6.5 creedmoor factory ammo

[SCdeerhunter]

You could need to have your firing pin bushed but I didn't have to on the Savage 10/110. I think that if you look at a spent round from your rifle and make sure your pin is making dimples in you primer that are well centered, you won't have any problems. However, if your dimples are way off center you might have to get the firing pin hole bushed.

I have found the Lapua brass to be a big improvement over other brass. I won't go into a long detailed reply but One of the main reasons that the 6.5x47L is such an accurate cartridge is Lapua's use of the small primer. They decided to make the Creedmoor brass the same way because their goal is always accuracy. The other brass manufacturers chose to use standard primers because they didn't have to use different tooling, which would have cost more. Plus, they didn't want to have complaints from people with sloppy firing pins in their rifles. All of this was done at the expense of accuracy potential. I get it and most people don't care about squeezing every tenth of an inch of accuracy out of their rifle. Lapua does and caters to those of us that do.

Lapua brass yields higher velocities with a given load than any other brass. This helps to get higher velocities without compressing loads, which I don't like doing. When you're trying to shoot heavier bullets out of a magazine, this aspect of the Lapua brass is a BIG help. Plus, you just can not beat the quality and uniformity of Lapua brass.

It's inexpensive to have your firing pin bushed. You can easily send your bolt to a gunsmith and it's a quick process. There are lots of guys that offer the service with turn-around times of a week or less. It CAN help to get a little more consistency because you get consistent strikes on your primer.

Ok that all makes sense. I might look into it later on down the road whenever I start reloading. Thanks for the detailed explanation though.

 

[chirodr1]

I recently killed a cow elk at 398 yards with a 147 ELD-M. She was DRT. I have shot several elk with 338 mags, 300 WM, 7mm STW, 7mm-300, and this was the most dramatic kill of them all. I wish I could have recovered the bullet, as it did not exit, but it was 90 degrees out and we had two elk down.

 

[Shootin4fun]

So bushings are for centering the firing pin? I thought they were for controlling the depth of the strike, so I guess I totally missed the point! People were talking about punching primers so I thought it was because of too hard and too deep of a strike

My X-bolt primer strikes are perfectly centered on the 1st 40 rounds fired through the gun so is that all I have to be concerned with?

 

[SCdeerhunter]

So bushings are for centering the firing pin? I thought they were for controlling the depth of the strike, so I guess I totally missed the point! People were talking about punching primers so I thought it was because of too hard and too deep of a strike

My X-bolt primer strikes are perfectly centered on the 1st 40 rounds fired through the gun so is that all I have to be concerned with?

Thats the way I understand it. It's only to center the strike on the smaller primer.

 

[trailerdon]

I,m one of those guys that always prefer a pass-thru. As of late I've been shooting the Hornady Superperformance in 120gr. GMX. My groups are one raged hole, " as good as any of my hand loads". Have taken two deer this year, both DRT, Its all about shot placement. and if one does happen two run there will be a blood trail to follow.
The hole copper vs lead thing is another topic, but we can all agree acccuracy is the best starting point.

 

[smokepoler]

I'm missing something here. The OP has a custom rifle and wants to shoot factory ammo? Leaving a lot on the table by not reloading. Essentially a money wasting guessing game in my opinion. If I were to only shoot factory ammo, I'd have bought an Axis.

 

[DocDoc]

So bushings are for centering the firing pin? I thought they were for controlling the depth of the strike, so I guess I totally missed the point! People were talking about punching primers so I thought it was because of too hard and too deep of a strike

My X-bolt primer strikes are perfectly centered on the 1st 40 rounds fired through the gun so is that all I have to be concerned with?

Bushing is to reduce the size of the firing pin and improve the fit. Some of the factory pins are a loose fit and allow the primer to flow around the pin. A poorly shaped face of the pin and excess space can cause the primer to pierce.

 

[smokepoler]

Firing pin slop is a common cause of cratering with most any load and not necessarily an indication of high pressure. Most Remingtons are prone to this issue, cratering factory loads and a bushing job erases the problem and gives more consistent ignition. Side benefit is better accuracy with a given load.

 

[SCdeerhunter]

I'm missing something here. The OP has a custom rifle and wants to shoot factory ammo? Leaving a lot on the table by not reloading. Essentially a money wasting guessing game in my opinion. If I were to only shoot factory ammo, I'd have bought an Axis.

I plan on starting to reload in the future. But for now I'm just gonna stick with match grade factory stuff until I can afford a decent reloading setup

 

[Greyfox]

I have gotten very good accuracy with SD in the 5-10 range from both the Hornady 140ELD-M and 143ELD-X bullets with my Ruger Precision rifle in 6.5 CM used for PRS. My interest would be to load these in my 6.5x284 used for hunting. I currently use 140 Berger Hunting VLD's and 140/142 JLK's. Both the Berger and JLK's have produced excellent results on game for several years out to 1000+ yards at my 6.5x284 velocity of 3000FPS. I have not used either of the Hornady bullets in 6.5CM on game but am interested in hearing about the performance and may consider them for use in my 6.5x284.
Photos: The ELD-m Group is factory ammo, the ELD-x is a handload...both shot at 200 yards. Consistency in terms of group size and velocity from different bullet and ammo lots shot in my Ruger is impressive.

 

[Shootin4fun]

I have gotten very good accuracy with SD in the 5-10 range from both the Hornady 140ELD-M and 143ELD-X bullets with my Ruger Precision rifle in 6.5 CM used for PRS. My interest would be to load these in my 6.5x284 used for hunting. I currently use 140 Berger Hunting VLD's and 140/142 JLK's. Both the Berger and JLK's have produced excellent results on game for several years out to 1000+ yards at my 6.5x284 velocity of 3000FPS. I have not used either of the Hornady bullets in 6.5CM on game but am interested in hearing about the performance and may consider them for use in my 6.5x284.
Photos: The ELD-m Group is factory ammo, the ELD-x is a handload...both shot at 200 yards. Consistency in terms of group size and velocity from different bullet and ammo lots shot in my Ruger is impressive.

Yes, very impressive groups Greyfox. It's encouraging to hear of the 140 Bergers results on game at long range. Both are apparently expansive at low velocities.

 

[hrnhntr]

I'd look at the HSM Trophy Gold. I shoot their 180gr 7mm rem Mag. First group after zeroing at 200 was one hole. 4" diamond steel at 600 first shot. Very accurate. Just shot a deer with the Berger last Friday and it sat him right down. I wasn't sold on the Berger for killing game but after a lot of people assured me they are good I gave it a shot. Must say I'm impressed.

 

[lotek]

you may find, as I did, over 30 yrs ago. It's not EZ to get better results, hand loading, than with the right premium load.
it takes time, practice, mistakes, and good equipment, to better those boxed ammo's. So I suggest you find a good one and stick with it until you can best it.

 

[Shootin4fun]

you may find, as I did, over 30 yrs ago. It's not EZ to get better results, hand loading, than with the right premium load.
it takes time, practice, mistakes, and good equipment, to better those boxed ammo's. So I suggest you find a good one and stick with it until you can best it.

This is true. If a super accurate factory load with the projectile you want is found, it may be better to stick with that. But that also depends on the volume of shooting you do. If you're shooting 2000 rounds a year, the 50%+ savings in handloading adds up fast. And hey, a lot of guys find the load development to be a fun and rewarding hobby in itself. They don't settle on just 1 or 2 loads for a given rifle.
Also for some, as we move into an era of non-lead mandates for hunting, shooters will want very different ammo for hunting than for target shooting. Barnes and others are great hunting projectiles, but pretty expensive for target shooting.