Thread: 6.5 143 ELD-X, are they THE 6.5 hunting bullet?

yet to shoot an animal with them from the prc at 3050, only just finalising working up the load.

What length barrel?

Originally Posted by hotsoup

What length barrel?

26". Yet to try it with higher charges i had only loaded my ladder to what gave me 3050. it shot a .365moa group at that so i doubt ill run it any faster, have loaded some more up a bit hotter to see out of interest but pretty happy with it where it is.

Mine is at 20 inches, it's been a pretty slow barrel so far so hoping once it's broken in a bit things will speed up. I've done a couple of ladder tests with 2217 and 2225 and I've been hitting pressure pretty early in the charge weights and I think I've figured out why. It's a pretty rookie error, I had some discoloration on some of the cases after firing and it's looks like I haven't cleaned the lube off properly

I've made this mistake before so a bit disappointed I've done it again. Ah well onward and upward, I'll load up another ladder and get back on track.

Hoping to get up to 2950 but I'm miles away at this point, managed to get to 2740 today with 2225.

Originally Posted by Rated M for Magnum

Mine is at 20 inches, it's been a pretty slow barrel so far so hoping once it's broken in a bit things will speed up. I've done a couple of ladder tests with 2217 and 2225 and I've been hitting pressure pretty early in the charge weights and I think I've figured out why. It's a pretty rookie error, I had some discoloration on some of the cases after firing and it's looks like I haven't cleaned the lube off properly

I've made this mistake before so a bit disappointed I've done it again. Ah well onward and upward, I'll load up another ladder and get back on track.

Hoping to get up to 2950 but I'm miles away at this point, managed to get to 2740 today with 2225.

Just make sure you are not getting carbon build up cause that spikes pressure real quick.
Heavy loads of slow burning powder cause carbon rings real quick.

Sent from my CPH2145 using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by 25/08 IMP

Just make sure you are not getting carbon build up cause that spikes pressure real quick.
Heavy loads of slow burning powder cause carbon rings real quick.

Sent from my CPH2145 using Tapatalk

Yep I've just given a good clean out with boretech eliminator and I'll make sure my cases are clean next time. Charge weight wise I'm pretty sure I'm getting up there with 60.5 grains of 2225.

Originally Posted by Rated M for Magnum

Yep I've just given a good clean out with boretech eliminator ...

Believe me, it doesn't matter what fancy bore cleaner you use, if it's just using patches, there's no guarantee the bore will end up fully clean even when the patch comes out spotless. This is especially so with hard carbon rings that form in the throat. Even prolonged use of a new bronze brush will not shift them. You often have to resort to Autosol or JBs to get it out.

There is only one way to see if your cleaning has worked and that's a borescope. These days, there is no excuse for not getting one as Teslongs are pretty cheap. They can actually save you money as in not wasting components trying to find a load when the real cause is fouling.

Originally Posted by 6x47

Believe me, it doesn't matter what fancy bore cleaner you use, if it's just using patches, there's no guarantee the bore will end up fully clean even when the patch comes out spotless. This is especially so with hard carbon rings that form in the throat. Even prolonged use of a new bronze brush will not shift them. You often have to resort to Autosol or JBs to get it out.

There is only one way to see if your cleaning has worked and that's a borescope. These days, there is no excuse for not getting one as Teslongs are pretty cheap. They can actually save you money as in not wasting components trying to find a load when the real cause is fouling.

I ended up getting a cheap bore scope and yep, I've got a carbon build up just in front of the chamber. I'll have to get some autosol and find out how to do an abrasive clean.

What brass are you using?

Originally Posted by 6.5 CRD

What brass are you using?

Norma, and it's sooooofft.

Originally Posted by Rated M for Magnum

Norma, and it's sooooofft.

Thats likely part of your problem. im no expert but have had similar issues with norma .308 brass, hitting pressure signs waaay before it should be. tried hornady brass and even that was substantially better than the norma.

For what its worth, so far im using 59gr of 2217 in lapua brass, fed120m primer to get 3050fps with the 26" no press signs at all yet. have loaded up to 60.5 to try and see how far from the danger zone i am.

Originally Posted by 6.5 CRD

Thats likely part of your problem. im no expert but have had similar issues with norma .308 brass, hitting pressure signs waaay before it should be. tried hornady brass and even that was substantially better than the norma.

For what its worth, so far im using 59gr of 2217 in lapua brass, fed120m primer to get 3050fps with the 26" no press signs at all yet. have loaded up to 60.5 to try and see how far from the danger zone i am.

Quite likely. To be fair though I'm 6 inches shorter on barrel length, that works out to 50fps per inch of barrel lost.

I ran my 6.5 saum at 3080 with the 156 Berger was a very stiff load I’d back it down to 3000 if I did it again 22” barrel so I’m sure the prc will run 2950 at 20 and 143 no worries

Re the original topic, if you do get it going faster, i think it would be wise to have a different load for closer ranges. Just going off what i have experienced with the 143gr eldx at 2600fps out of my creedmoor, at 3000fps it can surely only be worse as far as penciling through. I always try sneak the shot in behind the shoulder (i like to take all the meat possible) rather than square in the shoulder, and ive had plenty at the 100 odd meter mark that have gone straight through more or less. deer never made it far its always been terminal for me, but have had a couple of runners that have taken me more than a few minutes to find. i put up with it though, because ive found them to be exceptional further out.

dare I say it..thats par for the course with the meat saver shot unless using something really explody.... sometimes its great,sometimes ,not so much.