"First question..." --> Answer = you have a fast barrel, and velocities in the manual are nothing more than a guidepost... Don't put stock into the velocities, every barrel is different, and yours is obviously fast. For future reference - USUALLY a guy doesn't end up on the high side, as we typically fall short of realizing what's published in the rather optimistic manuals. Rarely, we end up significantly faster than published. I wouldn't be surprised if you slugged or gauged the barrel, you'd find it to be on the tight side. How was primary extraction at these max loads? Primers looking happy?
Concerning primer selection - you have a pair of 1.1" groups with WLP, but if you bogey your pushed shot on one of your F210M groups, you have a pair of ~.5moa groups from the bag... You have a lot of trigger PULL in your 6.5 creed groups, scattering down and left (assuming you're right handed), so I don't have any issue counting that 1.2" from the bipod as some shooter error - 3 shots in the group, one pulled a little, one pulled a lot. Fed Match primers are never easy to find, but they're never so difficult to find, nor so expensive that I'd tolerate the idea of hamstringing a ~.5-.8moa rifle with a ~1.1moa load... The WLP's are round groups, your F210M's are really clusters - although you do have a bit of that low left to high right trend across most of your groups, so it's kinda hard to put too much stock into assessing this board. But looking at your 6.5's with F210M's against the rest of the board, I'd find as many Federals as I could and pay whatever they cost, and would sell the rifle before I settled for the WLP loads.
If I ignore the likelihood your low left to high right pattern is probably shooter error, just looking at groups, your 308win wants more powder. A lot of vertical in those groups, and irregularity. Either you're bouncing your bipod and not getting stable on the bag, or you're not in the node and your rifle wants more powder. I think I heard you mention these were max loads, so you might have to cut off a bit to get to a lower node instead.
But again - honestly, it really seems like you're most likely either not letting your barrel cool long enough, OR you're bouncing on your follow through to induce vertical with your 308win.
Has anyone else fired groups from these rifles?
