This is what I have found so far.  Please add anything I may have missed.  Links are always appreciated.  Thanks

Hornady A-Max 120gr
Hornady ELD-Match 140gr (replaced discontinued 140gr A-Max)
Desert Tech PTS  Match140gr
Prime OTM Match+130gr
Winchester Match 140gr
Federal American Eagle OTM 140gr
Nosler Custom Comp Match HPBT140gr

UPDATE: I built a spreadsheet with some more data, and a few more loads I found for sale.  LINK TO SPREADSHEET HERE.  Please post any additional info in the thread and I will update the sheet.  Thanks

Hornady 143gr ELD-X?

Isn't that a hybrid target/hunting bullet with a doppler verified ~.626 bc?

Hornady classifies ELD-X as a hunting round.  But as the A-Max is used by many hunters perhaps this cartridge is a good target round...

From Hornady Website:
"The ELD-X™ bullet is a technologically advanced, match accurate, ALL-RANGE hunting bullet featuring highest-in-class ballistic coefficients and consistent, controlled expansion at ALL practical hunting distances.

At conventional range (0-400 yards), the ELD-X bullet is designed to continually expand throughout its penetration path. Upon impact the thin nose section of the bullet peels back and sheds material until it reaches the thick shank of the bullet jacket where the InterLock ring works to keep the core and jacket together. The remaining heavy shank of the bullet continues to drive forward and expand for extremely lethal results.

Upon contact at extended range (400 + yards), the Heat Shield™ tip drives backward into the carefully designed nose cavity to begin the expansion process. At these lower velocities, the ELD-X™ bullet exhibits conventional expansion characteristics with a large mushroom and high retained weight ensuring deep penetration and large wound cavities.

Available as component bullets or in factory loaded ELD-X Precision Hunter ammunition, ELD-X bullets are "heavy caliber" and designed for maximum ballistic coefficients, the highest levels of accuracy, consistency and extreme lethality at ALL practical hunting distances."

Yesterday I tried out 4 different types off ammo from my Savage Model 10T in XLR Chassis.  I only fired one fie shot group of each ammo type so these results are not very scientific.  The results from Best to worst groups where:

5 Shots off a bench

1) Hornady ELD-X 143gr (.7 moa)
2) Hornady ELD-M 140gr (.8 moa)
3) Winchester BTHP 140gr (1.1 moa)
4) Federal OTM 140gr (1.5 moa)

Honestly I did not shoot as well as I had hoped but I think its mostly me.  I am getting used to a new platform, first time shooting with my XLR Chassis, bolt guns are relatively new to me and I was having trouble with bipod jump.

Factory Hornady 140gr ELD-M shoots sub 1/4 MOA in my rifle.

Tagged.

I'll be shooting a "custom" factory load this weekend in two different guns. They are 130 grain Berger VLD Hunting.

Eagle Eye recently launched a 6.5 creedmoor and 260 with a Berger 130 AR hybrid. I went with 260 over 6.5 and their 260 was one ragged hole...Plus a few tenths at a grand flatter than what I was handloading with 140 hybrids. I've shot their 223/308 for a few years and very impressive ammo...As good as anything I can hand load. I would bet their 6.5 is just as good.

 
Consistently?

Rob- what twist is your Bartlein? I just received my AI with a gain twist 8.7-7.7 Bartlein and am looking for either some decent factory ammo or a solid recommendation for a handload.

Hornady American Gunner 140 grain BTHP is the BEST factory load I've shot. (And I've shot 120/140/143 Hornady loads).

Also helps it's the cheapest

Attached File

Will do. Thank you Sir.

I guess I should clarify my statement.

It's the best bang for the buck that I've run across.

Sub $1 per squeeze and shoots well. I hardly shoot groups on paper and most just shoot plates 200-1k.

The MOA challenge was shot per the rules using a Harris bipod and wiebad beer can squeeze bag.

Here is 5 shots off front and rear bags. While the most stable and allowing for better groups - it's no fun to sink a rifle in bags to shoot. Takes the "fun" out of it - sure you can shoot nice groups but all you're doing is pulling the trigger.

Attached File


ETA: with the field gear setup
Attached File


@dirtdivision

What's the difference between the 140gr Hornady American Gunner and the 140gr Hornady ELD Match ammo? I found the American Gunner for $1.02 per round and the ELD Match for $1.14 per round.....the $.12 per round is mute if the ELD Match ammo is better.....What the difference?  Thanks

I hate posting this as everywhere is now sold out and price per box has risen $2-7 bucks.

But it shoots.

American Gunner

Attached File

I see 5-10 suppliers in stock right now. It's out there

Go pick up some of the Academy exclusive Hornady 6.5 CM "Black" 140 BTHP and compare it for us pleaseeeee

I'll try and get some this week.

I'm gonna try and order a couple 50rd boxes of the 140gr American Gunner and 10 boxes of the Hornady 140gr ELD Match ammo this week and see what shoots better for me....

Bought 2 - 50 rd boxes of the Hornady 140gr American Gunner tonight for $48.95ea and bought 5 boxes of the Hornady Match 140 ELD rounds for $22.85 ea to test against it...

I've had very good results with the Prime 130 gr match +, most recently out of my Sabatti ST17 prototype rifle.  Here is a link to the thread.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_16_7/5952_Prime-Ammo-6-5-Creedmoor-MV-and-accuracy-results---Pictures-added--.html

I have other results as well but I need to find the pictures and data.

Outta curiosity, what barrel length is that ST17?

Tag

A friend of mine had a 6.5 Creedmoor - did some chrono work with it to work up a set of ballistic tables for him. The rifle was an RPR.

Hornady 140 ELD Match data >>>
Baro Pressure = 29.99
Temp = 80 degrees
Barrel length = 26"
Twist = 1:8 (R)
Avg. MV = 2,648 fps
G7 BC = 0.326
G1 BC = 0.646

Hornady 129 SST Superformance data >>>
Baro Pressure = 29.99
Temp = 80 degrees
Barrel length = 26"
Twist = 1:8 (R)
Avg. MV = 2,914 fps
G1 BC = 0.485

Does anyone have info / data on the
Hornady 147 eld match ammo?

When Brownells had there free shipping last week, I picked up afew boxes.



.

Here is data on the factory 147 ELD ammo:

Savage 10 6.5 Creedmoor w/26" Criterion barrel
10 shot group: 0.6"
Average 2796 fps
SD 9
ES 22

65 F day w/51% humidity

Granted the 2690 fps on the box is from a 24" barrel, the almost 2800 fps was quite surprising. They're sub-MOA to 450 yards (longest I've shot them so far).

The spreadsheet is in dire need of additional info to provide context:

Barrel length
Barrel twist rate
Number of shots per group/string
Standard Deviation
Extreme Spread

Here's some data for 6.5 Creedmoor Hornady 140gr ELD Match factory:

24" 1:8"
10 shots
Average 2723.31 fps
Highest 2749.35 fps
Lowest 2704.5 fps
Ext. Spread 44.85
Std. Dev 15

Here's some data for 6.5 Creedmoor Prime 130gr OTM Match factory:

24" 1:8"
10 shots
Average 2877.52 fps
Highest 2897.46 fps
Lowest 2850.45 fps
Ext. Spread 47.01
Std. Dev 14.42

Attached File


5-shot group @ 100
Hornady 140 ELD-M
Group is around 0.39 MOA.

My new Bergara did not care for the 120 ELD at all!

I picked up a box of the American Hunter 143 ELD-X and will try out next time.

Was that a factory load or hand load just using the 140 ELD-M bullet ? Impressive either way 

Factory Hornady. These were rounds 8-12 in the new stick. I'm not sure I can get much better than this, but I still am going to pick up some Copper Creek 140 ELD once it's back in stock. I've had amazing experience with CC's loadings in 223, 6.8, and 308.

Thanks!

Holy shit! If that's factory loaded there is no point in handloading. It literally cannot get any better.  I need to check them out. I handled for my 308 and was gearing up to do so for my 6.5 but that may not be worth doing, except for the cost savings which is minimal. 

There no doubt my rifle like the factory Hornady 140 ELD-M. And I think I can squeeze a little more accuracy out of it as well.

I don't handload so I rely on factory ammo 100%. Still going to have to chrono the Hornady and Copper Creek to get velocity and see what the spread is. Consistency is the key to accuracy so hopefully it's consistent in the velocity department. Lol.

I've been a member of AR15.com since about 2010, but probably haven't posted since then.   I've done some reloading, but only about 50 each of .223, .308 and .30-06.  

Consider me almost complete newbie, but I have a 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger PR on order.  Got it on the last sale Palmetto State had two weeks ago, and it still hasn't shipped, so I'm guessing I'm at least a week from getting to try it.

Couple of questions:

In the Hornady table that Rob1 posted, Hornady's data for powders stopped at different load weights.  Why would that be?  Does it mean the powder volume filled up the brass while the weight was lower?  They stopped the Varget at only 34.6 gr., but they ran other powders up to almost 43 grains.   The Varget topped out at 2500 fps, while the heavier loads of a bunch of other powders got up to 2650 fps.  

I looked at Hogdon's load calculator and it says max Varget load for the 6.5CM is 35.8 grains and hits 2598 fps.  

You probably figured I must have a lot of Varget on hand, and you're right.  I liked it so much for the three rounds I've reloaded that I bought a big jug.  

Second question, what software puts the crosshairs on the targets and measures all the statistics?  Spread, MOA and all?  


Thanks,
Bob

Thanks!  Perfectly clear.

I'm a total newb so no help on question#1 but I use subMOA app on iPhone to measure/document groups. Super simple app and works great. Comparison of the Hornady Black, 120ELD and Federal American Eagle 140gr. 6.5 RPR with 26" PVA barrel.

Thanks for that link.  I just grabbed the free version and see there's a "Pro" version for a whole 5 bucks.  I'll play with this a little.  

Since my post, I heard that my RPR has shipped and should be in my hands by Tuesday or Wednesday.  Hoping to be able to get down to the range for some test rounds by Thursday, as a rough guess.

I posted this in the RPR thread but thought it might be helpful here as well.

Gen II RPR. 26" PVA barrel with Mad Scientist brake. Novice shooter disclaimer.

Prime 130

Created: 07/08/17 05:55 PM
Description: RPR
Notes 1: Prime 130
Notes 2:
Distance to Chrono(FT): 1.00
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.583
Bullet Weight(gr): 130.00
Temp: 88 °F
BP: 28.82 inHg
Altitude: 1100.00
# FPS FT-LBS PF
6 2971 2548.38 386.23
5 2928 2475.15 380.64
4 2947 2507.37 383.11
3 2965 2538.10 385.45
2 2931 2480.22 381.03
1 2943 2500.57 382.59
Average: 2947.5 FPS
SD: 17.5 FPS
Min: 2928 FPS
Max: 2971 FPS
Spread: 43 FPS
Shot/sec: 0.1
True MV: 2948 FPS
Group Size (in): .64 3 shots 100 yds.

Hornady 140 ELD Match

Created: 07/08/17 06:03 PM
Description: RPR
Notes 1: Hornady 140 ELD
Notes 2:
Distance to Chrono(FT): 1.00
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.646
Bullet Weight(gr): 140.00
Temp: 87 °F
BP: 28.82 inHg
Altitude: 1100.00
# FPS FT-LBS PF
6 2852 2528.96 399.28
5 2891 2598.60 404.74
4 2836 2500.67 397.04
3 2862 2546.73 400.68
2 2822 2476.04 395.08
1 2852 2528.96 399.28
Average: 2852.5 FPS
SD: 23.6 FPS
Min: 2822 FPS
Max: 2891 FPS
Spread: 69 FPS
Shot/sec: 0.1
True MV: 2853 FPS
Group Size (in): .67 3 shots 100 yds.

Federal American Eagle 140 Match

Created: 07/08/17 06:14 PM
Description: RPR
Notes 1: Fed Am Eagle 140
Notes 2:
Distance to Chrono(FT): 1.00
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.580
Bullet Weight(gr): 140.00
Temp: 86 °F
BP: 28.82 inHg
Altitude: 1100.00
# FPS FT-LBS PF
6 2810 2455.03 393.40
5 2845 2516.56 398.30
4 2797 2432.36 391.58
3 2833 2495.38 396.62
2 2815 2463.77 394.10
1 2818 2469.02 394.52
Average: 2819.7 FPS
SD: 17.0 FPS
Min: 2797 FPS
Max: 2845 FPS
Spread: 48 FPS
Shot/sec: 0.1
True MV: 2820 FPS
Group Size (in): .28 3 shots 100 yds.

Hornady 120 ELD Match

Created: 07/08/17 06:18 PM
Description: RPR
Notes 1: Hornady 120 ELD
Notes 2:
Distance to Chrono(FT): 1.00
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.486
Bullet Weight(gr): 120.00
Temp: 86 °F
BP: 28.82 inHg
Altitude: 1100.00
# FPS FT-LBS PF
6 2963 2339.70 355.56
5 2974 2357.10 356.88
4 2971 2352.35 356.52
3 2949 2317.64 353.88
2 2933 2292.56 351.96
1 2946 2312.93 353.52
Average: 2956.0 FPS
SD: 16.0 FPS
Min: 2933 FPS
Max: 2974 FPS
Spread: 41 FPS
Shot/sec: 0.1
True MV: 2956 FPS
Group Size (in): .39 3 shots 100 yds.

Hornady Black 140

Created: 07/08/17 06:25 PM
Description: RPR
Notes 1: Hornady Black 140
Notes 2:
Distance to Chrono(FT): 1.00
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.580
Bullet Weight(gr): 140.00
Temp: 86 °F
BP: 28.82 inHg
Altitude: 1100.00
# FPS FT-LBS PF
6 2780 2402.89 389.20
5 2794 2427.15 391.16
4 2797 2432.36 391.58
3 2751 2353.01 385.14
2 2780 2402.89 389.20
1 2767 2380.47 387.38
Average: 2778.2 FPS
SD: 17.2 FPS
Min: 2751 FPS
Max: 2797 FPS
Spread: 46 FPS
Shot/sec: 0.1
True MV: 2779 FPS
Group Size (in): .42 3 shots 100yds.

That Federal ammo is pretty amazing.  I'll have to see if I can find some to try.

It has been the most consistent and had the tightest groups of anything I've tried so far. I only have 100 yards available regularly but will be going to a 1000 yard steel range this weekend so we will see how that goes. I ordered it from Brownell's online. They almost always have a code for free shipping and some percent off if you search. Worked out to $25.80/box to my door.

Federal American Eagle @ Brownells

Also at Sportsman's Guide for $24.22 and free shipping if you are a club member and order more than $75.

Federal American Eagle @ Sportsman's Guide

My RPR arrived yesterday and is sitting with me now.  I haven't fired this rifle yet, so I have no idea what it prefers, but while I'm under the belief that lighter, faster bullets are a usually a Good Thing, I sure see lots of guys posting good results with the 140 grain bullets.  

I went to AmmoSeek and see that Federal OTM is pretty easy to find - except here in my small city.  I'm on the Grab A Gun mailing list thanks to entering too many contests, and they have it for $22.53 per box.  
http://grabagun.com/federal-ae65crd1-6-5-creed-140gr-open-tip-match.html

Shipping costs a flat $13, so it would be good to get a few different kinds to try.  It's probably worth getting a couple of boxes of a few types.  

I have two boxes of Hornaday Match grade in 140, one in 147, and two Hornady American Whitetail in 129 gr., which are probably "barrel break-in" rounds.

I'm lucky to belong to a club with ranges out to 600 yards.  This is the worst time of year for going out an shooting around here - or anything outdoors.  I'm planning to set the rifle up at 200 yards and get a feel for it and what it likes best before I go to the longer ranges in the fall.

2nd trip to the range with the new Bergara to try a few other factory options. Tried the 143 ELD-X and the 120 ELD again. And no mater what, the 140 ELD-M just makes everything else look like plinking ammo.

When your 5 shot groups look like 3-shot groups. I'm absolutely amazed. And I felt like i was not shooting my best this morning. The humidity was unreal too.

Attached File
Attached File

I shoot the Winchester 140gr in my rifle. I think the data from midway and was posted in your spreadsheet is incorrect. The BC doesn't match the sierra bullet. Instead it matches exactly the hornady 140gr otm bullet. And nowhere does winchester claim it to be a sierra round.

I needed some more brass and wanted something other than Lapua to help me keep it segregated between my bolt gun and my upcoming Larue 6.5. I was going to order some starline but I saw this.

I have read mixed reports on whether this is legit Norma brass vs a third party. Particularly in the 223 loadings.

Anyways, we will see how this shoots when I get it in.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1018745827/norma-usa-match-ammunition-65-creedmoor-130-grain-golden-target-hybrid-hollow-point-boat-tail-box-of-20