About 5 years ago I went through a process to find out what factory ammo my rifle likes best. Tried about 12 different ones before settling on one. Never had an issue with it since.

Last week I went out with my new chronograph to get some velocity data. I did 8 shots in total. Rifle had been fired about 20 times already that day so no cold bore shots. This is what I got.

140gr 6.5 CM
V1 2721
V2 2716
V3 2720
V4 2713
V5 2712
V6 2743
V7 2695
V8 2715
Avg 2716

I calculated the standard deviation to be 13 for all 8 and 3.6 if I remove the high and low.

How does this compare to other factory ammo and how much improvement would I see from hand loads?

My experience is limited but id call that pretty dang good for factory ammo. What is your purpose/ goal?

Thats a standard deviation of about 13 which certainly is not terrible, and some of my happy handloads are about that. The proof is on the paper though.

Goal is going out to 1000 yd. Probably will never do matches or anything competitive. So far I have gone out to 400 yd with no problems. When I do my part I have shot 0.5 MOA 5 shot groups with this ammo.

What is the accuracy/margin for error on you chronograph.

You have to figure that into the equation as well. I think even a very high end one will be +/- 1%

It says accuracy is between 99.5% - 99.9%

Most 6.5CM factory ammo is really, really good.

Is this hornady ELDM?

It is Sig Sauer ammo

You can probably get that SD down some, but at what cost?

Reloading for precision is a very time consuming chore, and there isn't any guarantee you can get a whole lot better to be honest. You'll also have to spend a lot of time and effort developing a load that replicates the factory load.

Don't get me wrong, both processes can be fun if you are into it. But I'd tell you that you have good QC in your factory ammo and that you'll get far more value out of your time learning to shoot the gun at 1000 with that ammo than you will chasing decimal places trying to reload to do better.

Thanks. I keep hearing guys on YouTube that hand load want a SD < 10 but don't know where the line is between superior, good, average, and trash.

I have been slowly collecting parts and equipment for reloading over the years but more for some of my odd calibers or ones that can be in high demand that they sell out fast.