Anyone have some proverbial "tried & true" loads for the 120 gr NBT in 6.5 CM?

Thanks in advance if you do.

A case full of RL16 is hard to beat under that bullet

I loaded for my brother’s 6.5 CM using your bullet and H4350. The powder charge was ‘warm’ but not max. Excellent accuracy in his bergara. Reloading for that round, and finding the good load, was the easiest I’ve ever done. If you want the specifics on the load, I’ll go out to the barn workshop and look in my load book.

I also load that bullet in my 260 with great results, but use R17. Very effective and destructive, so try not to hit the back strap.

Nosler's published max of 45g/H4350 shoots the 120 NBT at just over 3000 FPS in the 22" barrel of my CA Mesa, and groups 0.6 MOA. That's with the Lapua SR primer case and Fed 205M. Low ES and SD too.
Hope it works for you.
Rex

Thanks all.

H4350 w/120 didn't shoot too well so will try RL16 next .Wanting to get a coyote load w/cheaper bullets than NPT/NAB!!!

H4350 with 125 gr NPT and 130 gr NAB does work really well in my gun though.

39.5 grains of Varget, Nosler 120 Ballistic Tips

Absolutely.

Max load of IMR4350 and a 120BT has treated me well. Work up to it.

Try 4831 SC

Varget or Hunter will work well with the 120 gr.

I shot 39.0 gr. of Varget under the 120 gr. Ballistic tip out of my 6.5 CM. Very accurate, and right at 2900 fps. It worked great on Whitetails.

Thanks everyone.

I pretty much think "all" 6.5 bullet technology could have stopped when they they made that 120 NBT in 6.5! ha I used it at 3200fps with a case full of H4350 in the 6.5/284 Winchester wildcat. It was like a lightning bolt on antelope and deer! The rifle started out as a .260 Remington I had cobbled together ( with plans on making it a 6.5/284 later) on an imprompto, unplanned exotic hunt. ( '99) I used the Hornady 129sp, right around 2900fps. I did manage to kill a nice Axis buck and a Mouflon Ram. Both ran at the shot a long ways and had to be shot a 2nd time, I hit them mid-lungs the first shot too! Had to be a tough Lot# as wound channel was pretty small, so,to me, I wasn't impressed. After it was a Wildcat, using tough 284 winchester cases, It loved that 120NBT pushed hard! Now, even at 2900, I bet if I had loaded that .260 with the 120NBT, I would not have been disappointed! But it would have ruined my Wildcat Plans! ha That would be the FIRST bullet I would tell anyone to try in the 6.5 Creedmore! Have a ball friend!

The 120 in a 260 has been great on deer at my camp. My camp mate has one of the first run Browning Low Wall rifles and it's super nice.

39 gr Varget seems to be the magic in mine too, just tried it, shoots better than anything else...so far.

Thanks

I’ve also tried 39.5 gr. which shot very well. I just went back to 39.0 gr. because accuracy was great and a little less pressure is a good thing.

Agreed!

..

Careful on how fast you load them. I once literally cut a bobcat in half using a 6.5 rem mag. Went to pick it up and it looked like he swallowed a hand grenade.
George

6.5 creed, at 200 yrds, he was walking down a ranch road, he didn't swallow the rat, he caught the bullet, where the sun don't shine. Rio7

H4350/ RL16 works very well for me with 120's.

In my experience with close to 10 6.5 Creedmoors, it's one of the most "powder tolerant" cartridges. With the 120 BT have had excellent results with any powder in the approximate 4350 burn-rate range, including H4350, IIMr4350, RL-16 and Ramshot Hunter.

Would big game give you more velocity with the 120s vs Hunter?
I’m using big game with 130 TGK and get great velocity and accuracy

It is to the 4350 range what the 308 is to the 4895 range.

My fav load for 120 grain bullets in the 6.5CM is the same one that Hornady chose when they introduced the cartridge: 39 grains of Varget with a standard primer. Depending on the rifle, you might find that varying the charge weight by half a grain or so (+/-0.5 grain) might improve the accuracy a little. However, if your 6.5CM won't shoot this load well, then the problem lies with something other than the load. One can get a little more velocity with the H4350 range powders and I have used them successfully. But the H4350 range powders won't turn the 6.5CM into a 264 Win Mag. The 39 grain Varget load is super accurate and at the 'sweet spot' of ~2,800 fps it does all that needs to be done for 99% of all hunting in NA...