Reply With QuoteGet some Lapua SRP, bush the bolt, and never look back.
I've reloaded 45 ACP, 9 MM and 223 Remington so far. I've not done any real precision reloading with those cartridges since I shoot them in multiple guns. My main goal is to make a round that fits into the cartridge gauge and magazine. I'm going to start reloading 6.5 for my Axis II Precision so this will be my first hands on experience tailoring the cartridge length to a chamber. I'm reusing Hornady brass fired in my gun and plan to work up loads for Hornady 140 grain ELD Match bullets using the data in the Hornady manual for RL-16 powder. Unfortunately, I'm still lacking large rifle primers, but I hope to be able to round up some soon.
Get some Lapua SRP, bush the bolt, and never look back.
Most started with Hornady because that is all there was then. Sub 1" groups at 400 yrds was easy with a couple of 140 class projectiles. Eventually Lapua did come out with the better brass and for both SRP and LRP. Like "Celtic" said, the small brass was the stuff to have. If you get a chance try the SMK 142 and Lapua 139s....If they still make them.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is alive and well.
Keep an eye on Natchez, they seem to have had primers available frequently lately.
I didn't know Lapua made small primer brass for 6.5 Creedmoor - I looked for some and not only is it twice as expensive as Hornady, it seems to be out of stock everywhere!
I check daily, I found all my primers at Natchez or Brownell's. They seem to be the only place besides Target Sports getting primers. Target Sports has them reliably, but they only sell in lots of 5000 and they want $599.95 for it!Originally Posted by rerun5
All but large rifle, which is fine by me since I have small rifle brass for my 6.5CM and 7BR.
In addition to Lapua, Peterson makes SRP brass for 6.5CM and I believe ADG does, or did, but no 6.5CM brass currrently shown on their website.
I have three Savage 6.5mm CMs.
Two shoot most accurately with 140 ELD-M, 142 SMK, and 147 ELD-M, and almost as accurately with 143 ELD-Xs.
The other shoots most accurately with 130 TMKs and 130 ELD-Ms and 123 ELD-Ms. It shoots 140s and up to 147s OK well just not as accurately.
It also shoots 130 SGKs almost as accurately as the Match bullets.
Don't be afraid to try different weights - you may be surprised.
The good part is all three shoot the 140 ELD-Ms accurately so they are a good place to start.
One lesson learned. Berger 140 Match, 140 Long Range and 140 Hybrid bullets took lots of experimenting to find a seating depth they liked. I sent a lot of rounds down range before I figured them out.
Once I did, they shot accurately, but I spent a lot of money on expensive bullets trying to break the code.
Lapua SRP brass was the only Lapua 6.5mm available for the first few years I was reloading 6.5mm CM.
It shot better than Hornady, or Norma LRP brass and lasted longer. No brainer for me.
Actually, loading over 20 reloads with Lapua made it cheaper per reload than the cheaper Hornady brass and the more expensive Norma brass.
@CFJunkie: "Actually, loading over 20 reloads with Lapua made it cheaper per reload than the cheaper Hornady brass and the more expensive Norma brass."
THIS is why I too load Lapua SRP brass. I'm on my 12th load and it still cleans up like new and primer pockets are still tight. I tried to buy a box ever 2 or 3 months until I had 400 Lapua SRP cases on hand. I typically shoot 100 at a time so that is plenty for now...
Also why I like Lapua brass. My .223 brass had 20 reloads on it and is still ok to shoot. All the other .223 brass I tried went only 5 at most. The .308 brass has 17 reloads with no rejects yet. But, I have only had a few pieces of brass fail in the .308 over the years.
If you want some less expensive brass, Federal 6.5 CM brass is SRP brass. If you can't find it new check some Once Fired Brass sites. I have used DiamondK several times with no complaints.
Thanks for the tip
Cabelas and Fleet farm have been getting primers in a lot, at least in my area.
Right now cabelas has large rifle primers on the shelf. Not too sure how long they will last.
Thanks. Our local Bass Pro Shop hasn't had primers in a long time -- They just laugh when I ask about them. I'd think they'd both get the same stock since they are basically the same company now, but maybe not. Cabela's is a little farther away, I might have to drive over and see what they have.
I have the Hornady Lock-n-Load headspace gauge and a Hornady off the shelf modified 6.5 cartridge. I think the off the shelf cartridge is new, never fired. From what I've been reading and viewing, I'd have been better off having Hornady make a modified cartridge from a round fired in my gun since that would have been fire formed to the chamber in my rifle. Is there a way to salvage the situation by using a comparator to measure the difference between one of my fired cartridges, bumped back .002, and the Hornady off the shelf cartridge?
I took your advice and Bass Pro Shop had primers in stock today, the counter guy said it was the first time in over a year they've had primers. They had large and small pistol primers and small rifle primers, both regular and bench rest, limit one brick per customer. No large rifle primers though! Cabela's didn't have any. It really is hit or miss out there. I bought a thousand large pistol primers for $100 and it felt good not having to pay shipping or hazmat fees.
I went ahead and sent Hornady two of my once fired cases so they could make a modified cartridge.
I actually found Lapua SRP brass in 6.5 CM and ordered 100! Getting closer to being able to reload. Of course, now I'll have to send the Lapua brass to Hornady to make another modified case for the headspace gauge. It'll be nice to have a choice of reloading with small or large rifle primers.
You will be OK with the fired brass you already sent hornady.
I wouldn't send in a lapua too.
You will be close enough as you are really looking for a starting point for your best seating depth.
Good idea.Hornady 140 grain ELD Match bullets using the data in the Hornady manual for RL-16 powder.
Okay, thanks
The brass arrived today, talk about quick shipping.
It turns out the throat in my gun is very generous, for lack of a better word. Its so long that any Hornady 140 ELD Match bullet seated to the lands won't fit in the magazine. Instead of working back from the lands, I decided to start at magazine length and work my way back while also working my way up the load chart. I didn't get any good groups with lower powder loads or longer cartridges. Things got interesting at 39.5 grains of RL-16 and lengths less than 2.178 CBTO. The distance to the lands for that bullet is 2.264 so I'm a minimum of .086" off the lands if I did the math right.
Except for the flyer, this was the best group.
This one was CBTO 2.178.
I changed the CBTO by .015 with each load, so I have a lot of area to explore between groups now that I know the approximate CBTO length and load that works. The best group was 3/4", but I had a few like the one above that were smaller except for one flyer. I also found out that I have enough concentration to shoot about 40 rounds before my ability wanes!
Did you try anything above 39.5...that seems like a light load. I would think you have room up to ~42gr. With the SRP brass and the OEM firing pin dimensions you will likely start cratering/blanking primers before you see any stress on the brass.
I made it to 40.4 grains before quitting. I had another load with me, 41.2 grains, but didn't think I wanted to shoot 20 more rounds that day. I contemplated loading the last load of 42.1 grains, but I've backed off the max length of the cartridge quite a bit at 2.163 CBTO and didn't want to take a chance with a max load. There's a lot of bullet in the case with the 140 ELD match.
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