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6.5 prc with 156 bergers

Well i believe i found issue. These 156gr dont like the jump i was seating them at. I loaded them .020 off and tried 3 different powder charges that stood out before. All 3 groups shrunk big time. This one being the best. I flinched on the one shot a little. Now im on to try a few 5 shot groups just to make sure. My issue now is mag is not built to handle this bullet loaded that far out. At least im getting somewhere.
 

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I have not checked seating depth due to needing to fit in the mag. If i seat bullet closer to lands it will have to be single fed. This would be okay from a bench but i got this only for hunting and if a follow up shot is needed wont be quick. In order for round to fit in mag its a .143 jump from the lands. Way excessive in my opinion but im limited by the box mag
Now it’s simple you only have One Direction to go ,start backing off from the lands in small increments and see how that goes
 
Well i think this barrel is getting brolen in. Took it out today and shot this at 100 yards. I walked target out to 200 yards and is still grouping this good at 200 yards!!. I drew a muel deer tag here in AZ and am hoping to try this load out on it. Got some decent speed and good SD.
 

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Here is one 3 shot group at 200 yards. The rest are 2 shot groups. This is a pencil barrel and takes a bit to cool down. I did not want to rush shots and heat it up. Cold bore will be what matters when hunting
 

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I have a CA Mesa long range in 300 prc that shoots excellent. I have found I needed to put some mild thread locker in the action screws and the base. I suspect with the 165’s you could have found good accuracy doing a .003 ladder down from the max magazine length making sure your headspace is 2-3k from tight and keeping seating depth consistent. Also checking for bullet yaw to make sure everything is consentric and not too much case fill causing yaw.
 
Oh this case is full of powder. Its got a heack of a jump to be able to mag feed. I was leery looking at case fill before seating bullet but load data was from berger and im not even at their max but i stopped.
 
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Oh this case is full of powder. Its got a heack of a jump to be able to mag feed. I was leery looking at case fill before seating bullet but load data was from berger and im not even at their max but i stopped.
if you’re seating down into powder with those long bullets your probably fighting bullet yaw in your groups. You will likely find a happy place with n570 with that combination, case fill/velocity for a hunting load and accuracy. I did load work up for a friends browning with 153 Atips and it’s extremely accurate and brass wasn’t being pushed hard with good velocity. Hope that helps
 
Is the action bedded? How about your bolt lugs? Even contact?
Factory bedded around recoil lug. Bolt lug contact looks okay but i have not lapped them. Took about 100 rounds to start to get accuracy. A friend of mine has same rifle and took that long with different powder and bullet to get good groups. Another guy i met at range today had same rifle and has 40 rounds down it. No good groups so far with several different powders. Told him its taking me 100 rounds. He was not happy. I have been reluctant to try other powders due to cant find crap easy. I got a keg of n565 and 500 156 to test with so was hoping to make a decent hunting load with these two choices.
 
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if you’re seating down into powder with those long bullets your probably fighting bullet yaw in your groups. You will likely find a happy place with n570 with that combination, case fill/velocity for a hunting load and accuracy. I did load work up for a friends browning with 153 Atips and it’s extremely accurate and brass wasn’t being pushed hard with good velocity. Hope that helps
This could be true. I loaded the rounds long, .020 off the lands but did not improve much and it did have more case room. I backed charge to low end of charge but also no change. I have 1lb of h1000 and 1/4 lb of r26 i could try but if i find a load with them then no more to load for my hunt.
 
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Definitely hard to find components now. You shouldn’t be alright with with case fill with 565, what are you using for a shooting platform for load work up? I’ve seen some guys struggle with load development off bipods and vices. Also good idea to pull the rail and look for anything suspicious. Hope you get it figured out. We’ve all been there and it can definitely be frustrating
 
Guy at work is having issues with his new bergara, $2000 hunting rifle. Already tried 2 new scopes, I'm wondering if it is just a break-in issue. His issue isn't exactly the same. He has got more consistent placement issue. This is a real light weight setup.
 
I use a protector rear bag. A Caldwell rock BR front rest with added weight to it. I have to admit i did not shoot of my own bench today at the range. Mine is way more stable than what is at this range, did not bring it. I think it did good for not being comfortable. The scope rail i got from Hanks gun parts. He makes his own and fit real well and sat flush against action
 
I forgot to mention this has all been from virgin lapua brass that i just ran through expander so when i resize them it will be to my set neck tension from a bushing die.
 
Guy at work is having issues with his new bergara, $2000 hunting rifle. Already tried 2 new scopes, I'm wondering if it is just a break-in issue. His issue isn't exactly the same. He has got more consistent placement issue. This is a real light weight setup.
This rifle was just under 7lbs with no scope. Its light also. Harder to hold steady
 
I forgot to mention this has all been from virgin lapua brass that i just ran through expander so when i resize them it will be to my set neck tension from a bushing die
It sucks to have to use up components but I never try to do accuracy ladders with new brass. I use up powder that I’m not keen on and some cheap bullets and fireform off my tripod and practice off hand shots. I will do a pressure ladder if I know the new brass is only 6-8k short. It gets me close enough and I can just back down a gr or 2.
 
The friend I helped do the load work up for with the browning was having a time getting good groups. It took a minute but I figured out the rear bag had to be near the end of the stock and a light hold on the front( thumb forward). Light to zero cheek pressure and thumb forwards and very light grip ( or none) with the trigger hand. A couple pulls into the shoulder to see if the recoil is taking it off target. Also a slick cloth under front and back. This is just what I’ve learned that helps me shoot heavy recoil and it helped my friend a lot. Hope this helps
 
I had really good luck with the Berger 156’s with H1000 in my Seekins 6.5 PRC. They’re about .065” off the lands and in a 21” barrel, producing 2808 fps. But stupid accurate. This was a 5-shot group at 100 yards from this last week.69C0DF85-D973-4BAC-9F9B-490668549586.jpeg
 

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