6.5 CM - T/C Compass

[lazyMlazyK]

I know I’ll get a bunch of crap for this but I’m prepared. Picked up a T/C Compass 6.5 Creedmoor a couple months back. Brand new, budget rifle in a chambering I’ve been curious about for awhile. $275 out the door. Threw on a cheap Simmons 3-12x scope I had collecting dust at home and hit the range with various factory ammo. At 100 yards, almost everything shot under 1”. Started rolling my own with H4350 and 143gr. ELD-X bullets. Decided to take the 40.5, 41, and 41.5gr. loads and load up five more of each to test. What do you think, will I see more interesting results if I shoot these groups at 200-300 yards instead of 100? Here’s the target from first load development:


Bring on the manbun jokes, I can take it

 

[SDMF]

What are you using for a front rest? If you’re not already, try positioning the front rest under the chamber rather than out towards the fore end tip. This helps to mitigate the flex that some injection-molded stocks are subject to.

 

[lazyMlazyK]

I picked up a Caldwell Lead Sled DFT last year, but for anything larger than a .22-250, I like to take the butt of the rifle off of the rear part of the sled so I can actually shoulder it and use a squeeze bag. Also get a better cheek weld and is much more comfortable this way. You might be on to something with the front rest idea - I have been putting the front 6" or so of the factory (mostly garbage, but actually fairly rigid) stock on the front rest of the sled. Looking to use this rifle mostly for coyotes and deer at medium range, but would like to upgrade to a different scope one day to dial-in or use mil-dots for holdover. The crappy Simmons I'm using now just has a standard, fairly fine duplex reticle without any subtensions or dots, so I just estimate holdover.

 

[SupressYourself]

I would certainly load some more 40.5 to see if it consistently shoots that well (or close). If so, that's a heck of a feat from a rifle that cheap.

Testing at longer distances is really only good for checking vertical spread, which is largely a function of velocity. I prefer to use a chronograph instead. If my load has a decent extreme spread (less than 20), and groups well at 100, I can be pretty sure it will group well at distance.

Here's some links to a couple different popular load development techniques:
http://optimalchargeweight.embarqspace.com/ocw-instructions/4529817134
https://precisionrifleblog.com/2012/07/13/creighton-audette-ladder-testing/
http://www.65guys.com/10-round-load-development-ladder-test/

Of course none of that is necessary if you don't plan to shoot over 400 yards. In that case, just pick your best group.