Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 130gr vs 140 in 6.5 Creedmoor. Who knew???

So I was comparing wind drift between the 130gr AR Hybrid and 140gr Elite Hunter. EH has a .310 G7 and the AR has a .287 G7. Getting 2790 from the EHs and 2910 from the ARs. Was thinking because I was crowding 2800 with the 140 that they would be better in the wind. Much to my surprise, not so. The 130 AR Hybrid shows a 10mph wind bracket out to 500 yards then drops to a 7mph out to 1k. The 140 shows 7mph wind bracket out to 700 then 6mph out to 1k. Never would have thought a 120fps muzzle velocity advantage would buy me that much less wind drift.

Not going to change my hunting load this late in the game but will investigate the 130s closer when I get back...

I was predisposed to chase as much BC as I can get but apparently that is not always the best course of action...

John

It’s a balance between velocity and BC. If the difference in BC is small, and the difference in velocity is large, then the velocity advantage wins in wind drift. Having said that, when I run those two loads at standard atmospheric conditions, I get a wind bracket for the 130 AR of 5 mph to 800, and 4.5 mph from 900 to 1000. For the 140 EH I get 5 mph to 900 and 4.5 mph at 1000.

Have you guys experimented with the 143 ELDx for comparison to these bullets as well? Fill us in on what you believe is the perfect bullet for hunting with the 6.5 cm at any range. Thanks..

I haven’t played with the 143, but at Creedmoor speeds I have a hard time looking anywhere but the 147 ELD and 127 LRX.

Thinking in the 2700 - 2750 fps muzzle velocity range that I am working with, all 3 will do fine. Those 3 in no particular order are 135 Berger Classic, 140 Berger vld, and 147 eld.

Can you guys give me the run down on what a "5 mph to 800 wind bracket" is?

Never heard it put that way.

A wind bracket is pretty simple.... in this case, it means that there’s .1 MIL of wind, per 100 yards @ 5 MPH.

The “bracket”.... is the wind value, that coincides with .1 MIL of drift per 100 yds.

They’re pretty steady out to 1/2 mile(ish)

You can see the “Bracket” listed here on the Magazine Drop Chart..... in this case, a 123 Scenar at 2845.

Said it more than once.... more isn't always better.

Pulled my numbers using a 4400’ DA, which is pretty typical here on a summer morning. I suppose the more dense air of a standard atmosphere allows the EH to pull ahead quicker?

John

That makes sense, except that I see the same trend when using 4400 DA. Just 1 mph more wind speed for each interval. I’m not sure why we’re seeing different results. Just a thought: did you make sure to disable spin drift?

Not spin drift but did find my error. Had .18” of zero offset in there for some reason, which favored the 3 o’clock wind I was using for my calculations. Garbage In = Garbage Out.

My numbers are more like yours now with the AR showing 7 mph to 600 then 6 mph to 1100 and the EH showing 7 mph to 700 and then 6 mph from 900 to 1200. Slight advantage to the EH.

Hope I didn’t screw anybody up too bad with my fake news.

John

A tiny little thing like that can skew results, for sure. Glad you found it

Mine likes 130 grain Accubonds, with Reloader 15, that is a 6.5mm CM load. Multiple kills with pass throughs out to almost 500 yards.

I have always felt like the Creed and .260 shine with 130-grain loads. If you are killing deer, there are gobs of good bullets that will do all you want. If something bigger is in line, then the 127 lrx will kill anything that you want to.

That being said, I like the 147 ELDM real well, but not due to the 130-class bullets lacking. If you are playing the paper game, then things may change a bit a ultra range, but it is hard to beat a good 130-grain bullet.

I was thinking of going to the federal factory 120 trophy copper next year. 2895 and almost a .5 bc.

I used 130s in my 6.5-284 for a number of years. The extra velocity was instrumental in better down range bullet expansion. I think it was a much better coyote load than any of the 140s I tried. This was before the 147 ELDs came out. I am currently using 143 ELD-Xs. I like the way it performs and don't mind the slight BC I give up to the 147s.

I like the 120 Barnes in mine, flat kill deer and pigs

TTSX!

I agree on the 130's...

I am running a 130 in my 6.5 PRC. At 3200. Out to a long ways, they 130 beats the 140. It's minor but it's there....

John, you like those blown up rifle pics? Crazy stuff....

Have a box of those to try. Sure a lot of easy 6.5CM options now.

If I need more than a 130 AB in 6.5, I might go to say a 7RM with 160-162 class....

All work when dropped where needed.

That Federal premium trophy copper is an excellent bullet. Have used it extensively in Africa with outstanding results. Kind of a cross between a barnes ttsx and a nosler accubond.
R

I use the 140 vld h in my creedmoor and it works great. In my old 260 I still use the 130 accubond. It gives up a lot of BC but it performs so well on game and shoots so well that I've had a hard time using anything else.

Bb

Those shoot very accurately in my T3X superlight, my T3X CTR and my Bergara HMR. They are almost to the same POI as my Precision Hunter143 ELD-X at 300 yards and in.

I like the 140 Hunting VLD for WT's. The new StaBALL powder shows 2,800 with 140's, 3K with 120's.

If that powder is as good as they're saying, it may be the way to do. I just got two pounds from Powder Valley and if I wasn't going deer hunting this weekend, I'd be working up loads for my 6.5 Creed and my 7-08. There seems to have a bigger jump with the 7-08 than the CM.

DF

Hondo -

You still using the 130 hybrids?

I am in my match gun. It seems to prefer them, grouping better than the heavies, and fast enough to make the wind advantage of the heavies insignificant at normal ranges. Working up load for 130s in my hunting rifle. Hoping to have similar dope in both.

Also playing with the 130gr MKs. First results are promising...

John

https://flic.kr/p/2j3HCze

I like H4350 in my 6.5x47 Lapua using the Berger 140 Hybrid Tgt bullet! Here’s 7 rounds at 900 yards! I fired 3 for confirmation of zero, painted the plate and then fired this cluster of 7 I had loaded.

Damn Wow!