123 class bullets in 6.5x47 lapua

[ttfreestyle]

What is your best 123 class bullet and powder combo for the 6.5x47? Looking for a good mid range load. Savage action with 8 twist 28 inch Criterion bbl. Thanks

 

[James EPS]

I was using a 123 Amax in my 6.5x47 Lapua with H4350.

You would have to work on seating depth and load but it has worked good in all my 6.5's

James

 

[ShootDots]

I used to shoot BOTH the 123gr. Scenars and the 123 SMK's... They both shot well. However, I found the Scenars had a noticeable edge.. Now I have only shot out 2 barrels, so my experience, though fairly extensive, is not as much as some peoples. Having said that, it is MY opinion that H4350 is the "go to" powder for this caliber. There is going to be some STOUT opposition to that opinion, most will say RL-15. I have NO disagreement with that postulation. Additionally, some of those RL-15 shooters now shoot Varget, due to the better temp stability of Varget. With all that said, I found that 41.4grs. of H4350 gave me 2970f.p.s. and awesome accuracy. Now, here is a "tip" that will work with almost every caliber. If you shoot a "very sleek for caliber", tangent ogive bullet, seat them 7-8K INTO the lands and you will not be disappointed! My 123's, whether the Scenars or the SMK's shot 7K into the lands, my 6br shot 105 Scenars and 107 SMK's seated 7K into the lands and my 308, shooting 168 Berger B/T's shot AWESOME at 7K into the lands. I told this to my friend, and now HIS 6BR shoots 105 Scenars with laser-like accuracy, seated 7K into the lands. I hope this help... Remember, this is ONLY my opinion.

 

[DennisH]

Will have to look up my load for 123 Scenar's, but they shoot awesome out of my gun.

120 SMK's with 39.3 RL15, 450's, touching lands, will shoot one hole all day long. Again, the Scenars are not far off.

 

[navyrad8r]

Waiting for Erik Cortina to chime in, he did pretty good with them scenars...the scenars were light yeasr ahead of the 123 amaxs, duh. but berger 120 BT match were not that far off, and not so picky with the seating depth.
cheers,
doc

 

[Forum Boss]

123 Scenars with H4350. I too have found that tangent ogive bullets shoot well in the lands, but I prefer .010 to .015 in the land. Difference between my results and ShootDot's "magic .007" could well be measurement methods. I use the Hornady tool. With technique this produces very repeatable numbers for "first touch". When I work with other guys who determined a "zero thou in lands" point based on first visible marks, I have found they are, more often than not, .003 to .006 past "first touch", as measured with Hornady tool. On a Scenar, .010 in won't leave much of a mark.

If you have variations in base to ogive length, running around .005 in lands can put you in the "no-mans land" where some bullets are engraving and some are not. But whatever works best is the key. I know one record-setting Dasher shooter who said his gun showed a huge accuracy difference from .003 in lands (great) to .010 (not good). You have to test with your bullets, your barrel, your powder choice. Just develop a measurement system that is repeatable, and measure with multiple bullets to rule out possibility that you measured with a "non-average" bullet in the box.

 

[Erik Cortina]

Waiting for Erik Cortina to chime in, he did pretty good with them scenars...the scenars were light yeasr ahead of the 123 amaxs, duh. but berger 120 BT match were not that far off, and not so picky with the seating depth.
cheers,
doc

I shoot 139 gr. Scenars.

 

[model 12 toby]

shot .7 3 shot group with 123 a-maxes and rl-15 at 268 yards with bi pod and rear bag. 16 power scope. that's bout the norm. have them well into the lands. not a heavy load.

 

[ShootDots]

Hey Guys... I use the Hornady O.A.L. tool(s) w/comparator. I FIRST measure several bullets from Base to ogive, then I take a "good average of them and find 4 bullets in a box that hits the average. I then use those 3-4 bullets to find out where "touching the lands" is with the Hornady tool, then moving it forward 7K... I am not saying that this 7k into the lands tip will work EVERY time>>>however, it has been consistent enough to be a viable place to work with. Now here is a caveat, I am starting to use Berger Hybrids in my rifles, as they come on the market in large enough quantities to always being able to get them. I have found that in one of my rifles, 15K OFF the lands shoots lights-out and in another rifle it shoots lights-out at 20K off! They are in fact "tangent ogive" bullets (where they hit the lands) that are without a doubt VERY SLEEK, yet they LOVE being off the lands! So now you know HOW I figure out where the bullet's ogive is, in relation to the lands. Something else I found out with the Hybrids: as I moved the seating depth (all other things being the same) my E.S.'s opened up! Not significantly, but it did open up. As I hit my 2 different "sweet-spots" the tightest E.S.' were right there too! I have never experienced that before, yet it took place with 2 different rifles.....

 

[brian923]

I don't know if you would care or not, but hornady just came out with a 123 sst bullet this year. this would make a good combo when wanting to use your target rifle for hunting as well. just saw the email so i figured i would through it out there. id like to try them in my not yet finished mauser 6.5x55 project... it would be nice to have a super accurate target load and a hammer of a hunting load in the same weight if it worked out....

 

[model 12 toby]

not to hi jack but what powder u use with 139's erik? I use rl-15 with 123's right now. making the move to 140 a-maxes. trying to see roughly which burn rate to go with. thanks in advance.

 

[Erik Cortina]

not to hi jack but what powder u use with 139's erik? I use rl-15 with 123's right now. making the move to 140 a-maxes. trying to see roughly which burn rate to go with. thanks in advance.

I use N550. Have also used RL-17 in the past and it works good as well.

 

[scott_at_vortex]

Quite a few people I know,including myself use Varget with 123scenars. I have yet to see a gun/barrel(brux,kreiger,benchmark,and more) combo that will not shoot the 123's jumping .010" with 36.8-37.5gr of Varget. Powder charge will vary depending on throat length and possibly powder lot. It seems the magic velocity number is 2900-2920(27"-29" 8.5tw barrel) with Varget. This load reminds me of a 6br in the way it acts and shoots, this is to say it is very forgiving.

Its not the best thing ballistic wise ,but it is super consistent,accurate, and the least temperamental load I have found in the 47case .

Just as a side note- I have never seen this load shot in a chamber with a throat longer than .123" and usually with .090", so I dont know how it would be with the popular .167 type reamers. My guess is that it would be fine, though a little more powder may be needed.

Obviously there are a lot of other great loads out there. This has just been one that I have personally seen work in every rifle it has been tried in that I have seen.

Best Regards
Scott

 

[model 12 toby]

thanks erik. I'll prob go with 17 cause I'm a cheap a**. I'm going to go out and check to see if I got a bit left to do a ladder test.