6.5 Sherman Shortmag Load Data

[Mateo]

 

[Mateo]

 

[elkaholic]

Thanks Rich. I'm gonna try turning my necks down to .014. I'm at .015 now using the .291 bushing. I went out shooting Sunday with my loads for the 130 gr VLD and H1000 powder. (Excited for the 130 gr hybrid coming soon!)
My ES spread wasn't so good. But still shot some decent groups considering. What surprised me was how big the node was. It started at 60.5 gr and went up to 62.5. Even 63 gr was still good. My chronograph showed 62.5 gr was pushing the 130 gr bullet at 3320 fps. No pressure signs. I hit pressure signs at 63.8 gr. my goal is a mild load with accuracy as my main goal. I did manage a .29moa group (3 shot only) with 62.5 gr load. All the other charges from 60.5 to 63 gr were .7-.5 moa. My ES was not that great though. I'm gonna thin out my necks as suggested by Rich and try some more. I was also running sonically cleaned brass which will give more 'grabby' necks. I'm gonna try brushing the inside of the necks with a very light lube. I think I'll use Eezox. Getting close!

You might try polishing the inside of the necks a little with some 0000 steel wool chucked up in a drill. Don't make it TOO smooth though....Rich

 

[elkaholic]

Matthew.....You might not want to do ALL your necks right away but rather do a sample to see what change it brings. All rifles are different. You could turn the rest later if it works for you. If you turn to .014", you might try a .291" bushing as well as a .290" and see what that does......Rich

 

[RH300UM]

You might try polishing the inside of the necks a little with some 0000 steel wool chucked up in a drill. Don't make it TOO smooth though....Rich

I dip all my case mouths in motor mica powder. I have had good results with it.

 

[Mateo]

I can't seem to get much accuracy so far. Thinking it's my bullet powder combo? When I use my bushings in the whidden die with my turned necks I can feel the expander doing its work only with the .290 bushing. .291 doesn't size the neck enough to feel the expander. But I'm thinking it'll still be worth trying anyway? I was really hoping to find success with the 130 gr VLD and H1000

 

[Mateo]

Anyone have data for N570 and the 140 gr VLD?

 

[BEEMAN]

I use N570 in my 6.5 Sherman. I was maxed out at 64 gr. No hard bolt lift but primers were a little flat. Shot extremely well with awesome speed. I was at 3329 fps out of a 28" Hart barrel. I have since dropped down to 63 gr for better brass life. I think I will develop a load for the 150 Matrix as the Bergers are so hard to find. Remember this is in a 6.5 Sherman and not the SS. As always work up slowly.

 

[elkaholic]

I use N570 in my 6.5 Sherman. I was maxed out at 64 gr. No hard bolt lift but primers were a little flat. Shot extremely well with awesome speed. I was at 3329 fps out of a 28" Hart barrel. I have since dropped down to 63 gr for better brass life. I think I will develop a load for the 150 Matrix as the Bergers are so hard to find. Remember this is in a 6.5 Sherman and not the SS. As always work up slowly.

The SS usually maxes out 2 grains less than the Sherman.......Rich

 

[Mateo]

No one with data for N570 and 140-150 gr bullets yet? I'm going 58-62 gr for 140 Amax
And 57-60 gr N570 with the 150 gr matrix.

 

[elkaholic]

No one with data for N570 and 140-150 gr bullets yet? I'm going 58-62 gr for 140 Amax
And 57-60 gr N570 with the 150 gr matrix.

I think that would work.....Rich

 

[Mateo]

Loaded them up tonight. Just need to find the time to get out and shoot! Will post results.

 

[Mateo]

Got out to the range and tested H1000 some more. Kinda stopped using the 130 bullets and focused on the 140's. Used Amax and Berger VLD.
59gr of H1000 is my node. It's pushing the Amax right at 3100 fps. This is a fairly mild charge and will give me great barrel life. Accuracy is right at .5-.6 moa with 5 shots. I shot a bunch of 4 shot groups at 250 and 400 yards that were .25 moa with the 5th shot opening it up to .5-.6. (Well, I'm not totally sure it was the 5th shot because I couldn't see the bullet holes at 400 until I walked up to it.) I was quite happy with H1000 finally. But I was able to procure a nice supply of VV N570 and did a small load up of 140gr VLD's and a few with 150 matrix. I was loading blind because I had absolutely no data with N570. My educated guess put me right on the money. I tested 58-62 gr with the 140 VLD. I had 4 shots of each 1 gr increment. 60 gr was the sweet spot with one shot over the crony at 3163 fps and then 3 shots into .08 moa! I could only see 2 holes on the paper, but it was a clean target and I was after the centre most point of aim. I've never shot a group like that. I'd shot a couple groups in the .2's with a friends rifle in .308 before, but not with my rifle. 61 gr of N570 went into .7 moa (4shots) with a 'flier' and .33 moa with 3 shots.
I'm headed out today to test some more with N570 and the 60 gr node with more VLD's and some Amax. Also to test the 150 gr Matrix a bit. I loaded up just enough last time to figure out where pressure signs were starting to reveal them selves.

 

[elkaholic]

Got out to the range and tested H1000 some more. Kinda stopped using the 130 bullets and focused on the 140's. Used Amax and Berger VLD.
59gr of H1000 is my node. It's pushing the Amax right at 3100 fps. This is a fairly mild charge and will give me great barrel life. Accuracy is right at .5-.6 moa with 5 shots. I shot a bunch of 4 shot groups at 250 and 400 yards that were .25 moa with the 5th shot opening it up to .5-.6. (Well, I'm not totally sure it was the 5th shot because I couldn't see the bullet holes at 400 until I walked up to it.) I was quite happy with H1000 finally. But I was able to procure a nice supply of VV N570 and did a small load up of 140gr VLD's and a few with 150 matrix. I was loading blind because I had absolutely no data with N570. My educated guess put me right on the money. I tested 58-62 gr with the 140 VLD. I had 4 shots of each 1 gr increment. 60 gr was the sweet spot with one shot over the crony at 3163 fps and then 3 shots into .08 moa! I could only see 2 holes on the paper, but it was a clean target and I was after the centre most point of aim. I've never shot a group like that. I'd shot a couple groups in the .2's with a friends rifle in .308 before, but not with my rifle. 61 gr of N570 went into .7 moa (4shots) with a 'flier' and .33 moa with 3 shots.
I'm headed out today to test some more with N570 and the 60 gr node with more VLD's and some Amax. Also to test the 150 gr Matrix a bit. I loaded up just enough last time to figure out where pressure signs were starting to reveal them selves.

Now your talkin'! Just have to give that thing a chance. That is the way it should shoot.....Rich