6.5 Creedmoor OCW test

[jordanka16]

If your goal is long distance I would certainly shoot over the chrony and look for flat spots. To me it looks like your rifle is not that picky. Whichever load shows the least SD and ES will probably shoot best at long range, and sometimes the best long distance loads are not the best at 100 yards.

Nice shooting!

 

[Larry243]

If your goal is long distance I would certainly shoot over the chrony and look for flat spots. To me it looks like your rifle is not that picky. Whichever load shows the least SD and ES will probably shoot best at long range, and sometimes the best long distance loads are not the best at 100 yards.

Nice shooting!

Yes, I sure do a Crony when developing any round. I like to load a little hotter, because I do like my 129 grn. around 2900 ft/per/sec. It seams like the Hodgdon 4350 is working out for me pretty well. Most grouping for my Creedmoor Sport rifle cover 1-1/2" with 5 group shooting. That is good enough for me to bring hair home any day.
My Son in law likes his 140 grn for all around hunting, but it takes out the backside to much for me...
Keep-em shooting,
Larry243

 

[Larry243]

Yes, I sure do a Crony when developing any round. I like to load a little hotter, because I do like my 129 grn. around 2900 ft/per/sec. It seams like the Hodgdon 4350 is working out for me pretty well. Most grouping for my Creedmoor Sport rifle cover 1-1/2" with 5 group shooting. That is good enough for me to bring hair home any day.
My Son in law likes his 140 grn for all around hunting, but it takes out the backside to much for me...
Keep-em shooting,
Larry243

 

[11Charlie]

matter of time before @SKrueger chimes in...

So if you know what I am going to say just say it and get it over with!

 

[11Charlie]

Didn't read the whole thread but YES TIKKA's ROCK!!!

 

[DizzyJ]

i was hoping to see a more dramatic POI shift when I shot this test to make seeing the node a little easier but they all are relatively close to the same POI. So either my gun likes everything or should I retest over a chrony and look for a load with low SD and ES? What do you guys think? The gun is a Tikka CTR, virgin Lapua brass, RL16 powder, CCI450 primers and 140gr ELD-Ms loaded .02" off the lands.
View attachment 415630

Since they are all hitting relatively in the same location, I'd say chrono the 2nd group. If it's fairly low Es and sd, go with that. If not, find one that has better Es and sd, and fine tune with bullet seating depth.
Nice shooting rifle btw. This is all I need. Another rifle for consideration. Thanks a lot.

 

[sprink]

Made it out again today with my magnetospeed chronograph. I shot five rounds per group @200yds so it's a fairly small sample size.

1x fired Lapua brass FL sized
140gr ELD-M
CCI 450 primer
RL16 powder
CBTO 2.355" =.O2" off the lands

41gr
Avg 2643
SD 13
ES 34

41.2gr
Avg 2650
SD 14
ES 34

41.4gr
Avg 2664
SD 12
ES 31

41.6gr
Avg 2684
SD 9
ES 23

41.8gr
Avg 2697
SD 13
ES 35

42gr
Avg 2713
SD 9
ES 25

42.2gr
Avg 2726
SD 7
ES 21

42.4gr
Avg 2744
SD 5
ES 15


So 42.4gr had the best SD and ES numbers but one of the worst groups. Do you think playing with the seating depth would shrink these up? I'll admit it was a little cold and I was doing my best to not shake.

 

[jordanka16]

Made it out again today with my magnetospeed chronograph. I shot five rounds per group @200yds so it's a fairly small sample size.

1x fired Lapua brass FL sized
140gr ELD-M
CCI 450 primer
RL16 powder
CBTO 2.355" =.O2" off the lands

41gr
Avg 2643
SD 13
ES 34

41.2gr
Avg 2650
SD 14
ES 34

41.4gr
Avg 2664
SD 12
ES 31

41.6gr
Avg 2684
SD 9
ES 23

41.8gr
Avg 2697
SD 13
ES 35

42gr
Avg 2713
SD 9
ES 25

42.2gr
Avg 2726
SD 7
ES 21

42.4gr
Avg 2744
SD 5
ES 15
View attachment 416269

So 42.4gr had the best SD and ES numbers but one of the worst groups. Do you think playing with the seating depth would shrink these up? I'll admit it was a little cold and I was doing my best to not shake.

Yeah, play with seating depth, just about any load can be made to shoot well by playing around with the seating depth, but poor SD and ES will give you bad results at a distance.

An OCW test isn't really about groups anyway, it's more about finding patterns and consistent velocities.

Just to confirm, you're shooting round robin right, one of a charge weight then the next weight and so on, then start back at the low end.

Edit: looking at the patterns I would be inclined to try 42.2 as well, the CW above and below all shoot to roughly the same POI.

Another edit: I just read you are using a magnetospeed, make sure you test the seating depth with it off.

 

[sprink]

The OCW test I did Friday was shot round robin. Today I shot all five rounds per charge weight as a group then moved to the next as I was looking for something with low SD and ES numbers.

 

[Greenbug]

The group with 42.2 grains looks pretty good to me. Pretty low SD & ES too!

 

[Larry243]

Made it out again today with my magnetospeed chronograph. I shot five rounds per group @200yds so it's a fairly small sample size.

1x fired Lapua brass FL sized
140gr ELD-M
CCI 450 primer
RL16 powder
CBTO 2.355" =.O2" off the lands

41gr
Avg 2643
SD 13
ES 34

41.2gr
Avg 2650
SD 14
ES 34

41.4gr
Avg 2664
SD 12
ES 31

41.6gr
Avg 2684
SD 9
ES 23

41.8gr
Avg 2697
SD 13
ES 35

42gr
Avg 2713
SD 9
ES 25

42.2gr
Avg 2726
SD 7
ES 21

42.4gr
Avg 2744
SD 5
ES 15
View attachment 416269

So 42.4gr had the best SD and ES numbers but one of the worst groups. Do you think playing with the seating depth would shrink these up? I'll admit it was a little cold and I was doing my best to not shake.

What Great Data Sprink,
This is what it is all about. Look what you have achieved today. You know what you like and dis-like from this. Just remember, Big grn bullets are not always the best. Some times you can reload lighter bullets with a little more and get the same impact as bigger bullets going slower. Any one of those grouping would allow you to drag meat home. I agree you could tighten them up some to ensure a closer direct hit. You were at 200 yds. and that is pretty good for sport shooting with a hunting rifle. Spend a little time with Hodgdons 4350 powder. I think you will like how you can dial things in. Yes, your bullet jump is critical, and I like .020-.025 for my rifles. You do need to secure that rifle down to qualify that rifle for good shooting. This is just for me, others like different. Thank you for keeping me in the loop.... I will be watching you in the future!
Larry243

 

[Larry243]

What Great Data Sprink,
This is what it is all about. Look what you have achieved today. You know what you like and dis-like from this. Just remember, Big grn bullets are not always the best. Some times you can reload lighter bullets with a little more and get the same impact as bigger bullets going slower. Any one of those grouping would allow you to drag meat home. I agree you could tighten them up some to ensure a closer direct hit. You were at 200 yds. and that is pretty good for sport shooting with a hunting rifle. Spend a little time with Hodgdons 4350 powder. I think you will like how you can dial things in. Yes, your bullet jump is critical, and I like .020-.025 for my rifles. You do need to secure that rifle down to qualify that rifle for good shooting. This is just for me, others like different. Thank you for keeping me in the loop.... I will be watching you in the future!
Larry243

 

[DizzyJ]

The group with 42.2 grains looks pretty good to me. Pretty low SD & ES too!

I'd say this, and play with bullet seating depth.

 

[kritos666]

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but 5 shots doesn't make a statistically viable test. Ten would be the absolute minimum, 15 would be better. Five is just not enough data to compare. From that point, you can start playing with seating depth. The ES and SD won't look as good, but it will be a more realistic sample set. Just as 3 shot groups are not as useful as 5 or 10 shot groups. They are hard on the ego, but tell the whole story. Trust me, I was not happy to see im not a 1/2MOA shooter, I am much more a 3/4.

My 2 cents.

 

[Larry243]

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but 5 shots doesn't make a statistically viable test. Ten would be the absolute minimum, 15 would be better. Five is just not enough data to compare. From that point, you can start playing with seating depth. The ES and SD won't look as good, but it will be a more realistic sample set. Just as 3 shot groups are not as useful as 5 or 10 shot groups. They are hard on the ego, but tell the whole story. Trust me, I was not happy to see im not a 1/2MOA shooter, I am much more a 3/4.

My 2 cents.

You got it guy,

My shots were only comparison shots that I do every wednesday at the range through my Crono... I would never qualify a rifle bullet with 5 shots. I am a 10-12 round person when setting up a rifle round. I also am also a hunter, and only qualify my Hand Loads for hunting and not for precision shooting. I want only to cover 1-1/2" at 100 yds, consistently and be able to calibrate for 200-300 yd shots only. I use my bench rest for qualifying my ammo, and not off hand shooting. You can only certify the gun if the rifle is locked down to remove the human error problems...
Thank,s
Larry 243