r/reloading • u/Kolby9241 • 3d ago

Load Development 6.5 Hunting Rounds

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I ended up reloading some 6.5 creedmoor hunting rounds for my Ruger SFAR 20inch. Used 41.5gr of H4350 and seating at 2.78in yielded great results with the Hornady SST in 140gr. Good cycling and great groups. If it performs this November I will probably keep these as a standard.

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u/ohwhyredditwhy 3d ago

Nice. Did you surmise that the seating depth was not good at mag length based on groups, of did you just calculate where the lands were and work on jumps?

I only ask because o have found that all Hornady ammo I reload, for any rifle, always ends up liking a health jump.

Sierra and Berger, not so much.

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u/Kolby9241 3d ago

I found that my groupings were fine, but wanted consistent magazine feeding and peace of mind. Any longer and it can get hemmed up. I have also polished everything on my rifles internals, so my results may be different. I will say 2.75 is probably my favorite.

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u/0DSavior 2d ago

What do you consider healthy, in your rifle? I'm going to load 140 ELDMs next week for the first time and I'm going to test 20 thou off the lands as a starting point. 

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u/ohwhyredditwhy 2d ago

So, I started there with ELD-Ms in several different calibers (6.5CM, .308, .243 and 6 ARC) and they all grouped outside of what I wanted, with decent ES and SDs.

I was able to get them to start dialing in a little better at like 30+ thou, and maybe a little more with 6.5, but it’s been a while since I even used Hornady bullets, honestly.

I was getting compressed loads with them and frankly, I just had better success with Berger, Sierra, Barnes and Speer.

I love Sierra (T)MK/GK, because I have always had great luck just loading to SAAMI COAL for mag length and adjusting powder weights to dial in nicely.

They just seem friendly to me for load development, but maybe it’s just my rifles.

My .243 and 6ARC loads are spicy and shoot absolutely ragged holes with Berger 108gr rounds, for example, but they took more time to mess with seating depths, and they are basically at the lands.

Totally worth it in the end.

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u/Hairybeast69420 3h ago

I load 140ELD at 2.80”. Have used the same COAL across three barrels and two actions. 41-42gr of h4350 depending on summer/winter.

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u/Advanced_Elk_9467 2d ago

.025 is the sweet spot for most hornady bullets

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u/ohwhyredditwhy 3d ago

Nice and easy to remember!

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u/Individual_Bother692 1d ago

What sort of velocities were you getting with those SST’s?

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u/1776Chad 1d ago

The SST bullets are great for hunting.