Advice on Savage 12FV in 6.5 CM

I picked up a couple pounds of IMR4350 the other day so I'm going o start with that. I am on the lookout for RE16 and RE17 though too. Ordered a scope mount to use my Nikon Prostaff until I can afford a decent scope, just for playing around.
 
For the heavy (140+) bullets I got the best groups with H4350 and R17 and Hornady ELD-X 143grn
 
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I'm shooting 140 Berger VLD's with H4350 out to 600 yards. We use standard F Class targets but we call them FU Class because you can't see the holes. You just hope and pray your stuff is right. 15 shots in 20 minutes and then we go down and score them. Loser buys the beer. Ha! As far as glass most of us are blue collar types and shoot $300 SWFA fixed power scopes. Long range shooting ain't hard once you get your DOPE figured out.
 
jetinteriorguy

I have a Savage 12 LRP and a 10T-SR in 6.5 Creedmoor. Both rifles are at the top of my average of all groups accuracy list. They are insanely accurate and a joy to shoot.
I have really good target scopes on both of them. It pays to have a high power target scope with a thin reticle and a target dot so you can aim 'small' if you want to shoot small. With really accurate rifles like these, having a very precise aim point makes a big difference. You quickly learn that the 'nut behind the trigger' is the only thing keeping you from having really small groups every time.

You made a good choice on powder - IMR4350 has given me the best results by a considerable margin. IMR4064 is second and N150 was third.

My 12 LRP likes Sierra 142 gr SMKs #1742, 140 gr Berger Match # 26401, 140 gr Hornady ELD Match #26331 bullets the best. It also shot 140 gr Berger Long Range #26409 and 140 gr Hybrid # 26414 pretty well. The Hornady 143 gr ELD-X #2635, 123 SMK # 1427, and 140 gr SMK #1740 didn't shoot all that great.
The 10T-SR also likes Sierra 142 SMKs but it shot best with Hornady 143 ELD-X.
I have more Hornady Match, and Bergers as well as 147 grain Hornady Match on order.


Lapua brass with the small rifle primers out performs Norma and Hornady brass with the large rifle primers simply because the LRP brass primer pockets wore out in 4 reloadings and the Lapua SRP primer pockets are still tight after 5.
 
Thanks guys, I was up in NY visiting my son this weekend and did find some RE17, it was a little pricey but I picked up a pound anyway. Now I'm just waiting on dies and a scope base and mount I ordered and I'm ready to at least start.
 
I just can't see the big deal over the 6.5 CM. For most shooters, it's of questionable advantage.
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You're not looking very hard then. It it is fair enough to say that the 6.5 CM offers very little advantage over 260 or 6.5X55. If someone already has one of those and handloads for it the advantages are small. But compared to other calibers all of the 6.5's have a lot going for them.

But for someone starting out the advantages are enough that I simply couldn't recommend 260 or 6.5X55 over 6.5 CM. Especially if buying off the shelf guns and ammo. The older versions need custom rifles and ammo to match what the Creed does with reasonably priced off the shelf gear.

Where the 6.5's shine is shooting 140-147 gr bullets with good velocity, mild recoil and excellent BC's. You'd have to shoot 215-230 gr 30 caliber bullets to match those BC's. Once you go that heavy in 30 caliber you need to launch them from magnum rifles with nearly triple the recoil to get the same speeds and similar trajectories.

If you compare the best 147 gr 6.5 bullet @2700 fps to the best 150 gr .308 bullet @2850 fps the much longer 6.5 bullet will out penetrate it on large game by a wide margin.

Even though the 308 starts 150 fps faster, at 200 yards the 6.5 is faster and the farther down range you go the bigger advantage the 6.5 has. At 500 yards the 6.5 is almost 300 fps faster. It shoots flatter, hits harder, has better accuracy, and about 25% less recoil at any range.
 
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