Sorry this is a bit of a mouthful. I usually don't mess around with my loads much so when I do I always forget things.

I shoot 6.5 Creedmoor and up until recently used 147gr ELD-Ms almost exclusively in my two rifles. I couldn't find any 147gr ELD-Ms in stock so I purchased a decent amount of Hornady 140gr BTHP. I thought the weights would be similar enough that I could use a similar or the same powder charge.

I tried to get the COAL 2.800" like the factory American Gunner ammo. I loaded the 147s to 2.810" COAL. and the 140 BTHP are almost exactly 0.10" shorter so the math says there should be more case volume at that length, so there should be lower pressure right? Well the velocities didn't really reflect that. They were (all averaged over multiple rounds measured with a Magnetospeed):

CTR w/factory 24" barrel:
147gr ELD-M, 41.8gr H4350- 2696fps
140gr BTHP, 41.8gr H4350- 2749fps (53fps faster)

AI AE w/quite new /26" Bartlein barrel:
147gr ELD-M, 41.8gr H4350- 2766fps
140gr BTHP, 41.8gr H4350- 2830fps (64fps faster)

All with Hornady brass.

So this slightly lighter and shorter bullet (which should have more case volume) is going considerably faster. I don't see any obvious pressure signs so is this just great or is this load hotter and going to cause premature barrel wear? Would you be happy with this surprisingly faster load? It's quite accurate and with the reduced BC of the BTHP it means a very similar POI out to 800 meters.

I am open to all feedback and/or your loads using similar components. Thanks!

What does your brass/primers say about it? Most likely yes it will be fine because it is a shorter lighter bullet, but the final say is what your brass/primer is showing for pressure...

Primers don't look too flat. Brass and primer still one unit!

It was probably a dumb thread to start but I feel like I'm getting something (extra speed) for nothing and I was worried I had missed something.

As said by others , different bullets will have different shape and different amounts of drag going down the barrel. This will be true even with same weight bullets.

You have basically 50 fps difference which is a fairly small % increase.

Lots of variables going on , weight , bullet shape , bullet length , jacket material , hardness of the lead core , length of bullet jump . All these things could change how the powder burns and the pressure curve .

Did the new loads and old loads get run through the chrono the same day or was the old load done some time in the past?

Any time you change something as a hand loader  stuff can change . Trying to predict what is going to to result can surprise you.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I very much appreciate it. These bullets are very accurate so I am glad they working out.

I tested them on the same day. This is how the primers looked. Sorry my phone camera has had the snot beat out of it.

Attached File

Looks fine to me, primers aren't flattened, no signs of ejector mark, and the normal looking crater that many rifles see around the firing pin...I would run that load ...

I shoot both the Hornady 140gr. Match and the 147gr. ELD-M at 41.6gr. of H4350 from my 20" rifle specifically because they both shoot nearly the same for me. I am seeing results similar to what you are getting, 2710 FPS with the 140's and 2670 FPS with the 147's, both loaded to 2.800" OAL in Hornady brass, with no signs of pressure. Both of these bullets shoot great for me and have nearly the same POI out to 1100 yards.

I have loaded both of them to 42.2gr. of H4350 but the consistency just isn't there and I don't want to burn out my barrel too quickly, 2650 FPS gets me to 1100 yards just fine.

Excellent, thanks for that.

That's a decent speed out of a 20" barrel. What make of barrel is it?

I push the 140 ELDs to 2675 from a tikka 20". The tikka barrels are at least 50 FPS slow and maybe 100. My load is alot different than yours in that I load to 2.925 and more powder.

It's a Bergara SS chopped to 20".

41.8 H4350 140 ELD-M out of my Bartlein 24" does 2800 avg.  

Ran it up to 42.7 to get 2850.

Out of a Krieger 20" gas gun, I'm pushing 41.2gr with 140 ELD-M and can only get 2552 avg.  Anything beyond that and ES gets too big.  Started to settle down once I got back over 42gr, but I also started showing pressure signs with anything over 42gr.

Those look fine.
The slight cratering is from a firing pin hole that is a little larger than it needs to be.