Chosing the right .243/6mm

[Outlaw6.0]

I shoot the .243 win, had a .243ai, shoot the 6mmai and have a custom rig in 6-284.

I honestly believe the best of these is the 6mmai by a hair over the 243ai, my 6mmai with a 1-12" shoots the 85grn Partition (yeah partition) in the .3 & .4 @ 100yds. Although I am very scared to used it on game @ +3500fps. I have found the 6mmai to be just as easy to load for as the 243ai & WAY easier to load than the 6-284, I fire form with a 80grn Hndy FMJ jammed into the lands with a max load of 4064 (iirc) & it still shoots ~moa which is great for barrel break-in (if you believe in that), plinking etc. Mine is in a Savage 110 short magazine which needed a little mag work, but still easily accepts the longer 6mm.

For pure giggles, grins, shock & awe type stuff the 6-284 w/107 SMK's in the 3200-3400fps area is VERY impressive, albeit HARD on barrels especially when excitement leads to more shooting which leads to HOT barrel.

My 243ai with 1-10" LOVED the Sierra 80grn Blitz @ 3450, it is/was an outstanding cartridge, very easy to load, easy on the shoulder & quite flat shooting, alas, the speed but kept biting me & on to the 6mmai & the 6-284 we went.

For your application I would recommend taking a hard look at the 6mmai, right in the middle for speed, ease of loading & still very accurate.

 

[mkg]

i have a .243 with a 12 twist hart barrel. it shoots great. i mainly shoot 87 and 88 grainers. routine in the .2s ; at 100. roninflag

I have been watching this thread for a while and I'm with roninflag . Seems like a std. 243 would do all you're asking. If you decide to go to the heavier bullets 105 A-max etc ... And you're not getting the MV you would like you could always have your smith ream it to 243 AI .
I'm shooting a savage 116 converted to 243 . 22" , 1:9.125 twist and it great for short range deer with 105 A_max's. I'm seriously concidering putting a 26" 1:8 twist 243 AI barrel on my 22-250 for next year.
Savage offers the model 12 VLP in 243 . 26" 1:9.12 twist . It's a little over your wieght target but it would be a good start for a longer range easy recoiling rifle.

Mike

 

[Trickymissfit]

I think i will go with the 10 twist. Gary, what is the 6 vias? I did a quick search and couldnt find anything. The 6mm is sounding better and better due to the neck length. According to the sierra manual, the improved 6mm is getting nearly 400 fps more. I find that hard to believe. It looks like a lot of you have the 243 ai but not the 6mm ai. I appologize for all my questions. I just find it wonderful that I have found a place that i can ask questions and get answers.

a 6mm Vias is a creation by the late George Vias (the guy that invented the very best muzzel brake ever). He did it in three calibers; 6.5, 6mm, and .223. It's a bit overbore for the two smaller diameters. The case is a 6.5x55 improved. It's kinda hard on barrels with the two smaller calibers (about the same as a .243Ackley or a 22 Jarrett). The guys at Precision Shooting did a lot of fooling around with it a few years back with the idea of it being a good 600+ yard round, and did have some good results with it. I think M.L. McPherson is still shooting one from time to time, but he has so many irons in the fire that he can't spend a lot of time with it like he should. The idea with the round was for it to have 6mm Ackley velocities while being a little less overbore. Cases can be formed from 6.5x55 brass or better yet 6mm remington brass (.257 or 7x57 works well too). It seems to want a 26" barrel with a heavy contour (must have one hell of a shock wave). I started to put one together a few years back, but kept getting stalled with the reamer folks (I would ream my own dies out of A2 or 4150 with a nitride). The 6mm Ackley is easier todo, and is probably easier on barrels. I actually went so far as to send George a letter asking him for a drawing to have a reamer ground, and never got a reply (he passed away right about that time).

I think you'd really like the 6/250AI round. It'll really reach out there, and seems tobe very accurate. But the HLS would be a step better all the way around. The 6mm Ackley reamer is easy to come by, and all Ackley rounds (except two or three) have the same shoulder angle and taper per inch, so running a standard Ackley reamer in short means very little in the diameter (.0005" maybe). I use a cut off .243 Ackley sizing die (Redding) for my 6/250AI. The seater is similar, but slightly more work (I now use a Wilson 22-250 that's had a reamer run thru it). Generic 22-250 cases are easy to come by, and all you need is a neck expander (I use a Sinclair). I seem to loose about one case in 25 during fire forming, and that's usually operator error.
gary