Sauer Classic in a 6.5 Creedmoor

[albinobadger]

Picked up a new hunting stick the other day. I went and saw Omer at Precision Optics. He set me up with the Swaro Z5 in a 5-25x52 Plex BT, mounted on some medium Tally's, to the Sauer 100 Classic XT. His customer service is second to none. Prices are very sharp and he is there to help.

I grabbed a couple boxes of the Hornady 143gr. ELD-X and plan on pushing them through the gun in the next couple weeks.

Does anyone out there have any experience with the 142gr. Nosler AccuBond LR's in the 6.5 Creedmoor? I'm going off the Nosler book and thinking a muzzle speed around 2600 fps is a good estimate... 22 inch barrel...

 

[albinobadger]

Finally got some time to get out and burn some powder. Started at 100 yards on the bench with the ELD-X's. I was shooting 3-shot groups at this range and having a tough time getting consistent groups. So I let a couple other shooters I was with give it a try. Both shooters are better shots then myself and both of them improved the groupings but still nothing to write home about. Burnt 24+ shells to no avail.
So after a restless night I decided to try a different box of shells. I went with the only other box that was on the shelf in town. Federal American Eagle 140 grain open tip match. I setup the same as before, on a bench at 100 yards, only this time I shot 5-shot groups. Squeezed off 10 rounds and went and had a look at the target... now this is where I thought I should be. First group had 3 of the 5 touching with a fourth just off (fifth snuck up on me and I pulled a little). Second group wasn't quite as nice but I was still satisfied. With my confidence back I used up the remaining 10 rounds with similar results, then I decided to shoot my remaining 5 ELD-X's.
They looked just the same as the first time I shot them, consistent at 'not being consistent'. Nothing tight. I think the ELD-X's are in fact too long of bullet for my rifle (22" barrel and a 8.66 twist rate)
I've got reloading gear enroute and I'm going to try some shorter 130 grain bullets and see how they perform.

I'd like to upload some of my target photos but it appears technology isn't my friend and I can't figure it out.