6.5 creed and 156gr Bergers

[Muley Buck]

The cratering is from a loose firing pin fit. Not pressure.

Ok, that makes sense.

 

[tdhanses]

@Broz, do you see anything of concern, you’ve been doing this much longer then I and I fully expected pressure, kind of scratching my head. I’m not supposed to be getting this kind of velocity out of a 20” 6.5cm and I’m 3gr’s over Berger’s load data.

 

[Broz]

@Broz, do you see anything of concern, you’ve been doing this much longer then I and I fully expected pressure, kind of scratching my head. I’m not supposed to be getting this kind of velocity out of a 20” 6.5cm and I’m 3gr’s over Berger’s load data.

You are almost there. I ran the 155's at 2750 with H4350 in a 24" in crappy brass.

Here is my analysis, from what I have seen here. FWIW.

1: ADG is proving to be faster brass in many rifles.

2: Your primers faces are starting to flatten and rounded corners going away

3: Primer skins are starting to flow into the sloppy firing pin bore.

4: #2 and #3 are first signs of pressure in my book. So you are close. If you keep increasing charge weight you will soon start to see the ejector pin shadow. In fact if you use a magnifying glass you may see the shadow very lightly now.

5: Velocity is still pretty stable and not erratic like an over pressure load should be.

6: You have a fast barrel and it will increase and stabilize velocity between 120 and 150 rounds.

I would look for a happy node where you are now. A grain or so below pressure is a great place to work in my book.

Just my thoughts, maybe right, maybe not. lol

Jeff

 

[tdhanses]

Thanks Jeff, I have my final powder loads set in .2gr increments over a 1gr range, the lowest ES will win and then I’ll play with some seating unless I’m getting great results then I’ll just leave it be. Now just need to get back out to the range.

 

[wind gypsy]

I have to admit that I wrote off the 156 as a waste of time for creedmoor type capacity but it’s pretty competitive at those velocities. Thanks for sharing.

 

[tdhanses]

I have to admit that I wrote off the 156 as a waste of time for creedmoor type capacity but it’s pretty competitive at those velocities. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah not too shabby at 1000yds. 1700ft/s and 1000 ft/lbs.

 

[Kimber7man]

I jumped on that deal at target sports, the Berger ammo with 135 grain classic hunter shot extremely well in my 20” GAP, so figured it can’t hurt to try the 156’s.
should be able to shoot in a couple weeks, will post results.

 

[tdhanses]

What’s this?

Berger Match Grade 6.5 Creedmoor Ammo 156 Gr EOL Elite Hunter - Ammo Deals

Berger Match Grade 6.5 Creedmoor Ammo 156 Grain EOL Elite Hunter at Target Sports USA. Enjoy free shipping on bulk 260 Remington ammo for sale onli

www.targetsportsusa.com

I ordered a box of it to compare to my results and see how it does in my barrel.

 

[tdhanses]

Factory Berger 156 ammo in hand, hopefully I can test it out this weekend.

 

[Cahunter805]

Last weekend I ran the 156s in a new 6.5-06. Initial loads were pretty decent with H1000 and topped 2900. No pressure at all so will load higher and retest. Thinking 3000+ should be doable.

 

[tdhanses]

Last weekend I ran the 156s in a new 6.5-06. Initial loads were pretty decent with H1000 and topped 2900. No pressure at all so will load higher and retest. Thinking 3000+ should be doable.

Nice! That’s 6.5 PRC speeds or close to it.

 

[Clarktar]

Last weekend I ran the 156s in a new 6.5-06. Initial loads were pretty decent with H1000 and topped 2900. No pressure at all so will load higher and retest. Thinking 3000+ should be doable.

Dang! Might have to try in my 6.5-06AI

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[tdhanses]

Quick pic.
Left to Right: Hornady Match ELDM 147 factory, my load, Berger 156 factory.

 

[tdhanses]

That looks interesting. I literally just got a shipment from them yesterday. These were not on their site 3 days ago. That annoys me.

That seems like an unbelievable deal, seeing that Lapua brass is about $1 a piece and the 156 EOL bullets are $.55 a piece or so. Target Sports deal is $1.33 per round (plus shipping). What am I missing?

Quick heads up bullet central has had the best price with shipping I’ve found, I’m at $.44 per bullet to my door.

Also with shipping and tax one box of 20 of the factory Berger’s cost me $2.21 per bullet, without shipping and tax it’s $1.45, $28.99 per 20 rds but have to include cost to your door. So still more expensive then $.87 per rd ADG brass, $.44 per bullet , $.06 per primer and $.17 powder per load. So my loads cost $1.54 per load.

 

[renagde]

Quick heads up bullet central has had the best price with shipping I’ve found, I’m at $.44 per bullet to my door.

Also with shipping and tax one box of 20 of the factory Berger’s cost me $2.21 per bullet, without shipping and tax it’s $1.45, $28.99 per 20 rds but have to include cost to your door. So still more expensive then $.87 per rd ADG brass, $.44 per bullet , $.06 per primer and $.17 powder per load. So my loads cost $1.54 per load.

Yeah if you have to pay the full price plus shipping it’s not quite such a good deal. I’m a prime member because I buy lots of 5.56 and 9mm ammo so I get this factory 156 ammo for a discount plus free shipping even on 1 box. Comes out to about $1.30 per round for me.

 

[tdhanses]

Yeah if you have to pay the full price plus shipping it’s not quite such a good deal. I’m a prime member because I buy lots of 5.56 and 9mm ammo so I get this factory 156 ammo for a discount plus free shipping even on 1 box. Comes out to about $1.30 per round for me.

Ahhh, that makes sense.

 

[tdhanses]

Just want to thank the Chiefs for shutting down the city, free half day off work. So of course I skipped the parade and hit the range.

It was a little chilly at 27* but I had the range all to myself.

All my testing is done off a Spartan bipod and a LRO rear bag. Shooting a semi custom Howa 1500 with a McMillan Stock and a 20” CarbonSix barrel 1:8 twist.



Today I tested factory Hornady Match 147ELDM, factory Berger 156’s and my loaded Berger 156’s.

Stats:

Factory Hornady - listed velocity of 2695ft/s. Out of a 5 shot test, 2675ft/s with an ES of 23.

Factory Berger - listed velocity 2680ft/s. Out of a 5 shot test, 2577ft/s with an ES of 13.

My Load - 2701ft/s with an ES of 15.

Final results below, all 5 shot groups at 100yds, elevation of 800ft. I’ll not buy the factory Berger stuff again as it is way below listed velocity and even with the lowest ES my gun just didn’t really like it, I’m thinking at the lower speed it had stability issues as my load is at the top of marginal stability at my elevation, so those higher up may see better results. I can’t recommend the Factory Hornady enough and it’s cheap at around $22 a box on sale, this stuff just flat shoots! My load has a little room for improvement but I’m pretty happy with where it is at.

 

[Muley Buck]

Right on man! That's good info, thank you.

 

[Kimber7man]

Just want to thank the Chiefs for shutting down the city, free half day off work. So of course I skipped the parade and hit the range.

It was a little chilly at 27* but I had the range all to myself.

All my testing is done off a Spartan bipod and a LRO rear bag. Shooting a semi custom Howa 1500 with a McMillan Stock and a 20” CarbonSix barrel 1:8 twist.

View attachment 152116

Today I tested factory Hornady Match 147ELDM, factory Berger 156’s and my loaded Berger 156’s.

Stats:

Factory Hornady - listed velocity of 2695ft/s. Out of a 5 shot test, 2675ft/s with an ES of 23.

Factory Berger - listed velocity 2680ft/s. Out of a 5 shot test, 2577ft/s with an ES of 13.

My Load - 2701ft/s with an ES of 15.

Final results below, all 5 shot groups at 100yds, elevation of 800ft. I’ll not buy the factory Berger stuff again as it is way below listed velocity and even with the lowest ES my gun just didn’t really like it, I’m thinking at the lower speed it had stability issues as my load is at the top of marginal stability at my elevation, so those higher up may see better results. I can’t recommend the Factory Hornady enough and it’s cheap at around $22 a box on sale, this stuff just flat shoots! My load has a little room for improvement but I’m pretty happy with where it is at.


View attachment 152118

if your measured velocity in your 20” barrel is about 100 fps less than listed velocity, which is probably out of a 24” or 26” barrel, that‘s about the standard 25 fps/inch. Not surprising.

 

[tdhanses]

if your measured velocity in your 20” barrel is about 100 fps less than listed velocity, which is probably out of a 24” or 26” barrel, that‘s about the standard 25 fps/inch. Not surprising.

Yeah I get that, the Hornady is measured out of a 24“ barrel and only dropped 20ft/s. I think it’ll be interesting to see what someone with a 24” barrel gets. I wasn’t knocking the Berger ammo, just isn’t worth it for me to shoot more of it.