First 6.5 Grendel Handloads

[6.5RugerAmericanRanch]

Good Evening Gentlemen,
I am new to shooting the 6.5 Grendel and I am more of a deer/hog hunter than I am a long range target shooter so it is somewhat difficult to find hunting loads in store or on line. My only option was to handload. Therefore I began work on my first handloads ever. I followed a Hornady recipe as the components necessary for it happened to be in stock. My load consists of using new Starline 6.5 Brass, No. 400 CCI Small Rifle Primers, Winchester 748, and Hornady's 0.264" 129 gr. Interlock Soft Points. Below from the Hornady Reloading Manual.
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I actually worked this load backwards. I loaded 5 rounds at 29.5 gr. of 6.5 Grendel. Each iteration of handloads were 0.3 grains less than the previous. I know that when I shoot them for grouping to start with the lowest powder grain weight and work my way up checking the brass for pressure signs. My question is how far back do I need to go with my powder grain weights? Are my 5 iterations a reasonable spread or should I consider doing more? (The paper pouches are holding 5 rounds each).
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[Zeneffect]

If it were me, 28.9 would be my lowest/starting charge and based on results, I'd probably explore a touch over the listed max because I'm one of "those guys"

Others may have a very different opinion, but hey it's my face on the line.

[Klem]

RAR,

As far as your system is concerned it sounds good to me. You wont see any noticeable difference incrementing less than 1% of the max load. 1% of say, 30grains is 0.3 grains which is perfect. The idea of going 5% below SAAMI is also fine if you know what you are doing and trust the data source. The convention is 10% low but I usually fire one or two 10% low and then start at 5% low moving up in 1% increments. You can fire more groups with 5% but again, as long as you are comfortable it is on you if something goes wrong.

Be careful, overpressure signs on Grendel cases means you were overpressure prior to the signs. If using a reputable bolt gun (stronger than an AR) this is less a concern.

Never used 748 in Grendel so I''ll leave it for the others to advise.

[Mark611]

Myself, due to the powder shortages and having to work 7 days a week, I have not been able to do a lot of load testing from my Grr over the past 3yrs, I've not tried the 748 either, but using the powders I have I find my 18'' or 24'' 1&8 barrels fall short of velocities published from Hornady or other sources, My 11th Edition Hornady manual test rifle is a AA Arms with a 18'' 1&8 twist barrel, using AA2520 powder WSR primer, with a 120 or 123gn ELDM bullet, the manual shows 28.5gn of AA2520 form this barrel @2400fps, my BCA 18'' 1&8 with the same powder charge using a CCI 41 primer yields 2280's to 2300fps, my 24'' 1&8 yields 2420 to 2450fps, as mentioned above I may have to increase the powder charge around max or above, I did not see any pressure signs with the 28.5gns form either of my barrels, the Hornady manual shows a max of 29.1gns the AA Arms powder manual shows 29.6gns, they used a 20'' 1&10 twist barrel, just using this as an example, I know all the variables that can come into play, but I have noticed the 6.5 Grendel needs a lot of experimenting to get what your looking for, JMO

[6.5RugerAmericanRanch]

So I got back from a morning hunt and we stopped by the gun range on the Wildlife Management Area and ran through the handload I mentioned above. I was lucky that I remembered to bring my MagnetoSpeed Sporter Chronograph with me. I wanted to share the results with you guys. As mentioned above all loads used WIN 748 powder, 129 gr. Hornady Interlock Bullets, and CCI No. 400 Small Rifle Primers.

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Excuse the smaller holes. Someone was shooting 22 LR next to me and made a few hits. I had a few shots that the chronograph failed to pick up and my last round of 29.5 gr. was a dud and even fell apart upon ejection (I suspect that I didn't have the crimp die set correctly).

I just wanted to see what you guys think. I suspect that the 28.6 gr and 29.2 gr. loads could make a decent hunting load.

[Zeneffect]

The group hook on 29.5 + the tightening sd makes me think you are within .1 or .2 of the next node.

[6.5RugerAmericanRanch]

@Zeneffect
So you are saying develop a 29.6 gr. or 29.7 gr. load. I wonder if that is due to the powder being slightly more compressed resulting in a more even, uniform burn.

[Zeneffect]

I'm saying I'd try, if you are comfortable with it is another story as you are off the reservation in no man's land (sorta... not really)

What is the barrel length?

[6.5RugerAmericanRanch]

@Zeneffect
We ran it out of a 20" 1/8 twist bull barreled AR build. I should mention that I plan on running the hunting loads out of my Ruger American Ranch which only has a 16.1" barrel. and I do expect a velocity loss.

[Zeneffect]

I think you might be right at where expected peak would be. If +-.1 doesn't improve play with seating depth a little. The sh!t to hook and improving sd has always been a sign that I'm near a good load by just a few feet per second.