Subsonic Ammo for 6.5 Creedmoor?

[awshoot]

Thats why I thought it would be worthwhile to check in if there are any commercial custom reloaders here in the N.W., maybe better price, less shipping?

If I was reloading, it would just be this caliber, from what little I have reviewed it would be probably be what, $400.00 to $600 investment? Though it would go north of that pretty soon if purchasing his customs, even if sending him brass.

You don't have to spend that much, this kit for $280 would likely last you the rest of your life: RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Single Stage Press Kit - MPN: 9354 Maybe at some point you want to upgrade the scale. The only thing missing is a powder trickler, but that will only set you back another 10-20 bucks.

The dies could be as cheap as $55 -- good dies though (I have a few sets of these): RCBS 2-Die Set

That puts you at $350ish all in. But you don't even need to spend that much -- many people make excellent ammo with cheaper presses. This kit (though I've never personally used it) is only $130: Lee Challenger Breech Lock Single Stage Press Kit - MPN: 90030 Still needs a powder trickler though.

I also have both of these and really like the caliper style bullet seating die (but the old screw and nut system as with the RCBS link above works just fine even if they're a bit more fiddly to set) -- these run $115-120 depending:
Redding Premium Series Deluxe 3-Die Set
Redding Master Hunter 2-Die Set

I load for 6.5x55 Sweedish and the cost would be comparable to 6.5 Creedmoor -- bullets, powder weights, primers -- basically the same stuff. A box of 100 quality bullets averages about $30, or 30 cents each, give or take. At subsonic levels though, you might think about casting your own bullets which would drop the cost dramatically (at the price of some tools). A primer is typically in the 4 to 4.5 cent range. A pound of powder costs about $30, +/-, and weighs 7000 grains. Figure an average supersonic load of about 40gr +/- and that's 175 shots per pound or 17.1 cents per shot in powder (subsonic will be cheaper of course). Round it all up and it costs me about 52 cents per shot for supersonic rounds. Include the cost of really nice brass assuming 10 shots per brass, and that only bumps it up another dime.

The issue is time of course. If you paid someone to make ammo, that's where the other $1 per round comes from and if they're doing a quality job, they really aren't getting paid that much. If you figure its better to spend your time making ammo customized to your rifle for maximum accuracy instead of watching fail or cat videos on youtube, reloading makes a lot of sense. You won't save money in the end though -- you'll just shoot 2-3x as much. ;-)

 

[wired]

Wired and Awshoot,
Thank you. Off subject but BTW your paint gun and cat photos would win a prize in the right entry (always depends on the jurors), my wife is a pro. artist, so I am around these things 24/7.

A man is only the sum of what he can build himself.

 

[teis]

Awshoot,
Really appreciate you taking the time to share your stuff. Was feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the prospect of facing the reload process, where to start, how much, etc.. Now I'm feeling like I can do this.
Finding the Snipers Hide thread I'm listing below is giving me further encouragement that making the 6.5 Creedmoor subsonic is feasible and safe combined with a suppressor, as further technical discussion and recipes are shared.
6.5 Creedmoor Subsonic ??

Wired,
You are an Artist!! Your secret is out. What a beauty. I think of the 4-universal laws of gun safety every time I gaze at it.

Thank you for your encouragement.

 

[awshoot]

... 6.5 Creedmoor Subsonic ?? ...

Wow -- at 10 gr of powder, a pound will make 700 rounds -- or about 4.3 cents per round in powder. Here are some molds: 6.5 bullet mold - MidwayUSA Using new lead, it looks like the bullets would cost about 9c each -- so if you went totally DIY, a subsonic load with powder, primer and bullet would be less than 20 cents each -- $20 would be 100 shots at the range. Commercial loads run about $20 for 20 shots and go up from there. I'm kind of getting interested myself! ;-)

I've heard about using fillers in light loads -- never done it myself because I've never made anything that light -- but it would probably be worth searching for. Here's one article: Powder Case Position & Fillers and what looks to be an very informative thread: The proper use of fillers

Of course, before you get to fillers and subsonics, you'd want to make some regular loads as practice.

 

[wired]

Trail Boss. Seriously. Just fill the case to about 1/2" under the top and adjust to get it just under 1000 FPS . Great stuff for subs in rifle cases. Forget about fillers, cornmeal, pillow filling etc.

 

[awshoot]

A big caveat -- light loads can be dangerous, fillers may be out of favor, use cast bullets -- I like this dude's reloading videos generally, and he has one on the topic:

This guy is also another great resource generally, for light loads need to use cast bullets, not jacketed bullets:

 

[teis]

Taken from low power loads - Page 2

"Trail Boss is the easy & safe way to go and can fill the case to 100%.
You need to do a lot of research before attempting light loads with other rifle powders..
Only a few other powders are even candidates for going under listed minimums, and for those you need to do the research.
A major issue is case fill. Most sources say the lower limit of case fill is 60% for safe consistent ignition".

 

[teis]

The quote above is actually from low power loads pg.1

 

[teis]

Almost a year later, and curious if any new licensed manufacturers were making subsonics in addition to ones already mentioned in this thread. This company came up Products – Chalk 1 Munitions
Have any of you tried any of the 3 subsonic 6.5 Creed cartridges they offer?

 

[Member 5605]

Almost a year later, and curious if any new licensed manufacturers were making subsonics in addition to ones already mentioned in this thread. This company came up Products – Chalk 1 Munitions
Have any of you tried any of the 3 subsonic 6.5 Creed cartridges they offer?

Maybe I should make some...?

 

[teis]

I know I will try, just not ready yet. Over the last year I have purchased supplies for reloading and look forward to gaining some confidence with regular (supersonic) rounds and subs for the 6.5. I am new to reloading and have yet to make my first round, between work, home remodel, and taking the first step to make a batch. I have taken the time to review a good deal of video and bookmarked commentary of folks who have confidence for making safe, effective subsonic cartridges for this caliber. Some of that is discussed in this thread.

Dyjital, If you make some subs for the 6.5 Creed I would love to hear about it. I sure hope to be successful in the future. I have been waiting on an Thunderbeast ultra 7 since processed July 16, 2018. I try not to think about it

Anyone try any of the 3 cartridges in 6.5 offered from Products – Chalk 1 Munitions

 

[teis]

Thank you to folks in this thread for your suggestions and recommendations on reload equip.

 

[Member 5605]

@teis the only thing keeping me from it is the $34 for a box of bullets..

 

[Steve M]

I love it, someone expresses a desire for something and some people can't understand it so they ridicule it.

Unfortunately I have little to offer except that Hodgdon says that any loading that uses H4895 can be safely loaded with 60% of the max load. Their own data for 142gn Sierra HPBT is 34.5gn of H4895 as a max load. 60% of that works out to 20.7gn, but I've no idea what velocity that would give you.

 

[teis]

Hi Steve,
just spoke with Mike Daley (WOW) at Hodgdons. He said using the H4895 will not be subsonic at the low end, and to just go with Trail Boss for ease and safety. From what Iv'e seen online including this thread that has also been the general consensus regarding Trail Boss for subsonic, and Mike mentioned few exceptions. He said if there are any questions just call Hodgdons Monday through Thursday, central time.

Makes me curious if professional reloaders such as 6.5CM 160 grain RN SUBSONIC – Custom Reloads of Dallas
and Products – Chalk 1 Munitions are using Trail Boss.