What did you do in the reloading room today?

[hunting1]

what speed you running them at?

20” barrel I’m at 2698 but accurate!

 

[sierracharlie338]

20” barrel I’m at 2698 but accurate!

Nice. I think my 260 is around 2750 with a 22” barrel with 140 elite hunters

 

[RifleDisciple]

I sized 250 pieces of 300BLK brass that I'm going to load into 200x V-max 110gr supersonic and 50x SUB-X 190gr subsonics for hog hunting this fall.

 

[jlchester5045]

6.5 Creedmoor with some 130 ELD-M’s, 140 ELD-M’s, 143 ELD-X’s, and 140 RDF’s over top of some H4350. Then 6.5 PRC with 127 LRX’s and 130 CX’s over some H1000. Both rifles are Aero Solus actions with 24” barrels. Really hoping the ELD-X’s shoot great so I can run one load for medium sized game and NRL Hunter in the Creedmoor.

 

[jlchester5045]

Did some prep work to fine tune the 6.5prc data.
- Fine tuned the sizer die to get the right shoulder bump.
- Tried a 288 bushing from SAC with a 262 mandrel.
- Tried a 289 bushing from SAC with a 263 mandrel.
- Tried a 288 bushing from Wilson and a 262 mandrel.

Worked on some 30-06 loads.
- Resized a bunch of brass for fouling the barrel and just general range ammo.
- Loaded some 165BT and played with seating depth.

Please post results from your bushing and mandrel testing. I’m very curious. Trying to decide on making the plunge into mandrel dies.

 

[6mm Remington]

Of course waited until the last minute and loaded up some different loads with 180 gr. Accubonds and Partitions in my son's 300 WSM. I used H100V, IMR7828SSC, and H4831SC. Now we just have to get out and shoot it. Hopefully Friday.

 

[WKR]

Testing virgin alpha brass vs once fired for groups and consistency.
25 creed
133 berger elite
Alpha brass
Fed GM205M primer
42.8gr H4350

Virgin is trimmed and ran an expander for 2 thou neck tension
Once fired is annealed, no shoulder bump sized with the SAC modular w/279 bushing and .255 mandrel

 

[SloppyJ]

Figured I'd drink the Kool-aid this year and see what the fuss is about. I'm narrowing in on a decent load. Starline .223, cci 450, 24gr varget, and even shorter than mag length in a Tikka. Yes, even went full send and got a Tikka.

Testing a few more loads close to this charge and seeing if seating depth can tighten it up more. I got lucky and stumbled across a ridiculously accurate load with a 75gr Hornady BTHP. Hoping I can replicate it with the TMKs.

These little .223s are quite a blast!

 

[sierracharlie338]

Testing virgin alpha brass vs once fired for groups and consistency.
25 creed
133 berger elite
Alpha brass
Fed GM205M primer
42.8gr H4350

Virgin is trimmed and ran an expander for 2 thou neck tension
Once fired is annealed, no shoulder bump sized with the SAC modular w/279 bushing and .255 mandrel

View attachment 774747

Let me know what you find. I ran 2thou neck tension on virgin alpha brass and groups were stupid. Trying to decide if I want to tinker or just put 100 through it and have fun.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Figured I'd drink the Kool-aid this year and see what the fuss is about. I'm narrowing in on a decent load. Starline .223, cci 450, 24gr varget, and even shorter than mag length in a Tikka. Yes, even went full send and got a Tikka.

Testing a few more loads close to this charge and seeing if seating depth can tighten it up more. I got lucky and stumbled across a ridiculously accurate load with a 75gr Hornady BTHP. Hoping I can replicate it with the TMKs.

These little .223s are quite a blast!

I’ve been shooting my daughters and have to admit I’ll prob be buying myself one at some point lol. Too much fun. Just need more TMKs and longer mags

 

[TSnave]

Finally got tired of running into hanging bows when I was eyes down and put them in cases. Now I have to figure out where to put the cases...
Also continued cleaning primer pockets, thank goodness for tools that fit a cordless driver!

 

[Kopio]

I reloaded a bit today…50 rounds of 6.5 Creedmor and 30 rounds of 338 Win Mag. I’m totally ready for hunting season and then some…a lot of the 6.5 will be going to the range with me. Got to try out my new Frankford Arsenal Intellidropper…worked like a champ. Soooo much easier than using a beam scale!! Also tumbled another 80 rounds of 6.5 Creedmor brass. It was a fairly productive day!

 

[WKR]

Let me know what you find. I ran 2thou neck tension on virgin alpha brass and groups were stupid. Trying to decide if I want to tinker or just put 100 through it and have fun.

Results from 10 round sample of virgin and 10 round sample of once fired and annealed:
Standard deviation and extreme spread of the virgin were higher than the once fired brass. But still acceptable and id be fine using virgin brass loaded ammo for a hunt or match due to the fact that it had no effect on my zero or the guns average group size.

It was an interesting test and I plan on doing a larger sample to confirm my findings, but as of now, like I said,would have no issue running virgin alpha brass,

I'm going to take the virgin brass loads out to 600 tomorrow and see if the higher SD has any effect at distance

 

[SloppyJ]

I’ve been shooting my daughters and have to admit I’ll prob be buying myself one at some point lol. Too much fun. Just need more TMKs and longer mags

I'm in that same boat! The only complaint i have is the bolt lift, it's pretty heavy imo. And I like a way to get the bolt open on safe. However after 150rds or so, it's smoothed out quite a bit. I hate the stock but that's an easy fix.

 

[SloppyJ]

Results from 10 round sample of virgin and 10 round sample of once fired and annealed:
Standard deviation and extreme spread of the virgin were higher than the once fired brass. But still acceptable and id be fine using virgin brass loaded ammo for a hunt or match due to the fact that it had no effect on my zero or the guns average group size.

It was an interesting test and I plan on doing a larger sample to confirm my findings, but as of now, like I said,would have no issue running virgin alpha brass,

I'm going to take the virgin brass loads out to 600 tomorrow and see if the higher SD has any effect at distance

What speeds are you getting? I have everything but a .25 and a .277 and the 25 creed has always been appealing to me. Everything I've read on them points to stupid accurate.

Is it one that can take the velocity hit from a short barrel? I researched it a bit before I built my 6creed but I think I found that the speeds lacked a bit with a 20" barrel. You've been tinkering with 25s for a while now right? What about a 25-6.5prc? Or have you found the sweet spot in the creed?

 

[sierracharlie338]

I'm in that same boat! The only complaint i have is the bolt lift, it's pretty heavy imo. And I like a way to get the bolt open on safe. However after 150rds or so, it's smoothed out quite a bit. I hate the stock but that's an easy fix.

I’ve noticed that with hers as well. Kinda strange.

 

[SloppyJ]

Sometimes you should quit while you’re ahead. I’ve been dreading pulling 40 rounds due to incorrect head space on the brass. I had a little extra time and decided to pull them today. Afterwards, I still had a little time, so I decided to start re-sizing them….

To make a long story short(er), since I never tumbled or wiped them off after sizing/loading them a few months ago, I figured they’d have enough one-shot left on them to size. They even felt a little “slimy”.

The first ten went through the press no problem, and then, you guessed it, one stuck real good. I pulled up on the handle hard, and the rim ripped off the case.

I was supremely lucky, because I had pulled the de-priming stem out before I started sizing, since I just needed to push the shoulders back not de-prime. This enabled me to stick a “punch” through the die body to hammer the case out. After a few failed attempts, and one smashed thumb nail, I grabbed a couple old drill bits and was able to knock out the case. I’m sure this wasn’t the best idea, but it got the job done without nicking or damaging the inside of the die.

Afterwards I cleaned and lubed the inside of the die and re-lubed the remaining cases. The rest of the sizing was uneventful, and I learned another valuable lesson for the reloading bench. Good grief…

I feel your pain. I was sizing some .223 and got one super stuck. Worst ive ever had. I had to tap the back end and use a bolt to pull it out with a wrench. Surprised me how "stuck" they can get!

 

[sierracharlie338]

What speeds are you getting? I have everything but a .25 and a .277 and the 25 creed has always been appealing to me. Everything I've read on them points to stupid accurate.

Is it one that can take the velocity hit from a short barrel? I researched it a bit before I built my 6creed but I think I found that the speeds lacked a bit with a 20" barrel. You've been tinkering with 25s for a while now right? What about a 25-6.5prc? Or have you found the sweet spot in the creed?

Imo the Saum in a short barrel is money for the 25s. 2800-2900 with heavies depending on barrel length

 

[WKR]

What speeds are you getting? I have everything but a .25 and a .277 and the 25 creed has always been appealing to me. Everything I've read on them points to stupid accurate.

Is it one that can take the velocity hit from a short barrel? I researched it a bit before I built my 6creed but I think I found that the speeds lacked a bit with a 20" barrel. You've been tinkering with 25s for a while now right? What about a 25-6.5prc? Or have you found the sweet spot in the creed?

2850 from a 23 inch barrel
Its a little too long for my tastes but I had to keep the velocity up for NRL power factor
I've got a 19" barreled 25 cal magnum being chambered right now because I wanted something faster and shorter for field use.

 

[SloppyJ]

2850 from a 23 inch barrel
Its a little too long for my tastes but I had to keep the velocity up for NRL power factor
I've got a 19" barreled 25 cal magnum being chambered right now because I wanted something faster and shorter for field use.

What mag cartridge did you go with?