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123 Eldm's in 6.5 Creedmore

Turpentine21

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Joined
Oct 30, 2022
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885
Location
South Carolina
Just wondering if any of you have worked up loads for 123 class bullets in 6.5 Creed? I know most use 140s or even 130s but I'm looking specifically at 120-123 class bullets.
Background. These will be used in a 20" barreled AR 10 with thermal at night for deer, coyotes, and hogs. Shots will be 450 and under. The 20" barrel and gas gun limit me substantially on velocity and pressure compared to a bolt gun. I've run the ballistics on 123, 130, and 140 class bullets and the 123s give me a better point blank range and a good bit less drop out to my distance limit. Plus I shoot 123s in the Grendel. They kill with authority and it's nice to be able to share components between the two cartridges.
Powders I have on hand are IMR 4350, Imr and H 4895, Imr 4064, Varget, AR Comp, and Imr 8208. I don't have H4350 and likely won't be getting any. I need to use up some of what I already have. From what I have read, Varget should work well. So far 38.8 of Imr 4895 and 38.5 of Varget look best group wise with the edge in velocity at 2785 and good stats going to IMR 4895. This is good because I have a lot of the imr 4895. The gun was over gassed with Imr 4350 but I have added a Superlative Arms adjustable gas block which should correct that.
I'm not necessarily looking for specific loads. I know those vary from one rifle to the next and I need to work up regardless. Just wondering what seemed to work best for those that have tried 123 class bullets.
 
I don't have much to add with that weight class in that cartridge in a gas gun. However, I can tell you just made that weapon way more flexible with the AGB. I'd say keep loading and testing and see what works best for your application.

I did reference the hogdon loading page and you should be fine with the burn rate of powders you have on hand and the 120ish bullets.
 
Yes sir and thank you. The gun is a Ruger SFAR and it came with a 3 position gas block but I quickly found that it didn't have enough adjustment to fine tune. Position 2 wasn't enough and 3 was way too much. The Superlative Arms has enough positions to let me hit the sweet spot. I use that block in many of my builds.

From what I have read Varget seems to be the consensus favorite with this weight class but I have had very little time to work up loads. Imr 4895 and Varget showed good potential.
 
120 Nosler ballistic tips work well,

so does a 120g Sierra Pro hunter

My gold standard is the 129g Hornady, which acts like a partition but more accurate
On a frontal quartering shot, this bullet in a creed will break a shoulder and exit the rear of the rib cage on the off side, everything in the middle is mush. Very accurate bullet and easy to tune with Varget, H4350, IMR 43350, and best of all the AA4350.
 
I've shot a pile of 123s through the .260 and the Creedmoor, though I've never run them in a gas gun.

I've killed deer, antelope, and a bunch of coyotes with them. At 3000 fps they can be a little explosive for big game work…. but they pound coyotes!
 
I use tha 120ELDM with 28.0 gr TAC very low ES under .75 MOA to 200. Haven't had the chance to go farther, just got gun built. 2440 FPS from 20" . No signs of pressure.
 
Although I got this gun late during the depredation period I was able to kill 18 does with it and the 123eldm. I used imr 4895 for those loads after a really rushed workup to find something that shot decent enough to work until I could do a more thorough workup. I shot the groups with my thermal which is not the best tool for shooting tiny groups. That 123 eldm load at 2775 - 2800fps kills like lightning on the size deer I'm shooting. Most of these deer just drop. I use the same bullet in the Grendel and it's one of my favorite cartridges. From what I've seen the 123 eldm seems to kill a little quicker than the 123 SST. Go Figure. Both of those bullets have a high ballistic coefficient also. My hopes are to find a really accurate load with the 123 eldm with the powders I have on hand. If I can't I will try another bullet. I do prefer tipped or open tip style bullets as an AR is not kind to exposed lead tips. If you guys have any good loads for that particular bullet let me know.

For what it's worth I also killed a few with the Winchester Deer Season 125 tipped ammo. They also did well but the load was way over gassed for the original 3 position gas block. So I shelved it for the time being.

For the amount of bullets I go through the higher priced bullets are out of the question. The cup and cores do just fine. The next in line behind 123 eldm's would likely be 120 ballistic tips or 120 eldm's.
 
Vince a buddy of mine shoots those 129 factory hornady loads in his Creedmore and they certainly do everything you say they will. That's a tough little bullet.

I've also always heard good things about the 120 ballistic tips and the Sierra. 120 Pro hunter out of a 260. My pick for the gas gun would be the ballistic tip.
 

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