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6.5-06 147 eld work up

Turpentine21

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2022
Messages
902
Location
South Carolina
The Rifle. I wouldn't say built but I put her all together myself. I call her "Ernestine". She's a big strapping gal but I don't plan on carrying her much.
She sits in an Oryx Chassis with a Sierra Precision Grip
Mack Brothers long action with Mack Brothers 20moa 1 piece Picatinny Rail. Looking back, I'm very
glad I decided to go with the custom action.
26" Criterion "Remage" stainless varmint/sendero contour in 6.5-06 A Square Match chamber.
Triggertech "Special" 2 stage trigger. I have a Geissele 2 stage Super 700 in my 308 which is a great
trigger but I'm really liking the Triggertech as well. The Triggertech is very easy to adjust without
removing the chassis Or even the bolt.
Nightforce SHV 5-20x56 MOAR reticle with Seekins Precision rings. I generally like Talley Rings but I am very impressed with the Seekins Rings. I mount a lot of scopes for folks and have used quite a few different types of rings and have lapped my fair share. The Seekins rings are high quality.
Lastly, I can use the MDT mag that I purchased with the chassis but I can also use the AICS style Magpul mag. Both work fine but I had to adjust the feed lips slightly on the MDT mag. The Magpul mag is tight. I used some 800 grit sand paper in a couple of high spots to smooth insertion.
My primary use for this rifle will be long range depredation and informal long range target shooting.



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I think this gun wants to shoot if I would just get out of its way. This is my second trip after a quick ocw test looking for decent nodes with the 147 eldm. I'm about 40 shots into it with work up and barrel break in. I originally started my workup at 51 grains of H4831sc. Today I began by shooting 3 fouling shots with 140 eldm's in federal brass with 53.4 grains H4831sc. Just to save my 147s. The 140s were just a hair under 2950fps and the group showed some potential despite my trigger pulling. With the 147 eldm, statistics didn't tighten up until I reached 53.4 grains with Win Brass giving 2855fps. This was my best group at just a shade under .3. The federal brass gave 2890 at 53.6 grains. The group was good but I called slight low right as soon as the trigger broke. Both loads gave low es and sd numbers. The federal brass load at 2890 gave the best statistics. I may try to push the load with Win brass up to 53.8 just to see what happens when velocity approaches the 2890 mark. I like to experiment. I have seen zero pressure signs with these loads in my rifle but the standard warnings apply here. These are safe in my rifle but as always I would recommend starting low and working up.
After my original outing I made an adjustment from my original seating depth of 10 thousandths off to 16 thousandths off the lands. COAL is 3.384 for the 147s. That seems to have tightened up my groups a bit from my 1st outing. I know I have a lot of work left to do but at least I feel like I'm dialing in and making some progress. I like the fact that it seems to like both Brass types and basically shoots them to the same point of impact. My intentions from the start were to use Winchester but I figured why not try a few loads with federal since I have a lot of it. I weigh and sort my cases and the Federals weight variation was a bit less than Winchester. The primer pockets were also more uniform but I've found in other calibers federal primer pockets tend to loosen up pretty quick. The Federal cases averaged about 14 grains heavier than the Winchester. All of this is 270 brass by the way.
I know all you guys probably get tired of reading about my experiments with this rifle but I hope someone may learn a little from it. Theres not a lot of info out there with the 147s in this caliber. I will likely end up using 147s but I plan to work up 143eldx and 140 eldm's as well. The rightups help me remember also As my memory is getting bad. I know some of it seems disorganized but my range is basically in my backyard so I just load a few, shoot, evaluate, load a few more and shoot. Give the rifle time to cool, then go again. If anything seems out of wack let me know. Your opinions are always welcome.
 
I don't have much input on your rifle but I built a 6.5 saum last year and shoot the 147. It's the most accurate bullet I've messed with. Mine will shoot basically 1 hole 3 shot groups from 50 thou. off till 120 thou. That's a huge window of forgiveness with a bullet. Best wishes, looks like it's gonna be a shooter for sure.
 
I would guess that pressures are over 61 K psi.
I'm watching my brass, primers, primer pockets, case stretch, bolt lift, very close. No cratering, no ejector swipe, no primer flattening, bolt lift is as light as it was at weaker charges. Pretty much one finger light. Particularly with the Winchester brass. Primer seating pressure in the fired Win cases feels the same as it did originally. I figure the federal cases weighing 15 grains more likely have a bit less capacity but even they look good. I've been a bit surprised. I figured it's due to loading a bit longer than book OAL. I've gone up pretty much all I plan to other than maybe a .2-3 grains in the Winchester brass just to see what happens. I know I will not go higher with the Federal Brass and may drop down a couple of 10ths as the rifle seems to want to shoot accurately between 2850 and 2890.
 
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I don't have much input on your rifle but I built a 6.5 saum last year and shoot the 147. It's the most accurate bullet I've messed with. Mine will shoot basically 1 hole 3 shot groups from 50 thou. off till 120 thou. That's a huge window of forgiveness with a bullet. Best wishes, looks like it's gonna be a shooter for sure.
The 147 does seem to be quite forgiving in my limited experience. There is definitely a difference in shape from the ogive forward when compared to 140s. I have 140s, (eldm and hollow point), 143 eldx (I found some seconds at a good price), and 147 (both 1st run and seconds) to try.
 

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