6mm calibers

[Greywolf18]

I was just wondering if I was going to be putting together a good varmint rifle, which would be better a 6mm remington or a 6mm-06? I haven't seen anything on the 6mm-06 , but have seen several ppl saying the 6.5-06 was a very nice deer rifle. Excuse my ignorance, but isn't the 6mm remington very similar to what a 6-06 would be? Please tell me the difference between the two. This rifle would be a designated only for varmint shooting prolly around 75gr bullets. Thanks for the help!

[LouBoyd]

Originally Posted by Greywolf18

I was just wondering if I was going to be putting together a good varmint rifle, which would be better a 6mm remington or a 6mm-06? I haven't seen anything on the 6mm-06 , but have seen several ppl saying the 6.5-06 was a very nice deer rifle. Excuse my ignorance, but isn't the 6mm remington very similar to what a 6-06 would be? Please tell me the difference between the two. This rifle would be a designated only for varmint shooting prolly around 75gr bullets. Thanks for the help!

Every rifle is a tradeoff of:
weight
accuracy
ammo availability
barrel life
recoil
peer acceptance
portability
personal pleasure
cost
and a few other things.

I think you're wrong that a 6mm Rem and a 6mm-06 have similar performace.
Compare case capacity of some 6mm cartridges:

6mm PPC 32 grains
6mm BR 37 grains
243 Win 54 grains
6mm Rem 55 grains
6mm-284 67 grains
6mm-06 67 grains


A 6mm-06 will give higher velocity and flatter trajectory than a 6mm Rem It will also have shorter barrel life and more recoil. What does "better" mean to you?

[Jamie6.5]

6mm Remington is based on 57mm mauser brass, like the .257 Roberts. While it is superior to the .243 in terms of powder capacity and has a slight edge in terms of velocity/bullet weight, it can't compete with the 6x06 for velocity. It makes a great varmint round tho. Its got a good reputation for accuracy and smacks 'em hard at respectable ranges. The case also offers a longer neck than the .243 which can make optimum bullet seating easier with a wider range of bullet weights.

As stated above, the barrel life should be better on the 6mmRem. And you can buy commercial loads and commercial brass for it.

Be careful of the .244 Remington. Some will tell you it is the same as the 6mmRem. The cartridge is, but the rifles aren't. The .244Rem rifles have a slower twist that doesn't like the heavier bullets.

[Fiftydriver]

It would really depend on what type of Varmint Hunting you would be doing. High Volume Varmint Hunting would be hard on the barrel with either of these chamberings to be honest but it would be really hard on a barrel with the 6mm-06.

If you will be long range Varmint hunting which is generally more deliberate with less volume of shooting, a fast twist 6mm-06 shooting the 107 gr SMK would be far superior to the 6mm Rem. I say use the 107 gr SMK because its about the only option that will handle the top end velocity potential of the 6-06.

If your looking to use 75 gr bullets and no heavier, go with the 6mm Rem. The 06 will will certainly be faster but barrel life will be less as mentioned. Both can be chambered in nearly identical rifles so that is really no consideration. The 6mm Rem can be chambered in a short action but its a very tight fit, its much more comfortable in a long action.

[Greywolf18]

Kirby-

I was thinking the 75 gr so I could shoot "farther, faster, and flatter" like your rifles This rifle would be for longer shots, but a majority of the time it won't be used for several consecutive shots. I would put this rifle in with my AR so if there really is that much action I can always switch out and let the barrel on both cool down to try and maximize the life of both rifles. The other reason I was thinking was using the V-max bullets. I can't remember where, but I read somewhere that the v-maxs work best for varmints because of the design and that the match bullets do not work well on game. I know several people use the 300gr .338 SMK in there rifles, but haven't seen anyone on here using them for varmints. Obviously, whatever gets me the bets accuracy and enables me to see red mist, I'm good with! What twist would you recommend for the 107 SMK? Thanks for the help.

[loaders_loft]

The V-Max certainly works best for varmints. I've never seen anything like it.

There is an 87gr V-Max that you should consider. Its the highest BC among 6mm vmax bullets. Also a 105gr Amax if you have a fast twist. The folks at hornady once told me the A-max is basically the same construction as the Vmax - explosive!

The 6-06 would be insanely fast!