Looking for some advice on the 6.5 Creedmoor

[whatnickname]

I’ve been reloading for 50 years now. First as a competitor and then for hunting and the enjoyment of punching small groups in paper. I was recently involved in an auto accident that necessitated the repair on an Achilles’ tendon. This has confined me to a wheelchair at home for the past month. So with this much time on my hands what do you do? Of course you spend the down time looking at stuff on Gunbroker. Came across a low round count Ruger MKII Target in 6.5 Creedmoor which I could not pass up...$639 + S&H won the auction. I have several other 6.5s that pretty much run the entire power gamut from 6.5X55 to 264 Winchester Magnum. The 6.5s kill deer here in Oklahoma like a death ray.

The 6.5 Ruger MKII appealed to me both for its accuracy and the dual purpose of killing deer. So I bought a new set of Redding Premium dies, 300 rounds of Starline brass (large primer pockets) and 500 rounds of Nosler 130 grain Accubond LR bullets. Of course powder was another matter. The 6.5 Creedmoor has done to H4350 what K Paul’s blacked fish recipe did to the Redfish population. Couldn’t locate any R16 or R15 either. I did locate a quantity of R17 which I bought, as the burn rate for this powder is very close to H4350 and others have commented favorably on R17 and the 6.5 Creedmoor. Can’t locate any Federal Match primers either. So with all of this, here are my questions:

How likely is the seating stem in the Redding die to deform the nose of the low drag Nosler bullets I’m going to use?

Will I be able to seat that long bullet out to approximately 25 thousandth’s off the lands and still have enough room left to accommodate this round in the magazine?

Winchester Large Rifle or Federal 210 (garden variety) primers?

Load recommendations for R17?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[rayatphonix]

The searing stem probably won’t deform it, but it’s likely to mark it. I bought a new stem designed for low drag bullets though.

As to how far out you can seat your bullets and still fit the magazine, I don’t know enough about that rifle to say. I’m limited to 2.825” in my magazine.

I use Winchester primers and they do ok for me.

I like RL17 and get better groups with that than H4350. My sweet spot is around 41 grains.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[whatnickname]

The searing stem probably won’t deform it, but it’s likely to mark it. I bought a new stem designed for low drag bullets though.

As to how far out you can seat your bullets and still fit the magazine, I don’t know enough about that rifle to say. I’m limited to 2.825” in my magazine.

I use Winchester primers and they do ok for me.

I like RL17 and get better groups with that than H4350. My sweet spot is around 41 grains.

Good luck and enjoy.

Thank you

 

[Blue68f100]

Pull the seating stem and drop a bullet in it and see how it fits. The ELD's on mine were hitting the nose so the bullet rocked. I ordered the VLD seating stem for my dies. You may be able to drill it out for clearance. As for as the 130's go I've had excellent results with Varget, and RL-17 and Sierra HPBT-GK & TMK. Be noted the RL-XX powders are not temp stable. Expect 1.3+ fps/degF swing, some are near 2 fps/degF.

I've been working on fine tuning a load for the 140gr ELD-M using H4350.

 

[jmr40]

I've been reading that IMR4451 is a great substitute if H4350 cannot be located. Folks are finding their best loads compared to H4350 in any cartridge are working out to be virtually the same speed, same accuracy, and even the POI isn't changing enough to need to re-zero their scopes. I've not tried any yet because I still have enough H4350. But if I get low, and cannot find H4350 will try some.

I've also tried Ramshot Hunter as a substitute for H4350 and found it to work well.

No experience with RL17 in anything but 300 WSM. I didn't like it in that cartridge.

 

[Captcurt]

I had some of my best groups in my Bergara with H4350 with the 129gr Accubond LR. R17 worked well with the 130 AB and the 143gr ELD-X. My Ruger American Predator liked a 120gr. Speer HC with R17, but that gun shot everything well.

 

[Captcurt]

No experience with RL17 in anything but 300 WSM. I didn't like it in that cartridge.

You will have better luck with the slower powders in the WSM. IMR-4350 is my goto powder, but R22, 760, 4831, and 7828 work well with it.