156 Berger Freebore ?

[swd]

A good friend measured them today and his comparator gave the 156 .050" more bearing surface than the 150SMK. I think his comparator has a slight lead and shows more accurately what a rifle will see given the different shape of the ogive from the 150 to the 156.

 

[Eric Leonard]

Yes sir, I've won a couple of local 530 yd matches shooting them in a 6.5 x 47. I have another 6.5 x 47 I cut the barrel down to 21.5 inches to play around with local 100/200 bench guys. This gun shoots the 150 smk at 1's and 2's all day long. Out of 5 groups my largest group was .326
I may try the 156 in the gun. Now for the anomaly....the same gun does not shoot the 147 at short distance but shoots at 3-500 well. Opposite with 150 smk, shoots great at 100....opens to .65-.75 moa at 300. 8tw barrel....any suggestions?

I have a 30 inch Krieger 8 twist 6.5x47 with a .225 freebore....what kind of load you use with the 147 and 150 gr bullets

 

[Longrange57]

I have a 30 inch Krieger 8 twist 6.5x47 with a .225 freebore....what kind of load you use with the 147 and 150 gr bullets

150's I use H4350 39.7 GR....BR-4 PRIMER....147's 28 inch barrel, H4350 37.5 GR....450 PRIMER. The 147's shoot 1/3 moa at 3-600 yd. I usually jam about .005 with either bullet. Short barrel with 150 runs at 2700fps. 147's in long barrel about 2760. Has been working good for me. Both Kreiger 8tw.

 

[wboggs]

So a little pressure testing in the back yard today. 6.5x55 Ackley/BJAI with RL23, I went up to 2956 without ejector marks or sticky bolt lift. Primers looking good. The same charge weight with 140 Hybrids is 20fps slower. My guess is the thinner hunting jackets don't build as much pressure despite the much longer bearing surface. In my rifle 3000+ looks like it would be easy but being an F Open rifle I don't need or want that much speed. Off to the range probably next week and a match in two weeks.

I might try some in my 7.5t 6.5 prc when the weather cools off. Suspect they will be close to my 150smk load.
It will be for academic interest only since I don't use it for hunting.

 

[wboggs]

I loaded a dummy round in my 6.5prc. OAL is 3.05 at 0.15" off rifling. This is the same as a 150smk. The Berger is very similar to the Sierra..Will load a few after Berger sends me loading data to use as a guide. I suspect loading data for my 150 smk will be pretty close.
Bill

 

[wboggs]

I loaded a dummy round in my 6.5prc. OAL is 3.05 at 0.15" off rifling. This is the same as a 150smk. The Berger is very similar to the Sierra..Will load a few after Berger sends me loading data to use as a guide. I suspect loading data for my 150 smk will be pretty close.
Bill

My fb is .2 and leade is .05. Twist is 7.5 in a
Bartlein 5r.
Have a la so oal is not a problem.
Smk 150 shoots very well at 3120 using h1000.
Will load a few b156's to test for accuracy.
I do not use this as a target rifle, only fun on steel and space shots out as I suspect long strings will erode barrel quickly
FB will increase with shooting and I will measure it at 300, 400,, and 500 shots.
Bill

 

[wboggs]

My fb is .2 and leade is .05. Twist is 7.5 in a
Bartlein 5r.
Have a la so oal is not a problem.
Smk 150 shoots very well at 3120 using h1000.
Will load a few b156's to test for accuracy.
I do not use this as a target rifle, only fun on steel and space shots out as I suspect long strings will erode barrel quickly
FB will increase with shooting and I will measure it at 300, 400,, and 500 shots.
Bill

Tried some very preliminary loads today.
Used 54, 56, 58 gr h1000 at .015" off just to test for case head expansion and get a general idea of accuracy. All loads shot about 0.4-0.5 moa with the 54 and 56 gr loads a little better. Case head expansion did not exceed factory loads.
Plan to check velocities and additional charge weights next time out.
It looks like the bullets are the usual high quality that Berger produces.
Bill

 

[whatwind?]

So a little pressure testing in the back yard today. 6.5x55 Ackley/BJAI with RL23, I went up to 2956 without ejector marks or sticky bolt lift. Primers looking good. The same charge weight with 140 Hybrids is 20fps slower. My guess is the thinner hunting jackets don't build as much pressure despite the much longer bearing surface. In my rifle 3000+ looks like it would be easy but being an F Open rifle I don't need or want that much speed. Off to the range probably next week and a match in two weeks.

Any updates?

 

[swd]

Any updates?

It shoots well. Much easier to work with than the 150 Sierra. I like it so far.

 

[wboggs]

It shoots well. Much easier to work with than the 150 Sierra. I like it so far.

How are they easier to work with?

 

[swd]

How are they easier to work with?

Not sensitive to seating depth at all. And they have very wide nodes. And the fact that they don't blow up over long strings is kind of nice too.

 

[wboggs]

Not sensitive to seating depth at all. And they have very wide nodes. And the fact that they don't blow up over long strings is kind of nice too.

Thanks. I understand they were designed as a hunting bullet. Results should begin to come in in the next few months.
.

 

[swd]

Thanks. I understand they were designed as a hunting bullet. Results should begin to come in in the next few months.
.

It does double duty as a target bullet quite nicely..

 

[TimS]

Well I looked at Berger’s twist calculator, and if I want to stabilize them in my factory Mod 70 264 wm, I need a load that is 6500fps.

 

[Park ranger]

Well I looked at Berger’s twist calculator, and if I want to stabilize them in my factory Mod 70 264 wm, I need a load that is 6500fps.

might want to try a fast powder. Lol

 

[284winner]

might want to try a fast powder. Lol

Velocity will have much less effect than altitude when trying to stabilize a bullet.

 

[ronsatspokane]

I went to the 156's from the 140 Hybrids in a 6.5 PRC with a 1:8 twist. Passed through the 147 ELDM's in the process but was having problems with stripping jackets when using those bullets. What I see is that my CBTO difference is only about 10 thousands between the 140 Hybrid and the 156 EOL's. And I'm having good luck with those 156's now that I switched from a 5R barrel to a Krieger 4 groove.