I have began reloading for my Barrett Fieldcraft 6.5 Creedmoor. I am using Hornady 143 eld-X bullets, Alpha brass, Federal GM210M primers and H4350 powder. My first batch of reloads I started 010" off the lands They were not as accurate as I expected. I fired a few factory Hornady 143 ELD-X loads through it and they shot around an inch which I thought I'd be able to improve upon. Which way do I go from here?

I found that R17 is over 125fps faster and more accurate for me. Make sure bbl is floated and not touching.

A Barrett is full length bedded.

I too prefer RL17 to H4350. RL16 even better.

What was the OAL of your reloads vs the factory ammo? What was the runout on the reloads?

My creeds don't like the 143 ELD-x for some reason, avg group around 3/4 to 1 MOA. But they both shoot the 140 and 147 ELD-M’s awesome with RL 26, groups hovering at or below 1/2 MOA.

Reports on EDL terminal performace seem to favor ELD-M bullets on WT and thin skin critters. The 143 is a harder, heavier jacketed bullet that is probably better for tougher, bigger animals.

There are some great reviews on the 147 ELD-M with RL-26, fast and accurate.

DF

My bad but good reason not to have one from this perspective.

Interesting comment - full length bedded is good reason not to own a Barrett Fieldcraft? I'm tickled schitless with mine - MOA or better with most loads...

There are more than a few fully bedded ULA/NULA rifles out there too. I hear they are pretty good shooters.

I'm shooting Hornady brass and mine seems to prefer H4350 over RE 17 and the 143 ELD-X over the 127 LRX (only two bullets I've shot so far). A buddy just started working up loads with RE 16 and the 140 Accubond in a Christensen Arms Mesa and is very impressed with velocity and accuracy. I'm just starting to load RE 16 and it's definitely showing promise but haven't shot enough of it yet to tell much.

Interesting comment x2- full length bedded is good reason not to own a Barrett Fieldcraft? I liked mine so much for accuracy, fit, finish, weight that I bought a second one in another caliber. And I have an ULA as well.

They are some of the most consistently accurate guns, doesn’t matter if the barrel is hot or cold

Full length bedding, done right, is good for slim contour barrels.

I did an HVA that way, shoots great. Don’t think that very slim barrel would shoot that well free floated.

DF

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For those finding good accuracy with the 6.5 Creed in the Fieldcraft, what OALs are you using? I'm curious if the extra mag length is proving beneficial over something closer to a 2.82 limit. I'm waiting for my 6.5 Creedmoor Fieldcraft to get back to me with a new wood stock and have 143 ELD-Xs, 139 Scenars, 140 Bergers, 147 ELD-Ms, 127 LRXs and 140 Partitions along with a bunch of full length sized once fired Hornady brass waiting to try with RL-16, 17 and 26.

That’s kinda what I was getting at with my question. Since factory loads shoot fine, seat the reloaded 143s to a similar OAL as factory and see how they perform.

I don't recall the exact OAL I've been loading the ELD-X to, but it's 0.030" off the rifling and want to say it's somewhere in the 2.9" range. Here is today's results working with RE 16...

I like how the POI has remained essentially the same from 42 to 42.5. Nothing wrong with 2750 either.

POI didn't vary much through the range of loads but I was fine tuning the scope adjustments up to 42 gr and stopped there.

Here’s my data for my 18.5” Fieldcraft for reference:


I settled at book COAL as seating the ELD-X incrementally towards/into the lands didn’t enhance groups for me. It’s shooting .4”-.7” 5 shot groups at 100 dependent on my shooting fundamentals for the day.

I started with a slight kiss using 143's in my Fieldcraft. Everything was under an inch with a slightly less than max load....I didn't try anything else since it shot well. Within a couple of weeks Mr. Forbes sent me a Forbes I asked him to rebarrel to 6.5 CM. It was a little shorter throated. I made a request here about the OAL of factory 143 loads and shortened the loaded ammo to match just as a reference so I could use it in both rifles....I could tell no difference in groups with the Fieldcraft going from a kiss to factory OAL.

After the shortening I was a little disappointed in having done it. The rebarreled FULA showed pressure signs on the first shot....so I had to load for it separate, which defeated the purpose of shortening the OAL to use 1 load in two rifles. I haven't shot the FULA much but have shot the little Fieldcraft a lot and the factory OAL has been excellent.

My FC contacts the lands with the 147 ELD at 2.920", which perfectly places the top of the boattail even with the bottom of the case neck.

That's about ideal.

DF

Just dug out my notes on OAL in contact with rifling for my FC 6.5 CM:
127 LRX 2.910"
139 Scenar 2.835"
142 ABLR 2.917"
143 ELD-X 2.877"

Just finished some load work with the 143 ELD-X and RE 16 and 26. 42.5 gr RE 16 is getting around 2750 fps with good accuracy, 46.5 gr RE 26 is getting around 2750 and 47.5 gr is getting 2790 fps (46.5 being slightly more accurate than 47.5). All loads are shooting around 3/4 MOA or better...

That sounds identical to my T3X. I seat them at 2.915 with R26 for 2775. It does pretty well for me right there.

The Hornady brand 143 ELD-X has a COAL of 2.810"