So I recently acquired a 6.5 creedmoor and have been pleased with the .4-.75 inch groups I’m getting with heavier 130-143 grain factory ammo. But due to watching Johnny’s Reloading Bench on YouTube I have had a growing interest in Reloading and after several hours and several cups of coffee and a long nigh in the couch I ordered everything I think I will need to reload and have since received it. Having garnished all the information I think possible on how to reload from YouTube videos I’m left with one question. Where in the world do I start. Here is what I have to work with. Superformance and Varget are the only powders I have managed to acquire. And 120 140 and 143 grain eld m and eldx bullets from Hornady. I’ve read all my data and have a rough idea of the load work up I wish to use. Is it that simple. Throw my components together in a safe conservative manner and shoot them? Need help and any advice/suggestions I get before I gain the confidence to start this learning process.
You start with a baseline. That would be factory ammunition.
Once you try an assortment of ammunition from premium to bargain, now you have an idea on what you can expect from your rifle.
Now, you gather information through research. Two hours of reading what others have done will be worth more than 20 hours of doing (redoing) things yourself. Don’t single source your information but form a game plan from every source.
So you have to start somewhere but you have read by now a lot of stuff and can see a trend towards what works for lots of people. At this point you start midrange to low power levels and see how it is.
From this starting point, if you want to know what makes things better/worse and how much, you need to change just one variable at a time. Swap bullet and change powder/charge and get better/worse results, what caused the change? You don’t have a clue. Even worse would be one to cause a positive result, the other a negative and you shoot the exact same group, all the time missing an ideal situation.
One very important part is to reduce subjective results. You know, the ones where the hours of your hard work must be better than just going to the store and plunking down $25 and walking out the door with good ammo.
A good rest that eliminates you as a variable is likely the best place to start.
Who knows, the factory ammo shooting in the same hole may be the starting and stopping point.
Jm is correct, base line is a good factory load. Pick one bullet, one primer & one powder. Get an OAL that fits your gun by using a comparitor or by chambering an unsized case with a bullet in place & chamber it several times. Take that OAL & reduce it 0.010" for that bullet only. The bullet will stay in place if you just pinch the neck out of round.
I start with middle data & work up in 2/10gr increments. I load only one round each up to 5% short of max. Fire them in order over a chrono, all at the same target at 100. Note vel & any pressure signs, like excessive flat primers, case head markings or sticky bolt lift, All signs of excessive pressures. If you hit any of those, that is your max regardless of what the book says.
Try to track each hit & note the locations. There will be at least 3 in a group, note which loads were in that group. Then load 3 rds each of those loads & shoot them on separate targets for group. Take your best 3 shot group & load 5 & shoot for group at 100, 200 & 300. You can tweak OAL in & out a bit & reshoot, but a good 5 shot groups at 100, that holds up at 200 & 300, pretty much there. Then repeat with your next bullet or powder if you like. Only change one component at a time to limit variables. No chrono, no issue, but it does help you see where you are going.
Handloading can really bring out the accuracy of a good rifle. Have fun with it.
Chances are with hornandy 140 eldm or Berger 140 hybrids and either hodgdons H4350 or IMR 4451 powders and a bit of work you’ll find a load that hammers!
I always look for nodes as they are very tolerant of bullet, brass and powder variances with consistent drops at distance
Sometimes loads in the node aren’t the most impressive at 100 yards but at distance that load really begins to shine.
Sometimes you find a node that shoots bugholes.
I shoot 260 rem.
Very similar to 6.5 creedmor.
If you start by shooting factory loads by a bunch of different manufacturers don't mix the brass while testing a load. A small variation in case volume can have the same effect as an inconsistent powder charge. If you find a brand of brass you like buy a bunch of it from the same lot.
A cold barrel might not shoot the same as when it's hot. Test for this with a load you like. You can find out if a load sucks with just a few rounds. Three 3xround groups that look bad would be enough for me to change something.
You can test a bunch of different loads on one range trip but you have to be very organized. Lets say you can put up 4 targets at a time each with multiple spots to shoot. Mark your targets(while at home to save time setting up at the range) with UL(upper left), UR, LL, and LR. Mark the loads you are testing the same way. Keep good notes!!! Don't forget to have fun. :2gun:
The way this usually works is that you meet someone at the range who is experienced in the subtleties of loading precision rounds and that person offers to share their knowledge with you.
Then, over the course of the next year, every time you see that person at the range, you have a list of two dozen questions for them to help with.
Then, some years later, you realize you've made a close friend for life.
Brass prep. Lots of different ways to approach sizing and trimming. Pros and cons to each. Get that down pat. If you're like a lot of us, your methods will evolve over time. That's ok.
When adjusting new dies, it is useful to make a few dummy rounds before bringing combustibles to the party. In that way, you can play with shoulder bump (if you plan to do that) and max overall length for jump to the lands (again, different techniques for that) and/or maxing out magazine length. Make sure the dummies chamber and feed from the mag (unless you are going to load one at a time).
Be patient with the process. Too easy to get the head spinning by focusing on too many things at once.
Once you have brass prep determined, and a rough idea about a range of bullet seating depths, then introduce primers and powder.
Just remember that if you pull bullets from the dummy rounds, you'll want to resize that neck again before seating a new bullet.
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