Little range time 6.5 x 284 / 143 ELD-X

Bush Stalker · Mar 3, 2026

TackDriver284 said:
H4831sc is a slow powder, I'm 3.2 grains over Nosler book max to get 2890 fps. When I was using max charge in the Nosler manual, I was barely pushing 2700 fps and that was slow. My 6.5 Creed does 2800 fps with H4350 . The slow node with the 6.5 x 284 which made one hole groups was with 48.3 grains and it was at 2650 fps. The faster node is at 52.2 grains, and shoots .25 MOA or better @ 100 with the ELD-X. I ran it up to over 2920 fps, but accuracy was not there at that time, but I could spend extra time with seating depths to find it, but did not want to waste too much time with it when its a .25 MOA hunting rifle. I could do better with Bergers, but prefer the ELD-X over Bergers for hunting, but hey, I still have 10 boxes of 140 Ballistic Tips to try in the future and some Accubonds.

I'm looking to develop a 6.5x284 Norma load with the 142 ABLR. I've had phenomenal success (sub moa) with 57.6gn of Retumbo and the 140gn Nosler BTs @ 2989 fps ave. Primers are flattening a bit but no obvious pressure flags. Lapua brass. I have yet to try the ABLRs but getting very close to a range visit. I loaded the ABLRs with a similar Base To Ogive measurement as the BTs resulting in a COAL of about 3.045".
Was wondering if you had any data to share.

Btw, my 300wm loves 165gn bullets sitting on 72.5gn IMR 4831 singing along at just over 3000fps. 180gn pills are a bit slower at just over 2900fps and 70ish grains of same powder. I could push them a lot more but there is no need to. Rifle happy. Me happy. Animals dead. LOL
Edit: Various 180gn pills were in the high 2900's but group size dictated lower velocities in my Colt LR which was upgraded by the late Melvin Forbes from NULA.

Thanks!

Bush Stalker · Mar 13, 2026

Update:
57.6gn Retumbo with Fed215s and Nosler BTs was too much. Primers were backing out a little and mushrooming against the boltface. Accuracy was great but the etching on the boltface said no, stop. I'm guessing the load was originally developed with an old batch of Retumbo. It was noted that Retumbo went through a small change some years ago and the burn rate was slightly increased. Quick Load data doesn't come close to matching actual results as verification this is true enough to matter.

As far as the 142gn ABLRs and the limited testing thus far, 57.4gn and Fed215s was too much. Velocity was great at around 3000fps but too much pressure. Had to pull those rounds that were ready for testing and start again. The COAL of 3.045 and 3.035 were around 1.5 moa.
After I see what the BTs do starting at 55.7 increasing in 0.3gn increments (5-shot groups) do I'll decide on a load for the ABLRs and start at Nosler book length. Also switching to Ginex LRM primers (nickel plated). They seem to seat a bit tighter than the "just snug" Fed215s.

Interesting to note is the bearing surface length in contact with the lands is a fair bit different between the 140gn BTs and the 142gn ABLRs. The BTs have quite a bit more. This should allow the ABLRs to exit with a higher MV but accuracy may be more finicky.
Another note is that the BTs and ABs (not ABLRs) have the same profile and dimensions.

NYDAN · Mar 14, 2026

Bush Stalker said:
Interesting to note is the bearing surface length in contact with the lands is a fair bit different between the 140gn BTs and the 142gn ABLRs. The BTs have quite a bit more. This should allow the ABLRs to exit with a higher MV but accuracy may be more finicky.
Another note is that the BTs and ABs (not ABLRs) have the same profile and dimensions.

Yes, of bullets in the 140-143 gr. weight range, the 140 BT's have the longest straight shank length and the 142 ABLR has one of the shortest.

TackDriver284 · Mar 15, 2026

Bush Stalker said:
I'm looking to develop a 6.5x284 Norma load with the 142 ABLR. I've had phenomenal success (sub moa) with 57.6gn of Retumbo and the 140gn Nosler BTs @ 2989 fps ave. Primers are flattening a bit but no obvious pressure flags. Lapua brass. I have yet to try the ABLRs but getting very close to a range visit. I loaded the ABLRs with a similar Base To Ogive measurement as the BTs resulting in a COAL of about 3.045".
Was wondering if you had any data to share.

Btw, my 300wm loves 165gn bullets sitting on 72.5gn IMR 4831 singing along at just over 3000fps. 180gn pills are a bit slower at just over 2900fps and 70ish grains of same powder. I could push them a lot more but there is no need to. Rifle happy. Me happy. Animals dead. LOL
Edit: Various 180gn pills were in the high 2900's but group size dictated lower velocities in my Colt LR which was upgraded by the late Melvin Forbes from NULA.

Thanks!

Close to 3000 fps is fast. I never tried Retumbo in my 6.5 x 284. I think Retumbo may be a bit too slow for this caliber. H1000 / RL 26 is a step up on burn rate over the Retumbo, if you have these powder choices, maybe give it a try. H4831sc is my best powder for this caliber. What primers are you using in it? It could be the softer Federal primers which is normal which causes a bit of flattening. Not bashing the ABLR bullet, people love them, but I had some difficulty finding accuracy with it when I tried it in my 7 Mag, but gave up on it.
On my 6.5 x 284 / 143 ELD-X, the COAL is 3.123" as .005" off the lands. Ballistic Tip, AccuBond, and ELD-X are great bullet choices I like for this caliber.

Bush Stalker · Mar 16, 2026

Update:
A quick trip to the range revealed:
Ginex LRM primers seem to work great and seat a little tighter that the Fed215s. (Another 6.5 Norma shooter I know is using CCI BR2s and RL 26 with great results.)
These are 5-shot groups with Retumbo, Ginex LRM, 140gn Nos BT, COAL 2.98":
55.7gn: 2865 fps ave., ~0.75 moa. One slight flier high but mostly horizontal stringing.
56.0gn: 2888fps ave., ~1.75 moa. One flier low otherwise similar to 55.7 load except more vertical stringing. The group started opening up.
56.3gn: 2888fps ave., ~1.75 moa. Two fliers. 3 shots in 3/8" group.

Notes:
Ginex LRM primers seem to be working just fine. The 56.3 load began to exhibit pressure signs as noted with the other increased charge loads. As much as I want to push above 2900 fps, I don't think it is feasible, at least not with this brass. It could be that the primer pockets have been stretched from overcharging and simply won't contain the increased pressure.
I will continue the testing with the following loads to see what works best: 55.5, 55.6, 55.7 (for repeatability), and 55.8. The 55.5 load may be a waste of time, but extra data points certainly don't hurt.

I do have a little over 100 Hornady A-Max 140gn pills to use (yes, they're A-Max). As far as I could tell with my basic measuring tools and comparators, the A-Max and the ABLR have the same profile and bearing surface length. The difference being the length of the boat tail which probably accounts for the 2gn difference. The ABLR has a boat tail around 0.080" longer. I did not attempt to measure the difference between the curvatures of the ogive from meplate to bearing surface. They both look to be a similar secant ogive. This leads me to believe that if the A-Max will shoot, so will the ABLR. More to come!

I do have both H1000 and H4831sc in great supply as well as IMR7828ssc...