6.5 CM load development, round 2

[KHawk66]

Go to Hammer Hunter Load Data on this Forum. Tons of load data. Hammers are always available and ready to ship. You can go to lighter bullet weights/and much faster with Hammers!

I found this: https://hammerbullets.com/ is this what your talking about?

 

[KHawk66]

About any 140 gr bullet with between 41.5 and 42.5 of H4350 works awesome. You can also google the Secret Carolina load with H4831. Never tried it but heard great things.
Also heard of great results with a max load of 6.5 StaBall.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm informed! I just happen to have those powders and will be finding out if those will work well in this rifle.

 

[KHawk66]

I've got the same rifle set up close to yours I'm loading the max load in the barnes manual for reloader 17, federal primers, and Hornaday brass with excellent accuracy using the 127 gr lrx bullet I'm not 100% sure but I think 40.8 grains of reloader 17 is the max load the load is available on the Barnes website I think they were running a little over 2800 fps according to my cronagraph and your right the trigger sucks on these rifles

When I first took the gun out I couldn't believe how heavy the trigger was! I shot it 10 times and left. All over the place in about a 4" circle. I was close to selling it and going to a better rifle. I found these guys and their kit made all the difference. https://www.mcarbo.com/savage-axis-trigger-pro-kit.aspx

 

[KHawk66]

I fo have most of the powders and bullets you listed, but haven't reloaded any 6.5creed yet. Having 7 in AR's of various manufacturer barrels. So far the Aero Precision barrels work best and the Criterion barrel shoots the tightest group with 123 a-max and set's. The 2nd shot from the Criterion was almost in the 1st hole. Stopped shooting due to primers popping. I wish I had some proven loads, but most likely used n550, superformance or 17. Big Game and hunter might be good as it shows good for a 7-08?

Big Game and the 140gr partition worked very well on the first round of testing, but the Accubond, R17 was a bit tighter.

 

[jammer300]

Shootersproshop.com has 140gr. Accubonds w/cannelure in stock right now. They are sold as blem rounds but I don't think you would be disappointed with them. I have bought many of their blem rounds and have not noticed anything wrong with them.

 

[chav0_12]

Thanks for the input guys! It's great to hear what you've used and your success's. And all are duly noted.

Most of the Hodgdon powders are new to me, as is StaBall and 4895. I do have a question about StaBALL, where does it fit in on the burn rate chart? I'm looking forward to seeing how these work out. Nothing is loaded yet. I spent last night measuring the chamber with the new bullets to get the seating depth dimension. Checking the quantity of test loads and counting brass to ensure there is enough to load up the test subjects. I like to test 5 rnds, but may just be able to have 4 of each.

As I test each bullet, I will post the results and include pics of the targets.

It's slower than H4350 but faster than H4831.

 

[chav0_12]

I found this: https://hammerbullets.com/ is this what your talking about?

Those are the bullets, yes, there is also some threads on this forum with loads for the bullets.

 

[Rosebud]

When I first took the gun out I couldn't believe how heavy the trigger was! I shot it 10 times and left. All over the place in about a 4" circle. I was close to selling it and going to a better rifle. I found these guys and their kit made all the difference. https://www.mcarbo.com/savage-axis-trigger-pro-kit.aspx

Have a savage in 22-250 that had a terrible trigger. Also replaced the spring with a target spring. It breaks at 2.2 pounds. Made a world of difference. Shooting 52 grain Hammer Hunters @ 3950. I could push over 4 thousand but it shoots great at that speed. Don't think anything hit with it will notice the missing fifty feet per second!

 

[liltank]

I had to fire form brass for my dad. I used it in a 600 IBS to do the fire forming while scoring. I used 39.5grns 6.5 StaBall, with 142SMK's in Lapua brass. It was slow, but shot 4.5" groups at 600yds untested with a random load. I'm a fan of 6.5 StaBall in CM. Used it quite a bite with other bullets in different rifles with satisfactory results.

 

[Bang4theBuck]

Go to Hammer Hunter Load Data on this Forum. Tons of load data. Hammers are always available and ready to ship. You can go to lighter bullet weights/and much faster with Hammers!

This was exactly what I was going to say. And when you go to purchase, think smaller not bigger. If you are hunting thin skinned game (deer/antelope), I would say anything above 100 grain selection would be the bomb! Load development for this cartridge will also save you some money with Hammers as you can often find a great accuracy load with excellent velocity without even messing with the seating depth round of load development.

For what it is worth, I think the Staball 6.5 is going to be your go to powder out of the ones you've listed.

 

[GUNNNN]

When I first took the gun out I couldn't believe how heavy the trigger was! I shot it 10 times and left. All over the place in about a 4" circle. I was close to selling it and going to a better rifle. I found these guys and their kit made all the difference. https://www.mcarbo.com/savage-axis-trigger-pro-kit.aspx

Thanks brother I'll try this out

 

[KHawk66]

Shootersproshop.com has 140gr. Accubonds w/cannelure in stock right now. They are sold as blem rounds but I don't think you would be disappointed with them. I have bought many of their blem rounds and have not noticed anything wrong with them.

Thanks for the heads up! I ordered 50 to see and may get more. The bullets I have used didn't have the cannelure, but like you said, these have a cannelure. And that brings up a curiosity I have always had, What purpose does the cannelure have? Does the cannelure affect down range ballistics? Accuracy? Or is it just to provide for the jacket to be mechanically bonded to the lead? I have a feeling the cannelure is not going to line up with the seating depth I use.

 

[chav0_12]

Thanks for the heads up! I ordered 50 to see and may get more. The bullets I have used didn't have the cannelure, but like you said, these have a cannelure. And that brings up a curiosity I have always had, What purpose does the cannelure have? Does the cannelure affect down range ballistics? Accuracy? Or is it just to provide for the jacket to be mechanically bonded to the lead? I have a feeling the cannelure is not going to line up with the seating depth I use.

The cannelure is just a crimp groove. You can ignore it. The bullets shouldn't function any differently than a bullet without a cannelure.

 

[KHawk66]

This was exactly what I was going to say. And when you go to purchase, think smaller not bigger. If you are hunting thin skinned game (deer/antelope), I would say anything above 100 grain selection would be the bomb! Load development for this cartridge will also save you some money with Hammers as you can often find a great accuracy load with excellent velocity without even messing with the seating depth round of load development.

For what it is worth, I think the Staball 6.5 is going to be your go to powder out of the ones you've listed.

I'm reading good things about Staball! I've never used it but looking forward to seeing how it performs. I believe I'm going to be focusing on H4350, H4831, Staball and R17 as a starting point on this round. I have a varied selection of bullets already, but I will be looking into the Hammers and getting familiar with them. I do appreciate your perspective and insight to the lighter, higher velocity, flatter trajectory bullets. Some of the people I have hunted with have had excellent results with those loads.