Now in my safe - stainless - 20" bbl. Going to the range tomorrow. Testing the 140 Berger Elite and the 130 Sierra TMK handloads. Will update accuracy results.

Anyone have any experience with this rifle?

TIA

I have a CTR in 308, scary accurate.

Pete

That ought to be satisfying.

Sunday PM - good day at the range.

After lots'a very good references online - the rifle w/20" Stainless bbl performed as expected.

Trigger adjustment screw turned in to lowest setting - 1.7 lbs. For target work - excellent. I'll tighten it up a bit for hunting.

Both bullets shot very well @ 100 yards. Multiple loads. ALL under MOA. Average 5 MOA. 3 best groups .2 MOA. When time becomes avlbl again, LR testing is next.

Put a lot of advance study into this project before purchasing the rifle. Pleased is an understatement. More testing will reveal the best LR TARGET load / bullet.

I'm a fan of the TMK's - consistently seem to work really well for me. Will try the 107 TMK. If I can get the accuracy I want - maybe choose it for an upcoming Coyote hunt?

Any thoughts / recommendations on Coyote bullet choice??

Thanks for responding.

Cheers.

I own a CTR in 6.5 CM, 20" barrel. Very accurate rifle. The magazine feeds/cycles flawlessly. One of the very few guns that I have owned that did not need anything to get it right. I haven't achieved groups in the .2 or .3 range, but that may just be my limitations as a shooter. Most match loads achieve around .6 to .75 for 5 shots where I shoot, which is always windy. The 140 Sierra MK shoots well. Hornady 140 factory ELD match is very accurate. The Barnes 127 LR factory ammo is very accurate and would make a very good hunting load. I'm going to be trying the Hornady ELD-VT as a varmint bullet.

Jeffrey,

Good to know.

I'm a bit irrational about accuracy in my "hunting" rifles. The primary use of this CTR rifle is for Coyote - 500 to 800 yards - LR target work a close second.

I simply don't have the time or $ to spend testing a dozen bullets with multiple loads. I was fortunate in choosing the Beger & TMK for testing.

For target work, I'm staying with the 140 Berger Hunter Elite just because of the .1 MOA accuracy. When funds allow, will likely test another Berger.

For Wiley........seems hard to argue with the 130 TMK. I'd like to go lighter but fear losing the accuracy I already have. And, the 130 to 140 gr bullet advantages shouldn't be overlooked. Decisions, decisions...

Cheers.

I suppose also that for distances of over 500 yards the additional ballistic efficiency of the 130 to 140 weight range bullet would provide an advantage over lighter bullets. For what it’s worth though, I have had excellent accuracy in this rifle with the 108 gr. Lapua Scennar. I’ll post info about the 100 grain ELD-VT after I get to try them. That has a high ballistic coefficient for a light 6.5 bullet. Given that it is intended for target and Varmit shooting, it might be a good choice. That was the reason for my experimentation with it. I’m also going to try it in a 6.5 Grendel.

I should also mention that velocities in this rifle have been on the low side. Again, this is a 20 inch barrel gun. I’ve chronographed a number of different loads, including some factory loads. It runs about 150 to 170 ft./s slower than my Ruger No 1 with a 28 inch barrel. Not surprising I suppose. The Hornady 140 ELD match factory load achieves about 2500 ft./s. In the Tikka.

All good tp know. Thanks for sharing.

There's house money and my play money. The play money box is empty right now. Will detail your car for a lb of H4350. Doesn't include my airfare from NC to CA.

I used to chase max fps like so many - too many rifles / bullets / loads to count. I'm very happy with this rifle - 20" bbl - fps now comes second to accuracy. What my bullet lacks in fps I'll make up for with hold-overs / dialing. << A steep learning curve for me but I'm slowly getting there. I have the right gear - it's all on me now.

The 6.5 Creed isn't the wonder cartridge - but this particular rifle and cartridge are doing all I'm asking for and a LOT more. The rifle / scope / bullets / testing / LR shooting have opened the door to a lot of enjoyment for this old shooter.

Thanks again.

Cheers.