6.5 SHERMAN SHORTS WITH 156 BERGER

bighorn origin
6.5 sst 24" proof 7.5tw straightjacket prefit
156 berger
N565 60.8 gr
2.240 cbto
2945 fps 2.4 sd
200 yrds

pretty sure the off one was me
 

Attachments

  • 2F1126ED-C9A9-44E7-B80F-BF64C683B5A3.jpeg
    2F1126ED-C9A9-44E7-B80F-BF64C683B5A3.jpeg
    2.2 MB · Views: 150
So, I've had my 6.5SS for almost a year and have not had a chance to even fire form brass yet. Life has been in the way, new house build, work, kids sports, etc. have just all been crazy this year. I am finally getting around to setting up my reloading equipment in the new house and plan to start fire forming and load development in the next few weeks. my question is on powder temp stability. I live in south Texas, so it's hot most of the year, I've read quite a bit, that RL26 and N565 start to really pressure up when temps get in the mid 80's and up, which is most of the year here. My concern is, if I develop a load now, temps in the 50's and 60' most days, am I going to be in trouble in a few months when we start getting back in the 80's and 90's, and 100's shortly after? I built this rifle specifically for long range hunting, mainly deer, but will take it Elk hunting in 2021 as well. Also, plan is to run 156 Berger's pretty much exclusively. Rifle specs are

Curtis Custom Axiom Hybrid Action
Trigger Tech Special
Proof Sendero Lite 24"
Manners EH1 with Curtis DBM and Alpha Mag
Still deciding on scope, but threw one of my Vortex PST 3-15's on it for now. Trying to find a light weight FFP scope in 3-15/4-16 range is pretty dang tough. Was going to try a March, but got scared when US support went away.
 
Last edited:
Shoalwater said:
So, I've had my 6.5SS for almost a year and have not had a chance to even fire form brass yet. Life has been in the way, new house build, work, kids sports, etc. have just all been crazy this year. I am finally getting around to setting up my reloading equipment in the new house and plan to start fire forming and load development in the next few weeks. my question is on powder temp stability. I live in south Texas, so it's hot most of the year, I've read quite a bit, that RL26 and N565 start to really pressure up when temps get in the mid 80's and up, which is most of the year here. My concern is, if I develop a load now, temps in the 50's and 60' most days, am I going to be in trouble in a few months when we start getting back in the 80's and 90's, and 100's shortly after? I built this rifle specifically for long range hunting, mainly deer, but will take it Elk hunting in 2021 as well. Also, plan is to run 156 Berger's pretty much exclusively. Rifle specs are

Curtis Custom Axiom Hybrid Action
Trigger Tech Special
Proof Sendero Lite 24"
Manners EH1 with Curtis DBM and Alpha Mag
Still deciding on scope, but threw one of my Vortex PST 3-15's on it for now. Trying to find a light weight FFP scope in 3-15/4-16 range is pretty dang tough. Was going to try a March, but got scared when US support went away.
Click to expand...
I did a temp test of RL26 and it was pretty **** consistent. I also shot it for an entire year. From February '18 to Jan '19 in Colorado and New Mexico. Many of those matches started at 30° and finished at 72°. I shot the same load in New Mexico and Utah in the 80's and 90's. It was very consistent. Load and shoot with confidence. The only caveat in my experience is that I was using a very low pressure load. But the MV did not change much. It was consistent.
 
You can get good speeds with H1000 and RL23 too. I am getting 3025 with H1000 in my 26" 1:7.5" w. 156s, and 3055 w. RL23. I just tested RL26 this morning in AZ for a strictly cold weather hunting round, as I have witnessed high pressures over 85° on a couple occasions with a few different cartridges near max loads. I hit 3035fps today and never hit any pressure yet.
 
Are you guys running the 156's (either SS or SST) in standard short action magazines without any issues? What COAL are you running? And how much of a jump are you guys finding the 156's like?
 
blackdog said:
Are you guys running the 156's (either SS or SST) in standard short action magazines without any issues? What COAL are you running? And how much of a jump are you guys finding the 156's like?
Click to expand...
They run at about 2.960" in the SS and 2.910" in the SST. They seem to like .015" -.020" jump
 
Is the ss working okay out of a bdl setup or would I be better off with a dbm style?
Having one put together soon on a Rem 700 short action.
 
elkaholic said:
They run at about 2.960" in the SS and 2.910" in the SST. They seem to like .015" -.020" jump
Click to expand...


Are you running at 2.960" or saying they touch there and then you are jumping them 015-.020? Just confused because you said you prefer DBM but 2.960" would be outside of wsm accurate mag @ 2.950". Maybe I'm missing something or am confusing what your saying. Thanks.
 
Crowe284 said:
Are you running at 2.960" or saying they touch there and then you are jumping them 015-.020? Just confused because you said you prefer DBM but 2.960" would be outside of wsm accurate mag @ 2.950". Maybe I'm missing something or am confusing what your saying. Thanks.
Click to expand...
In order to run the SS with the dbm and 156 you need to have one that makes 2.990" or that you can knock the front plate out of. The sst is fine in a normal 2.950"
The ss is about 2.970-2.980 to the lands and the sst is .050" less with the . sst II reamer
 
elkaholic said:
In order to run the SS with the dbm and 156 you need to have one that makes 2.990" or that you can knock the front plate out of. The sst is fine in a normal 2.950"
The ss is about 2.970-2.980 to the lands and the sst is .050" less with the . sst II reamer
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I'll be running in a manners mini chassis with wsm accurate mags so will just have to jump them a little more I reckon.
 

Similar threads

elkaholic
6.5 SHERMAN MAX/156 BERGER
3 4 5
Replies
61
Views
40K
elkaholic
elkaholic
D
6.5 Sherman, .235 FB, 156 Berger
Replies
5
Views
2K
reeldawg
reeldawg
D
FYI-6.5 Sherman, 156 & Retumbo
2 3
Replies
41
Views
11K
ssinrdg
S
R
6.5/257 weatherby with 156 Berger ?
2
Replies
15
Views
2K
sable tireur
sable tireur
M
6.5 mm 156 Berger
Replies
0
Views
849
mtrigg88
M

Recent Posts

Top