Reloading for long distance?

[73Jim]

I'm just starting the process of long distance shooting and i've chosen 6.5 creedmoor as my caliber. I reload quite a few other calibers both rifle and pistol but i've always bought the "general" Lee/Hornady/RCBS dies. For long range are the "competition" dies worth the extra cost? Any other tips on reloading for 500-1000 yards?

[Fjold]

Brass prep:
Resize and trim all cases
Uniform flashholes
Uniform the primer pockets
Sort all the cases by weight (separate in 0.5 grain sets.) Generally I'll keep the largest set +/- 1 grain)

Competition dies- I think that competition dies really make a difference if you have a chamber that you can measure the body dimensions, neck diameters and throat length on. For most factory chambers, competition dies have a minimal effect.

I use the Redding S type bushing dies to set neck tension and the micrometer seating die to control the distance to the lands and give you a good reference for seating depth.

[DarkSoul]

Also check this page out, really good info, and he talks a bit about prep and what has been found to make differences in the loading process.

http://optimalchargeweight.embarqspace.com

[JMP]

Yes, get the Redding Comp set. You will want to get the gold bushing in .289", .290", .291". Try to find Nosler or Norma brass, which are relatively new, or you'll be stuck with Hornady brass. You'll want H4350 and your favorite Federal or CCI LRP. Bullets, ~140gr. With that, it's pretty hard to mess up 6.5CD.

[bsumoba]

Never had a problem with hornady brass. I have 7+ firings with most of them already. I use a Redding FL sizer die, but some use FL dies with bushings. I would recommend to get the VLD stem if you get the redding dis so you can use the longer bullets.

Weight sort in 1/2-1gr increments. Only bump shoulders 0.001". If you can anneal, I would anneal every 3-4 firings. Before doing a big batch of ammo, make sure you set your dies correctly to bump shoulders back 0.001 and to minimize runout. I look for less than 0.002" runout on my loaded rounds, with most at or under 0.001. I would recommend 140gr A-Max or 140gr Hybrid bullets and H4350 powder.

[kcstott]

Redding or Forster dies.
Forster press
Nosler, Norma, or lapua brass

Sierra Match kings
match primers
My powder of choice would be IMR 4895

then learn to check and verify everything, make ammo in small batches and test it. check everything

Then when it comes to working up loads change one thing at a time.

Powder charge weight, then bullet seating depth and so on.

[JMP]

lapua brass

The downside of 6.5CD is that Lapua does not make brass, you'd need to form it yourself. Normally, I am not a fan of Nosler brass, but I think they did a great job with the brass for this cartridge. I have had the new Norma brass on backorder, and I have yet to even see one of these cases, but Norma has almost always delivered for me, so I anticipate them to be the best of the three makers.

bsumoba, lots of people do well with the Hornady brass, but I have always had issues with Hornady manufacturing tolerances. I don't like to sort brass and bullets, so for the major brands, I will almost universally go with Lapua for jacketed bullets and brass when the option is available. I find them to give me results with less fuss.

[73Jim]

So if I sort the brass by weight and I assume do the same with the bullets, do I pick the biggest lot and recycle the rest or do I assume the extra mass is due to a thicker case and lower my charge by a tenth or so? Could I run my heaviest brass through the sizer/trim cycles a few times to "thin it out"? I'm half joking but.....only half...

[dskit]

If you sort enough brass by weight, you will see a bell curve of weight distribution. When I weight sort, I cull the cases on each end of the curve and use them for practice ammo. YMMV.

[LynnJr]

You shoot your components in like groups.
I sort my brass by weight and by water volume but weight only will work.
After you uniform your primer pockets and flashholes deburr the flashholes on the inside. If you insert the tool and it doesn't want to spin its because there is a huge burr on the inside of the brass. Lift the tool and turn lowering it as you go.
Weigh your charges as accurately as you can.
And seat all your bullets to within 0.001.
On the VLD bullets use a bushing 0.003 smaller than your loaded rounds.

[Fjold]

Could I run my heaviest brass through the sizer/trim cycles a few times to "thin it out"? I'm half joking but.....only half...

You don't know where the thickest part of the brass is. It could be in the web.

[bsumoba]

So if I sort the brass by weight and I assume do the same with the bullets, do I pick the biggest lot and recycle the rest or do I assume the extra mass is due to a thicker case and lower my charge by a tenth or so? Could I run my heaviest brass through the sizer/trim cycles a few times to "thin it out"? I'm half joking but.....only half...

Many will argue that weighing brass is not a useful exercise as many will not be able to notice the subtle accuracy differences or long range effects. I do it though because it is not that much effort to do and if I found 2-3 pieces of brass on the extremes, then I say weighing brass did its job. If you have the time, weigh them and then cull out the outliers. Like skit said, you will see a typical bell curve. If you weigh them, then hornady brass is just fine.

As it pertains to bullets, 140gr hybrids and 140 A-Max's are great. You can weigh the bullets, but chances are you will probably not see a huge difference. Both these like to be jumped anywhere from 0.020-0.040" so they are forgiving. Make sure to measure from the ogive and not OAL (overall length).

Buy H4350, start around 40gr and work your way up in powder charge. Read up on OCW and Ladder testing.

If you want to know Hornady's recommended load, it is 140gr A-Max's loaded to about 2.810" OAL and 41.5gr H4350. Should yield around 2700fps in a 26" barrel. Guys are running 6.5 creedmoor's with 26" barrels to about 2800-2850fps.

[GJC]

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/583965/redding-type-s-match-bushing-2-die-set-65-creedmoor?cm_vc=ProductFinding

[kcstott]

One reason to by match components from top brands.

Speaking very generally here but you don't need to weigh Nosler brass nor Sierra MK's. I do just to verify but every time I do they are so close I would need a .005 gr scale sort them.