Iamnotagolem
Active Member
I'm trying to work up a load for the 140gr Nosler Ballistic Tip/Accubond in my 6.5 PRC. I group them together because my thought is that they are the same weight and have the same BC, so, in theory, the same load should work for both. Obviously I will confirm, but I'm working up the one that is $10/box less first. Happy to hear any thought on that whole thing.
I'm shooting a Seekins Havak PH1 with a 24" barrel and a 1:8 twist. It had 152 rounds down it when I started this test and it appears to be broken in. I took my load data from the Hornady book, which was much higher than the Hodgdon data for some reason, but so be it. I loaded up 10 rounds at 0.2 grain increments and chrono'd them with a Magnetospeed Sporter. I wasn't able to get to an actual range because my luck runs less than awesome. Today was the first time I could get to the range in the past 11 months due to a surgery, moving to a new state, and a pandemic. Turns out today was a holiday, so they closed the range. Best I could do was shoot at a rock 250 yards away in the National Forest.
There was a very clear and very large velocity node between 57.9gr and 58.5gr. There may also be one at the 59.1gr and up level, but I didn't go high enough to find out since 59 he was the book max, which is why I stopped at 59.3.
My first question is, should I load up some more and go higher to see if there is a higher velocity node? I don't believe there were any high pressure signs on the brass, but I've attached a pic so the more experienced hand loaders can tell me. The lowest charge is on the left and moves to the highest on the right. If there is another node above 59gr, is the extra 50fps worth the wear on the brass, or is ~3,030 fps a decent speed for a 140gr 6.5 PRC?
Pretty sure my next step is to shoot groups at the velocity node(s). If it's not awesome, I'll adjust my seating depths and retest. So my next question is what interval should those changes be? 0.010"?
Thanks for any wisdom you all can provide!
I'm shooting a Seekins Havak PH1 with a 24" barrel and a 1:8 twist. It had 152 rounds down it when I started this test and it appears to be broken in. I took my load data from the Hornady book, which was much higher than the Hodgdon data for some reason, but so be it. I loaded up 10 rounds at 0.2 grain increments and chrono'd them with a Magnetospeed Sporter. I wasn't able to get to an actual range because my luck runs less than awesome. Today was the first time I could get to the range in the past 11 months due to a surgery, moving to a new state, and a pandemic. Turns out today was a holiday, so they closed the range. Best I could do was shoot at a rock 250 yards away in the National Forest.
There was a very clear and very large velocity node between 57.9gr and 58.5gr. There may also be one at the 59.1gr and up level, but I didn't go high enough to find out since 59 he was the book max, which is why I stopped at 59.3.
My first question is, should I load up some more and go higher to see if there is a higher velocity node? I don't believe there were any high pressure signs on the brass, but I've attached a pic so the more experienced hand loaders can tell me. The lowest charge is on the left and moves to the highest on the right. If there is another node above 59gr, is the extra 50fps worth the wear on the brass, or is ~3,030 fps a decent speed for a 140gr 6.5 PRC?
Pretty sure my next step is to shoot groups at the velocity node(s). If it's not awesome, I'll adjust my seating depths and retest. So my next question is what interval should those changes be? 0.010"?
Thanks for any wisdom you all can provide!
