130 gr + bullets are to big, urban myth?

[tobnpr]

Tobnpr, I shot those in May . Over 24.4-24.7 grn. Tac. At 100 y. Not too shabby. Hit a 1.5" target on the sand berm easily with it. That's the few dozen I loaded for it. Nice recoil impulse too. A true watermelon killer!!! Doink-Doink. I have a 1-8 twist

Thanks! I'll order some Tac...been wanting to try that for my .223 loads as well.
I use Varget extensively, I see AA has some load data for it for the heavier 123 and heavier pills, but I don't see that it's used extensively. Wonder if it might be worth a "shot"...

[LR1955]

thanks for the feedback! as you can see in a thread above your's, i'm trying to see how the different twist rates in the grendel affect accuracy with different grain bullets. i have some 130's i'm gonna try to see if their more/less accurate than my 123's.

ID:

Pretty simple. A 1/8 twist is probably ideal for the 140's but few will notice any difference given spin only, with any weight bullet. 1 turn in 8.5 may stabilize the long 140's (most likely it will) but then again it may not. It is pretty much ideal for the 120 - 130 grain range (length). I doubt a 1 turn in 9 will do well with the longer bullets such as the 130 - 140 but is probably ideal for bullets up to 123 grains.

Another thing about twist rates with gas guns is that they are used to promote reliable cycling as well as stabilizing the bullet. So, if you see a 1/8 twist on a 14 inch barrel, it may well be for cycling and may not be ideal for the longer bullets.

Any way you want to look at it, the quality of the barrel will always correlate to accuracy. Twist may or may not unless you are way out of bounds such as blasting 140's from a 1 turn in ten twist (if one is even made for the 6.5).

In other words, you ought to focus on loads more than twist in this case.

LR55

[bwaites]

Thanks! I'll order some Tac...been wanting to try that for my .223 loads as well.
I use Varget extensively, I see AA has some load data for it for the heavier 123 and heavier pills, but I don't see that it's used extensively. Wonder if it might be worth a "shot"...

Varget will be slow with any weight bullet in the Grendel. TAC is good for 123 loads, but be safe, you can make it too hot!

[tobnpr]

I emailed AA about the 140 grain Speers...
Bill Alexander responded that it is possible to use the 140 grain bullets effectively, but that the Speer has not been tested. He suggested I use reduced load data for the 140 grain Berger that they have published, but loaded to mag length watch out for seating depth.

SO, two questions...
I can only find load data for 140 grain Lapua Naturalis on their site...anyone have a link for this 140 grain Berger he mentioned?

How can I determine if seating to mag length is going to compress a load?
Sounds stupid, but do I just measure how much of the bullet is in the case, and measure somehow (putting a measuring stick inside the loaded case?) to determine if the powder load exceeds that depth of fill???

[glane5910]

Pretty much any load you use with these 140gr bullets are going to be compressed when loaded to function in the AR mag. Just start at the minimum loads and work your way up. Use the same data to start on the Bergers and work up as needed.

[tobnpr]

Roger that, he suggested starting at 20 % low. But I still can't find the load data he mentioned for the 140 Bergers.
If I can't find anything, I'll email Berger, they're always very helpful.

[glane5910]

The original data from AA loads had the 140 VLD with 29.1grs of AA 2520 for a max load(no velocity given). H-380 would work also. The Lapua 140gr used Varget 27.0grs min, 27.6grs max. That was with Wolf LR primed cases. I emailed Berger a couple months ago for some data on a 6.5 WSM and never heard back from them.

[glane5910]

Found one load using RL-15 and a 140gr Lapua Scenar. 27.2grs giving 2335 FPS out of a 24" tube.

[Docduncan]

140 amax

I have been shooting the 140 gr amax with great success using 25.0gr of 8208 with aa brass cci primers at 2.265 oal and getting consistent 2350 fps out of a 24" lothar waltHer bbl. This will be my deer load. I have shot this load out to 550 yards and get great accuracy. This gun shoots Every thing from 95gr amax, 100gr sierra hp, 123 smk and 140 amax equally well.
Doc

[Nimrod]

I have been shooting the 140 gr amax with great success using 25.0gr of 8208 with aa brass cci primers at 2.265 oal and getting consistent 2350 fps out of a 24" lothar waltHer bbl. This will be my deer load. I have shot this load out to 550 yards and get great accuracy. This gun shoots Every thing from 95gr amax, 100gr sierra hp, 123 smk and 140 amax equally well.
Doc

Very interesting, I never even considered 8208 for my 139's, I just thought it would be to fast. After seeing this post I will have to give it a try. Thank you for sharing.

[Bennybone]

Joining the 140 club

I just purchased a box of 100 6.5 Speer Deepcurl bullets, 140gr projectiles.

I have a 2007 make Alexander Arms 24" Overwatch stock gun, I don't know what the barrel twist is on that model from that time period.

I have TAC X-terminator and Win 748 on hand.

I will be ordering a set of Hornady dies and using once fired AA brass and CCI primers or Fed 205 primers (difference anyone).

Shooting distances are 350 yards MAX at NIGHT.

Care to dispell some advice my way on COAL, powder weights, load data resources, etc?

I am SO hopeful I can get this round to shoot and be at MOA out to the desired distance for Texas Feral Pig dispatching.

Thx in advance for your guidance,

BB

[glane5910]

X-Terminator is too fast for that heavy of bullet. 748 and TAC would maybe work but still a little fast for the 140gr. I've used 30.0 grs H-380 with that bullet weight. Varget 27.0-27.6grs(per AA data)

[Bennybone]

X-Terminator is too fast for that heavy of bullet. 748 and TAC would maybe work but still a little fast for the 140gr. I've used 30.0 grs H-380 with that bullet weight. Varget 27.0-27.6grs(per AA data)

Would you happen to have a link that shows a video or write up on powder burn rates, I constantly hear reloaders speak to something being to fast but how is a newbie (reloading) supposed to know what burn rate to apply to various projectiles in a given caliber? And the companies selling the product don't really make it explicitly clear which is frustrating.

The goal is to hit these pigs with the full force of a 140gr pill at the most velcocity the Grendel will give it at 350 yards and in, most likely the majority of shots will be 200 yards and closer.

***The reason I came to the Grendel from 308 and 7mm calibers is for the reduced recoil***

I say that to say this, I cannot shoot the hogs with a bigger gun that isn't the solution in my case.

Thx,

Look forward to 140gr pill specifics from everyone, I got about a week before needing to move on loading.

BB

[glane5910]

Burn rates can be deceiving. They can/will give you a general idea but work up accordingly. I'd drop down the bullet weight to the 100 or 120gr Barnes TSX type bullets. The 6.8 SPC guys are using the 85gr TSX on some monster hogs with great results. You can use both of your Ramshot powders on the 100gr and 120gr TSX. With the 100gr TSX, I'm getting 2775 FPS out of my 18" bbl. Link to burn rates http://www.ramshot.com/products/burn-rates/

[Drifter]

Would you happen to have a link that shows a video or write up on powder burn rates, I constantly hear reloaders speak to something being to fast but how is a newbie (reloading) supposed to know what burn rate to apply to various projectiles in a given caliber? And the companies selling the product don't really make it explicitly clear which is frustrating.

The goal is to hit these pigs with the full force of a 140gr pill at the most velcocity the Grendel will give it at 350 yards and in, most likely the majority of shots will be 200 yards and closer.

***The reason I came to the Grendel from 308 and 7mm calibers is for the reduced recoil***

I say that to say this, I cannot shoot the hogs with a bigger gun that isn't the solution in my case.

Thx,

Look forward to 140gr pill specifics from everyone, I got about a week before needing to move on loading.

BB

I would probably lean more towards premium bullets in the 130-grain weight class at the maximum. Most well-constructed hunting bullets need ~1800 fps impact velocity for reliable expansion, and I think the 130's (or less) might be better suited at retaining 1800+ at 350 yards when considering bullet length, Grendel case capacity, muzzle velocities, etc. Consider the Barnes TTSX 120gr, Nosler Partition 125gr, Hornady SST 129gr, Nosler Accubond 130gr, etc.

Run the numbers using realistic velocities with each bullet on the JBM Ballistics website to get an idea of what to expect regarding performance at 350 yards.