6.5 CM 143 ELDX 10 round load work up with RL16.

Cleveland48

Handloader
Jul 28, 2015
1,971
155
Finally got around to picking these bullets up to try out. I stopped these fairly short of my typical loads for 140 class bullets. I usually work up until around 43.5 grains. I wanted to find a load around the mid 2700’s plus or minus a few dew to most of my shots being fairly close at Deer. I wanted this load to do double duty as a hunting and target load that wasn’t too hot. Pretty happy with the results and this powder has always performed exceptionally for me in this cartridge. I have came up with three possible charge weights, so I would like to hear y’all ideas or opinions, since I trust all of y’all vast knowledge on this site. So which load would you try and why? I also had to settle on a .035” jump to feed reliable from the magazine, so that’s where I will begin with my seating test once I pick out the charge weight. This is the third time I’ve used this method and I am a huge fan of it!
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Question...

If you want to work up a load that is about 116 gr max what charges would you try using this method?
 
Fotis, I'd say .5gr increments would be fine enough and close enough percentage wise to what he is doing.
 
I agree fotis .5 gr for sure. You could prolly get away with a little more than that on a case that Big. Just a guess though I own nothing that holds that much powder haha.


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desertcj":1soi6nwp said:
You said mid 2700s so 41.5gr is right there. Other than that, 42.5gr looks great too.
What I was thinking. Although I may play some with that 42.5 charge also. 2800 fps with a .600 plus B.C. Is very intriguing lol.


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Oh that's no fun. Supposed to burn the barrel out right about the time you find the load. Hahahaha.
 
I bet that gun is going to shoot like a house on fire at 42.5....

Also- ELD-X don't mind significant bullet jump in the rifles we've tried. In fact, mine shot better at 0.060" and up rather than closer.
 
Ok I guess y’all talked me into it I’ll go 42.5 lol. I’ll use that charge and start loading at .035” out to around .070” and report back later this week with the results. Hopefully I can get off work in time one day to stop by the range.


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If it were me, I’d probably load 5 of each at the spots you’ve detailed and put them on paper. So far that has worked real well.. I’d say 5 as a minimum and lately I’ve been shooting 9 to really verify the load. I typically shoot three at a spell but all 9 into the same group. You might not see a perfect 1/2” group but you’ll really see what’s going on as well.

Fotis, I won’t even mess with the increments till I know I’m in a speed range I want to be in. Once I’m at a good starting acceptable speed then I’ll start with .1-.5 increments depending on the gun.
 
SJB358":27ijewqg said:
If it were me, I’d probably load 5 of each at the spots you’ve detailed and put them on paper. So far that has worked real well.. I’d say 5 as a minimum and lately I’ve been shooting 9 to really verify the load. I typically shoot three at a spell but all 9 into the same group. You might not see a perfect 1/2” group but you’ll really see what’s going on as well.

Fotis, I won’t even mess with the increments till I know I’m in a speed range I want to be in. Once I’m at a good starting acceptable speed then I’ll start with .1-.5 increments depending on the gun.

I’m planning on 5 each at .035”, .045” .055” and .060”. Hopefully have them on paper by end of the week.


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Good luck, looking forward to how you make it. That little 6.5 CM doesn't seem awfully fussy at all.
 
SJB358":3py3z17v said:
Good luck, looking forward to how you make it. That little 6.5 CM doesn't seem awfully fussy at all.
Thanks! Except for those GMX’s it’s been very easy to load for.


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Your best node is from 42.2-42.6 gr. You will usually find the velocity "flat spot" node from 0.4-0.8 gr. In your case, there was only 13 fps difference between them. I would load 5 at 42.4 and 5 at 42.5 and see what kind of ES & SD you get between those two loads and pick the best one. I shoot a 6.5-284 Norma and 0.1 gr increments can yield surprising differences and results. Then load up 3-5 more and shoot for groups. If they aren't as tight of a group as you'd like, then play with seating depth. I will usually go up and down 0.005" to see what I get.
 
Thanks! All I like is trimming cases then loading them, and hoping to get off work on time one day.


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Did you shoot all 10 at a single spot.... or were you just shooting them for velocity?

If you shot them in a “group”, what did it look like?

I’d certainly be happy anywhere between 2750-2800 with that bullet.
 
They all were shot into one spot but I don’t have the target. It was only at 100 yards as I was mainly wanting the speeds. But all 10 shots were in a nice cluster since it was so close


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