This is a custom GAPrecision Rifle:
- 26″ Bartlein
- MannerT4 Stock
- Kahles Scope
Load work for my 6.5 PRC
All testing was done with H1000, Hornady brass, and CCI Benchrest Primers
JLK 140g – 4 ROUND SHOT GROUPS
58g: 3022, 2990, 3005, 3014
SD: 15.1 ES:-32
AVG 3005
58.5g: 3024, 3011, 3039, 3034
SD: 12.3 ES: 28
AVG 3027
59g: 3077, 2994, 3090, 3068
SD: 43.1 ES-22
AVG 3057
59.5g: 3100, 3081, 3069, 3063
SD: 16.3 ES: 37
AVG 3078
60g: 3133, 3101, 3148, 3140.
SD: 20.5 ES: 47
AVG 3130
147g Hornady ELD-M
Test Day 1 (4-Shot Groups):
56.2g: 2986, 2988, 2974, 2962
SD: 12 ES: 26
AVG 2977
56.7g: 2999, 2980, 3021, 2970
SD: 22.4 ES: 51
AVG 2992
57.2g: 3032, 3003, 3017, 3000
SD: 14.6. ES: 32
AVG 3013
57.7g: 3022, 3028, 3026, 3028.
SD: 2.8. ES: 6
AVG 3026
Test Day 2 (10-Shot Groups focusing on the 57.7g node):
57.7g: 3020, 3037, 3038, 3037, 3027, 3022, 3043, 3043, 3041, 3042.
Max 3043, Min 3020. ES: 23
AVG 3035
Test Day 3 (Was not happy with the 10rnd sampling of 57.7g so I tested loads .2g above and below 57.7g) 5-Shot Groups:
57.5g: 3005, 3028, 3022, 3036, 3035
SD: 12.6 ES: 31
AVG 3025
57.7g: 3072, 3058, 3045, 3037, 3039
SD: 14.6 ES: 35
AVG 3050
57.9: Didn’t gather all data but ES was 17
Test Day 4 (5 Shot Groups)
56.1g: 2974, 2957, 2960, 2974, 2978.
Max 2978 Min 2957
SD: 9.4 ES: 21
AVG 2967
56.6g: 2985, 2986, 2994, 2984, 2996.
Max 2996 M in 2984
SD: 5.5 ES: 12
AVG 2989
57g: 3011, 3015, 3011, 2989, 2990
Max 3015 Min 2989
SD: 12.6 ES: 26
AVG 3003
57.3g: 3031, 3033, 3035, 3009, 3009
Max 3035 Min 3009
SD: 13.2 ES: 26
AVG 3023
FACTORY 147g ELD-M: 2959, 2914, 2929, 2957, 2937
Max 2958 Min 2914
SD: 19 ES: 44
AVG 2939
140g JLK Assessment
These numbers look daunting but I’ll simplify. The first bullets I tested were the 140 JLKs. To be clear JLKs are a great built and consistent bullet. I weighed 15 bullets out of 400 and EVERY SINGLE ONE was exactly 140g. I’ve never got that consistency with Bergers or Hornadys. That being said I didn’t like these as I had to jump them at least .027” in order to fit into my Alpha WSM magazines. Which is really a bummer because I do like the bullets but I couldn’t get them to group as easy. To be fare I only tried one seating depth that was .027” off the lands. From what I hear many PRS shooter using the JLKs have great success after playing with charge and seating depth.
For me, as a long range hunter first and competitor second, and given I have limited time since I archery hunt as well, I leaned towards getting an accurate node and depth with the ELD-Ms as they are easier to come by, slightly cheaper, and I can flirt with seating depth all the way up to the lands without worrying about them fitting into the magazine.
So I tested the 147s. I went to the range 4 different time, all at an indoor A/C cooled 100yrd range. I used the magneto speed V3. The first session I found a node at 57.7 with an ES of 6! I was excited but later ended up realizing it was a lucky 4-shot group and/or the gun wasn’t quite done being broke in as it had 140rnds at the time. Really when you do this type of testing you should test larger batch sizes like 10 or more. Unfortunately, like most people, I’m limited on budget and time to test 10+ firings on one load, when I head to the range I need to cover more than 1-2 different loads. I did however increase the sample size from 4 to 5 shot groups the last 2 tests.
I found a node at 56.6g with an SD of 5.5 and an ES of 12. Now I realize this isn’t awesome but it’s decent and what I didn’t list up there is I fouled the barrel with 5rnds of 56.6 prior to getting these numbers and that ES was 15, which given that the barrel was clean is a decent ES to get. And just as important, as you can see on the picture, I was happy with the elevation change of the group (which was very little).
Backcountry Precision
Blood. Sweat. Reward