Any suggestions before I start loading?

T

Tikka223

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Rifle is currently a .223 but I’ve just received the last piece of my switch barrel project: a 26” MTU profile 6.5 Creedmoor barrel done up by JC Customs. Barrel is an 8 twist with 4 grooves.

With my last 6.5 I was using Alpha brass and 140 gr Hornady ELD-Ms. I was pretty disappointed in the brass; flash holes were inconsistent as were the bases. I literally had to hammer a couple out of the shell holder on my press. I’ve heard a few shooters complain about the consistency with the Hornady bullets. I definitely had to the odd shot that didn’t go where I hoped but I just blamed my shooting skills. Time to try something new!

I’m posting here because as you can see from the setup, this a PRS rig … and it’s black.

Edit: picture quality isn’t great. Lapua brass is small primer and the bullets are 144gr. I’ll be using H4350 and CCI 450s
 

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I can't speak to the 144gr (cause I run 140gr ELD-Ms in my 6.5 Creed) but I do run that Lapua brass (as well as CCI 450s) and it is top notch. I've got a mid node at 40.4gr of H4350 and a high node at 41.6gr. I imagine you'll find a good load for the 144s somewhere in there.
 
rugbydave said:
I can't speak to the 144gr (cause I run 140gr ELD-Ms in my 6.5 Creed) but I do run that Lapua brass (as well as CCI 450s) and it is top notch. I've got a mid node at 40.4gr of H4350 and a high node at 41.6gr. I imagine you'll find a good load for the 144s somewhere in there.
Click to expand...

Curious what your fps is with both upper and lower node.
 
Tikka223 said:
View attachment 579641

Rifle is currently a .223 but I’ve just received the last piece of my switch barrel project: a 26” MTU profile 6.5 Creedmoor barrel done up by JC Customs. Barrel is an 8 twist with 4 grooves.

With my last 6.5 I was using Alpha brass and 140 gr Hornady ELD-Ms. I was pretty disappointed in the brass; flash holes were inconsistent as were the bases. I literally had to hammer a couple out of the shell holder on my press. I’ve heard a few shooters complain about the consistency with the Hornady bullets. I definitely had to the odd shot that didn’t go where I hoped but I just blamed my shooting skills. Time to try something new!

I’m posting here because as you can see from the setup, this a PRS rig … and it’s black.

Edit: picture quality isn’t great. Lapua brass is small primer and the bullets are 144gr. I’ll be using H4350 and CCI 450s
Click to expand...

Can I ask what muzzle brake you are running ?
 
Keith (great shooter and excellent teacher) shares his process for load development in video form, only change i would make is powder increments. 40grns and over go .03 vs .02 in his example.

Trevor
 
Always been a fan of ladder tests. I had my Magnetospeed strapped on for the last one it did. It was nice to have the velocity data but I couldn’t help but wonder if the weight of the Magnetospeed on the barrel affected the results of the test. I know some people do a ladder test focusing on velocity rather than vertical spread, which isn’t a bad idea because it removes the shooter from the equation … buuuuuut I almost more confident in my shooting skills than my reloading skills.
 
Tikka223 said:
Always been a fan of ladder tests. I had my Magnetospeed strapped on for the last one it did. It was nice to have the velocity data but I couldn’t help but wonder if the weight of the Magnetospeed on the barrel affected the results of the test. I know some people do a ladder test focusing on velocity rather than vertical spread, which isn’t a bad idea because it removes the shooter from the equation … buuuuuut I almost more confident in my shooting skills than my reloading skills.
Click to expand...

If you have a heavy contour barrel your magneto isn't going to do anything in regards to impact shift (noticeable anyways) if you have a light contour or pencil barrel thats when you'll notice it. I have a heavy contour MTU barrel on my 6xc and magneto on or off it shoots the same
 
When I used to have a Magnetospeed, there wasn't a single barrel that I used it on that didn't have some kind of poi shift, even my MTU contour barrel had a poi shift, granted it was only 0.1mil. That being said, the poi shift was always consistent. I also noticed on some barrels that if I used the Magnetospeed during load dev, I'd often end up with a load that shot ever so slightly better with the magspeed on vs off. That's a big reason that I went to a Labradar. If you're gonna use a Magnetospeed for load dev, I'd suggest getting one of the attachments that allows you to attach it to your chassis/stock via arca or pic so it doesn't affect the harmonics of the barrel.
 
Just do your load development, find a load that works best accuracy wise then confirm your velocity. With the exception of ELR and benchrest, I've never understood the obsession with speed for normal shooting. 100 fps is not going to make or break your 600 yd shot.

I had some 6.5x47 lapua loads that were only 2720 fps but were absolute tac drivers at any distance. I did not regret the extra 100 fps I could have got.
 
mareshow said:
Just do your load development, find a load that works best accuracy wise then confirm your velocity. With the exception of ELR and benchrest, I've never understood the obsession with speed for normal shooting. 100 fps is not going to make or break your 600 yd shot.

I had some 6.5x47 lapua loads that were only 2720 fps but were absolute tac drivers at any distance. I did not regret the extra 100 fps I could have got.
Click to expand...

It's not necessarily about maxing out velocity but choosing a load that shoots the tightest and has the lowest ES/SD. Oftentimes you can also have a target velocity you're hoping to be near (and still have good accuracy and ES) for the purposes of balancing ballistics and recoil. If you're setup to gather velocity data without affecting accuracy/poi (like a regular Magnetospeed does) there is literally no downside to having more data.
 
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