6.5 Creedmoor & 139 Lapua Scenars: Any Joy?

[walker2713]

Based on suggestions from a couple of friends who shoot 260 Rems...I want to try the 139 Scenars in my 6.5CM Tikka T3X.

Any experiences worth sharing? Suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

George

 

[JBT47]

41.5gr of H4350. Start lower and work up.

 

[22BRGUY]

I've shot them in my 260ai and they worked pretty good but not as good as the Berger 140's for me but I know some top shooters have done really well with them. Since I only had one box of 139's that I messed with and couldn't get them to out do the Bergers, I kind of gave up and went back to trying to improve more with the Bergers. Just my experience though.

 

[walker2713]

I've shot them in my 260ai and they worked pretty good but not as good as the Berger 140's for me but I know some top shooters have done really well with them. Since I only had one box of 139's that I messed with and couldn't get them to out do the Bergers, I kind of gave up and went back to trying to improve more with the Bergers. Just my experience though.

140 VLDs or Hybrids?

 

[22BRGUY]

140 VLDs or Hybrids?

VLD's for me

 

[CKshooter]

Me and a friend both have T3 CTR's his is 6.5cm mine 260rem. They both shoot the 130 and 140vlds well. His creedmoor seems to prefer 140rdfs just a tad better. Also 130tmks work well. H4350 and rl16 for powders. Hope this helps.

 

[Pvt.Donut]

Just went through 1,000 of these in my 6.5mm Creedmoor Tikka CTR. If I recall I was using converted 308 WIN large primer Lapua brass, CCI Large Primers, 42.4gr of Reloder 16, and loaded the bullets with 0.090" jump. Would shoot 0.25" groups at 100 if I did my part. They were traveling around 2739 fps which is decent considering Tikka barrels tend to run slow. Recently switched to Norma 140gr RDF's because the price increased on the Lapuas.

 

[walker2713]

The sweet spot was indeed 41.5gr of H4350....ending up shooting 2 five shot groups at that load: avg velocity of 2693 and 2689, SD of 10 and 7.2. I've loaded some with RL26, and will take them to the range early in the week.

Thanks for the feedback.

George

 

[Raptor]

George, if your not seeing pressure signs you should work up to a higher node. If you keep going I am sure you will find one that will shoot as well only faster. Just a thought.....

 

[Laurie]

The 139gn Scenar has been around a long time. It must have been an outstanding performer when first introduced, but its BC isn't as high as more recent 140s from Berger and others. Nevertheless, it's an excellent bullet and works well in most barrels over a wide range of velocities. Unlike 6.5s from at least two other manufacturers ... or is that now three? .... I've never heard of the 123 or 139gn Scenars blowing up in flight.

We've been using 6.5s in Europe for a long, long time, well before most American shooters gave the calibre any creditability, or even any thought. I was shooting this bullet in the 6.5X55 probably before Lapua bullets were widely available in the US and have used it more recently in 260, 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5-284, in every case with complete satisfaction. It's still a very popular bullet in the UK, partly because Lapua's production standards are so consistently high, partly because it is very much cheaper here than Bergers (nearly 40% less) and even the 142gn Sierra MK which used to be a relatively cheap bullet (~20% less) ....... and also partly because it often works better at 800 yards and beyond than its paper specifications say it should whether in benchrest or F-Class competition.

It's usually an easy bullet to tune, (Rt/R ratio of 0.95 when 1.00 = a perfect tangent nose form) and as I said suits most chambers and barrel dimensions .... but nothing is guaranteed.

 

[walker2713]

I took my Tikka T3X A1 in 6.5 CM to our club range today for some load development and practice for this coming Saturdays 600 yard bench rest match.

The best group with the 139gr Lapua Scenars and RL26 was with 47.5gr, Hornady brass, CCI450 primers. I measured the group at .147". There was also an very good group at 48.5, and no signs of pressure. When I have time, I'll confirm this load, and also press beyond to see if there's any "joy" beyond 48.5gr.

Thanks for all of your feedback.
Here's a pic

George

 

[jld]

I use 42.3 RL16 getting about 2810 fps and 3/8 moa with 139 scenars. Lapua brass, no difference with cci 450 or BR4 primers. Jump .020 just happens to be 2.800 COAL. This is on a savage Axis II 22” bull barrel. Have upgraded stock considerably.

John

 

[CharlieNC]

The 123gr Scenar was the most accurate bullet in my 6.5x47 out to 1200yd, but got kicked around quite a bit by the wind. Running 140gr now for the wind, but raw accuracy is inferior.