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I really would have liked to help you out. Where copper bullets clearly have major advantages are in .264 caliber and bigger and for short fat cartridges and free bore lengths that allow the very high BC bullets to be seated out such that the boat tail is even with the neck shoulder junction while allowing for a minimum jump of about 0.015". Greater jumps can simply be done by seating the bullet a few thousands deeper without impinging much on the powder space much. On the powder end one thing that seems to be happening is the development of temp stable double based powders that pack well and are of various burn rates. Winchester seems to be leading the charge. Their intermediate burn rate, temp stable StaBall6.5 powder is an excellent performer in a surprisingly wide array of cases, and, as noted on this forum, they have announced a slower burning, temp stable "magnum" powder called StaBall HD which to me, could be ideally suited to the 6.8 Western, the WSMs, the PRC, the SAUM line of cases, and the Sherman cases.
I personally would be leaning to the 85 gr Hammer , unless your shooting past the capabilities of the Grendel, BC wouldn't be a factor for the hunting ranges the Grendel is best suited far . The 85 gr should put you over the 3000 fps . That will be my go too bullet in my 1-7.75 twist 20 in Grendel Spartan cut rifling barrel .
Possibly but going that light weight is starting to lose some of the ballistic efficiency over the .224 counterparts.
I don't care about BC, until pst 5 or 600 yds and I won't be shooting a Grendel much past 200 yds for a hunting round in the 6.5 cal . I will be using my 6.5 -284 , 6.5 PRC,s or my 6.5x55s with a heavier Hammer and a higher BC.
If you don't care about BC, I think you should stick to the hammers. Or honestly, why not go with some cast lead for 2 cents each?
Im using N560 but in 26" barrel and XM action with .240 FB but I based my starting load off my previous data with Berger 210 VLD
I might sound like a broken record, but I would try StaBall6.5 with the 196BD2 from your 20" WSM. The BC and penetrating abilities of that bullet are so good you don't have to worry a lot about speed, but start with 53 gr with a 0.025" jump and in 5-6 shots you will arrive at your load if you use 1 gr increment increases and watch for early pressure signs. My guess is you can reach 2800-2900 without too much trouble. With a G1BC of 0.675 and a minimum impact velocity of 1700 fps you will outperform anything you have used thus far and be good out to 900+ yds at sea level conditions at 2800 fps. Using the SB6.5 in my 26" 300 WSM and the 25 ft/sec/inch rule I get 3200 fps from our 175gr BD2 which translates to 3050 fps from a 20" barrel. I have found that SB6.5 is quite temp stable and compresses extraordinarily well without any erratic behavior.
Try Scheel's. I was in their store in Appleton, WI yesterday and they had more than a dozen one pounders of Sta Ball 6.5 on the shelf.
Now there's some really good info. Awesome write up and can't wait to hear "the rest of the story".
I run the 100 grain CEB MTH over 3,200 fps in my .243 win with Reloder 26 so you should be able to run these faster as they have less bearing surface.
