Neck turning the 6.5 Creedmoor

[Steve Donlon]

I have always turned the necks on my 30-06 brass because I have to with the chambers made to need it. But my 6.5 Creedmoor rifles have stock chambers that are to spec do not require neck turning. They shoot very good but I just ordered a PMA mandrel and cutter for my 6.5 Creedmoor brass thinking maybe I will notice a difference. Do you guys that neck turn your 6.5 Creedmoor brass see much of a change after turning your brass?

 

[marchx]

Lapua brass is of great quality. No need to turn brass. I just shot today a 1/3 moa 10-shot group at 300m using unturned unannealed lapua brass.

 

[Steve Donlon]

Lapua brass is of great quality. No need to turn brass. I just shot today a 1/3 moa 10-shot group at 300m using unturned unannealed lapua brass.

I understand that and agree. But I use so many different brands of brass. Hornady, Sig, Starline, Peterson and Lapua. I use Peterson and Starline only for my Berger 144 gr. bullets and Hornady and Sig for my 147 eld. And Lapua for my midrange loads. I was thinking I might get a more consistent outcome turning the necks on the other brands of brass..

 

[mgunderson]

A light turning that might clean up 40% of the neck may provide more uniform neck tension. It isn't pixy dust and you better be convinced this is holding you back from better groups. Most people find the effort is more than the benefit.

Are you sorting and repointing bullets already? Annealing? Several things to put effort towards before I would go down that path.

 

[Chris Edmondson]

I've found that outside turning Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor necks helps to align eventual donut formation with brass end-of-life.

 

[Konocti's Wigwam]

I haven't yet, but I use the PMA neck turning tool to turn necks. It's kinda tricky to set, 2 of the screws are only for disassembly. I find I need to set it little by little and creep up on the neck thickness I want, then lock the both mandrel screws down. Both screws need to be loosened to adjust the mandrel depth. I found that out recently. The reason I haven't used it on 6.5CM brass is that I'm using Lapua SRP and I find the brass good to go. I think if you want the most consistency, you should turn them. I was turning some Hornady brass and the necks seemed tight, despite having the expander go through them. I ended up ripping a neck pretty good...oops...

 

[williepete]

I shoot lapua srp brass in my 6.5 creedmoor and they are good to go
but I neck turn them anyway I did not see much difference on papper but it is their
I will take all I can get.
What I did see was more consistent seating pressure on the 21 century hydro press
after turning the necks just my 2 cents.
Willie

 

[Steve Donlon]

Thanks to all of you. I think also with what you have pointed out. If I can gain anything it's worth a try. It's mostly at longer ranges where I hope to see a difference with vertical stringing. I can shoot a good group but often my group is 6 bullets stacked on top of each other still maintaining a good group. Where with my 30-06 I have no stringing. But with the 6.5 Creedmoor I'm using a bi-pod and the 30-06 a front rest and a heavier barrel. It seems like the bi-pod is more work so I figure I better turn the necks with the Creedmoor and try a mono pod in the rear and see what happens.

 

[Steve Donlon]

I figured out the problem I think. The brass that I get some vertical stringing at 1000 yards is Peterson 6.5 Creedmoor using Berger 144 gr. bullets.. I found out that this does happen with this brass at longer ranges if I have thicker neck walls. My brass is very consistent but some on the big end at .0155. My chamber is .295 and my loaded ammo is .292+. For my rifle I think I need more clearance for the best accuracy at 1000 yards.The more I think about it, the extra clearance can only be good . The vertical stringing is causing 7-8" groups sometimes but they are stacked perfectly in a vertical straight line with some touching each other. So I was excited to see that but the group could have been really good for me with no stringing. So I got some Peterson brass prepped and ready for my new neck turning tool that's in the mail.

 

[47WillysGuy]

0.0015" on a side is tight. Things start getting hot, you may have a big problem. I run 0.0025" - 0.0030" on a side. Good luck.

 

[Konocti's Wigwam]

I shoot lapua srp brass in my 6.5 creedmoor and they are good to go
but I neck turn them anyway I did not see much difference on papper but it is their
I will take all I can get.
What I did see was more consistent seating pressure on the 21 century hydro press
after turning the necks just my 2 cents.
Willie

What thickness do you turn them to? My necks on new Lapua SRP is about .013". I'm seeing .295" on the SAAMI spec, so I've got .264 + .026 = .290", should fit even if I had .014" neck wall.

 

[williepete]

I turn them down to where they are compleaty cleaned up usually depending on the lot around 12k.

 

[Steve Donlon]

I turn them down to where they are compleaty cleaned up usually depending on the lot around 12k.

Either Matt or Pat, at PMA, talked me into .012. I thought is was a little to much but he assured me it was working for him so that's what i got. I'm glad you agree. I'll see how it works. If it does not, I'll get the adjustable cutter so I can figure it out.

 

[Steve Donlon]

What thickness do you turn them to? My necks on new Lapua SRP is about .013". I'm seeing .295" on the SAAMI spec, so I've got .264 + .026 = .290", should fit even if I had .014" neck wall.

I went with .012 on the advice of PMA.

 

[Steve Donlon]

0.0015" on a side is tight. Things start getting hot, you may have a big problem. I run 0.0025" - 0.0030" on a side. Good luck.

They were more in the summer but I thought I was just on the edge. I was getting a little more bolt lift ,felt more like a Savage rifle but no other pressure signs at 41.5grs of RL16. Glad I figured I better turn the necks down.

 

[Konocti's Wigwam]

I went with .012 on the advice of PMA.

Thanks for replying, I'm gonna go with .012" also, I trust Pat, he can't be wrong. More than 1 of you turning to .012" also, so everyone can't be wrong. I think heat is a factor, and it's not cold where I shoot, although it says today is 84, that's not too bad, it's been over 100 pretty consistently for the past few weeks. I'm almost wanting it to rain...I said ALMOST! LOL Eventually we do need some rain if we want game to live...

 

[Konocti's Wigwam]

I just loaded 50 rounds of 6.5 Creedmoor. I didn't turn the necks yet, as I want to test, I have 50 more pieces of brass, but don't have any more LRX bullets. Please note in the pic, one of the bullets was missing the ballistic tip! ???? (pretty sure I'm not the first person to experience that...

Lapua SRP 6.5 Creedmoor brass
Barnes 127 gr LRX
CCI 41 primers
COAL 2.750"

25 pieces with Hodgdon 4350
25 pieces with IMR 4350

That's min to max from the Hodgdon Reloading Site. I didn't do anything to this brass, it's brand new and the necks are about .013" as I mentioned above. Everything fit loose in the Wilson case gauge.

I only wish my 8.6 blackout was this easy to reload to...I know you'll say it must be me, that's what I'm saying...but there's something else going on with fired brass in my chamber.

 

[williepete]

They were more in the summer but I thought I was just on the edge. I was getting a little more bolt lift ,felt more like a Savage rifle but no other pressure signs at 41.5grs of RL16. Glad I figured I better turn the necks down.

what bolt face are u running standard?

 

[Steve Donlon]

Yes, a FUZION action. I went out today and shot the one box of Peterson brass that was .290 in diameter with 41.5 grs. of RL16 with the rest being .292+ and the bolt lift was smooth just like all my other brands of brass. I got the brass years ago when it first came out.

 

[drop_point]

I use Lapua small primer 6.5 Creedmoor brass. On the lot I have, it measured anywhere from 0.0135-0.0145" and I think there were a couple that got up to 0.0150" on my mic. I decided to turn them and on the first pass about half the neck was cleaned up. I decided to turn them down to 0.0125".

After turning, the rifle came alive and I also shot the best group I've personally ever shot. Was it the turning? I have no clue. Maybe the cases were fully formed on the second firing. I don't see how leaving the necks alone were of any benefit to me, except for preservation of time. If you have the clearance and expand the necks after sizing, I don't really see how it could be that big of a deal but I couldn't argue with the results or the time investment.