New Load Development Key: 6.5 Creedmoor with Triebel Dies

I’ve always known that load development matters, but I recently had a fundamental change in my load development philosophy. I’m going to show this with concrete results as I load precision 6.5 Creedmoor ammunition on the Area 419 ZERO press with Triebel dies from Creedmoor Sports.

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About the Rifle and Project

I recently showed my 6.5 Creedmoor build featuring a BAT Hammerhead action and a barrel blank from Southern Precision Rifles/Bugholes that I chambered on the Precision Matthews PM-1440HVT-2.

This combination was set in the new Foundation Samson, a micarta stock designed for competitive shooters with brass or aluminum weights, a forward-assist bridge, an adjustable recoil pad, and a full-length ARCA rail. Hawkins Precision M5 DBM and an Element Optics Nexus Gen 2 rounded out the package.

Watch the full build video for more details:

Initially I was incredibly frustrated with the poor results I was getting from my new rifle. I knew it could do better — I just had to figure out how to get it there.

I’ve recently concluded that every barrel will have a preference for a particular bullet down to the SKU. Moving from Hornady 6.5mm 153 Grain A-Tips to Hornady 6.5mm 135 Grain A-Tips took the five-shot 100-yard group from 1.065” to 0.396”. I documented this entire process with Longshot’s Ranger.

To ensure this second load was consistent over multiple shooting sessions, I fired more rounds at 100 yards the next day, my next two five-shot groups measuring 0.337” and 0.320” with a 10.7 fps SD from Caldwell’s Velociradar.

The velocities were on the lower side at approximately 2,670 fps, but many PRS shooters favor a lower node for longer barrel life and slightly less recoil.

My 6.5 Creedmoor isn’t the only rifle I’ve recently experienced the above problem with. I couldn’t get my 22 Creedmoor to group until I tried the Hornady .22 Caliber 75 Grain BT A-Max.

22 Creedmoor Hornady 75 grain A-Max Results

About the Reloading Setup

I decided to place Triebel’s 6.5 Creedmoor dies at the center of my loading session. I’ve loaded a number of rounds with Triebel’s high-quality dies including 6mm x 47, 6.5 PRC, .338 Lapua, and .50 BMG. For loading 6.5 Creedmoor, I have the full-length sizing die, neck-only sizing die, and benchrest seating die. (Want to learn how Triebel dies are different? Watch this!)

The neck-sizing die has a variety of compatible bushings, but I decided to keep it simple, adjusting just the protrusion of the decapping pin.

I screwed the die into the ZERO press until it touched the shellplate, then secured the lock ring.

I lubed five Lapua cases and neck-sized them as a demonstration.

I choose to full-length size all of my brass to ensure proper feeding, but if I wanted to further tune neck tension I could use an AMP press or Forster neck tension gages to learn more.

I set up the Triebel full-length sizing die and ensured the expander ball would be away from the web of the case.

Another consideration with full-length sizing is shoulder bump.

For a bolt-action rifle, I use 0.015” to 0.002” shoulder bump. This can be easily verified with a comparator, case gauge with a depth checker, or by sizing a piece of brass and testing it in your specific chamber. I full-length sized several pieces of brass and primed all of it using a Primal Rights competition primer seater.

I wiped the excess lube off the cases and separated them by sizing method in a loading block.

I then dispensed 40.0 grains of H4350 with a RCBS ChargeMaster Link and used an Area 419 funnel kit to charge each of the cases.

The ChargeMaster Link has seen a lot of use lately at Ultimate Reloader and is worth a look. It is an affordable electronic powder dispenser with bluetooth capabilities that delivers quick, accurate charges.

Triebel offers a variety of seating stems for their benchrest seating dies — it’s important to know which one to use.

I use a single bullet as a test, placing it against each seating stem and rocking it to see which is the most appropriate.

I want a stem that won’t cut into the ogive of the bullet, but that doesn’t have much play. (Each stem can be easily swapped with a wrench.)

Once I found my desired seating stem, I installed it in the die and backed it off.

I screwed the seating die into the ZERO press and used a dummy round to properly set the seating depth.

I concluded my loading session by seating the Hornady 6.5mm 135 grain A-Tips.

Conclusion

Now that I’ve found a “magic” load, I’ll be loading many, many more rounds of it. The components you use make a difference.

I’ve always believed that quality equipment and components are worth the investment as they leave nothing to be desired when you get out to the range. I’ve since realized that the particular bullet may have more of an effect than anything — not all perform equally, even if in the same line or family.