Best Powder for 6.5

[Cag40Navy]

Howdy yall,

Im trying to narrow down the number of powders I may be using soon and im wondering what powder would give be the best accuracy across all weights in 6.5. Now if that isn't possible, what are the best powders for what weights? Thanks!

[LRRPF52]

I would recommend the 6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbooks for starters.

I personally like CFE223 for 120-130gr. Accuracy-wise, AR-Comp is hard to beat, whereas 8208XBR is one of the best right behind it, but with faster speeds. 8208XBR is really ideal for 95gr-107gr, with the most efficiency behind a 100gr cup and core pill.

I use CFE for:
94gr GMX solid
120gr TSX
123gr SST
123gr AMAX
129gr SST
129gr ABLR

I had good results with 8208XBR under the 100gr Nosler Ballistic Tip.

N530 is a very good all-round powder I still need to work with.

When the Grendel first came out, BL-C(2), AA2520, and TAC were pretty popular. CFE does everything any of those will do, and doesn't seem to spike on me at with 123gr pills.

[Cag40Navy]

Where can I get the reloading books for 6.5 and do you load 140gr pills at all?

Anything else I may need to know?

[LRRPF52]

http://ar15buildbox.mybnbwebsite.com/shop.htm

While you can load and shoot 140gr no problem, I personally don't even shoot 140gr in my .260 Rem anymore, let alone the 6.5 Grendel.

Trajectory is a lot flatter with 123gr, whereas 140gr eats into case capacity, unless you load the Hornady 140gr Interlock Soft Point, which has a flat base and is pretty short. 100-130gr is the more ideal weight range for hunting medium and large game, as well as target shooting with 6.5 Grendel.

[1911man]

I feel like every barrel and every chamber likes something different but I have been able to get pretty good results from a few powders. Based on my own experience and others I have talked to XBR8208 seems to be the one that is most likely to perform well in a given barrel.

[Rainman]

Quite a few very good choices already mentioned above. For one all around powder for 107-123 grain bullets I have settled on N530. When I can resupply my cache of N540 I will drill down between the two and the overall winner will be validated against some of the other popular 6.5 G powders. My goal is to achieve consistent half MOA five shot groups at 100 yards for each bullet weight I use. So far the half MOA limiter has been my shooting rather than my AR or probably my handloads. My last step will be to chronograph my final accuracy loads for the information which may not necessarily meet the goals of some of the other members who may place greater importance on velocity.

[JASmith]

CFE is a great powder, but usually has to be compressed to get good velocity. Pressures are OK, but some of us are uncomfortable with compressed loads.

TAC does well across bullet weights ranging from 75gr (thanks Sneaky!) to at least 130 grains. Even though other powders will beat it by 20-50 fps for any given weight.

I haven't yet shot enough 8208 to form an opinion about it.

In the end, remember that a few tens of fps more or less makes very little difference in drop, drift, or reach to threshold expansion velocity. So, minimizing to one or two powders is feasible. Over time, however, many of us would bet that your stock will grow in variety!

Bottom line: I would suggest a pound each of TAC and CFE and if comfortable with 8208, a pound of it too. Then work up a favorite load in each before getting enough of a particular powder to support volume shooting.

[Joseph5]

I have only used CFE223 so far but I have had excellent results with it with 100 and 123 grain bullets. I have 8208, AR Comp, H335, and LeverRevolution but I have not had a chance to try them yet.

[dammitman]

excellent answers for anyone new to the caliber from folks who know what they are talking about. its nice to see friendly online behavior free of "go look it up,we talked about this before".
welcome Cag40Navy!!!!!

oh yeah, i like cfe223 and 8208 best as well. they serve my limited needs perfectally.

[Cag40Navy]

Well, this is good info. Im also wondering if RCBS makes dies for 6.5, if not, im going to guess Hornady does.

[JASmith]

Hornady does indeed have Grendel dies!

[Joseph5]

The RCBS dies are labeled 264 LBC. Idential case dimensions. I got hte small base ones because that is what was available and the have worked perfect so far.

[oldbarnowl]

Well, this is good info. Im also wondering if RCBS makes dies for 6.5, if not, im going to guess Hornady does.

RCBS doesn't show 6.5G in their AR dies. http://www.rcbs.com/Products/Dies-by...AR-Series.aspx It is listed as 264 LBC AR

Lee does, Hornady does, and Redding does.

[Z28SS]

Be patient, please. I am relatively new at Grendel reloading. In reading through many of the posts on reloading, I can't help but notice that BL-C2 doesn't get much love. I would like to be able to use it since I wound up with a lot of it. I am using A-Max 123g bullets, CCI 450 primers and used Hornady brass. The rifle is a DPMS lower with a Timmney trigger and an off the shelf Alexander Arms 20" complete upper assy with a muzzle brake. I found that Alexander Arms has some reload info for BL-C2 with 123g bullets but not A-Max bullets. They list a minimum charge of 31.5 grains and a maximum load of 31.8 grains. On my first attempt at Grendel reloads I starting at 31.0 grains and went up to 31.8 grains at .1 intervals. I saw pressure signs at 31.5 grains and recoil was more harsh compared to production Hornady SST ammunition. I eventually settled on 31.1 grains and chronographed them back-to-back with some Hornady SST ammunition. I can't find the exact recorded chrono information (dooh). But the SST averaged something like 2520-2530 fps. The BL-C2 averaged in the 2570-2580 range. The BL-C2 had obvious increased recoil. And my friend who was observing the chrono didn't mind standing beside me when I was shooting the stock SST ammo but he quickly retreated when I shot the BL-C2 ammo. He said the concussion was significantly higher with the BL-C2 loads. Now I was only shooting at 50 yds which isn't a tough test for accuracy but the BL-C2 loads were just one hole about the size of one .45 ACP hole. I liked that. Should I continue to try the BL-C2 or should I move on to CFE or 8208? What would be the advantage of other powders?

[Joseph5]

BL-C2 will work just fine. The first published reloading data for the Grendel from Alexander Arms had BL-C2 listed.