There seems to be a few good powders that are tried and proven. For me, H335 is a plus as I had about 6 lbs. on hand.
In general, 6.5 Grendel uses most of the common powders used in 5.56 and 308, 2 cartridges I reloaded for in the past,
unlike 300 blackout and 8.6 blackout which use a faster burning powder.
01-14-2024, 06:27 PM (This post was last modified: 01-14-2024, 06:37 PM by Zeneffect.)
I have had excellent success with staball match with 123 and 105s... especially with the 105s. It's like shooting a little laser. I bet it would do decent with 120gr sierras as well
Used to be XBR and ARCOMP but I aint paying 60 bucks a lb fer the $#!+. Tac and 2230c getter done almost as good and they where bought for 60 bucks a keg....or less
01-17-2024, 02:52 AM (This post was last modified: 01-17-2024, 02:58 AM by johnnybarbar.)
CFE223 tuned around max book loads with 123 and 129 tipped bullets works for me. I limit my shooting to around 300 yds for bullet performance on game and moderate SDs aren't a big issue at those ranges. Pressures have safe margins for those warmer days but I never shoot much outside of fur and deer season so that's really not an issue either. IIRC the CFE I picked up a couple months back was $37/lb which is decent these days when it loads about 230 rounds/lb. I understand why a lot of guys shy away from it ...especially if they shoot in the hotter climates.
I have a question about TAC, I have a bunch of TAC, and I have not done much load development with it in the 6.5GRR, I'm running an 18'' 1&8 and would like to keep using the 120 or 123gn pills, anybody have a decent load they want to share?
Mark611 Wrote:I have a question about TAC, I have a bunch of TAC, and I have not done much load development with it in the 6.5GRR, I'm running an 18'' 1&8 and would like to keep using the 120 or 123gn pills, anybody have a decent load they want to share?
27.3gr with 120s
27.9-28 with 123s
Sierra data runs up to 28.9 on a 123 hpbt
I also run a 18.5 but its a Howa mini.
Tac is slightly more accurate for me than h335 but it lacks velocity by about 35fps which isnt a ton. They are my two favorite powders.
Thank you for the info! I will not be using TAC, I get way better numbers with other powders I have, I'll use the TAC for my 223/5.56 loads, my Grendel's are in AR platforms,
Since 8208 is difficult to find, if you were going to pick a powder for accuracy with 130 ish grain bullets, what would it be? I have no concers about velocity, it will be adequate for what I want to do.
01-22-2024, 03:28 PM (This post was last modified: 01-24-2024, 07:09 PM by SDW.)
Mark611 Wrote:I have a question about TAC, I have a bunch of TAC, and I have not done much load development with it in the 6.5GRR, I'm running an 18'' 1&8 and would like to keep using the 120 or 123gn pills, anybody have a decent load they want to share?
Mark611 Wrote:Thank you for the info! I will not be using TAC, I get way better numbers with other powders I have, I'll use the TAC for my 223/5.56 loads
I'm curious why you asked about TAC if you'd already ruled it out, sounds like?
FWIW, I like TAC in both 5.56 and 6.5g. Accuracy and velocity wise it's very close to A2520, at least with my barrel. 20" BA, Stainless DMR profile. I'm not trying to change your mind. I just like A2520 slightly better and will probably also reserve my TAC powder for 5.56.
TAC best group. 28.2 gr under a Hrdy 123gr ELD:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]20226[/ATTACH]
I'm not the most experienced guy here, but I'd call this a sub-MOA load. 2467 fps average. 10.2 SD, which isn't bad.
^^^ Now those are some nice groups. I wonder if your OAL being kinda long (2.260"?) really makes a difference. I honestly haven't concerned myself with it in my loads so far. Mine fit in the mags, just barely, and that's what I've cared about. I load mine to just a hair under 2.250" maybe? I'd have to look at what I wrote on the box. I know that it's not really about the OAL, but about the length at the ogive and all that. I don't want to turn this into a discussion about ogives and lands and such.
Not that I'm super proud of this group below, but it shows the potential of AA2520 in my 20" DMR barrel. Same bullet 123gr ELDs as above, same cases, Hornadys I think. Rem 7-1/2 primers, which is all I use for my "precision" Grendel loads.
A lot of the groups I shot with the 2520 workup strung out a bit vertically like this. I attributed this to holding my stock a little bit too loose that morning after having shot a while. I shoot prone off a bipod, just wearing a tee shirt, and my shoulder was starting to get a little tender by this time. Even with just a Grendel. I think I began to lose my consistent hold.
But anyway... Ave. velocity of this load (29.6 gr) was 2462 fps. SD was a little tighter at 8.9. This 5-shot group is less than 1/4" wide. Vertically it's just over 1 inch, which I attribute at least partly to my sloppy hold, like I said. I think it's got potential. Enough that I have 50 more rounds of 123 ELDs loaded up with 29.5 gr of AA2520 to try, as soon as I can get back out to the desert.
Fshaw Wrote:Since 8208 is difficult to find, if you were going to pick a powder for accuracy with 130 ish grain bullets, what would it be? I have no concers about velocity, it will be adequate for what I want to do.
Thanks.
Frank
I personally would pick LVR first to try, then CFE223, and finally ARComp. BLC will work if you have it and so will AA2520.
I have ran LVR out of a bolt Grendel with 140 grain fusions and they shoot great and have the highest velocity of any other powder I have tried.
