6.5 SAUM Range update

[Lethal_Chica]

Rifle - GA Precision in 6.5 SAUM. Manners EH1 Stock. Barlein 25" barrel. ADG Brass - virgin. 142gr LRAB. 61.4 grains of H1000.

Finally making some progress with the 6.5 SAUM. The struggle to get this gun shooting decently the last few times out was a bit frustrating. I was shooting the LRABs at .020 off the lands and groups were terrible. Gave me a serious confidence complex for a minute. Thanks to some very experienced loaders, and one in particular you know who you are, for helping me with my first time loading for a rifle and teaching me the details of reloading.

Today was a much better range day. With a clean barrel, I shot 3 different 3 shot groups with the bullets seated at different seating depths - .030, .060, and .090 off the lands. The last group has promise and I will reload that again and shoot a few 5 shot groups to verify. Hoping to tighten the group up even more.

On the spreadsheet below shots 1-3 were .030 off the lands. Shots 4-6 were .060 off the lands. Shots 7-9 were .090 off the lands.

Did I mention how good it felt today to get this rifle shooting? Well it certainly did!

I still have lots to learn and a long way to go to refine my skills as a reloader, but I am loving the process and finally seeing some positive results.

To all those that have encouraged me on my learning journey for reloading, thank you!

 

[cahunter805]

Looks like a good start. I've found the LRAB can be a very finicky bullet to load in certain calibers/cartridges.
I would continue to test seating depth and try maybe even .120,.150 off. Then fine tune after determining your window/node.

 

[eshorebwhntr]

I agree. Keep moving off the lands further and see where the trend takes you.

What made you pick 61.4gr?

 

[ShtrRdy]

Thanks for the update! I have only recently started the load development process by testing different seating depths first. I'm thinking this is the right thing to do. One thing about seating depth testing is you can end up with poor looking groups. Just keep in mind that this is okay. Take the best looking result and move on to a next step. You may want to try another two steps with deeper seating or you may want to try smaller steps around the '0.090" off lands' result. Like 0.080", 0.090", 0.100".

Something else to mention, ....... using new brass to do a seating depth testing is a great way to get the brass in once fired condition.

 

[YZ-80]

This is good progress. Load development is a tedious affair at times but quite rewarding. Your attention to detail will pay off.

 

[browning442]

FYI - I've found the 156 Berger EOL shoot well for me and aren't very finnicky on seating depth, can be a bit off lands or close, from my experience. This was both with my 6.5 SAUM and 6.5-284. May be your next choice if you can't get the 142's where you want.

300 Yard Seating Depth test, COAL 2.890"

 

[Lethal_Chica]

FYI - I've found the 156 Berger EOL shoot well for me and aren't very finnicky on seating depth, can be a bit off lands or close, from my experience. This was both with my 6.5 SAUM and 6.5-284. May be your next choice if you can't get the 142's where you want.

I have some 140 and 156 Bergers to work up loads for. But I wanted to see if I can get the LRABs shooting good. Next range day I am going to shoot a 5 shot group at .080 off the lands and one at .090 and see how they do. At present I am limited to 100 yards since my 600 yard range is closed.

 

[new2mud]

Don't be afraid to seat even deeper with the 156 EOLs. 0.120-0.130" OL has produced good accuracy for some.

 

[Okanogan]

I've found my new GAP 6.5 SAUM likes the 153.5 Hybrids best with the 156 EH not too far behind. It is probably good you are keeping your H1000 charge weights modest while you break your barrel in. I did most of my load development with RL26 but ended up backing down considerably in charge weight to avoid over pressure indications as the barrel sped up with 150-225 rounds through it. Your Labradar should provide plenty of indication when this starts to happen.

If you have trouble getting your groups to tighten up as much as you'd like, you might consider going lower on your velocity with your best seating depth in hopes of finding better harmonics. With both of my lighter barreled GAP rifles, I have gotten better results by dropping 50-100 fps off my loads. If you do end up trying different bullets in hopes of finding what the rifle likes best, I would suggest the Bergers in lieu of ELDX/ELDM. At least in my case, I never could get the Hornady bullets to shoot well, perhaps because with the GAP reamer I had to seat them very deep to keep them out of the lands.

And it's nice to see real world pictures that look like my early steps in the load development process. All of my GAP rifles shoot well now, but not one of them just fell into the same hole from day one. Keep at it and continue to enjoy the journey there.

 

[DJ Fergus]

Tagging in, I've got load development coming up soon for a 6.5 gap 4s, .081 free bore 27" barrel. Im going to try the 147 eld cause I have them and I've had success with them in other cartridges. I would really like to try the 153.5 Berger but I haven't heard any feedback on their terminal reliability. Keep us updated.

 

[Lethal_Chica]

Update: I was looking over my notes for the seating depth test. I made a math error on seating the group at .090 off the lands - it was actually seated .110 off the lands. Note to self to check and recheck my math.. not my strong suit.

I have 5 rounds loaded at .090 and will re-test. Likely Sunday. its above 90 here and I hate the heat. Dropping to 75 on Sunday, so should be a good morning to shoot.

 

[DJ Fergus]

Update: I was looking over my notes for the seating depth test. I made a math error on seating the group at .090 off the lands - it was actually seated .110 off the lands. Note to self to check and recheck my math.. not my strong suit.

I have 5 rounds loaded at .090 and will re-test. Likely Sunday. its above 90 here and I hate the heat. Dropping to 75 on Sunday, so should be a good morning to shoot.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Rflshootr]

 

[Rick Richard]

Sooner or later you will get to the 140 Bergers. Lol.