elkaholic
Well-Known Member
SWEET!! That thing has long range written all over it!.........Rich
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My 6.5 Sherman rifle and load development thread
- Thread starter Korhil78
- Start date
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ramrod79
Well-Known Member
Anyone heard a release date for the 155 yet as this will make the Sherman deadly for larger game .
waspocrew
Well-Known Member
Reading the great results with RL-26 made me pick up 2 lbs of it the other day. I had high hopes for the 142 ABLR and Retumbo, but results were not nearly as great as I had with the 140 Accubond and 7828 SSC.
I've got an elk hunt starting in a few weeks - new plan is to try RL-26 along with the 140 VLD and 140 Amax.
I've got an elk hunt starting in a few weeks - new plan is to try RL-26 along with the 140 VLD and 140 Amax.
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
I would start with 58 grains and work up. It usually works very well......Rich
waspocrew
Well-Known Member
Rl-26 and the 140 VLD was the ticket in my 6.5 Sherman. All groups tested were 3/4 MOA or less with 60.5 gr creating a nice clover leaf at 100 yards. I'll be throwing some of these over the magneto speed to get a velocity on them.
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
Depending on your barrel, that charge should easily get you 3150 if not 3200.....Rich
waspocrew
Well-Known Member
Rich,
You were spot on! Average velocity of 60.5 gr was 3167. Tried out 61.5 as well and average was 3226. With only a 60 fps difference and slightly better groupings, 60.5 will be the charge I run with.
Looking forward to filling some WY tags over the next two weeks with the 6.5 Sherman!
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
Great! Good luck on your hunt and keep us posted......Rich
Well I was able to get out today finally and do some shooting. I had a problem with the first barrel that was on this rifle but that got taken care of rather fast!
I went out a couple of weeks ago and did some load testing with H1000 and the 143 ELDX. I just couldn't get the kind of accuracy that I was expecting out of this rifle with those bullets. I did get a 1.3" group at 300 yards with 62.5 Gr but the pressure was just too high and would trash my brass so that was a no go.
So today I went out with H1000 and the 140 Gr Bergers. I loaded up 60-62 Gr of H1000 with the 140 Gr Berger seated .010 off the rifling. The results with the Berger bullets was much better than with the ELDX.
All of the loads were sub-MOA but 60 and 60.5 Gr were sub-half MOA. 60 Gr produces a 1.2" group and 60.5 Gr produced a .972" group at 300 yards. I am going to play with the seating depth of theses two loads and maybe alter the powder charge by .1 Gr to see if it tightens up any but I am more than pleased with these two groups.
60 Gr 1.2" At 300 yards
60.5 Gr .972" At 300 yards
I went out a couple of weeks ago and did some load testing with H1000 and the 143 ELDX. I just couldn't get the kind of accuracy that I was expecting out of this rifle with those bullets. I did get a 1.3" group at 300 yards with 62.5 Gr but the pressure was just too high and would trash my brass so that was a no go.
So today I went out with H1000 and the 140 Gr Bergers. I loaded up 60-62 Gr of H1000 with the 140 Gr Berger seated .010 off the rifling. The results with the Berger bullets was much better than with the ELDX.
All of the loads were sub-MOA but 60 and 60.5 Gr were sub-half MOA. 60 Gr produces a 1.2" group and 60.5 Gr produced a .972" group at 300 yards. I am going to play with the seating depth of theses two loads and maybe alter the powder charge by .1 Gr to see if it tightens up any but I am more than pleased with these two groups.
60 Gr 1.2" At 300 yards
60.5 Gr .972" At 300 yards
C.O. Shooter
Well-Known Member
Very nice Sir!
No sir. They are the 140 Gr hunters. Can't wait for the 155's now!
dok7mm
Well-Known Member
I had planned to run a 400 yd ladder test today, with R-26 and N-570 w/140 HVLDs, but between a horrible mirage and a failing battery pack on my LabRadar, it turned into a velocity/pressure test. I had to switch to the MagnetoSpeed and that played havoc with my ladders.
It was 20* cooler than when I first tried R-26 & I had smears and sticky bolt @ 59.0 gr and 3,040 fps. Today, I ran it to 61.0 gr. @ 3,160 fps and no pressure signs on brass or bolt. I still have a bit more room, so I'll try to see where max is. I do believe the the R-26 gets wild at 85* and hotter.
Thanks to BEEMAN and ramrod79 for their data on N-570 and the Berger 140. I also ran that load up to 65.0 gr @ 3,158 with no pressure signs. This load also needs more testing & will find my max pressure. This was 6th firing on turned Norma 280 brass.
I need to establish that the seating depth ( I used the .015" jump of my Retumbo loads w/140) is correct with these powders. This is from a 26" Bartlein 5r, 3B contour @ 1550 ASL, 70*, 29% humidity, 28.55 station pressure, wind variable 2-6 mph.
FYI, my current accuracy load w/63.9 gr Retumbo 5 shot average is 3,139 fps, sd-3.3, ed-8.0 and usually will shoot 1/4 moa @ 400 yd.This load was worked up @ 90*, but handles temp range very well. I have to drive 1 hour to 1000 yd range and will do that when I decide loads to take.
Korhil78, Thanks for the use of your thread.
It was 20* cooler than when I first tried R-26 & I had smears and sticky bolt @ 59.0 gr and 3,040 fps. Today, I ran it to 61.0 gr. @ 3,160 fps and no pressure signs on brass or bolt. I still have a bit more room, so I'll try to see where max is. I do believe the the R-26 gets wild at 85* and hotter.
Thanks to BEEMAN and ramrod79 for their data on N-570 and the Berger 140. I also ran that load up to 65.0 gr @ 3,158 with no pressure signs. This load also needs more testing & will find my max pressure. This was 6th firing on turned Norma 280 brass.
I need to establish that the seating depth ( I used the .015" jump of my Retumbo loads w/140) is correct with these powders. This is from a 26" Bartlein 5r, 3B contour @ 1550 ASL, 70*, 29% humidity, 28.55 station pressure, wind variable 2-6 mph.
FYI, my current accuracy load w/63.9 gr Retumbo 5 shot average is 3,139 fps, sd-3.3, ed-8.0 and usually will shoot 1/4 moa @ 400 yd.This load was worked up @ 90*, but handles temp range very well. I have to drive 1 hour to 1000 yd range and will do that when I decide loads to take.
Korhil78, Thanks for the use of your thread.
