Wanted to do something different with a Remington action and 6.5mm barrel I had so I built a 6.5 creedmoor pistol. Am starting to do some testing with reloads and guessing it might work better to use a faster burning powder in this short 12” barrel. I did shoot some of the rounds I had made up for my rifle and speed was 300 fps slower than when shot through my rifle. Not too bad but I betting not all the powder is getting burnt before the bullet leaves the barrel. The pistol is really fun to shoot so I decided I need another. Got parts ordered to build one in 300 Win Mag. That one will definitely have some unburned power leaving the barrel. Might not be getting much more speed than I would if I chambered it in 30-06 or even 308 but I just got to do the Win Mag just because. What are your thoughts on powder choices for these shorter 12” barrels? Right now I am using IMR4350 for the 6.5 Creedmoor rounds. Attaching a pic of the pistol.
Reloading for short barrel
- Thread starter EasyShooter
- Start date
bozo699
Gold $$ Contributor
Can’t help ya partner with your questions but you have a nice looking pistol for sure
Wayne
Nice pistol! I'd start with known rifle loads and hedge towards the faster rifle powders for it but ultimately shoot what it likes and not argue with what it shoots best.
Quickload or similar will be your go to source with the best information. Was playing with some shorter barrels and found the information to be helpful for selecting Powders that I could actually find. Not just the easy stuff. Had a ball trying different Powders and learning.
Powder suitability doesn’t change with barrel length. The powder giving the better velocity in a standard length barrel will almost always retain that position in the shorter barrel. Yes, slower powders will be more “blasty” in short barrels, but going to a faster powder will not improve velocity, it will only reduce blast. H4350 will still be your best option even in the short barrel.
I did have a 14” 300 WSM for a while - it’s really a fantastic short barreled rifle and Specialty Pistol cartridge.
I have a 15” 6 Creed currently. It eats H4350, just like my 24” and 26” 6 creeds.
I did have a 14” 300 WSM for a while - it’s really a fantastic short barreled rifle and Specialty Pistol cartridge.
I have a 15” 6 Creed currently. It eats H4350, just like my 24” and 26” 6 creeds.
The specialty pistols in all calibers are my favorites, TCs XPs Strikers and the homemades. You have to wade into these things with an open mind, no preconceived ideas. Usually when I start working on a load I look at the group at 100 , the smudgy soot on the end of the barrel and rifling star, then feel the barrel temp after 5 rounds. I see guys shooting the specialty pistols out to 2K plus. The farthest range near me goes to 1325. I kinda like H100v.
That’s kinda what I was thinking. I have some more rounds loaded up now with Varget to see how they do. Half them with 1.5 more grains of powder. Will be interested to see if that extra powder helps the speed much or just makes a bigger fireball out the muzzle.
I made up some test loads and tried them out. I used some Hornady 140gr HPBT and 130gr ELD bullets. For powder I tried IMR4350 and Varget. According to published load data I should be able to get 100 FPS more out of the IMR4350 at max charge. I loaded close to max powder charge for both powders and got slightly more speed out of the Varget. I tried a load close to minimum published charge and close to a max published charge and got a 100 FPS increase. SD using the faster powder might have been a little lower but I would need to do more testing to confirm for sure. So basically what I found so far is I’m getting close to the same speed between the two powders but less lost speed due to the short barrel with the faster burning powder. I’m 475 FPS slower than published speed with the IMR4350 and 337 FPS slower with the Varget. When I shoot the loads through my rifle for this round I’m getting very close to the published speed.
Speed is a different story but what I was saying was IME, what shoots best in a longer bbl still seems to be what shoots best if shortened, almost all the time. But yes, you might benefit from faster powders in terms of speed and very well may find a load that shoots just as well, or really close, too.
I have been load testing for a SBR 6.5 Creed and below are what I have found. Heavy ejector marks on top 2 loads and blown primer pockets on a couple of the top loads. With Hornady 143 Precision Hunter factory loads I get 2,481 fps average. What speeds are you all getting?
Barrel - 15.325"
Fired Brass H2O Capacity - 52.7gr
Bolt to lands - 2.245
Barrel - 15.325"
Fired Brass H2O Capacity - 52.7gr
Bolt to lands - 2.245
| ELD-X Load, 12/29/23 | ||||||
| Brass | Norma | |||||
| Bullet | Hornady ELD-X, Polymer-tipped BT | |||||
| Weight | 143 | |||||
| Length | 1.43 | |||||
| Drag | G7 | |||||
| BC | 0.315 | |||||
| Primer | CCI 200 | |||||
| CBTO | 2.17 | |||||
| COAL | 2.817 | |||||
| Powder | IMR 4350 | |||||
| Amount made | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Charge (gr) | 41.4 | 41.7 | 42 | 42.3 | 42.6 | |
| Velocity (GRT ESTIMATE) | 2491.9 | 2511.6 | 2530.9 | 2549.8 | 2568.9 | |
| Velocity (Actual) | 2471.8 | 2497.5 | 2513.2 | 2531 | 2582.2 | |
| SD | 18 | 18.9 | 40.4 | 6.4 | 22.4 | |
| Spread | 46.7 | 51.3 | 99.8 | 17.4 | 52.6 |
I had a 308 pistol once upon a time, and it was a wallop. So much so that I sold the barrel. To be fair, I was shooting supersonic rounds out of it. That was at least 10 years ago. If you don't have to pay a $200 tax stamp to use it, more power to you. I don't have that luxury.
There are a couple places that sell subsonic 308, but it's hard to find. Probably could find the proper mix of powder to work well in the short barrel if you test enough.
7-08 is fun out of an xp100. Only Thing I don’t like about bigger calibers in them is I have to remember to lay something under my elbow. The recoil scooting it across the bench will skin you pretty good after a while. It doesn’t hurt to shoot though, muzzle blast is more annoying than anything.
If you haven’t had any work done yet, return the barrel and have the remage job done. That’s where you use the savage barrel nut system and go/no go gauges. That way, after 300wm flops, you can have another barrel made up in a more appropriate caliber and install it yourself.
If you can find brass, 350 Remington magnum is fun out of one of these for a big boomer. I like it better out of the xp than the mdl 600.
If you haven’t had any work done yet, return the barrel and have the remage job done. That’s where you use the savage barrel nut system and go/no go gauges. That way, after 300wm flops, you can have another barrel made up in a more appropriate caliber and install it yourself.
If you can find brass, 350 Remington magnum is fun out of one of these for a big boomer. I like it better out of the xp than the mdl 600.
Good luck with the 300 win. mag. pistol. Ive got a .308 that gives me more than I want most of the time. Doug
Built/shot a few XPs for and in competition, the first 6.5x08 pre 260 Rem, I used H-414 to develop loads with 120 SMKs set .003 off the lands, running at 3,000 fps. This load in my R-700s, five, and my Armalite AR-10T did 3,215 fps. I have a montoge of five groups, largest is .13 inches in the AR. The 6.5x08 XP would take your breath away, with it's internal 7 row break. A 6.5 at 3k plus fps has a very noticeable nuzzle blast, at 3,800 fps the muzzle blast is shattering if you get even or slightly out front.
Built a 6.5 BR and used 2015 BR with 120s. Built a 7BR, used 748 a 7TCU used 748 and 4227, a 6x47 used 2015 BR and of course the 7x308 with 748. The 7s with 130s, 140s, 145s and 160s. 6mm with 100s. When I retired from competition 8 of my XPs went to other shooters
Just a few XPs, that I put Taylor 4oz triggers in.
Built a 6.5 BR and used 2015 BR with 120s. Built a 7BR, used 748 a 7TCU used 748 and 4227, a 6x47 used 2015 BR and of course the 7x308 with 748. The 7s with 130s, 140s, 145s and 160s. 6mm with 100s. When I retired from competition 8 of my XPs went to other shooters
Just a few XPs, that I put Taylor 4oz triggers in.
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