Hornady 6.5 eld-x bullets sticking

I have been shoot 140gr Berger Elite hunter but thought I would try Hornady 6.5 143gr Eldx...Loaded some over H1000 COAL 2.940. The bullet are so tight that it is hard to close the bolt and when i tried to eject an unfired round the bullet stuck in the barrel. Any one ever have this problem? Berger 140's amd 156's no problem

You should try and measure BTO instead of COAL. The bullets are totally different in shape, put them side by side and you will see the bergers are more pointy. You will have to seat the eldx deeper so your ogive doesn't stick in your rifling.

This above .
Go adjust your seating depth.

Which 6.5 chamber we talking about here?

If it's a Creedmoor you're so jammed I'm impressed you got it closed. If it's a PRC double check the COL because you're inside the window of what should fit a SAAMI spec chamber, could be a number of things going on.

QuietTexan said:

Which 6.5 chamber we talking about here?

If it's a Creedmoor you're so jammed I'm impressed you got it closed. If it's a PRC double check the COL because you're inside the window of what should fit a SAAMI spec chamber, could be a number of things going on.

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It's a PRC/saum

300prc said:

It's a PRC/saum

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PRC

You need to determine your max length for CBTO for each bullet you use in your rifle. The ogives are in different spots relative to the bullet tips for every bullet type. So you cannot assume you can load the same COAL for every bullet.

vancewalker007 said:

You need to determine your max length for CBTO for each bullet you use in your rifle. The ogives are in different spots relative to the bullet tips for every bullet type. So you cannot assume you can load the same COAL for every bullet.

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Thanks, I was basing it on the Hodgdon load data for 6.5 PRC for H1000 and Hornady 143 Eldx. I did check some factory loads and the were set at 2.890, which I thought would be too far off the lands.

I always give a hornady at least 20 thou. gap from the rifling... I've shot thousands and never jammed a bullet...

I should qualify that with the fact that my brother owned my needmore when the load was developed..,. I have never bothered to measure a round... They are the same seating depth as the 143 elite hunter load though..

Have you measured your chamber for max COAL/CBTO? If not that's where you should be starting. Get yourself a set of these. The guessing game does not apply to reloading!

Straight case gage and a comparator set will get you some good measurements of your COAL and even better yet, your CBTO. You'll also need a 6.5PRC Modified case. Otherwise it's a guessing game which can be frustrating and sometimes dangerous.

Txcowboy50 said:

I have been shoot 140gr Berger Elite hunter but thought I would try Hornady 6.5 143gr Eldx...Loaded some over H1000 COAL 2.940. The bullet are so tight that it is hard to close the bolt and when i tried to eject an unfired round the bullet stuck in the barrel. Any one ever have this problem? Berger 140's amd 156's no problem

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Lefty7mmstw said:

I always give a hornady at least 20 thou. gap from the rifling... I've shot thousands and never jammed a bullet...

I should qualify that with the fact that my brother owned my needmore when the load was developed..,. I have never bothered to measure a round... They are the same seating depth as the 143 elite hunter load though..

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2.810 coal I'd guess!

Txcowboy50 said:

I have been shoot 140gr Berger Elite hunter but thought I would try Hornady 6.5 143gr Eldx...Loaded some over H1000 COAL 2.940. The bullet are so tight that it is hard to close the bolt and when i tried to eject an unfired round the bullet stuck in the barrel. Any one ever have this problem? Berger 140's amd 156's no problem

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With a question like this you need to go back and review the basics of re-loading before you hurt yourself or someone else. I'm not trying to be cruel here but if a bullet is extremely hard to close the bolt....why would you force it to close, and not realizing the extreme differences in different projectiles seating depth requirements is plain dangerous. It's very fortunate you didn't pull the trigger on that load! Just an old man's rantings here!

JAYgs8163 said:

The guessing game does not apply to reloading!

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I agree, and he didn't guess (even though there's been some guessing going on here today). The Hodgdon data site says 2.945" and the Hornady book says 2.950" COL for 143 ELD-X in a 6.5 PRC. He had every reason to expect the bullet not to jam to the point where it pulled out of the case at 2.940". He stopped and asked for help. He did everything right in the sense he stayed inside the (supposedly conservative) book guidelines.

@Txcowboy50 the next step here is to build a dummy round (no primer/ no powder) that measures to the book COL you found. Take a BTO measurement off that with the comparator tool that Jay mentioned, then measure your chamber with a modified case and a bullet. If your chamber comes out short that's not a problem, just an introduction to not following book load data. TBH normally this comes up when guys realize they're jumping way further than they think they are, book COL coming up a tenth long isn't something I've come across, outside of obvious errata in the data.

Txcowboy50 said:

I have been shoot 140gr Berger Elite hunter but thought I would try Hornady 6.5 143gr Eldx...Loaded some over H1000 COAL 2.940. The bullet are so tight that it is hard to close the bolt and when i tried to eject an unfired round the bullet stuck in the barrel. Any one ever have this problem? Berger 140's amd 156's no problem

Click to expand...

In the Hornady manual it does have a COL of 2.950 for the 6.5 PRC with the 143 ELD-X but you are going to have to figure out what your gun chamber will take in length period.