A few months back I bought 1000 Lapua 120 gn Scenars specifically for my 6.5 Grendel but never got around to it until a few days ago. Looking through my powder locker I noticed I had several pounds of Leverevolution powder so I decided that would be the powder I would start with. Official sources for 6.5 grendel load data for both the powder and the bullet is scarce as hen's teeth so I had to use internet postings, Quickload, and Gordons Reloading Tool. I personally prefer GRT over Quickload so I decided to use it for the development,but that is purely a personal preference. Bearing that in mind, here is some legalese
CAUTION: The following post includes load data generated by calculation in Gordon Reloading Tool (GRT) software is based on particular powder lots, the assumption the primer is as mild as possible, and assumptions about component, chamber and gun geometry that may not correspond well to what you have. Such data should be approached by working up from published starting loads. USE THIS DATA AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, nor GRT's author assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information or information derived from it.
One of the first steps in using any ballistic software is putting all the parameters from your rifle into it. Barrel length, twist, gas port size and location etc come into the equation and can affect the outcome. GRT seems to be on the conservative side but do use common sense and caution and check for overpressure signs at every turn.
To find a good starting point I spent a few hours Googling looking for others who have posted about using Leverevolution in the Grendel and 120 class bullets. This load will be used to shoot a maximum of 850 yards so I need to be able to stay above Mach out that far at least. That means a muzzle velocity of at least 2450 using Lapua's BC numbers. Once I had a starting point and had entered all my variables regarding my rifle I figured a load somewhere between 28 and 30gn of powder should do the trick. Rounds were loaded to magazine depth of 2.26 inches. Primers are Federal AR Match. The rifle has a Rock River Match lower, upper is garage built using Aero receiver, bolt and handguard. Barrel is a Wilson Combat 20 inch and the scope is a Sig Sauer 4.5 - 14, bipod on the front and squeeze bag rear.
I set my Shotmarker and here are the results. The adjusted FPS is muzzle velocity calculated using the the JBM software by posting the distance from chronograph where the readings were taken. In this case 100 yards.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]19029[/ATTACH]
Keep in mind that the velocities are computed by the Shotmarker at 100 yards. To get the muzzle velocity I took the velocities on the target and used the JBM Ballistics web page to adjust the numbers for muzzle velocity. I put the numbers into a spreadsheet and the first thing I noticed was that Leverevolution gave me a very flat velocity curve
[ATTACH=CONFIG]19030[/ATTACH]
The first thing I noticed was there are two distinct flat spots in the graph. The first is at 28.5 to 28.8 the second is at 29.7 to 30.0. Looking at the target the 28.5 and 28.8 group sizes were also very tight (for me with a AR) so my next step will be shooting @28.5, 28.6,28.8.and 28.8 and evaluate from there. I may tweak seating depth and primer choice to further fine tune once I confirm a final charge weight
CAUTION: The following post includes load data generated by calculation in Gordon Reloading Tool (GRT) software is based on particular powder lots, the assumption the primer is as mild as possible, and assumptions about component, chamber and gun geometry that may not correspond well to what you have. Such data should be approached by working up from published starting loads. USE THIS DATA AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, nor GRT's author assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information or information derived from it.
One of the first steps in using any ballistic software is putting all the parameters from your rifle into it. Barrel length, twist, gas port size and location etc come into the equation and can affect the outcome. GRT seems to be on the conservative side but do use common sense and caution and check for overpressure signs at every turn.
To find a good starting point I spent a few hours Googling looking for others who have posted about using Leverevolution in the Grendel and 120 class bullets. This load will be used to shoot a maximum of 850 yards so I need to be able to stay above Mach out that far at least. That means a muzzle velocity of at least 2450 using Lapua's BC numbers. Once I had a starting point and had entered all my variables regarding my rifle I figured a load somewhere between 28 and 30gn of powder should do the trick. Rounds were loaded to magazine depth of 2.26 inches. Primers are Federal AR Match. The rifle has a Rock River Match lower, upper is garage built using Aero receiver, bolt and handguard. Barrel is a Wilson Combat 20 inch and the scope is a Sig Sauer 4.5 - 14, bipod on the front and squeeze bag rear.
I set my Shotmarker and here are the results. The adjusted FPS is muzzle velocity calculated using the the JBM software by posting the distance from chronograph where the readings were taken. In this case 100 yards.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]19029[/ATTACH]
Keep in mind that the velocities are computed by the Shotmarker at 100 yards. To get the muzzle velocity I took the velocities on the target and used the JBM Ballistics web page to adjust the numbers for muzzle velocity. I put the numbers into a spreadsheet and the first thing I noticed was that Leverevolution gave me a very flat velocity curve
[ATTACH=CONFIG]19030[/ATTACH]
The first thing I noticed was there are two distinct flat spots in the graph. The first is at 28.5 to 28.8 the second is at 29.7 to 30.0. Looking at the target the 28.5 and 28.8 group sizes were also very tight (for me with a AR) so my next step will be shooting @28.5, 28.6,28.8.and 28.8 and evaluate from there. I may tweak seating depth and primer choice to further fine tune once I confirm a final charge weight