6.5 Sherman Shortmag Load Data

[Mateo]

My build is just a few weeks away from completion. Rich Sherman mailed the reamer and go gauges to me awhile back and as soon as they show up they go to my gunsmith for the fitting of the barrel to the action. I have a few pieces (25ish) of fireformed brass from Rich ready to be loaded. the powder I have is :

H1000
H4831sc
imr4350

the bullets I have are the

Berger 130gr vld hunting
Matrix 150 gr vld

My hopefuls are the 130 gr's and H1000 to maximize the barrel life and run this at the lower pressures like they are doing with the 6.5 SAUM 4S.

I'm hoping to start a thread on the 6.5 SS and the accurate loads plus the min/max with different powders. I have both remington and Norma brass.

The build specs for those who are interested.
remington 700 stainless short action blueprinted
PTG bolt .062 firing pin, mini16 extractor
remington 40x trigger tuned
PTG M5 bottom metal with Accurate mag
Boyds Pro Varmint stock
leupold mark 4 15 moa base
Vortex precision matched rings
Vortes pst viper 6-24x50 ffp
Ron Smith gain twist 1:16-1:8 25" heavy varmint contour
Gunsmith work by Henry Rempel.

 

[elkaholic]

Hi Matthew! As you know, I have been using mostly RL 33 which you can't find. I would try about 57-59 grains of H1000 behind the 150 and about 63 grains behind the 130's. 53-54 grains of IMR 4350 behind the 130's. I have not tested these loads, but it should be a good start. These powders willnot give the maximum performance velocity wise, but you might find a good accurate load.......rich

 

[jwall3d11]

Very nice and I'm interested in what you find. I'm waiting on a 6.5 SS myself.

 

[Mateo]

I found my collected notes on load data found that has worked for the 6.5 SS

For H1000- -160 gr Matrix -
Min - 55 gr (2862 fps 28.5" barrel). Max - 59gr (3030fps)

Rl33 - 150 gr Matrix-
Min - 63 gr. Max - 67 gr ( compressed 3238 fps) (65 gr accurate load 3160 fps)

H4831sc - 142 gr Matrix - 57 gr - 2.820 coal - accurate load.

H1000 - 142 gr matrix - 59 gr - 2.820 coal - accurate load.

7828 - 142 gr matrix - 58 gr - 3219fps - MAX LOAD. 26" barrel

RL25 - 60 gr - 140 gr Amax - 2.795 coal - norma brass

Retumbo - 60 gr - 160 matrix - 3006 fps - norma brass - 61 gr MAX LOAD. 3040 fps

Sorry it's kind of unorganized.

 

[mark fox]

I would use magpro work up 5 shots starting at 55.0 grains ending around 60.0 magpro will get you the best performance and accuracy it was designed for the short mag. I use a lot of it and its easy to find and is very cheep about $ 25.00 lb it also works great in the 6.5-284, 300 win mag, 7stw very close to retembo in burn rate with less felt recoil for some strange reason.

 

[bigngreen]

I use a lot of H4831 sc in my 6.5 SS, burn rate and case fill % were very well balanced and I got very good accuracy and speed from it but I have not worked with anything lighter than the 140gr Cutting Edge or Berger.

 

[Mateo]

Mag pro sounds like a good idea.
The Eduron 7977 will be a great hopefull too. I know there are quite a few 6.5 SS's out there now and would love to hear from others. Anyone have data for the 130 gr VLD's?

 

[mark fox]

mateo, you state that you have remington and norma brass. make sure that you measure neck case walls and turn them to be the same remington brass has a habbit of being very thick and norma not so much. norma most of the time is around .014 where remington can be as high as .019 .019 will cause super high preasures. and that could be very bad.

 

[mark fox]

I shoot the 130 vld in my 6.5 taz 28" pipe is 3525 fps the 140 vld is 3400 fps so with that you should get a gain of 100 to 150 fps in the sherman would be my guess. the Taz is my design not saum but wsm. shoulder moved foward .050 blown out -.004 42 deg. shoulder with the 130 vld using magpro 73.5 grains 28" 3595 to 3605 on a 10 shot spread the accurate load is 72.0 grains 3525fps

 

[bigngreen]

mateo, you state that you have remington and norma brass. make sure that you measure neck case walls and turn them to be the same remington brass has a habbit of being very thick and norma not so much. norma most of the time is around .014 where remington can be as high as .019 .019 will cause super high preasures. and that could be very bad.

Do you know what the 6.5 SS is? Neck thickness between brands is not an issue due to the design and having to neck turn all brass to a spec.

 

[elkaholic]

mateo, you state that you have remington and norma brass. make sure that you measure neck case walls and turn them to be the same remington brass has a habbit of being very thick and norma not so much. norma most of the time is around .014 where remington can be as high as .019 .019 will cause super high preasures. and that could be very bad.

Are you thinking of the saum case or the wsm case? Norma saum is .015-016" and I have never seen SAUM RP brass that thick? In any event, the necks HAVE to be turned so it is a mute point. Also, What is he supposedly gaining 150' per second over?........Rich

 

[mark fox]

remington ultra shortmag. Shoulder pushed back necked down to 6.5 trimed then fire formed to improved. some cases are thicker than others some have to be neck turned but remington brass will always. not all reamers are the same some tight neck some standard .290 to .294 the thicker brass on the remington is all the way threw the case. that will also change the volume and that will change the outcome i.e velocity & preasure. The use of norma brass in some chamber necks may not have to be turned. necking down a with a ball expander in some cases when minor changes are made the brass wall thickness will not change it just grows. Turning necks in most cases are done for consistancy. just want to help no need to be rude.

 

[elkaholic]

remington ultra shortmag. Shoulder pushed back necked down to 6.5 trimed then fire formed to improved. some cases are thicker than others some have to be neck turned but remington brass will always. not all reamers are the same some tight neck some standard .290 to .294 the thicker brass on the remington is all the way threw the case. that will also change the volume and that will change the outcome i.e velocity & preasure. The use of norma brass in some chamber necks may not have to be turned. necking down a with a ball expander in some cases when minor changes are made the brass wall thickness will not change it just grows. Turning necks in most cases are done for consistancy. just want to help no need to be rude.

I am not being rude, I am just trying to keep a new builder from getting misinformation! I am pretty sure from your comments that you don't know what an SS is? It HAS to have the neck turned to a certain thickness regardless of brass manufacturer. Also, I don't know what you mean when you say he will get 150-200' more velocity! (more than what)? You are being questioned because it isn't making sense; not condemned.......Rich

 

[Mateo]

Mark. Thanks for the advice. The case prep, as it has been mentioned, does involve next turning between sizing down from 7.62 - 6.5. I will be measuring loaded necks to make sure I'm in a safe range for neck clearance. Thankfully I have some of Rich's fireformed cases to double check and compare to.

I expect an honest 3250 fps with the 130 gr. and H1000. I might try with another powder to get higher velocities just for kicks, but the extreme cold insensitivity of H1000 makes it perfect for our canadian winters. That's actually another reason RL33 wouldn't be ideal for me (and especially when I can't get it at all here!)