VV N150?

[Bigfoot]

So...Long story short I've been pushing my 95gr Vmax 6.5's about 300+ fps too fast using 2520 at 33.7gr. (2950-2975fps). I could go down to 29 or so grains but the little voice in my head is saying (load density equals low variance in speeds and more accurate loading). My guru suggests that for a 6.5mm pill that 2625 is the magic number for taking down chickies, porkers and turkeys.

So after looking up a bunch of loadings for the 250 savage case I'm coming up with 4350 or VV N150. My thoughts are go with N150 as VV is so widely praised and the fact that 32.5gr will give me 93% load density vs. 80% with the 2520 I'm using now.

I'm switching to the 100 grain A Max in my Bobcat as they're almost free at Powder Valley.com ($20 for 100).

I've got what the bench rest guys would call a hummer barrel on my hunter gun and don't want to burn the thing out early by shooting scorcher loads. Having never used this powder I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts et all as let's face it. This group of posters are pretty much the most savvy out there eh?

http://www.nosler.com/Reloading-Data/25 ... rains.aspx

[edgehit]

And what is the cartridge? Edit - ahhh. 6.5 Bobcat.

You ought to look at powder choices for 6.5x47 and 6.5 IHMSA. Those are practically a Savage case with the shoulder bumped back a bit.

My guess would be N140 or Varget for the light bullets and N160 and H4350 or ram line. And dont rule out RL17 or N540 for some extra V with 140's. I have no experience with your bobcat so ymmv, and all that.

[RBriscoe]

Depending upon how your particular Bobcat is throated, it should have just a little bit less effective case capacity than a 6.5 IHMSA, 6.5x47 Lapua or 6.5X (.260 Rem run in short to .250 Savage/22-250 case length). If you see published data on the .250 Savage based case, be very cautious. There is some load data out there that is very hot. I agree about using a quicker powder for the light bullets. Varget or H4895 should do nicely with 100 gr bullets. You might even give consideration to using some H322 or N133 with them. There was a load I got from someone years ago with a 95 gr bullet in a .260 Rem using 32 or 32.5 gr of H322 or N133 (take your pick) that was very light recoiling and pretty quick, but rather wind sensitive. The biggest problem with it was the bullet would barely stay in the case and you had to jam the lands. If you ever got caught with one in the chamber, you either needed to ask permission to clear by fire or have a can of compressed air handy to blow out the powder when the case came out and the bullet did not...and then knock the bullet out with a cleaning rod.

I have shot some 100 gr bullets in .260 Rem, 6.5x46 Lapua and 6.5X. they shot nicely with moderate charges of Varget. I would suggest trying 33 gr of Varget or H4895 as a starting point and work up from there. I shoot 35 gr Varget with a 108 gr Scenar in the 6.5x46L and a grain or a bit more additional in the .260 Rem and could probably back off a little from there. If you have some H4895, give it a try as well. It just might surprise you. If you decide to try H322 or N133, back way off with them and work your way up slowly. They will peak more rapidly than Varget or H4895 in my experience.

I shot H4350 in the 6.5X with 139 gr Scenars, but was never really able to reach the velocity window I wanted. The primer pockets of Win 22-250 cases loosened up in a hurry just as I was beginning to get close. As I recall it I was getting close to 2,700 fps at that point and it was not enough for the range where I shoot. Rel 17 is new since I tried the 6.5X. It might be worth a try. Especially with the heavy bullets, keep the bullet 0.010" or so off the lands. My experience has been that you will not be able to achieve the same velocities within pressure constraints if you jam the heavier bullets. Your mileage may vary though.

Good Luck

Rick

P.S. This is not to say anything bad about the VV powders, but the Hodgdon "Extreme" powder line is remarkably stable across temperature changes. Zeros seem more stable to me.

[Snake]

For my two cents VV150 is very clean relatively temperature insensitive and expensive. Its slower than VV140 which I have loaded at 37 grs with a 7mm 175 without any issues (26" in barrel) win brass, Fed primer. !50 is slower and slightly slower than Varget but I'd rank it about the same. But like all things firearm related a 6.5 hole is smaller than 7 and the pressure curves change along with the expansion ratio. It would seem that Reloader 19 might be the "berries" for 6.5...

[RBriscoe]

Snake,

I used to shoot a good bit of Rel 19 in a 6.5-08/.260 Rem and it seemed to get good velocity, but getting it all in was sometimes a problem.

Rel 17 looks to be an interesting powder for "small" cases. I tried some when it came out, but never had the time (or supplies as it was hard to get then) to do enough testing with it. The Rel powders certainly are no worse than most of the rest about temperature sensitivity. I have heard that the USA 7.62 sniper round is loaded with Rel 15, though I have not verified this. It seems reasonable.

In the 7-08, a lot of people seem to be shooting Varget with both the light and heavy bullets. I need to do some load development on one I had chambered up.

Rick

[Snake]

Rick, I loaded 43 grs of RL 19 in my 7-08 with 175 Sierras ....there was plenty of space...it chrono'd just over 2500. RL 15 works very well ..slower than Varget not as slow as vv150. I just bought 5lbs of RL15 equivalent from pulled military match (they can't call it RL15..its proprietary) for $75...Go to Hi-Tech Ammo in St Louis...he's got a web site....His inventory varies as he is a licensed military reclaimer. When I load varget in the 7-08 its 38grs with 120's, 150's or 175's

[Bigfoot]

Great info guys. I worked up a bunch of loads and 32gr of the n150 seems like the sweet spot. Very tight groups at 100 and a good degree less recoil using 100gr Amax pills. Cleaning up after was noticeably easier as well in my defiance actioned/Lilja barreled rig.

I'm going to try the reloder 17 as well but for now I feel like I've got the trifecta going.

1, reduced velocity (this barrel is a hummer and I don't want to burn it out)
2, consistent groups
3, better case density

Proof will be when high power gets going again but I'm feeling pretty good right now.

[RBriscoe]

Rick, I loaded 43 grs of RL 19 in my 7-08 with 175 Sierras ....there was plenty of space...it chrono'd just over 2500. RL 15 works very well ..slower than Varget not as slow as vv150. I just bought 5lbs of RL15 equivalent from pulled military match (they can't call it RL15..its proprietary) for $75...Go to Hi-Tech Ammo in St Louis...he's got a web site....His inventory varies as he is a licensed military reclaimer. When I load varget in the 7-08 its 38grs with 120's, 150's or 175's

Thanks, Snake.

I have 10 or 12 pounds of Rel 15. If I can get it to work, I'll be getting more from your source.

Rick

[Troy G]

Bigfoot, what velocity are you running with 32grs of VV-150 and the 100gr bullet?

[Bigfoot]

My 260 bobcat is pushing the 100gr amax right at 2700fps. This puts load density near 95% vs my old 2520 load of 33.5gr push the 95gr vmax at 2940fps. The vv powder does cost more but those awesome folks at powder
Valley are even making that better by basically shipping for free.

[Troy G]

I was curious because I had worked up a load for a 6.5x47 Lapua and thought I had a fast lot of VV-150.

[DanDeMan]

I was curious because I had worked up a load for a 6.5x47 Lapua and thought I had a fast lot of VV-150.

Troy,

Back at the 2000 Ridgeway HP and SB nationals my 6.5mm USC (almost the same as the 6.5 x 47) ram load was 39.0 grains of N150 launching the 150 Cauterucio bullet. It was a great load, burned clean and got the job done using a 6.5mm wildcat that is almost a spitting image of the 6.5 x 47.

Also, in the 6.5 TKS and 260 the VVO powders are superb. N133, 29.5 grains, is used for the CPT ammo launching the 108 Scenar out of the TKS. N150, 35.0 grains, is used with the 141 Cauterucios. For the 260 Hunter, 32.5 grains of N140 with the 108 Scenar out to Turkeys. At rams 42.5 grains of N160 is used under the 139 Scenars.

After a lot of testing using the 6.5 TKS and 260 Hunter I found that VarGet, RL15 and N140 all produced the same MV's with the same powder charges.

[Troy G]

I found that VV550 worked best in my 6.5TKS. The rest of the powders where a little too fast. In my 7TKS Varget and RL15 were the go to powders. I saw no need to run VV powder if Varget was getting the job done. With shippping, tax, and hazmat the 500 series VV runs over 100.00 for 1 kg. The 100 series is around 80.00 for 1kg.

I ran out of time this summer testing the 6.5x47 lapua and was just trying to find a good CPT load. I never got to do any Ram loads. The faster powder like Benchmark was producing too much speed without enough case filled. Tried some VV-150 and seem to have things tamed.

My CPT load is 33.5 but I cannot remember my exact velocity average, it is somewhere around 2720-25 with very low ES and SD.

[DanDeMan]

Troy,

Here's the load used for the 6.5mm USC cartridge, almost the same as the 6.5 x 47.

6.5 Ultimate Silhouette Cartridge
Vel:2850fps; 108 Scenar; 33.0 N133; F210M; Lapua Brass
Range Velocity Drop
meters ft/sec MOA
200 - 2429 - 0.00
300 - 2228 - 2.50
385 - 2063 - 5.25
500 - 1852 - 9.50

[Jim Beckley]

If anyone is interested I have about 1/2 a keg of the 150 that the container has been collecting dust for awhile, PM me and we will work something out.