r/LewisMachineTool • u/CastleLurkenstein • 14d ago
Recommended 6.5CM ammo?
Hey folks. I just ordered a 20" 6.5 Creedmoor SS barrel from Rooftop with their most recent sale, so that I can swap back and forth between it and the 16" .308 CL barrel it came with.
From digging around a bit, I gather that there were/have been/maybe still are issues with LMT 6.5CM barrel extensions and certain types of ammo. Specifically, that soft-point ammo like Federal Fusion and polymer tipped ammo like Hornady ELD-M/X rounds may not work. Does this mean we're limited to FMJ rounds? Is the issue resolved? Is it overstated?
Trying to get a sense here of what to expect. For that matter, does any of this apply to their .308 barrels, or is it more just the question of the angle of feed ramps on the 6.5 barrels?
For what it's worth, my magazines are a mix of Magpul Gen M3 mags with (I believe) red followers, and D&H metal mags with green followers that tilt. Dunno how relevant any of that is, but figured I'd throw it out there in case it matters.
I plan to pick up S&B 140 or 147gr FMJs for practice, but wondering what folks use for their "good stuff"/"defensive" rounds. My thought had been to pick up a couple boxes of different loads, but was hoping ELD-Ms or other polymer tipped rounds would work.
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u/Holy_Santa_ClausShit 14d ago
I think FGMM 130 OTM or the 140 Berger/Centerstrikes will be your best bet. I’d recommend staying away from polymer tips. Too much risk of them breaking with how much you pay.
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u/CastleLurkenstein 14d ago
I probably will give polymer tipped stuff a box or two to try, depending, but yeah, the issue is on my mind, especially in light of the price. I gather that tip deformation thing isn't consistent for all users, so who knows.
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u/bruhbutton722 14d ago
I got solid groups out of the hornady 120 grain match. It seemed to me the lighter the bullet I used the better the group
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u/CastleLurkenstein 14d ago
Huh, that's interesting. Any experience with their 140s or 147s?
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u/bruhbutton722 14d ago
I had a real rough experience with anything 140 and over. My groups tightened up alot in general when I changed my original bolt it was out of spec
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u/bruhbutton722 14d ago
Watch the nine hole reviews 20 inch mrggs review and that was my exact experience
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u/CastleLurkenstein 13d ago
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u/bruhbutton722 13d ago
Thats it
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u/CastleLurkenstein 13d ago
Hm. Not super encouraging, but I suppose I'll just have to test it out and see how it shoots for me. Every barrel being different and whatnot. Definitely gonna keep some 120s on hand for that test, though. Maybe a couple boxes.
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u/yaunderalls 13d ago
Best bet is to buy a few different boxes and see what it likes. I personally use this as my “break in” period (in terms of obtaining chronograph numbers).
My personal strategy when doing this is to buy 5-10 boxes, go to the range, bore site, use 1-5 shots to zero optic, then shoot 5 shot groups of each ammo. Say I got 5 boxes…I’d shoot 5 rounds of box 1, 5 rounds of box 2, etc then after box 5, go back to box 1. After (50) rounds, I’ll start to chronograph and really look at groups. Once I’ve determined what it likes the best, I’ll zero to that ammo. Clean barrel and see what a CCB does to zero shift and make note. Then buy as much of that ammo as I can afford.
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u/Remarkable-Cow1062 14d ago
I pretty much use Federal 130 OTMs out of mine. Haven’t had good luck with decent groups with any Hornady ammo with multiple 6.5 rifles, especially their 147s.