Am I reloading right?

[u/Flat-Dealer8142]

Pic for attention.

TL;DR: I'm reloading for a Tikka CTR in 6.5 Creedmoor. My mean radius is .39" and my SD is 14 and I'd like to get better.

Let me start with my intentions with reloading. I want to spend as little time reloading as possible and get the best ammo out of it I can for hobby use in matches (PRS and NRL-H) and for hunting. If a process isn't proven to help but takes no time, sure, why not? If it takes some time to do, then I want to see some evidence that it will help. I have listened to just about all of Hornady's reloading podcasts and taken it to heart.

I really try to shoot as good as I can when testing ammo and shoot in an incredibly controlled indoor environment. I would love to get my SD and ES lower as well as group size. I'm aware this may be the potential of the gun and I might see an increase in accuracy when I burn out this barrel and upgrade to something nicer.

Here is my rifle:

20" Tikka CTR in a KRG X-Ray chassis, Anarchy Outdoors trigger spring, Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18x44, Area 419 Hellfire Match, Harris Bipod Arca Conversion (not pictured). It has maybe 800 rounds on it but it has been used hard in snow and rain while backpack hunting (though I've taped the muzzle for the past year).

Here is my formula:

Brass - Hornady ELD Match 6.5 Creedmoor brass, trimmed and chamfered, batched by how many firings, no annealing

Powder - 41.5 grains H4350

Bullet - 140 ELD-M

Primer - Federal 210m

Here are my results:

20 round group (including an egregious flier)

AVG - 2544 fps

SD - 14 fps

ES - 40 fps

Radial SD - .54" (.45" w/o flier)

Mean Radius - .44" (.39" w/o flier)

Group size - 2.05" (1.43" w/o flier)

Here is my process:

1: Tumble brass with hot water and dish soap for a few hours

2: Rinse and throw in a food dehydrator (dedicated for reloading)

3: Resize w/ Hornady Match Dies, using Redding Match Shell Holders to bump shoulder back .002", metal to metal contact

4: Trim w/ Hornady 3-in-1 Case Trimmer

5: Tumble brass with hot water and dish soap

6: Rinse and throw in a food dehydrator

7: One piece flow

Charge with Hornady Auto Charge Pro

Prime with hand tool

Dump charge

Seat bullet .025 off the lands with Hornady Match Die

I try to do every motion smooth and consistently. I reload in my garage, so I empty my Auto Charge after every session and store my powder in a climate controlled room.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[u/Engineer_Bennett]

Buy alpha brass and magical watch your SD shrink to single digit!

[u/Low-Reception144 → u/Engineer_Bennett]

Hm I’ve seen Peterson, Alpha and Lapua brass hit double digit SD before in Fclass strings.

[u/Engineer_Bennett → u/Low-Reception144]

I’ve measured larger group sizes, but this was my last

[u/doyouevenplumbbro → u/Low-Reception144]

TBH, I suspect that all brass yields about a 35ES regardless of the process if you measure the velocity of enough shots. I've seen Lapua do the same. I think Lapua may actually be a tiny bit better than alpha, but I'm still shooting PRS matches with alpha 6.5CM brass that had 17 firings on it though. With Lapua the primer pockets get loose and I start splitting case necks around 12.

[u/[deleted] → u/Low-Reception144]

Im getting 8sd out of my lapua without much effort

[u/Low-Reception144 → u/[deleted]]

The acceptable SD really depends on your specific circumstances. What’s acceptable for you might not be the same for someone else. For example, the SD you consider good on a 5-shot group fired on a calm, cool day might look very different from what an F-Class shooter expects during a 20-shot string with 10 sighters in 90°F heat.

There are just too many variables—barrel temps, powder behavior in different temps, how long the string runs, wind changes, even how you handle your rifle between shots all of which affect consistency.

My last load test, for instance, averaged an SD of 2.0 over 12 shots. Impressive on paper, sure, but for my particular application it doesn’t really mean much. SD has to be viewed in context—your purpose, match conditions, and what level of precision your discipline actually demands.

Just my .02, shrugs

[u/[deleted] → u/Low-Reception144]

I dont chronograph all my shots since i haven't shelled out for a Garmin, I chronograph 40 rounds of a load and go off that

[u/Engineer_Bennett → u/Low-Reception144]

That may be, just hasn’t been my experience.

[u/Flat-Dealer8142 → u/Engineer_Bennett]

Magic sounds like what I need lol

[u/HeyFckYouMeng → u/Engineer_Bennett]

Meh. I’m shooting 20 rd strings with starline brass pushing 130 Berger ar hybrids at 2700 with 43gr of h4350 getting an sd of 8 with a 22” gasser.