Which 6.5 Creedmoor Brass and Bullets?

[Capybara]

Hi all:

Just picked up a new RPR in 6.5 Creedmoor and am looking at building a base of brass and projectiles. I have heard that the Norma brass that RUAG uses in the Prime ammo is pretty soft, good for maximum of 8-10 reload cycles, even with annealing and that the primer pockets get loose before that. Have heard various opinions on the Hornady brass ranging from, "It's junk" to "I've been reloading it and it is good". So which brass should I acquire? I know Lapua is good but also pretty pricey. I am figuring buying good stuff may be cheaper in the long run just not sure what good stuff is for this caliber?

As far as bullets, I have been shopping and see Prvi FMJ and Speer as low as .19 per bullet all of the way up to the Lapua Scenars and Sciroccos for about .42 per bullet and everything from Nosler, Sierra, Berger, etc. somewhere in between. I don't want to cheap out but I also don't want to pay for prestige and packaging if I don't need it to shoot accurately and consistently. Looking acquire 200-300 cases and 1,000 bullets. I will probably buy a few boxes of 50 of the bullets to load, chrono and check groups but wondering if any of you have already been down this road with your RPR?

I've also been recommended the Forster Bushing Bump Neck Sizing Die http://www.forsterproducts.com/product/6-5-284-bushing-bump-neck-sizing-die-3-neck-bushings/ Opinions? Between it and the Redding Micrometer set?

 

[ZGunner]

I bought some Hornady loaded ammo and shot it for fun and reloaded the brass. The ammo was accurate and the brass works well. If I ever get to the point where my reloads aren't good enough due to infieor brass I'll look into Norma or Lapua. I hear Lapua is coming out with 6.5 brass this year.

 

[DeadEye9]

I'm never one who's interested to pay s premium price for just brass, so I try to make the best loads I can with typical commercial stuff. Hornady by and large is not bad brass. Forms and resizes fine, primer pockets and neck stays tight. I've reloaded the same case from them in "magnum" type rifle calibers atleast 7-8 times with no issues. Also Federal, Winchester, and Nosler brass has all been good in my experience. I typically load upper end/hot loads as well and still get good brass life.
For bullets in 6.5 I have been really liking the 140gr Amax and 143gr ELD-x. By far my favorite for punching paper though is Nosler 140gr RDF. That is a sweet shooting bullet. Also from Nosler the 129 Accubond LR shoots very well and the 123 & 140 Nosler BTHP are favorites as well. I load my 6.5 Creed for a Ruger Bolt gun. (American Predator w/ 22" barrel)

 

[LoonWulf]

Im using hornady 120amax factory loads, and hornady brass with 123s, both work excellently in my howa sporter.

 

[farmerboy78]

Go with the norma brass, 123gr amax, 42-43gr varget

 

[DeadEye9]

All you Amax fans have you tried the 140 RDF or 129 AccuBond LR? I too started using the Amax loads when I first got my 6.5, but after doing a bunch of testing the RDF is simply amazing at long range and the accubond Lr is impressive as well. Literally can make loads with the RDF that shoot as well as my pet .338 Lap mag loads at 1000 yds. Bullet tech is getting great these days.

 

[LoonWulf]

Not yet bought a pile of the 123s for my Gren, and havent shot them up. When they are gone im going down in weight on the Gren and up on the CM so ill add those to the list to try.

 

[Capybara]

I've posted the same question about the Prvi 6.5 CM FMJs with nary a response so I guess I can eliminate those from contention. What about the Speer 6.5 CM bullets?

 

[Gtscotty]

My RPR really liked factory 140 ELD loads, so I shot 3 or 4 boxes, bought 50 virgin cases, and have been reloading them since (all loaded at least 7 times). My local Sportsman's Warehouse used to carry Nosler Custom Competition 140gr hpbt bullets at $50 for 250 so I gave them a try. My rifle turned in very good accuracy at 41.5gr and 42.5gr of H4350 loaded to 2.76" (feeds through Pmags great). 42.5gr gave 2730 fps with no pressure signs, so that's what I've been using since. Most recently I picked up 1k Nosler CCs for $192 shipped, hard to beat for accurate, quality bullets.

 

[LoonWulf]

I've posted the same question about the Prvi 6.5 CM FMJs with nary a response so I guess I can eliminate those from contention. What about the Speer 6.5 CM bullets?

While ive never used the 6.5s from either company i have used their bullets in other calibers. The PPUs have all been very accurate, ive used sbts, fmjs, and sps, in .224, .308, and .311/12.

Speers bullets have always sorta been what i try when nothing else works, or to establish a baseline. They aren't special, nor are there specs very impressive, but ive never had a gun that shot them badly. Ive used .224-.308s (minus the .257s and .264s)

 

[Capybara]

Guess I should just do my testing like a good reloader. I am going to pick up the Magnetospeed V3 and will probably buy 50 each of most of the bullets named in this thread. Shoot 'em, chrono, log 'em, compare and buy 1,000 of whatever my rifle likes best. Just wish it was easier. My friend had a $6k 6.5 CM custom build. The builder told him which bullet, powder, brass, primer and load it would like best. My friend just made those loads up, no testing and was rewarded with typically .36 MOA straight away. No load development, no buying half a dozen brand of bullets, he was thrilled. But I suppose the RPR has enough variation from manufacturing that each one will like different bullets and other variables.

 

[Gtscotty]

Guess I should just do my testing like a good reloader. I am going to pick up the Magnetospeed V3 and will probably buy 50 each of most of the bullets named in this thread. Shoot 'em, chrono, log 'em, compare and buy 1,000 of whatever my rifle likes best. Just wish it was easier. My friend had a $6k 6.5 CM custom build. The builder told him which bullet, powder, brass, primer and load it would like best. My friend just made those loads up, no testing and was rewarded with typically .36 MOA straight away. No load development, no buying half a dozen brand of bullets, he was thrilled. But I suppose the RPR has enough variation from manufacturing that each one will like different bullets and other variables.

Well it's always best to do your own testing, but I have shot with 4 or 5 guys that own 6.5 RPR's, and not one of us has had bad results with 140gr ELD's. If you're looking for a short cut, you might want to start your testing with ELD bullets. I use the Nosler CCs mostly because they are cheaper (I can afford to put more bullets downrange), yet still shot very well in testing, and are reasonably slick ( Litz G7 of 0.281 I believe). Prime ammo also seems to be a safe bet.

I'd like to try the RDFs DeadEye9 mentioned, but haven't seen any in stores locally yet.

 

[dh1633pm]

My LRP liked Hornady brass just fine. It also liked AA2700 and 140 grain bergers.

 

[LoonWulf]

Guess I should just do my testing like a good reloader. I am going to pick up the Magnetospeed V3 and will probably buy 50 each of most of the bullets named in this thread. Shoot 'em, chrono, log 'em, compare and buy 1,000 of whatever my rifle likes best. Just wish it was easier. My friend had a $6k 6.5 CM custom build. The builder told him which bullet, powder, brass, primer and load it would like best. My friend just made those loads up, no testing and was rewarded with typically .36 MOA straight away. No load development, no buying half a dozen brand of bullets, he was thrilled. But I suppose the RPR has enough variation from manufacturing that each one will like different bullets and other variables.

One of the advantages to buying a 6k dollar rig is someone else has done your leg work (or should have atleast) for you
Ive got one of those Magnetospeeds, and It makes doing stuff like this easier. While i wouldnt trust the groups fired with it on for any real purpose, just doing quick comparisons i didnt see much difference in poi, or average group size when used on a couple of my sporter barrel rifles.

 

[Varminterror]

Lapua brass, Hornady for practice rounds until the Lapua supply hits. Hornady has been fine for me, very consistent, little soft, but with proper annealing and not hot rodding too much, I have 22 loads on my current working batch of Hornady brass.

140 Hybrids for long range steel banging. 140 ELD-X's to practice. Wanna get my hands on some of the 147's, but haven't yet.

 

[MCMXI]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but the 6.5 Creedmoor brass from Lapua uses a small rifle primer like the 6.5 x 47 Lapua. I'm shooting a 140gr at 2,950 fps using Hornady brass and the primer pockets get loose fairly quickly. The small primer pocket in the Lapua should help but the brass will be hard to find at first.

As for bullets, I dont see any real difference between the 140gr A-MAX and the ELD version. Both shoot well.

 

[MislMan]

My wife and I both own/shoot 6.5 RPR's. I have found that 140 gr Hornady BTHP, Nosler Competition Custom and Sierra Matchking shoot equal groups when loaded to the same jump to the lands. Make sure you measure your base to ogive length (or OAL) of your rifles chamber. Our rifles have slightly different length chambers and require different loaded OAL's. I have also found that these three bullets have varying ogives compared to each other therefore requiring different OAL's from each other to get proper jump to lands. Our RPR's seem to prefer .035" jump to lands. I load H4350 at 37.7 gr. At 2.797 OAL with Hornady 140 gr BTHP with muzzle velocity of 2485 fps. Average group size (over the last 250 rounds) for 5 shot groups at 100 yards is 0.422. NOTE - the Nosler Sierra bullets require shorter OAL's in order to not be jammed in the lands. All of our brass was acquired from firing factory Hornady ammo and has been reloaded 5-6 times without issues. Doubt I will ever change to Lapua brass as not cost effective for a light load such as ours.

 

[MCMXI]

Hornady 140 gr BTHP with muzzle velocity of 2485 fps

MislMan, out of interest why so slow?Hornady factory 140gr ammo is around 2,700 fps at the muzzle. I'm not trying to cause an argument but I am curious as to your reason.

 

[MislMan]

MCMXI ... it's just where I started out for handloading (37.0 actually). This is my first high-power rifle and I'm still learning the ropes on bench shooting technique and handloading for rifle (I load 9mm & 45 ACP pistol). We only shoot 100-200 yards for now so low node works well and is easy on brass. Want to shoot 600 yards but our club only shoots F-Class at 600 and I have very bad back issues (4 surgeries so far) and don't feel comfortable shooting prone. Not much (any) benchrest long-range competition here in Central Florida.
Just started loading 123 A-Max with 42.0 gr. H4350 at 2802 fps. Smaller groups already.

 

[farmerboy78]

MCMXI ... it's just where I started out for handloading (37.0 actually). This is my first high-power rifle and I'm still learning the ropes on bench shooting technique and handloading for rifle (I load 9mm & 45 ACP pistol). We only shoot 100-200 yards for now so low node works well and is easy on brass. Want to shoot 600 yards but our club only shoots F-Class at 600 and I have very bad back issues (4 surgeries so far) and don't feel comfortable shooting prone. Not much (any) benchrest long-range competition here in Central Florida.
Just started loading 123 A-Max with 42.0 gr. H4350 at 2802 fps. Smaller groups already.

Try 41.5-43gr of varget with that 123gr... mine shot 2920 with amazing accuracy

 

[farmerboy78]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but the 6.5 Creedmoor brass from Lapua uses a small rifle primer like the 6.5 x 47 Lapua. I'm shooting a 140gr at 2,950 fps using Hornady brass and the primer pockets get loose fairly quickly. The small primer pocket in the Lapua should help but the brass will be hard to find at first.

As for bullets, I dont see any real difference between the 140gr A-MAX and the ELD version. Both shoot well.

What powder are you running because that sounds over pressured for that cartridge.

 

[MCMXI]

What powder are you running because that sounds over pressured for that cartridge.

Reloder 17 and that's suppressed which gives about 50 fps boost. 2,900 fps non suppressed is typical with no worrying pressure signs.

 

[Gtscotty]

I'd be careful with that load, the data I got for 6.5 CM from Alliant shows a max for RL17 in Hornady cases under a 140gr Speer of 41.8gr for 2765 fps. If you want to load hotter, according to Alliant's data, RL16, RL19 and RL23 all give higher max velocities than RL17. RL16 seems to really shine velocity wise in the Creedmoor with book maxes on some 140gr bullets in the low 2800's out of a 24" barrel.

For comparison's sake, my load is 1.6gr over Hornady book max for H4350. 8 loads on some of my brass, and no loose primer pockets...

 

[MCMXI]

Gtscotty, my mistake.... 2,850 fps without the supressor and 2,900 fps with it. Two 5-shot groups shown below during load development. The Hornady primer pockets are on the loose side after the first factory firing.

 

[Capybara]

Great info here guys, much appreciated. I get my RPR back from my gunsmith who was going through it for me tomorrow. Been raining all week here though (in Drought-plagued California?!?!) but once it dries out a bit and we get the road back to the range out from underwater, will be trying out the new boomstick. Think I am going to order some Prime and buy a couple boxes of Hornady ELD-X locally to get started.