6.5 Grendel - 120gr Speer Gold Dot - 2020 Deer Load pt. 1

[@JohnnysReloadingBench]

Join me every Tue at 7PM Eastern for a live chat/Q&A on Twitch. www.twitch.tv/johnnysreloadingbench I am also live streaming anytime I am on the range. I'm planning to be on the range tomorrow afternoon taking the first shots through my new Savage 110 Precision 300 Win Mag! Stop by and say hello!

[@kentuckywindage222]

I think you will like the Savage 110. I have a 10 that's really a very good accurate rifle. The 300 Winchester Magnum is a great cartridge in my humble opinion, but the recoil on a banged up body is tough after a short time at the range for me. I've owned the shot them. A Ruger stainless all weather I think was last. Light and kicked like a mule. Today my .22's, 22mag, .223-5.56, .243 Winchester and 308 are what I shoot. The 243 is a darn near perfect caliber for me here in our area. Sierra 85 grain hpbt and IMR 4064 38 grains runs 3200 fps. With no signs of pressure. I may go up a couple of grains to get little more speed. My Tikka has a pretty short oal length with game kings. You think I'll see signs of pressure before problems?

[@glen4130]

Drop everything a new JRB!

[@buttonv2414]

He’s Alive!

[@JohnnysReloadingBench]

It's pretty easy to monitor whether I'm alive or dead. I'm live every Tue at 7PM Eastern on Twitch for a general reloading chat and I am live streaming all of my range time on Twitch. You can always check there if you want a current status of whether I'm alive or dead. www.twitch.tv/johnnysreloadingbench

[@AB-qs7vw]

So glad to see a new 6.5 Grendel video. One of my favorite calibers.

[@williamrose1459]

I have 2 Grendel's. 18&20" I use shooters world match powder. Shooting 130tgk and 30.0 gr I'm getting 2520 fps. With 120gr hpbt and 30.5gr I'm getting 2650fps. It may help in at 5k above sea level in NM, but it's good powder and I'm getting around 1/2" groups

[@DanielBoone337]

"2284 I can almost walk that fast" LOL that cracked me up and great video as always keepem coming brother!!!

[@CaveWyatt]

Ahhhhh! Two of my favorite things: JRB and 6.5 Grendel.

[@mattfleming86]

With components being tricky to find lately, I've been trying something a little different on load development. I'm chasing the upper limit more than group size on first outing. Load TWO at each powder charge. This lets one find the upper limit with less waste. What does 2(or 3) shots tell me? Well it doesn't tell me when something groups, but it sure as sh*t tells me when it doesn't. I can also see POI changes easily. find the max.. observe the poi trends.. look at the "clues" in groups. THEN load up 5 shotters from there to finish dialing in. Like with 3 shot groups, a .35 doesnt mean you have a .35 moa group. But shooting 1.1 means you don't. Its at least helped me conserve some primers.

[@kentuckywindage222]

I've been doing something similar. Especially with small rifle primers(.223).

[@bradleyswasey6778]

I hear you about the primers.

[@ewetho]

Wahoo johnny's back

[@Traderjoe337]

Praise the sweet baby Jesus. You’re making a 6.5 grendel video while I’m loading 6.5 grendel.

[@zedoktor979]

H4895 is my favorite Grendel powder. Super temp stable and easy to clean up. I only have a 12.5 inch barrel so I don't stand much to gain with slower powders.

[@JT-py9lv]

Thank you for the video. I've really missed the Grendel videos of KZbin. Much appreciated.

[@Thorsaxe777]

You know Jonny, I believe that some of your accuracy issues are caused by your front rest bag, I had one just like it,, the media shook down and was causing a hump tp form in the belly, (Like stacking ball barrings)the forearm was shifting under recoil. I would try another quality leather bag, that is what I did, it fixed the spreading problem I was having. -Dave

[@JohnnysReloadingBench]

It's funny you mention that...I definitely have problems keeping this gun under control on that front bag. The handguard is completely rounded on the bottom and I had already pulled out a rounded bag to use next time. Maybe it will help!

[@Thorsaxe777]

@@JohnnysReloadingBench Defiantly worth a try. Btw (This was a My Opinion thing). I have seen you shoot better groups with other comparable rounds in different rifles. Hope it does something for ya.

[@paulharveu526]

@00 00 Thats a good way to destroy optics. That much recoil has to do something, and if it hits 40# of lead shot, it plays heck on optics.

[@jeremymcauliff2510]

Glad to see JRB forging ahead with 6.5 Grendel load videos! I plan on using my 6.5 G this Fall's Deer season. Using Hornady 123 grain ELD-Match Hornady factory loaded ammo. Its running 2390 fps out of my 18" barrel. I too was hoping for 2500 fps, but so far it has done quite well at sub 2400 fps. Hoping to see reloading components re-appear next year in greater numbers and reasonable prices.

[@redge3726]

I appreciate the time and effort, I have Grendel and enjoyed it!

[@charlesgordon5442]

It's good to see the reloading bench again.

[@DB.KOOPER]

6.5 Grendel is awesome for hunting. Great stuff man. Glad to see new stuff from you man.

[@vodekz1534]

120 gr Ballistic tips do well with TAC, you might want to check it. Velocity 2350 fps from a 16-inch barrel. It worked well on deer

[@preacherbiggin]

YES! Grendel, Gold dot, & Johhny!

[@fallenrival5872]

Always makes my day to see your new video's.

[@SgtDvldawg]

Glad to see you back again my Brother!! Also great is that you are back to the Grendel along with my newly acquired ARC barrel for the Wifey!! You keep your teaching and explanations Marine Proof. I have learned a ton from how you show your processes! Makes it very easy and safe for the boot reloader. I appreciate it man! Keep up the Great work. Glad I stocked up on these Gold Dots and the 140’s for the Creedmoor when I first saw the results you were getting. You can’t find any right now. I am pretty set on them for a good while.

[@andygray5172]

My group killed 4 speed goats with my Howa Grendel this year from 60-300yds. It will now be my go do deer/antelope rig. Ive watched every Grendel vid you put out and did a lot of load development and settled on 130gr eldx @ 2450 w/ xbr. As soon as i can find primers i would like to try the accubond long range 130. Who knows when that will be though. Keep up the good work. Love your videos!

[@6OSCARMIKEBAND]

Hey Johnny I’m shooting 20” Odin Works 6.5mm Grendel. In Hornady Brass I’m getting great velocity 2,453 fps and groups .53” and an SD of 12, using CCI 450 primers, 30.8gr of BL-C (2) with a COAL of 2.26” in 123gr Hornady ELD loads.

[@6OSCARMIKEBAND]

My bad, 2,543 fps stupid lisdexia got me again. LOL!

[@6OSCARMIKEBAND]

Trimming cases to 1.510”

[@redstarcluster-]

I like the computerized spotter, and I like that you put the times of the different segments in the description. I'm also all about that Grendel. Keep em coming!

[@alexdumitrescu1326]

Must warn you that the 30-06 reloading die in the back ground makes me ask if you already think of bringing this old hunter to the reloading table. Please make it possible Santa !

[@georgesakellaropoulos8162]

I have a Remington model 742 and a model 700, both chambered in .30-'06. I got lucky and found a load that delivers exceptional performance in both rifles. 56 grains of IMR 4350 behind a Sierra 165 grain BTSP. It holds a little over 1 MOA in the semi-auto, and about. 7 MOA in the 700. Muzzle velocities are right around 2925 FPS, without pressure signs. Brass is Remington with most having been loaded 8-10 times. Primers are CCI #200. Start at 54 grains and work up.

[@seantierney3]

I remember the videos when you were calling any group under an inch and a half good. H4895 is a powder that has never let me down. always had good luck with it but I don't own a grendle.

[@wystock2692]

I got 2 deer and an antelope with my grendel and the 120 gold dot. Does amazing.

[@Jimbocker]

Glad to see you back at it, especially with the Grendel! I appreciate the production value increases (Shot Marker, annotated video timeline, etc) and you taking a moment to look at the brass. I'm probably starting reloading here in the next 6 months with the goal of making rounds for precision rifle competition, so the more Grendel content, the better! Thanks for all you do.

[@CaptainCreampie69]

Extra case capacity means more velocity! When the primer pockets start to get blown out, I know that batch of brass is on its last leg. That’s when it becomes disposable hog eradication cartridges that are disposable loaded to some medium pressure signs since I no longer care to save it. An extra 100-200 FPS really puts the hurt on those pests.

[@justinwatson384]

Great to see you back on You Tube, Johnny!!

[@mimicocto8]

Still liking your video logs, thank you. I'd love to send you some Cavity Back Bullets to see what your Grendel will do with them (they're not cheap, comparable to barnes). Love the 105gr. Maybe you've got a line on them or have a viewer who'd donate a couple boxes.

[@WilliamCChapin]

Up against the clock...will the next update be from the deer camp tent, in the dark, during a storm?

[@JohnnysReloadingBench]

I was actually thinking about that video earlier today! It was a crazy storm and those were some fun videos. Good times.

[@jimmyhoffa2816]

Whoohoo, glad to see one of the vids up, been trying to follow on twitch, been waiting on that 6mm got excited to hear about the grendel video. Amd always fun to see videos that do a little bit of testing exceeding or trying different things. Been slowly working up to a 6arc build and recently got a buddy of mines planing a grendel build. Always glad to see a new video. The live streams can kind of be a hype video for the next episode lol.

[@alaskatruoutdoors9238]

Good work as always. Looking forward to more 6ARC as well.

[@bryanfletcher5768]

Where did you find those Gold Dots! That's about like unicorn dust nowadays! Good video buddy!

[@JohnnysReloadingBench]

Thanks! I've had them in my stockpile for a long time.

[@js1465]

@Tony Taylor this. Pretty much impossible to find.

[@JimYeats]

J Sprech primers or leprechaun nuts?

[@davidgreer9567]

Hey Johnny, give us the info on your hunts. What's your average deer there in your parts of the woods? Congrats on getting two last year.

[@MikeSessler]

I'm really glad to see I'm not the only one who finds the smallest groups with the worst SD and ES, while the best SD and ES groups are often the largest and/or ugliest. That's one thing that makes hand loading so interesting and maddening at the same time. Still, I can't stop...

[@jmkhenka]

In my experience with grendel, and this goes for many of the other 220-russian-widcats, are that it likes compressed loads. Not massively, but a tiny bit. My best precision, ES/SD comes with some crunch.

[@MikeSessler]

@@jmkhenka I've found that as well. My 6mm Creedmoor likes to be pretty full, too.

[@rufturbo997]

Good to see you back doing what you do so well.

[@glockparaastra]

Great! I’m waiting for my Howa mini action license (takes forever in my country). 20” semi bull barrel. Can’t wait to start testing loads.

[@kelbybeaty9669]

super happy to to see some grendel love and so youtube videos! keep up the good work

[@LeewardStudios]

Been shooting the 4895 with 24 in grendel barrel. Have not used magnum primers and like my groups and have room for more velocity. I like the slower burn of 4895 in the longer barrel so I’m getting similar velocities to you with only 26 grains. My chrono died so maybe it’s time to get back out there with the new chorono and back up your data. Thanks for the video

[@fsarfino]

Thanks for all the info & really enjoying all the grendel content. Semper Fi bro !!!!

[@markhynson1141]

I tries a few different powders and ended up using Tac. Im getting around 2470 fps with the 20" faxon barrel. I did go higher into 2500 fps range but they grouped best for me around 28.6gr.

[@ReconMan772]

I'm so happy your back on the grendel ! Been using shooter world match an 120 bowler BT with great results

[@jeffstevens156]

Hey Johnny, I hunted KY a couple years before I moved to Indiana. There, I had miles of room around me. So of course I had my own range behind the house. Poured a 12 by 12 pad and put up a shooting house. This all sounds like bragging for now but I learned a lot there. For one, You can get loads for a gun in a day. The other thing is build a second room or a baffle wall because shooting in close proximity to Your scale messes with it. As it was, I had my press separated from my scale so press throw doesn’t make me have to reset my scale every time. But that $600 building job and being able to load as I go saves tons of time and tearing down preloaded ammo that ( saves a lot of bullets too) might start showing pressure signs. I’m about to do it again only without a building and will just have to make a windproof area for setting up my powder thrower. Oh yeah, I’m back down in Texas with a new 300 yard range. When I get caught up, I’m going to follow up on what You found for the 6.5 Grendel. Then work my way back on calibers where We duplicate. GREAT JOB MAN! I love the way You think and load!

[@rockyjones9956]

I am in the process of building a 16 inch Grendel upper and have been reading about CFE 223 for reloading this bullet. I might give that a go to try and wring a bit more velocity.

[@rotasaustralis]

Johnny, I wouldn't worry one iota about them there velocities. I presume you'll be hunting White Tail & you know those velocities will be just fine at 200 Yrds & under. Lower velocities usually make for beautiful low recoil & good consistent accuracy. With that 25.6 grns of AR Comp at 2300 ft/s, you've got 1000 ft/Lb out to 380 yrds. That's more than enough for smaller deer species. That's a great little group as well. At 1/2 moa, you've even got your seating depth with that trial load so you're good to go as is.

[@samlebo4704]

I have not seen you talk about seating depth??? I love your video's and would say your videos on loading 223 556 have been a extreme help

[@alj4940]

My deer load for my AR Grendel is 31.0 gr. of CFE 223 with 120 gr. Sierra pro hunter and Nos. 120 gr. bal. tip I have been getting 2590 - 2600 fps. My best group was .490 at 150 yrds. I have a 24 in. Broughton target barrel in mine.

[@tylerganley883]

This my have already been mentioned in the comments but CFE 223 will get the velocity your lookin for. Got 2650 FPS out of a 22” barrel ruger

[@thompsonjerry3412]

Was wondering if you had seen F Class shooter Eric Cortina’s web site, he has a load development process that uses seating depth to tune a load, seems very easy.

[@paulharveu526]

He did about a 2 hour chat that included that. He's going to do some testing at some point

[@brandonjohnson3120]

Thanks for making Grendel videos JRB.

[@crawford323]

You mentioned gas in the face especially with suppressors. I am a left handed shooter and I almost baulked at using an AR platform because of the gas “ discomfort.” A newer design of charging handle helped quite a bit but did not take are of the gas from the ejection port. In the search for a brass catcher, I came across the Brass Goat. It is a clip-on molded plastic device with a removable hopper. Because it is not made from a mesh type cloth, I am hoping with the hopper off that the gasses will be directed down and away from the face of the exposed left handed shooter. Check it out. This maybe a fix for ejection port gas caused by suppressor back pressure. Who knows. I’ve ordered mine.

[@TheOutdoorGeneralist]

I'm at a full grain of AR-Comp higher than your max charge here. I get ejector swipes, but pretty much always do regardless of the load. My BA barrel doesn't group them nearly as well as yours, though. Looking forward to the follow up!

[@zinfendal0]

Lol... ok I can't resist. Slow editor from Kentucky is expected. Oh takes me back to my Richmond eac visits all the southern northern jokes. But that plant is long gone.

[@benfarmer6585]

Holy shit ! It’s about time

[@HisWayHomestead]

that's a very cool setup for measuring your grouping and velocity... do you have a video on that???

[@MrBoo1963]

Now Date is 11-01-2022...You did just what I thought you did. Should have used less powder with the Varmint than the H4895. I used less and aligned them both very close together.

[@dontask8979]

Good to see you uploading!👍

[@borisbuliak3626]

A 24” bbl CZ bolt rifle is on my wishlist for this little cartridge.

[@phillipperkins4366]

After watching Johnny's 6.5 Grendel videos last fall and loading 500 rounds, 400 Gold dots and 100 Nosler Varmageddens, I thought the same thing. After looking at what's available, the Howa and the CZ, I bought a CZ527. SWEET RIFLE. I bought it used from Budds online. It had a Vortex Crossfire scope with illuminated reticle. Tried to sight it in and couldn't adjust the scope. Sent it back to Vortex and they sent me a new one. So I put a Burris scope on it that I bought for my first Grendel. It's a really nice rifle. I've only shot it sighting it in. You won't regret getting the CZ.

[@stevenboggs5076]

I love my CZ.

[@silentbob267]

If going with a bolt action rifle why not go with a 6.5 Creedmoor instead?

[@phillipperkins4366]

@@silentbob267 You have a point. But I already had an AR in the Grendel, so after I spent all the money loading this calliber, then I decided I wanted a bolt gun in this calliber. And I have a very capable 308.

[@borisbuliak3626]

@@silentbob267 in my case I already own a 6.5 Swede, no need for 6.5 creed. Also I have no need for Grendel in AR platform already have M4 rifle and AK pistol, both cartridges got my defensive needs covered, am looking at the Grendel strictly as a deer/ hog proposition with less recoil than my Swede.

[@spektrum841]

Really wish I could find some 120gr gold dots right now. I have plenty 123gr SSTs to get me through until gold dots start showing up again. I'm using the same barrel and really try to hit 2400 fps with the 123gr but run into pressure signs before I get there. TAC can do it when the temperature is north of 80F but drops to low 2300's with the same charge in the cooler months when hunting season opens. AR-Comp gives me similar velocities with fewer pressure signs in the cooler weather and is more temperature stable.

[@davidbarbee1276]

I have a cz bolt gun in 6.5GR. Almost gave it away after I couldn't get a group under 3 inches with anything Hornady...no slight on hornady.theyre usually great. But factory federal fusion 120gr suddenly it shoots consistently under. 1/2 inch! According to what I read, the bullet in the federal fusion 120 grain is basically same as the Speer gold dot 120. I couldn't be happier with the accuracy and out of 25.6 inch barrel gets 2700 faster. Factory advertises 2600, I assume from a 24 inch tube. Im gonna start speer dots those to see if I can replicate the 0.5 inch groups I got, im glad to see your guidance here

[@bysm50]

was just watching some of your older videos on 6.5 creedmoor and the black hills clone

[@DonaldWarner-xm3tb]

I've watched several 6.5 Grendel load videos. I have a upper 24" Saturn barrel. Have shot PPU120 and 110 grain ammo. Love the gun. I want to reload 6.5. Bottom line, what is your ultimate recommended POWDER, BULLETS and PRIMER. Maybe I missed it. I would like to start with Sierra MK HPBT 120 grn or 110

[@blackedoutgrendel3775]

Power pro 2000 gave me really good groups and results on whitetail.

[@amym828]

I might suggest trying CFE223 for Grendel. I'm getting 2545fps with 130gr ELDM

[@JohnnysReloadingBench]

What barrel length? There's no doubt that CFE223 and LeverEvolution give some awesome velocities in the Grendel, but I've struggled in the past getting good accuracy and acceptable SDs. I don't think I've tried either in this barrel, though. I might load up a few in the next video. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@Bill-v650]

@@JohnnysReloadingBench Does your SD matter for a 150yd deer load? From your mission statement at the beginning this load isn't for 200+ yard shooting.

[@awbernardy]

Was wondering if have tried CFE 223 with these bullets ?? I cant remeber from your last Grendel video using this bullet... I have a 18.5" Ruger American in grendel as a "practical rifle" type set up and the groups are AWSOME !!! But have no clue on how the speed is... will be using that load for deer in Minnesot.... Kinda wonder the the difference in the AR plat form and the bolt action platform ???

[@tadglidden679]

I love your videos. I have had great luck with the 90gr TNT round running 2850fps. It doesn't seem to be making much of a mess with the coyotes I have shot and from what 'arpe Seus has shown me it should work great on deer

[@petersouthernboy6327]

I’m looking forward to hunting Whitetail and Hogs with the 6mmARC with the Sierra 100gr Tipped GameKing. BC of .515

[@paulfriebel4721]

Would like to see you try 6.5 grendel with 130 grain accubond and 127 grain barnes lrx

[@RHall1]

JRB in the house!

[@gsh341]

I can't believe you do all these videos and don't have a brass catcher on your AR. I have one of the rail mount Caldwell units and it works fantastic. I have an AR platform with an 18" Faxon barrel as well and I tried using Benchmark. My max average velocity for the 5 shot tests I did was an average of 2,447 fps. I used the following; Primer - CCI #41 Powder - Benchmark @ 27gr Brass - Hornady Bullet - Hornady 123gr SST Hodgden says the max load for Benchmark is 27.5 grains for a compressed load so I may try going up to that sometime soon. Maybe in your next video you could try Benchmark.

[@psykoklown874]

A bit off topic, but check out Shooters World AR-Plus data for 5.56 w/77gn Sierra MK. Their max listed load is 23.6gn @ 2783 f/s. Sounds like Mk 262 Mod1 territory to me.

[@charlesmiller2837]

I shoot a 129 ABLR in starline brass on top of 26.6 grains of H4895 and a cci 450. Averages 2285 fps in my 18” Alexander barrel. With their 1300 fps minimum velocity I’ve taken 2 nice white tail bucks from 75 yards to 321 yards and both were DRT with that combo. It’s normally half MOA for me.

[@stevencarnes7790]

I have been having troubles trying to find a good deer load for my 20 in Faxon 6.5 Grendel. I have found out that it likes flat base bullets better. My gun absolutely hates hornady black 123gr elds the best I can do with that is 1 3/4. I worked up a load with the Seiara 100gr Varmint HP and it loves it 4 shots in one hole with the 5th barely outside the other 4. I’ve been trying to stick with using 95-107gr bullets in order to get the velocity I think the bullet needs to preform properly. I really wish that Gold Dot would come out with a 100gr hot core for the 6.5 Grendel.

[@ravenreader4772]

Hi Johnny, glad you're back! I know you don't need another project right now but what do you think of the .300 HAMM'R from Wilson Combat?

[@JohnnysReloadingBench]

I have no interest whatsoever. Too much overlap with 300 Blackout. I like to shoot subsonics sometimes and the HAMR isn't made for that. It is certainly faster with supersonics, though. If I was never going to shoot subsonics and wanted a 30 caliber AR cartridge, it would probably be a good choice.

[@ravenreader4772]

@@JohnnysReloadingBench yes agreed. Suppressors are not legal where I live so optimizing Blackout for super sonic loads sounds great to me.

[@craigmyers5569]

The HAM'R will be my next cartridge. I have no interest in subs and looks to be a great hunting load and easy to convert from .223 brass.

[@ravenreader4772]

@@craigmyers5569 Hunting is definitely its niche. If it really gives 30-30 ballistics in an AR15 as claimed.

[@lone_wolf_kinda_person8486]

Johnny H4895 works great with my 223 with 69 grain smk’s 24.5 grains out of a 22” barrel I’m getting 3017 average velocity extreme spread of 5.1

[@boharris8179]

Brother I've shot up to 28.4 ar comp in a 18 in criterion barrel n still didn't see any bad signs. A shiny eject mark here n there but not much. These were also compressed quite a bit.

[@lukewinteregg2486]

I heard that an adjustable gas block really helps make shooting suppressed bearable. The one time i shot an ar with a standard gas block and a can burned my eyeballs. If you get one with a knob its easy to change between suppressed and unsuppressed.

[@justa3v619]

I love the speer gold dot bullet use it a lot in the 223 and been wanting to try some in the grendel since your first video but cant find them in stock. I currently use the federal fusion 120gn which is a lot like the speer gold dot and ive shot it into water jugs at 100yds and its expanding really good getting around .685 diameter expansion. Thats moving around 2460fps from my 18" faxon gunner profile barrel. But im down to 2 boxes and its hard to find so im really trying to find some of these to load up for deer season. Ive got a couple boxes of 115gn barnes vor-tx i might try this year also not getting great expansion out of it though and its moving 2515fps. I do have a 100gn nosler ballistic tip load worked up getting .3" groups 2680fps with really good expansion that loaded with 29.1gn h335 col 2.248 hornady once fired brass and federal match primers. But Id really rather this heavier 120gn bullet lol

[@paulharveu526]

Wasn't it AR Comp or was it Reloder15 you got a bit crazy in the Grendel with with your 24" Grendel Way back in the early days?

[@JohnnysReloadingBench]

Yup, it was AR Comp. Got WAY over pressure on me and spooked me away from AR-Comp in the Grendel for quite a while.

[@brandonjohnson3120]

Yeah 27gr AR-Comp + WSR AND/OR Fed 205GMM, produced lower velocity, poorer accuracy, and pierced primers. I stick with 28.2gr 8208XBR + 205GMM for my 123SST hunting loads. Seeing 2550fps out of my 24” Grendel.

[@PulverizerA]

New Lee press? Nice to see a brand many shit on for no good reason, being used with good results. Speer and Alliant are the same parent company, so I would think the Speer info would likely be the same if Alliant provided it. Would like to see the 130 gr Sierra Game Changer worked up in the Grendel. Please add it to your "To Do List" :P Thanks as always for the good info with the fun presentation.

[@XM913CG]

Federal Premium hunting offers this bullet with 2600fps. Which is the load at the top of Speer's load sheet.

[@jimlerum]

Johnny’s posted,.......Johnny’s post!!!!!!!

[@trevoredmiston7494]

Have you ever used Winchester staball 6.5 ? I'd Be very interested in that video

[@wr3921]

Sounds like a good plan to shoot more AR-Comp and H4895, those are two excellent Grendel powders. For reference, my best loads for the 123gr ELD and 123gr SST are 27gr and 27.3gr respectively, (~2,400 fps in a 16" with Starline cases). I've run 129gr Interlocks up to 27.5gr of H4895 without seeing any pressure problems, but 27gr also shot well. I've heard that the Gold Dot bullet construction can cause higher pressures than other cup and core bullets for a given load, but that should be accompanied by higher velocities, and you're not seeing that so.... I will say, I hunted with 120gr Gold Dots over 28.4gr of 8208 one year and wasn't overly impressed with the terminal effect, shot was a little under 200 yds and they seemed to poke holes in and out without doing much damage to the lungs in between. The 123gr SSTs have so many good reviews, I'm hoping they'll do a bit more damage.

[@RobsReloading]

Love the content Johnny! keep up the good work!

[@georgesakellaropoulos8162]

The gold dot seems to have a longer bearing surface. Maybe that's why you aren't getting the velocities that you are looking for.

[@jamespugh]

Loveing the content keep it coming. Can't wait see how they shot in gel once you find ur load. When will new 6mm arc video drop. Good luck with 300win mag. Any plans on 243 win or the 7mm mag

[@MrBoo1963]

I will not use my full sizer die from Hornady. It makes the casing too small by as much as .010 and the breaks down the casing's.

[@benwallace4581]

I'm using 129 gr. Hornady interlock. With CFE223 29 gr. Of powder and I have great results

[@seanmtactical6069]

IMR 8208 XBR. Start at 27.8 and work up. You are going to get ejector marks, nature of the cartridge. I have found to just accept it as the cost of the caliber. The pressure max is low because of the potential for lug sheering as the .445" case head diameter is shoved into a aR-15 bolt. It doesn't leave a lot of extra meat around the lugs. Seriously though, I'm getting .70 MOA groups and hitting 1/2 sized USPSA steel targets at 1100 yds with 8208 XBR and 123 SMKs. The 120s are going to do the same, you just have to try it.

[@swamprat9018]

seems like I remember you shooting 27.0 of AR comp already with good groups. Sure you have the notes somewhere.

[@swamprat9018]

ep 7 part 2 when you did the ladder test with the 123gr ELDs. You were shooting above 27gr with ar comp.

[@raw900rr]

I've had some very good results with re10x at 25gr with 120gr Sierra HPBT in Hornady brass with cci41 primers. Nearly 2600fps if I remember correctly.

[@jeffb8997]

quickload shows @2.260 OAL 120 gr bullet 28 Grains max AR-Comp

[@fallenrival5872]

Love the grendel videos .

[@spikesefcovic6737]

Great Job as usual!! Question for you.. Have you noticed excessive barrel erosion with the Gold Dots? I have shot 100 of them but noticed I have a .050 longer throat after shooting them. Just wondering if this is a "My gun" thing or is it a thing that occurs with everyone. I am interested to see how the velocities effect impact.

[@circuit_stu]

Those were some great SDs for starting loads. Do you think that was due to the Lapua brass or the powder selection?

[@JohnnysReloadingBench]

That's a great question. I think the brass definitely played a big part. I need to think it over and I'll talk about it in the next video.

[@GoogleUser-zx5vs]

Excellent reloading content as usual, thank you so much. Two(2) burning questions, what neck tension are you using, .002 or higher and what rear bag do you use when you shoot your groups? Nice shooting, you make it look easier than it is to consistently shoot sub MOA even when the load is right on.

[@TheChampionp]

I've used AR COMP in 308 and 556 and I've worked up to max, saw no pressure signs and loaded up several more groups at 1% steps. Once I find the pressure signs from my rifles, I back down TWO steps from what I call the "2nd" max. I believe I get a 2nd max with AR COMP, because I generally load longer than magazine length (I use ASC SS mags which can handle 2.312" COL ) I've noticed a pattern as well: after I reach published max and beyond, extreme spread gets into the teens and often below 10, SD of like 2-4fps and all of these groups are half moa with my 308 and 3/4 moa with my AR15. I shoot for long range fun, so the low sd/es with sub moa at 100 yards at "superformance" type velocities serve me better than I could have expected without using longer barrels or going up to a bigger cartridge. You can probably get more performance out of AR COMP than published loads especially if you load longer than standard and you have cases with more capacity. In the past I have even found the "3rd Max" before backing down and pulling bullets. Just don't blow your face off! It could mess up your cheek weld.