Thread: Room and advice to test my first reloads (Hamilton) ?

Hey Team,

I have recently loaded up some of my first reloads for my 6.5 Grendel.

Hoping I can find a forum member with both land and knowledge close to Hamilton, who might put his hand up for a box of beverages ?

Just looking for 50-100meters to shoot some groups over a chrono, with someone knowledgeable at hand to ensure I am on the right path to develop a consistent minute of Goat round for my 7yo daughter.
Preferably this weekend 10th or 11th July ? The following weekend I will be taking the daughter away for a Hunt and have left this to the last minute.

The loads shouldn't be anything hot, as I am looking for the lower speed accuracy node.
Reloads are 6.5 Grendel with Sierra 85gr HP's
Using H322 Powder with following charges; 27, 27.3, 27.6, 27.9, 28.2.
I still have plenty of prepped brass and powder to keep going, as I am nowhere near max charge of 30.1C.

Thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by kiwi-adam

Hey Team,

I have recently loaded up some of my first reloads for my 6.5 Grendel.

Hoping I can find a forum member with both land and knowledge close to Hamilton, who might put his hand up for a box of beverages ?

Just looking for 50-100meters to shoot some groups over a chrono, with someone knowledgeable at hand to ensure I am on the right path to develop a consistent minute of Goat round for my 7yo daughter.
Preferably this weekend 10th or 11th July ? The following weekend I will be taking the daughter away for a Hunt and have left this to the last minute.

The loads shouldn't be anything hot, as I am looking for the lower speed accuracy node.
Reloads are 6.5 Grendel with Sierra 85gr HP's
Using H322 Powder with following charges; 27, 27.3, 27.6, 27.9, 28.2.
I still have plenty of prepped brass and powder to keep going, as I am nowhere near max charge of 30.1C.

Thanks in advance!

Greetings Kiwi-adam,
Best option would be to join you nearest NZ Deerstalkers Branch that has a range. I have been to the South Waikato Branch Range, Tokoroa Shooting Complex and it is great. Taupo ditto. Both are friendly and the bench rests are a great aid to shooting and testing. Wish we had a range like that in HB. I go to Taupo for target shoots from time to time.
Regards Grandpamac.

@grandpamac 100% agree, I am a member of the Hamilton Deer Stalkers, most members use Tokaroa. Ideally need to tee in with the Thames Branch for use of the Paeroa Range. All are great options, but if you arent a member, short notice arrangements dont work so well.

I have a range to use in the general area I hunt, my issue is, I havnt developed a known working load. If I find the load that works best, I dont have my reloading gear handy to load up some more rounds. So just hoping on the off chance, I can try the new loads a week before, so I can refine / load more before heading away.

South waikato nzdahave a range day 11 july so it will be open. Should be ok if you just turn up some time between 10:00 and14:00 and make yourself known to them, ask if its ok to use the sighting in range.

Its a fair drive but is all under cover and youll save a lot of time compared to mucking around in someones back paddock.

Have you got calipers / micrometer for before and after base dia measurements ?that and reading glasses are all i use. Have you hot safety glasses to wear while shooting ?

In this situation, i make up a ladder starting at book minimum and aim for a load only half a grain above that ( load 5 to check grouping but its always good) then creep up to afull grain above that to check youve got some safety margin. Later on do a full ladder up to book max and do a test group of 5 maybe half a grain below that so i can adopt it as i final load.

If youre short on time id load up an extra 20 rounds near the bottom of your ladder to use forthe goat hunt. Its almost certain theyll be safe and group minute of goat ( if not minute of rabbit )

Originally Posted by kiwi-adam

@grandpamac 100% agree, I am a member of the Hamilton Deer Stalkers, most members use Tokaroa. Ideally need to tee in with the Thames Branch for use of the Paeroa Range. All are great options, but if you arent a member, short notice arrangements dont work so well.

I have a range to use in the general area I hunt, my issue is, I havnt developed a known working load. If I find the load that works best, I dont have my reloading gear handy to load up some more rounds. So just hoping on the off chance, I can try the new loads a week before, so I can refine / load more before heading away.

Greetings Kiwi-adam,
You should learn quite a bit by shooting the loads you already have. If your top load of 28.1 grains shoots OK and the velocity is acceptable you might consider loading up a small batch for your current hunting needs. This allow you to continue with your testing over the balance of the winter at a less frantic pace. If more are needed they can be loaded with whatever your current best load is at that time. Almost any load will do for goats. I am a bit of a heathen when it comes to load development having given up working up in tiny increments decades ago. An initial load is fired and chronographed somewhere between start and mid. This allows validation of the data for the components and rifle. Next probable max loads are calculated and a small number of loads below and up to that maximum tested. The best of these is further tested to validate the initial results and that's about it.
Regards Grandpamac.

Thank you both @Bagheera & @grandpamac for the above advise.

I had loaded up 10x of each in the charges I mentioned.

It sounds like all of these should be good enough for goat at reasonable ranges.

I think this time around I will likely,
- Try 3x of each for grouping
- Save the remaining 7 of the best group for Hunting
- Let her practice with the remaining 28 rounds.

Based on the above results, adapt a suitable distance for engaging goats.

And as advised, later on, work up a proper ladder and refine further.

Excellent plan.
That's a good ratio: 4 round on target for each on animals and 7 will be enough to shoot one or two or to call it a day.
Good strategy to see how well they can shoot and adjust shooting distance on the day to suit.
All the best.

Hi there
Your loads looks pretty fit for purpose i reckon (as in they check out on 'quickload'). Seeings how these are your first loads, did you make sure the unloaded brass chambered? That's an easy thing to overlook. Also your seating depth, your bullet is flat based yes? They should be pretty good even if using the book OAL. You can play with all that later. Goats don't refuse to fall over eh

I use the 85s in mine work well on goats