LOAD DEVELOPMENT

Best 6.5 Creedmoor Bullet?

Posted by Mr.Wild on

Can this be the best 6.5 Creedmoor bullet? We have shot well north of 20,000 rounds of 6.5 Creedmoor utilizing a number of different bullets. Here at Wildesideprecision.com we are huge fans of http://BERGERBULLETS.COM range of bullets. With that being said, Hornady has a bullet often overlooked…. The Hornady 123 Grain ELDM. This bullet covers a wide range of use. As a result, hits all the points we look at for a viable projectile for everything from competition, to broad use shooting. Stay with me on this one…

Hornady 123 Grain ELDM

This bullet is capable of hitting speeds north of 3000 FPS. Additionally they provide a low recoil impulse together with flat trajectory. Now with this in mind, it is important for PRS style matches, and can yield really great accuracy and ballistics. It is often over looked because the BC, .259 G7. Without a doubt, it can cover a range of targets out to well past 1000 yards reliably. During the beginning of this adventure shooting competition, multiple barrels later, we found that often we overlook certain bullets. With this in mind, bullets such as the lighter 120-123 class projectiles are left to the Grendels and smaller cases because the so called “NEED FOR BC.”

Accuracy Matters

No one wants to spend time and ammunition shopping for the perfect bullet. No one wants to spend precious resources on load development. One of the biggest things that drives me to choosing a bullet is the ease of accuracy. This bullet tends to be jump insensitive. It allows you to maximize the case fill and get insane speeds out of the bullets.

We were pushing these well north of 3000 FPS, which makes this a super flat shooting bullet. So long as there is just enough BC, it can keep them tied up with the heaver 140 class bullets. While this may sometimes be true, speed always supplements BC. This fact is always overlooked. With 44.5 grains of H4350, we were seeing 3080 FPS and used this load during Sniper’s Hide Cup 2019. This load at 5k DA, was 6.5 mils to 1000 yards. Super Flat!

Flat Shooting Bullet

The most compelling evidence is a screenshot of Hornady 123 Grain ELDM at 3080 FPS, at sea level. This range card is displaying 10 MPH of wind at 90* full value. 10 MPH 90* full value is a data point we compare bullets side by side with. On the whole this allows us to see if it is a viable bullet for competition use. Clearly at 7.1 mils at sea level to 1000 yards, this is a very capable bullet. Applied Ballistics

SPEED IS KING

Now that these are the times we live in, look to expand your knowledge by trying things that are not the social norm. If you ask any of the long range shooters who much less, shoots 6.5 class cases, almost none of them shoot the lighter bullets. Mainly because they see the BC and immediately presume that a heavier bullet will outpace it. However this is not a truth. Most venues in PRS style matches have average targets from 300-800 yards, specifically inside 600 yards.



This bullet will tie or beat most of the heavies inside 600 yards and because the shorter time of flight and the flatter trajectory, will often gap them. Looking at BC as the definitive factor for bullet selection is a failure point in most people’s understanding of ballistics. To point out, the end user is the weakest link. If the recoil impulse is not manageable, and causing you to miss bullet trace or report, then you are going to be missing more often. If you cannot see your misses, you will continue to miss. Plain and simple. To illustrate, sacrificing some BC for the flatter, lower recoiling bullet is always going to be my choice. I look at the average distance targets and decide from there. To clarify, If the targets range closer to 1 mile, then I will reconsider my choice. So Can this be the best 6.5 Creedmoor bullet? Lets look at the ballistics.

Ballistics

Again, using the 10 MPH full value data point, this is a screenshot of 650 yards and in. 3.2 Mils to 650 yards is impressive. One thing to notice is the 1000 FTLB energy point. With this in mind, at 650 plus yards they are still maintaining over 1000 FTLBS.

Best 6.5 Creedmoor Bullet?

Can this be the best 6.5 Creedmoor bullet? To summerize, If you have not tried these bullets out yet, start looking for them! They are one of the most overlooked bullets. Is this the Best 6.5 Creedmoor bullet? What are your thoughts? http://Hornady.com

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2 Comments Add yours

  1. KC says:
    July 26, 2022 at 9:09 am

    I have loaded up some Serria 120 sp W IMR 4831 @ 44.6gn should be 2950fps haven’t fired them yet.

    Reply
    1. Mr.Wild says:
      July 27, 2022 at 12:37 pm

      If its for a hunting setup, that should work well. I know the SMK class bullets will do much better for the long range engagements if that’s what you are looking for!

      Reply

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