I talked to a couple shooting buddies at the club on barrel life for the 6.5. Both said that the first signs they noticed were a slow decrease in velocity, and the groups started spreading out. Over the last five years, my muzzle velocity has decreased from about 2650 to about 2500 fps with 140 grain bullets.
So, today’s project was to up my normal load of Hodgdon 4350 from 39 to 41 grains (that seems to be a standard load for many). DISCLAIMER! Don’t use anything I say here as safe or accurate! This is my rifle, my loads and my experience. Always start out 10% less using anyone’s recipe! This is the Interwebs, ya know.
I also wanted to recheck loads for 147 g. bullets. Back during the last ammo shortage, it was all I could get for awhile. Back then, my rifle didn’t like it as much as 140’s, but I’ve got some and was thinking about wind carrying ability at long range. So, I brought some of those.
First, the obligatory range pic.
And some results.
My rifle still prefers the 140 g Hornady ELD-M going a bit slower, at least at 100 yards. You can see that, after my fouling shot (F), the next five rounds were .422”. The faster 140 came in at .848” with a flyer. And the 147 was .878”.
I’ll take all three to the upper range to see if the heavier ones work better at distance.
And, in the meantime, remember:
KatNap Fever! 