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I guess it depends on what value you place on your time.

Personally - the hours I would spend on reloading would be better spent at work where I would earn enough to offset the extra cost of factory ammunition. Add to that, I sell the brass ( or turn into keyrings etc ) which further reduces the actual cost of the factory ammo.

The only time I reload is for my obsolete calibre stalking rifle - but only because I have to.

WelshShooter wrote:The one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the availability. You might struggle to find 6.5 creedmoor in any quantity but you will (almost) always be able to find and acquire powder, primers and projectiles for reloading. You can then load enough ammo to suit your needs.

That's why I started this thread! :) Availability of 6.5CM vs. 308 for a possible RPR purchase. However at least one other has suggested it isn't a huge problem. Plus if I had to make two orders (initial small one, larger one with longer wait) then it's not the end of the world.

But I do take your point.

component availability can be an issue sometimes , if America takes up most of the ammo made there what do you imagine happens to the reloading components made there ?

you can use European made components though and their ammo as well if you can find it?

tackb wrote:component availability can be an issue sometimes , if America takes up most of the ammo made there what do you imagine happens to the reloading components made there ?

you can use European made components though and their ammo as well if you can find it?

Lapua bullets
Vihtavuori or Reload Swiss powder
S&B or Murom KVB primers

All made in Europe. I only buy US reloading components when I cannot find a suitable European replacement (e.g. CCI Small Rifle Magnum Primers). I handload for 6.5x47 Lapua, which uses the same bullets and powder as 6.5CM, because factory ammo is not readily available (even if it were, it would easily surpass £3 per round). I buy components in bulk and so far I haven't had supply issues just yet.

Just picked up a first gen RPR in 6.5mm Creedmoor myself after trying out a friends rifle at Bisley. It seemed to ignore the 8-12mph winds we experienced on the 600yard range while my trusty .308 got blown all over the place!

One thing to note; he was experiencing slight pressure signs using factory Hornady 140g ammo (very flat primers). He now reloads his own ammo at 2.775" length instead of the much longer factory stuff (I think he said the Hornady ammo came in at 2.82") and the pressure signs have dissapeared.

I used a Hornady comparator set on my rifle at the weekend and got an average of 2.263" to ogive using a SMK 140g bullet (1740). Need to measure some different bullet heads but most places I've tried have sold out!

WelshShooter wrote:

tackb wrote:component availability can be an issue sometimes , if America takes up most of the ammo made there what do you imagine happens to the reloading components made there ?

you can use European made components though and their ammo as well if you can find it?

Lapua bullets
Vihtavuori or Reload Swiss powder
S&B or Murom KVB primers

All made in Europe. I only buy US reloading components when I cannot find a suitable European replacement (e.g. CCI Small Rifle Magnum Primers). I handload for 6.5x47 Lapua, which uses the same bullets and powder as 6.5CM, because factory ammo is not readily available (even if it were, it would easily surpass £3 per round). I buy components in bulk and so far I haven't had supply issues just yet.

scenars were always super accurate but you can't use them on steel at the roundhouse as they are too damaging , do lapua make an amax equivalent ?

tackb wrote:scenars were always super accurate but you can't use them on steel at the roundhouse as they are too damaging , do lapua make an amax equivalent ?

Scenar L nowadays but there's no difference in construction, the "L" series are just subjected to better quality control so they're even more consistent. Or of course there's the Sierra TMK series.

Have you tried the Noslers? I use the 140gr Custom Competition and they're very nice :)

Like the A-Max they've also been replaced with a newer version, the RDF, not managed to get any of those yet.

I can still get the Custom Competition pretty cheap in Europe and have stocked up with a few thousand.

phaedra1106 wrote:

tackb wrote:scenars were always super accurate but you can't use them on steel at the roundhouse as they are too damaging , do lapua make an amax equivalent ?

Scenar L nowadays but there's no difference in construction, the "L" series are just subjected to better quality control so they're even more consistent. Or of course there's the Sierra TMK series.

Have you tried the Noslers? I use the 140gr Custom Competition and they're very nice :)

Like the A-Max they've also been replaced with a newer version, the RDF, not managed to get any of those yet.

I can still get the Custom Competition pretty cheap in Europe and have stocked up with a few thousand.

can you get assembled ammo from Europe in 6.5 creedmoor?

the 6.5x47 was designed in Europe but you still cant get reasonable priced ammo hunting or target?

Tomo wrote:Just picked up a first gen RPR in 6.5mm Creedmoor myself after trying out a friends rifle at Bisley. It seemed to ignore the 8-12mph winds we experienced on the 600yard range while my trusty .308 got blown all over the place!

One thing to note; he was experiencing slight pressure signs using factory Hornady 140g ammo (very flat primers). He now reloads his own ammo at 2.775" length instead of the much longer factory stuff (I think he said the Hornady ammo came in at 2.82") and the pressure signs have dissapeared.

I used a Hornady comparator set on my rifle at the weekend and got an average of 2.263" to ogive using a SMK 140g bullet (1740). Need to measure some different bullet heads but most places I've tried have sold out!

Yep, the fact that 6.5CM is less affected by wind is what interests me in it over .308.

The only European manufactured 6.5 Creedmoor I've found to date is 130gn VLD bulleted match ammunition from Norma, but it's made under a contract between its parent company RUAG and US ammunition supplier Prime Ammunition. It sells at around the same price in the US as we pay here for Norma unprimed Creedmoor brass once you knock the 20% VAT off the latter! Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Prime Ammunition stuff is more often than not on back order.

The Creedmoor is such a success in the USA, all major ammunition companies bar Remington now offer at least one loading, and at the last count Hornady had no fewer than 11 lines. The formerly wildcat 6mm version has now been registered with SAAMI as a factory cartridge and Hornady makes an ELD-M target version while Ruger has dropped its 243 Win Precision Rifle and replaced it by 6mm Creedmoor built to suit the factory round with a 26-inch barrel and optimal rifling twist rate.

Now that Tikka has picked up the cartridge (so far only in its 'tactical' models ... it'll be interesting to see if Tikka / Sako mainstream sporting rifles also appear in this chambering), Blaser also offers barrels now too for its R series swap barrel jobs, we may see some European produced Creedmoor ammo on sale here. most likely from RUAG (ie Norma brand). But, given the rarity of 260 Remington ammo from European sources, a cartridge introduced a quarter century ago, don't hold your breath.

Only Lapua loads 6.5X47 Lapua factory ammo, and not even the small specialist American producers such as ABM Ammo, HSM and Cor-Bon touch it. In this country HPS - Target Rifle Ltd will load the cartridge to special order. (Although not listed on its website, I imagine this will apply to the Creedmoor too as its popularity increases.)