I have a new 6mm remington 10 twist barrel that I will be starting to load for. The 3 bullets that I have are 70grain SMK, 75 grain vmax, 87 grain vmax. My question is how do you guys start to develop a load. Pick one powder 10%less than max and see which bullet shoots best, or start with one bullet and see which powder works best? Also, if you could reccomend a powder to start with that is the most temperature stable for the mid-weight 6mm bullets that I have mentioned.

Thanks, and looking forward to any feedback!

Andy.

Here's a resource to which I have recently been introduced: http://home.snafu.de/l.moeller/Englisch/Laddertest.htm

As for powder, I think a lot of folks really like Varget. I like it, although I'm rather new to this as well.

HTH. You have stumbled upon a wealth of information here.

First, pick a bullet. One bullet, not 4 or 5.

Then pick your case and get a couple of hundred all from the same lot.

Next pick your primer.

The pick a couple of different powders. Very seldom does the first powder give you the best results.

Be precise in your case prep and in your loading technique.

Take your time when firing the loads to determine the best for your purpose.

My favorite 6mm Remington load is:


5-shots, 200-yards
Bullet: Sierra 85 Grain HPBT
Powder: 43.4 grains of IMR-4350
Primer: Remington 9-1/2
Case: Remington
Firearm: Ruger 77R
Optics: Leupold 3x9
Velocity: 3128 FPS @ 15' from muzzle

quote:

Originally posted by Andy Wiese:
My question is how do you guys start to develop a load.

The first thing I do is consult the available data. I first narrow down the bullet choices according to my needs and the practical velocities of a given chambering then look for a consensus from various manuals reguarding good powder choices. Sometimes I can nail down a real good hunting load fairly quickly, other times it takes more effort. It is always a plus to me when I can make some good loads with powders that I already have, but I usually want the most out of my loads and so that doesnt happen too often.

Moreover, load development is like everything else in life, your returns will be proportional to what you put into it. But Steve has a lot of experience as do other sources of data such as Nosler, Speer, Sierra and even the AR reloading pages. Make use of their efforts and let it work for you.

I would advise against being adamant about one particular bullet, sometimes just changing that one component can yeild incredible results.

Hi: I run my best load type computer programs...
get the info on paper to narrow it down some. Then cross reference reloading manuals & others recommendations. Basically do it on paper rather than a lot of wasted experimentation...
Then, then...try a narrowed down result for a trial load. Use good bullets, good components.
And take advice from guys on this forum!
Best Regards, Tom

Thanks for the advise guys.

Andy.

I can tell you, I did a load testing for accuracy with 15 different powders with the 75 grain Hornady HP....

You can try doing the same type of extensive testing... involving a couple of hundred rounds...

to find out what I did... or you can take advantage of someone else's work... which many post on here...

What I found testing the 6mm Rem.. is that only one powder was useless.. H 4895... and that 13 were more than acceptable for prairie dogs to 300 yds or more...

AND one was a one hole shooter... over and over....

H 414.. 47.5 grains... 75 gr Hornady HP....

And second..if you want to save a boat load of time and want a super duper reliable source for accuracy info...the only stop you need is the contributions of Steve Riccardelli....

That is how you start with load development....

good luck..
cheers
seafire

quote:

Originally posted by Andy Wiese:
I have a new 6mm remington 10 twist barrel that I will be starting to load for. The 3 bullets that I have are 70grain SMK, 75 grain vmax, 87 grain vmax. My question is how do you guys start to develop a load. Pick one powder 10%less than max and see which bullet shoots best, or start with one bullet and see which powder works best? Also, if you could reccomend a powder to start with that is the most temperature stable for the mid-weight 6mm bullets that I have mentioned.

Thanks, and looking forward to any feedback!

Andy.

My 6MM has that very barrel in a Winchester Varminter contour 1 in 10 twist. For the lighter bullets 75 Gr and lower W760 or H414. For bullet weights above that my choice would be IMR 4350 or RL 19.