6.5 PRC and hornady jacket failures

[bdubb]

I'll add, that most people hunting South Texas that I loaded ammo for their 6.5 SAUM's switched from Berger 140gn Elite Hunters to the 143 ELD-X due to better penetration and blood trail from the ELD-X.

That said, a friend and old customer running my previous ammo with 143 ELD-X's in a 6.5 SAUM took a mule deer last week in CO and didn't get pass through either.

[bboswell]

I'll add, that most people hunting South Texas that I loaded ammo for their 6.5 SAUM's switched from Berger 140gn Elite Hunters to the 143 ELD-X due to better penetration and blood trail from the ELD-X.

That said, a friend and old customer running my previous ammo with 143 ELD-X's in a 6.5 SAUM took a mule deer last week in CO and didn't get pass through either.

Any experience loading 140g Accubonds?

[trophy8]

Literally loaded thousands of 6.5mm ELD's, probably in the low 10's of thousands, across multiple rifles, cartridges and shooters. Hunting rifles and PRS competition rifles. Never had a personal experience or heard through a business experience of a complaint of them coming apart in flight.

One story of a 143 ELD-X not getting any penetration on a corsican ram from a 6.5 SAUM. Supposedly blew away hair, but nothing else. Second shot grounded the ram. Belief is that the first round hit the horn first, but it's just speculation. Same hunter and same rifle with same lot of ammo took a NM elk at 500ish yards either that same season or the next.

If there's issues with them now, it's been since I left the business and sport in late 2018. Otherwise this post is the only one I've come across with your concerns.

There’s literally a guy in this very post that’s had the issues. I have had multiple ELDX fail to expand worth a dang that’s why I’m curious on the eldm. I may stick to the Berger or accubonds. Bergers fly so dang good it’s hard not to love them.

Who did you work for? Doing load work for clients? PM me if you’d rather.

[Stick1]

I know LOTS of fellow shooters and customers that have shredded 147's at some point. I bet a bunch of folks probably have too and don't even realize it. In every single case that I've lost one its been well past 200 yards. First time we caught it happening the 100 yard groups looked great, but 500 yard groups were missing 1 or 2 holes After getting on glass and watching trace, it became obvious some were making it and others were giving up around the half way point. If you weren't watching, most folks would just chalk it up as a miss.

[bdubb]

There’s literally a guy in this very post that’s had the issues. I have had multiple ELDX fail to expand worth a dang that’s why I’m curious on the eldm. I may stick to the Berger or accubonds. Bergers fly so dang good it’s hard not to love them.

Who did you work for? Doing load work for clients? PM me if you’d rather.

I had a custom ammo shop, Sendero Ammo, out of Spring TX for a little over 3 years. Small volume sales of handloads and load development. I would put out a couple thousand rounds a month, nothing that would approach one of the majors daily output.

[bdubb]

Any experience loading 140g Accubonds?

I had one customer that ran them in his 6.5 SAUM and still does. Their BC isn't great but they worked well. I typically went to Accubonds with the belted magnums, like 300 WM and always felt I had good results.

There may have been one or two others I dealt with that ran them in a 6.5 but I don't recall off memory.

[bbqfan5909]

Read this and listen to the man. 3 years in a reload shop is nothing compared to the experience Robert has.

I know LOTS of fellow shooters and customers that have shredded 147's at some point. I bet a bunch of folks probably have too and don't even realize it. In every single case that I've lost one its been well past 200 yards. First time we caught it happening the 100 yard groups looked great, but 500 yard groups were missing 1 or 2 holes After getting on glass and watching trace, it became obvious some were making it and others were giving up around the half way point. If you weren't watching, most folks would just chalk it up as a miss.

[bdubb]

I'm not **** measuring or knocking anyone else's experience. Just stating my own.


I see his sponsor tag, is this for Alamo? If so, we probably met years ago and know several of the same people and fellow shooters.


Again, just stating my own experience.

[trophy8]

I know LOTS of fellow shooters and customers that have shredded 147's at some point. I bet a bunch of folks probably have too and don't even realize it. In every single case that I've lost one its been well past 200 yards. First time we caught it happening the 100 yard groups looked great, but 500 yard groups were missing 1 or 2 holes After getting on glass and watching trace, it became obvious some were making it and others were giving up around the half way point. If you weren't watching, most folks would just chalk it up as a miss.

Any certain combos of barrel you saw it more in or just clear across the board?

[bdubb]

5r is generally considered easier on the jackets.

That also mimics what his earlier post in this thread mentioned as well, outside of stating the noticed issues with an eroded throat 5r barrel.

[trophy8]

And proof uses 4 groove if I recall.

Bartlien 24” 5R might be the ticket then.

[OSU Fisher]

Yes, go 5r. I'm definitely not the only one who has had issues in 3-4 grooves.

[Stick1]

Any certain combos of barrel you saw it more in or just clear across the board?

So a 5R put it off longer than a standard 4 groove, but it still showed up eventually when conditions were right. Some barrels just do, some don't. I have seen it with all of the popular brands, but certainly not in every individual barrel. Ironically, the best luck we have had with them was in a modified 4G configuration running "r" profile rifling. Standard 4g being the worst and 5R falling somewhere in the middle.