: Hornady ELD-X in either 140's or 147's perform well, and if you're flush, the new A-tips. I've had great success shooting Berger 140's as well. Lapua's 139gn is also a popular choice.

Brass: Lapua Small Rifle Primer, alternatively Peterson (think Shooting Stuff has it). I use CCI450 primers, no hang fires.

Powder: I use only Norma URP, but N555 is also a firm favourite with people.

Once you shoot the rifle and stuff goes 'ding' at long ranges you will start loving the caliber and ignore what people say

[Pirate]

Brass & Primers: if you're going small, with the Howa you'll need SR Magnum primers. not because off "hotness" of the primer (of which there isn't a difference between SR and SRM) but because of the primer cup thickness being larger for SRM.

The reason is the Howa's firing pin and -channel diameter is sized for LR primers, at higher pressures this causes blanked primers (looks like but isn't "pierced"). This is why guys get their firing pin channel sleeved, which reduces the ptojected area and therefore the force causing primer cup flowback.

[Bowhunter]

No issues with SRP here. I’ve used plenty CCI450 and S&B’s. More S&B’s that CCI’s so far with no difference in accuracy noted. I’ve only used Lapua.

S365 and H4350, the Hodgdon just a little better accuracy and lower ES.

140gr Nosler Custom Competition and 139gr Lapua Scenar’s - both do fine and are/were cheap.

[TStone]

I use both Lapua (SRP) and Hornady (LRP) cases. I get good accuracy with both and load both to the same velocities, I don't try to hotrod the loads with SRP brass. Loads with the Lapua cases seem to be slightly more accurate but I've had no trouble getting loads with Hornady brass to shoot ½moa. In fact we tested a batch of Hornady Precision Hunter factory loads and it shot ½moa or smaller in three different Howa rifles.
I use CCI400 primers in the Lapua cases and have experienced exactly one hangfire in slightly more than a thousand shots.

Mine is mostly used for hunting for which I shoot 115-120gr mono metal bullets but for gong shooting I have used Hornady A-max 140gr (which I still have a few of) and ELD-x 143gr very successfully. Peregrine makes a 120gr Glider Rangemaster target bullet with a high published BC, I have not used them though. For gongs I prefer a lead core bullet for the simple reason that it make an easier to spot black mark on gongs whereas copper bullets leave a small copper colored mark. If you use a decent spotting scope this does not matter.

My rifle now has more than 2k rounds through it and is still going strong.

[A-R]

Thanks for the replies so far. Lots of useful info in there.

I found some ADG brass with large primer pockets. Quality, head hardness, weight variation and neck wall thickness seem to be on par with Lapua. I will also obtain some Lapua cases with SRP pockets and compare them.

Bullets seem somewhat scarce, no surprises there. What I did find was Nosler 140gn RDF's. These have mixed reviews. Looking at the pictures, they seem to have very long secant ogives. This will make them sensitive to jump and concentricity. Prices are decent and they have a good BC. US forum users report that the quoted BC numbers are not optimistic. Will just have to try them and sort out the niggles.

[pblaauw]

I tried a packet of the 140gn RDF's, and there is a reason they have the nickname Randomly Dispersed Flyers...

[Pirate]

I tried a packet of the 140gn RDF's, and there is a reason they have the nickname Randomly Dispersed Flyers...

I've been thinking about buying a 500 pack of 70gr .224 RDF. Had gnawing doubts,one being length, but this was enough to dissuade me from buying them.