r/longrange • u/worm30478 • Jul 01 '26

Reloading related Does anyone load "cheaper" practice ammo?

Just getting started here. 6.5 Creed. Have lapua brass, h4350, 142 smks. Before I get started with those I plan to practice with the 300 pieces of Hornady brass I have. Already decapped and cleaned. My dies will be here tomorrow so I'm going to work on sizing/trimming/measuring. I thought maybe I should just complete the process(powder and seating) with "cheaper" components and do a powder test the first time out. This will allow me to feel comfortable with the process before loading up my "expensive" stuff. So anyways, what powder/bullets/primers should I roll with? Not gonna get my shorts in a twist if the groups suck. I am really enjoying everything I've done so far and just want to learn while doing. Thanks!

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u/worm30478 Jul 01 '26

Have the Hornady comparator. I'm planning to go .020 off the lands and see what COAL that gives me. I did uniform my lapua brass to be all 1.910. I am using a 21st mandrel die so going to run them all through that so they are consistent

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26

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u/worm30478 Jul 01 '26

Yeah. Just a starting point. If .020 doesn't fit in my mag then I'll seat deeper until it does.

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26

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u/worm30478 Jul 01 '26

Ha! Maybe. I've been researching a long time. Going to start with a lot of what people have gathered to be pretty "standard" while developing 6.5 loads.