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Optimal case to push 147 ELD?

cchtx7

I am in the process of building my first proper bolt gun and have been lurking on this forum for quite some time. The bulk of my research has focused around finding a cartridge that will push the heavier .264 projectiles (140-147) to 1200+ yards, with the intent of shooting steel out in the country. Possibly some rifle matches as well. Specifically focused on the 147 ELD-M because I'd like to make use of it's high BC and I've had good results with the 178 ELD-M in my AR-10. Provided it shoots well in my rifle, it ought to be a pretty good combo.

Now I do realize that there is a long, long list of 6.5mm calibers that will make it out to 1200 easy. In the process of this build I've changed my mind from wanting to go 6.5 Creed, to 6.5x47L, to .260, and now finally taking a hard look at 260 AI. I have a 26" Brux .264 blank so it will definitely be a 6.5mm. I'd like to stick with a short action but I'm not opposed to a 6.5-284, 6.5x55 or 6.5x55 AI either. I have yet to buy an action for the build so a long action is still a possibility.

I'm about 90% sure that 260 AI is what I'll go with. I like the extra capacity, the ability to use some slower burning powders that aren't used as often in the Creed or 47L (like RL-23 and RL-26) combined with the 147 ELD should be a winner. My only concern is how deep the bullet would be seated. To make a comparison I know you could seat them longer out of a 6.5x47 and take up less case capacity, however the throat would need to be very long in a 47L.

What I would like is to get the opinions of those with much more experience than me. Especially those of you who are running the 147 ELD with success. My questions to y'all would be;

1) If you were in my situation with a 6.5 barrel blank, your choice of either long or short action, and you wanted to run a 147 ELD, what case would you choose?

2) Those of you that are running a 147 ELD, what case are you using and what is your velocity and SD?

My apologies if any of this is redundant, I'm trying not to make this another "Which 6.5" thread and more of a focused discussion on the forum's results with this specific projectile. Thank you all for the excellent information shared on this site!
 
If you are not opposed to going with a magnum bolt face then look at he 6.5 PRC. After all, the 147 ELD-M was designed with the PRC in mind. You can easily reach over the 3,000 FPS threshold with RL26 or Retumbo using a 26" barrel. It's fast, flat and (in my testing so far) accurate. Not to mention the fact that you can, if desired, buy Hornady factory 147 ELD-M loaded ammo (match grade) that shoots very well. Lastly, it fits your criteria of a short action too.
 
338rumshooter said:
It's simple, how much barrel life do you want?
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I draw the line at about 1500+ rounds. From my understanding 6.5x47L, 6.5 Creedmoor and 260 will all do about 2000-3000. The 260 AI should do about 1500-1800. The 6.5-284 and magnums like the 6.5 PRC shoot4fun mentioned will all do less than that. Undoubtedly they have superior ballistic performance but that's part of the compromise, that and recoil. Part of what drew me to the 260 AI is that it seems like a nice medium between slightly enhanced performance and barrel life.
 
Do you already have an action? If not, why would you want a short action? I don't see any advantage over a long action, they aren't really much different on length. I'm just saying that a long action would give you enough room to seat the bullet out farther in a 260AI. Thus taking advantage of the extra case capacity.
 
6.5 SAUM .120 FB

You can load it "down" to lower pressures and velocities of all the calibers you listed. The extra case capacity gives you more flexibility with all the great powders and varying bullet weights that are available.

Better brass than the PRC, with Norma and ADG about to release SAUM brass.

And if you decided to ramp it up, you have a case that can eat barrels and walk away from the rest of them
 
Number one priority is to only consider cartridges that have Lapua or Peterson brass available. The strength of their primer pockets will allow you to push the envelope for speed where other brass will fail and you will get a lot longer life from them.

Second, for heavy bullets launched to very long distances, I would stay in the 260 AI to 6.5-284 level of case capacity or more.

Third, don't get your mind stuck on Hornady bullets. Berger bullets are much more consistent and will pretty much ALWAYS out shoot Hornady. I would even shoot Sierra bullets long before I considered using Hornady. There are also custom bullets from JLK and others that are good as well.
 
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I originally had a 140 Berger in mind as they are a bit of a gold standard for the 6.5's. For now they are scarce enough that my best options would be either a 147 ELD or 142 SMK.
 
NAMMO (parent company of Lapua and Vita Vhouri) recently acquired Berger so they are going through some changes at the moment. They'll be back into normal production soon enough.
 
My vote is short action, 6.5x55AI (aka 6.5 Addiction, aka 6.5 Sweedmoor). Big enough to get out to 1200 yards comfortably, big enough to run the 147's to decent speeds. Small enough to mag feed in a short action, which if you want to do any rifle matches is a must have (assuming you are talking about shooting steel and not F-class). Decent barrel life, will easily make your 1500+ requirement. Big enough case to run any of the slower powders that you're interested in. Plus, the cost of Lapua 6.5x55 brass is going to be cheaper than 260 brass. Another big positive is that once the barrel is done, you've still got a short action with a standard bolt face, which gives you lots of flexibility for future choices when rebarreling.

I've got a couple friends who have run the 6.5 Addiction as their main competition rifles the past few years. They have done extremely well with them, top 10 shooters in most matches they enter.

And like Ledd says above the 140 Bergers are becoming available now, so don't rule those out as an option.
 
I would go 6.5 SS (Sherman Short). Rich has head stamped brass available now. I have the long action version (270 parent case). Unbelievable what it will do. Drives a 140 Berger at 3339 fps out of a 28" HART on a Borden action. Lots of info on the SHERMAN wildcats over on Long Range Hunting Forum. I would guess the 6.5SS would launch a 147 at 3100 fps comfortably. Send Rich a PM. He's great to deal with and will rent you the reamer. User name on LRH is Elkaholic I believe.
 
Ledd Slinger said:
Third, don't get your mind stuck on Hornady bullets. Berger bullets are much more consistent and will pretty much ALWAYS out shoot Hornady. I would even shoot Sierra bullets long before I considered using Hornady. There are also custom bullets from JLK and others that are good as well.
Click to expand...

You also get to pay SIGNIFICANTLY more for the bergers.

I shoot 147 out of my rpr in 6.5 Creedmoor exclusively. Hornady brass, 41.7gns of RL17, RWS LR primers, seated max magazine length 2.840". I'm right at 2750fps, with SD around 7 and ES around 14. I like it a lot for reaching out there.
 
cchtx7 said:
I draw the line at about 1500+ rounds. From my understanding 6.5x47L, 6.5 Creedmoor and 260 will all do about 2000-3000. The 260 AI should do about 1500-1800. The 6.5-284 and magnums like the 6.5 PRC shoot4fun mentioned will all do less than that. Undoubtedly they have superior ballistic performance but that's part of the compromise, that and recoil. Part of what drew me to the 260 AI is that it seems like a nice medium between slightly enhanced performance and barrel life.
Click to expand...
From what I know the 6.5-284 is the worst offender. But the short neck of the 260 AI makes it just about as bad. My 6.5-47 barrel doesn't have even 500 on it yet but my 6.5 Creedmoor has over 2,000 and still shoots fantastic. Also, I am way to new into the 6.5PRC to know just what barrel life will be but was told by someone involved in its development that they were good at he 2,000 round mark.
 
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