140 grain berger vld

varminter185

varminter185

New member
With bullet selection locally in the pits, I broke down and ordered some.... found berger vld's in 140 grain for my 6.5creedmoor, with a BC over .600. I believe these will serve my purposes very well. Any recommendations on powder? I have imr 4064, and imr 4895, blc2, and superformance... what would the performance on coyotes be? I need fur friendly, in the 6.5. If not I'll use a different rifle. I have hormady SST's in 140 too
 
I am quite sure the 140gr Berger's will kill a coyote although they may not expand very well and most likely will blow right thru. You may get a runner here and there but I am basing this on 6mm Berger bullet performance going at higher velocity.
A much better choice IMO for coyotes would have been the 95gr VMax or the 120gr Amax. I have shot a lot of the 120gr AMax and they are quite accurate and will hammer deer and antelope so I guess they should work on a coyote but the fur may not look too purty.
As far as powder goes you can make it simple and just get what 90% of folks use in the Creedmoor which is H4350. Of the one's you have I would try IMR 4895 first. Superformance will give good velocity but may or may not be as consistent. when I have used it I have gotten decent accuracy but my ES has been high so I tend not to use it.
 
Maybe consider the 123 gr SST? I imagine expansion is going to be pretty similar across the board on these bullets given your velocities out of a creedmore. Might have big exits depending on shot angle but the only way you'll find out is to give it a go.
 
I would really hate to blow a hole the size of the grand canyon in a coyote in the winter. If I didnt care about the pelt id hit them with whatever I could plant them with. I was thinking the vld's and a shoulder shot. Cant run as fast with broken legs. Or I could use the 22-250 with a vmax, idk how that would tun out either. Only other option is a .308 barnes ttsx.
 
My experiences with a 22-250 and vmaxes have been less than good for saving fur. Usually a golf ball + exit, or a splash wound depending on shot angle. That was with fast 40 grainers and less fast 50 grainers. If you just want to put them down without concern for fur than go Creedmore all the way. Hammer of Thor kind of thing. But if you are going to skin use the 250. I have had good success with 52gr bthp bullets in the 3600 fps range. A lot of people like the 55 Sierra sbt boat tail game kings. I haven't tried these yet but really want to. I try to shoot all mine with the 17 rem. but let's face it, you can't leave the rest of your guns in the safe all year right? Life would be boring. Oh and buy a needle and floss.
 
Had a chance to shoot the 6.5 today! Really Impressed with the new caliber, first gun I've bought over .22 but less than 30 cal. It has a muzzle break which I can turn on and off ;off it recoil less than the .308 and on I was watching impacts at 300, actually in the heavy/misty air this morning I got the chance to see a vapor trail! I was geeked, but the cold gusts were making my eyes water so I only saw one. I was shooting 140 gr hornady SSTs over 4064 as that's what I put together, sighted in a pull off scope from another rifle, once I get my back ordered scope in I'll be serious about squeezing every ounce of precision this rifle is capable of, put 50 rounds down range and managed to go 5 for 5 at 300 from the 12 inch to 4 inch plate, 5 plates getting smaller progressively.


My plan is to sacrifice the first fur of the season to try the 140 sst, think I should go behind the shoulder? or try to bust the legs out with a high shoulder?... I was also thinking the vld may do well with a neck shot, what's the most valuable part? I'll just try not to poke a hole in that part hahaha.
 
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Powder is going like gold around here you can't find what you need but they have plenty of h50bmg, ugh, going out later this week to see if anything has gone out 4350 or 4831 I'll wait till the berger book gets here, I'll end up working up a load this winter what should I expect as far as temp sensitivity if I work up a below max cold load, how will it do in the heat, next summer?
 
Found 2 lbs of h4350, wewt. And they had large rifle br2 primers :-( too bad I already ordered some. Gah! The store opened the day after I ordered
 
4350 is where it's at with the cm. I run 140 hybrids with mine and 42.9gr of 4350. Accuracy is incredible and velocity is 2860fps. I point them using a whidden die. My b.c is a proven .670

4350 is very temp stable. I have noted less then 10fps difference in extreme temp swings. Most people do not account for density altitude changes which effect bullet drop much more then a powder velocity drop when using any of the extreme powders.
 
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What about imr 4350? 2 lbs of h4350 is all I could fiND but I have 8lb of imr 4350, developing a load in the winter worries me if I'm shooting in the summer care more about pressure than I do fps, none of my books are showing that you can get to 2800 fps for max loads, are the books that conservative? Brand new gun don't want to blow it up trying to reach new speeds,
 
imr is not a temp stable powder. you will be able to wrok a load with it for sure but its not my choice of powder. h4350 is the holy grail for 6.5 calibers with heavy bullets in my opinion.

the loading manuals are approved by lawyers. conservative is sometimes an understatement. you dont have to reinvent the wheel here. tons of guys shooting creedmoor and the 140's. about every rifle i've built and seen shoots the same loads in the same nodes. with the heavies there is an extreme accuracy node around 41.5-41.7 and the next higher node is 42.7-43gr and thatholds true on every creed bolt gun ive tried it in.

i have never had to rework any loads ive developed or shot with h4350 between winter and summer. i shoot competively in tactical rifle matches so my guns get run hard. you're not gonna blow your gun up. i doubt its even possible to do with 4350. becuase a 43gr charge is 90% case capacity or so. my bullet is [beeep] near right on top of the powder.

if it were me i would start with 41.5-7 charge with bullet seated .010 into the lands. thats where the vld does the best in my experience.
 


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