The Not Inherently Accurate 6.5 Creedmoor

The shop is now air conditioned; no more tactical attacks from wasps coming through open windows, no more cast bullets melting on the shelves and no more coworker crabbing. All I heard last summer was “Heat stroke” this and “Heat exhaustion” that and “Pick me up off the floor, I think I blacked out”. Try to save a few dollars on the electric bill and right away I’m the bad guy.

Today, the shop is a constant 67ºF, there is Diet Dr. Pepper in a little fridge  and the AC is so loud I can’t hear the phone ring or anyone talking to me. Unfortunately, I work with a nefarious crew. On days where the schedule indicates range testing, they arrive at work early, place the subject firearm, targets and ammunition just outside of the shop door in the sweltering heat and lock me out. Then they count shots fired in the distance to determine when it is appropriate to let me back in.

I don’t care for the Maine woods in the summer. There is little to hunt, the humidity makes my lungs feel as though I am trying to suck air through a wet towel and there are legions of giant vampire ticks waiting to exchange Lyme disease for a taste of my Western European blood… which is why I installed air conditioning in the shop… the place where all of my coworkers are always comfortable… while I am out in the woods, punching holes in paper.

I had been shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor chambered bolt action rifle. It was set up for precision shooting; not a bench rest rifle, not a lightweight sporter, but a rifle with enough precision mechanical design to elevate expectations of accuracy. Still, from the bench and a steady rest, looking through a good scope, I could not get the rifle out of a 3/4″ to 1″ three shot group rut.

Hot barrel, cold barrel, fasteners checked, scope mount checked… 3/4′, 1″ and repeat… And I was shooting quality ammo, Hornady Match 120 grain AMAX ammo which had performed well in other 6.5 Creedmoor chambered firearms I’ve shot. So I took the next logical step and listed the rifle for sale on Gun Broker. Just kidding. I headed back to the shop and reloading bench to assemble some ammo.

Six bullet types were selected out of approximately one hundred ten bullets produced in 6.5mm. The six are of differing construction, suitable for quite different purposes. Bullets intended for paper punching have thin jackets of uniform thickness to promote bore sealing with low resistance. Such bullets would strike game with unpredictable results, but generally producing superficial wounds. Hunting bullet jackets are either very thick to assure little or no expansion, full metal jacket, or they have a tapered jacket that thins toward the tip to promote controlled expansion.

Warning: Bullet selections are specific, and loads are not valid with substitutions of different bullets of the same weight. Variations in bullet material and length will alter net case capacity,  pressure and velocity results. Primer selection is specific and primer types are not interchangeable. These data represents maximum loads in our firearms and test equipment and may easily be excessive in other applications. All loads should be reduced by 5%,  and developed following safe handloading practices as represented in established reloading manuals produced by component manufacturers. Presentation of these loads does not constitute a solicitation for their use, nor a recommendation.   Cartridge: 6.5 Creedmoor  Firearm:  Ruger  Min – Max COL: 2.700″ – 2.825″  Bullet Diameter: 0.264″  Primer: Remington 9 1/2  Barrel: 24″  Reloading Dies: Hornady  Max case length: 1.920″  Groups: 3 Shots – 100 Yards

COL and Capacity   Load Data & Performance Bullet Type Bullet Weight C.O.L. Inches Net Grains Water   Powder Charge Grains Muzzle Chrono FPS Muzzle Energy Ft/Lbs 100 Yard Group Size “ Sierra Varminter HP 100 2.585 49.8   Norma 203B 44.0 3235 2324 1/4 Nosler Partition SP 125 2.800 49.3   Superformance 48.5 3048 2579 7/8 Lapua Scenar-L HP 136 2.800 47.4   Re17 44.0 2948 2625 3/8 Hornady SST PT 140 2.700 45.2   Hybrid 100V 42.0 2758 2365 3/8 Nosler CC HP 140 2.760 47.2   Norma URP 43.0 2734 2324 1/2 Berger Long Range HP 140 2.800 46.9   Norma 204 45.0 2778 2400 3/8

Usually, I try to select powder that is popular, readily available and applicable to as many cartridge types as possible. This time I selected whichever powder performed best in terms of accuracy, even if I rarely used the type for anything else.  Examples would be Superformance powder and Hybrid 100V. t was not lost on me that the 29¢ out performed the 50¢ bullet. Getting a better feel for the types of bullets that performed well, three additional bullets with more common powder types were added to the handload tally to place more emphasis on hunting.

In the end, the objective was met; the rifle proved to have a lot more accuracy in it than factory ammo performance suggested. Handloading is something all firearm enthusiasts should try. The work is interesting, the results can be very satisfying and it is one more way that enthusiast can influence the outcome.