Top 3 powders for precision 6.5 loads

[CKHouser]

Question:  What is your load for 140s with Super-performance and speed?


44gn of Superformance with the Hornady 140gn SST gave me 2718, 2719, 2794 and 2818. I know the velocities are drastically apart. They were measured with an older Chrony F1 unit and I think the amount of sunlight caused the readings to be skewed. I haven't reshot the load with the MagnetoSpeed chrony. I need to. Below is a picture of how the load grouped when not fired through the F1 unit. The upper picture is before the trigger adjustment. The lower picture is after trigger tweeking. (I never liked shooting through the sticks and under the shade piece because I was more concerned with not hitting the chrony.)

[media id=1984 type=preview align=center caption="140 SSTs above POI"]

[media id=1985 type=preview align=center caption="140 SSTs small shot group"]

NOTE: my 6.5mm Creedmoor is a hunting rifle.

I know this is more than a year later, but thought I'd update what I found on the 44 gn of Superformance from last night.
I loaded 15 brand new Hornady brass with 140 gr ELD Match and 44 gr of Superformance.

Chrono'd using Caldwell G2 unit placed 4 feet from muzzle. (I know its recommended at 10-15feet, but I also have a muzzle brake)

Shooting 24" barrel out of a Savage Ashbury Precission. Ran 10 factory loads through to warm up the barrel. Temp was about 75 out.
These 10 shot averaged 2741.375, Max 2766 and Min 2716 for spread of 50. StdDev 15.296. (I could see a warm barrel affected the velocity)

Next 15 shots were loaded with 44 gr Superformance.
Average FPS 2699.4
Max 2752
Min 2665 for a spread of 87
StdDev 21.4902

Then shot 10 rounds of factory loaded Hornady match, same bullet and brass.
Average 2673.5
Max 2735
Min 2615 for a spread of 120
StdDev 39.4891

Groupings at 100 yards were tight with both... if you can consider the same hole as tight.

Still playing around to get the best load. Hope this helps others the way The Marshal helped me.

[Blinkster]

I just picked up some IMR4451 and use both 140 Berger hybrids and 142 SMKs. What is your load for the 142 SMKs?

41.6 gr IMR 4451 - 142 SMK...2640 fps in a RPR

[Fuj]

Things can really change in a year..... I have not as of yet
personally proved it out but, I rat holed a good quantity of
RL-16, 142 SMK's, and140 RDF's.....There already has been some
good results posted.

[roSSco]

I can't believe RL-16 hasn't been mentioned yet!

[Fuj]

I can't believe RL-16 hasn't been mentioned yet!

I believe when this tread was started, R-16 was not in the
books yet. It's just been a couple of month's since the guy's
have gotten serious with the stuff. I never went with H4350
since I had nothing to use it with. The Creedmoor for me came
late in the game, so I'm bypassing unobtanium and starting a
clean slate with RL-16.

[roSSco]

Durr, I was on mobile and didn't realize it was an old thread. ?

[Deadshot2]

Durr, I was on mobile and didn't realize it was an old thread. ?

May be old but still relevant.

My "top three", after last weeks testing, are IMR 4451, RL-16, and Superformance.   Availability on LOCAL shelves was key to my decision.   Some powders may be available at various stores 10 States away from me but the above are on the shelf at a Cabela's 3 miles from my house.

Of course the other criteria was they had to give me good speeds, low SD's, and good accuracy.   The above do the job in my rifle with both 140 gr ELD-M's and 147 Gr ELD-M's.

I sure wish that Powder, Primer, and Bullet manufacturers would get all available in quantity at the same time.   Seems like we always go through a famine on one or the other.   In the past we've been able to buy bullets but no primers or powder that works with them.   I've been through just about every combination of that over the years, starting in the year's run-up to our previous President's election.

Maybe under the current leadership there will be less fear and people will stop loading up for "Armageddon", meaning the 2A  under attack if SCOTUS makeup was changed to "lean left".

[AveragEd]

I fired 740 test rounds through my RPR testing bullets of five weights from five manufacturers and more powders than I can recall without checking my records.  In the end, Varget and 140-grain Berger VLD hunting bullets were the best match to my rifle.



It shot some good groups with 120-grain Berger target bullets too and again, Varget was the powder.



The other powders tried just didn't yield consistently great accuracy but one I don't think I've tried in it yet is IMR4350 and I just bought two more pounds of it tonight so I may give that a try.  IMR4350 has been hard to find lately due to the military ordering a huge batch of ammo that uses that powder but Hodgdon's tells me that it should go back into production for "civilian use" during the second half of this month.  I was fortunate to stumble upon a gun shop with three one-pound bottles and two eight-pound jugs of it.

By the way, H4350 and IMR4350 are NOT "almost identical" to one another.  H4350 is slower-burning than IMR4350 and the data for them is several grains of powder different.  Do not use the H4350 data for IMR4350.

Ed

[CaptGrumpy]

I am getting great results with Hybrid 100V and Varget and I am getting ready to do so research with the RL 16 powder

[Tridog]

I've got cases of h4350, it's as everyone knows, the go to if you have it. Only other powder I've ever tried is RL-16 in Lapua brass, over a 30 shot string (often a load was established) I had extreme spread of 12ft per second, best I've ever had from any load. Velocity was great, and it's on the shelfs. I won 9 matchs in a row with h4350, shot Rl-16 in one match and won it also. Find one of these and don't look back!!!

[rardoin]

I've got cases of h4350, it's as everyone knows, the go to if you have it. Only other powder I've ever tried is RL-16 in Lapua brass, over a 30 shot string (often a load was established) I had extreme spread of 12ft per second, best I've ever had from any load. Velocity was great, and it's on the shelfs. I won 9 matchs in a row with h4350, shot Rl-16 in one match and won it also. Find one of these and don't look back!!!

I strongly concur.

[Fuj]

Happy New Year, fellas !!.....01/01/19

Dug this thread out of archives !!  I see when this thread was started,
R-16 had'nt been unloaded onto our docks as of yet. In just a short
two years, and a few guy's testing, It took the pressure off of H4350
being on the shelves. R-16 has been my go to powder.....I think there
is another event for powder going to take place. I'll go out on a limb
with R-23 for the heavy .264's, and for loading long. Should be a good
year for testing.

[Kansaswoodguy]

I've only found two powders that show good accuracy with the 140gn bullets: Superformance and H-4350. I've never loaded RL-17 for the 140s. If I tried RL-19 I forgot how well it did, so I'm guessing it didn't do well.

Superformance, RL-19, and H-4831 are all very close to each other for burning speeds. I ought to try the H-4831 since there is a lot of it on shelves these days......

I found H4831SC to have superb accuracy with 140gr just not the speed I wanted for long range.

[CaptGrumpy]

H4350 is my go to for the 300WM and RL-16 for my 6.5CM. I have enough powder to last a year or two or three! some of my buddies blame me for the shortage that occurred.
Happy New Year Y'all.

[Westie1]

H4350 is my go to for the 300WM and RL-16 for my 6.5CM. I have enough powder to last a year or two or three! some of my buddies blame me for the shortage that occurred.
Happy New Year Y'all.

No wonder every time I go into Sportsman's Warehouse, they tell me they're out of 4350 and RL16.