6mm hunting bullet?

[reubenski]

So I just had a light'ish 6 Creed built for a deer, antelope, coyote rifle. It is just heavy enough that I should be able to make some long shots with it. My match rifle is a long, heavy 6SLR. It shoots phenomenally; I sandbag it at 3000fps with DTACs. I used it to bag an antelope this year bc this rifle wasn't ready yet. Wasn't really impressed with the DTAC as a hunting bullet, but wasn't expecting impressive results either. I've shot eastern whitetail with 175SMKs, 130 JLKs going 3050, also not impressive. Killed three whitetail with 100gr Nosler BT's going 2760 from a 6.5 Grendel bolt gun. They did the best job to date. The JLKs were overly explosive, the SMKs penciled thru and pulled some lung out but the animal still ran almost a 1/4 mile. The Ballistic tips mushroomed perfectly, didn't damage meat, shot decently well, came to rest just on the opposite side under the hide.

So now the conundrum. I had planned to shoot 103 ELDXs in this rifle. If I could buy factory Precision Hunter ammo and seat the loaded rds to depth, even better. And 87VMAXs. I put 85 rds thu this barrel with 103s. It will not shoot them better than .7". Most configurations about a MOA. I tried 4350, 4831SC, and RL26. Not having it. I tried 95 HVLDs. Nothing going. Then I tried 105 HYBs, 108 BTs, 95 Classic Hunter, 95 Nos BTs, and 87 VMAXs. The long story short is that this barrel doesn't like anything with a VLD nose. It shot the 108s, 95 Classic Hunters, and 87 VMAX well. That's it. Every VLD style bullet to include the HYBRIDs wanted to make me throw this barrel in the dumpster behind a Wendy's.

So, for a longer range custom build, it looks like my choices are traditional bullet shapes in the 90gr range. Not super happy about that. I was planning on running a weak charge behind a higher BC, no-**** hunting bullet. Ultimately, something I could tag antelope with out here, but also hunt whitetail on my dad's farm back east. Blow coyote up with VMAXs. Best I got right now is the 95gr Classic hunters going 3000fps, shooting in the .2's for three round groups. I'm tempted to try the 88gr Hammers even tho their BC is low. I really wanted a light'ish, long range competent laser. Doesn't look like its going to happen with my bullet choices.

I feel like I have a pretty good knowledge of competent 6mm hunting bullets, but what say you? What actual 100gr + 6mm hunting bullet with a BC over .485 and a traditional nose am I forgetting about?

 

[HARPERC]

No real input, just affirming it looks like you've put a lot of thought into finding a bullet that checks all your boxes.

The Hammer's have shot in a variety of rifles for me. Pictures and terminal reports seem positive.

Generally a heavy for caliber advocate, but would be curious if the 80 grain Hammer would give you enough fps to off set lower BC?

 

[Deputy819]

That seems to be a lot of disliked quality bullets there. Give the Speer 100 gr boat-tail bullet a try. It has a BC of .43 (G1) and when I had a 6mm Remington I pushed them slightly over 3200 fps (26" barrel) with IMR 4451.

 

[zr600]

What about cutting edge bullets have you looked into them, also don't forget the Nosler partition, accubonds, and seirra game Kings, maybe a Barnes.

 

[Dumptruck]

Probably not what your looking for but I have shot a pile of deer with a 243 and Sierra 85 grain HPBT. Its flawless out to 400 yards. The BC isn't very good but it will mushroom nice and doesn't blow up. May be worth a try. There cheap to.

 

[257Tony]

You say it shot the "108s" very well? Is that the ELD-M? Why not just use that for hunting?

 

[sable tireur]

It's been a long time since I had a barrel reject that many bullets. I understand your dismay at arriving where you are now after putting so much effort into solving the problem.

I've run into a couple of recent issues where a Berger Classic hunter fulfilled the load requirements while other, more modern shaped VLDs failed.

I might suggest trying the newer Sierra GameChanger bullet:

6MM GameChanger

• (.243 Diameter)
• Tipped GameKing
• Boat Tail
• 90 Grain
• BC = .49
• 50 and 100 Count

I have read your post several times but find little information on your 'light-ish' 6mm Creedmoor rifle barrel. I've had some decent success with cutting an inch off the muzzle end of the barrel then cutting a new crown. It weird but it works a high percentage of the time. The loss of one inch should not overly affect your velocity.

After hunting season you could consider having a discussion with the bullet makers to determine if you need a different set of dimensions for the throat in this barrel.

Regards.

 

[reubenski]

You say it shot the "108s" very well? Is that the ELD-M? Why not just use that for hunting?

No, I didn't try 108's bc they are not categorized as a hunting bullet. After my experience with the 103s , I doubt they would shoot well as they have a similar nose profile.

 

[reubenski]

It's been a long time since I had a barrel reject that many bullets. I understand your dismay at arriving where you are now after putting so much effort into solving the problem.

I've run into a couple of recent issues where a Berger Classic hunter fulfilled the load requirements while other, more modern shaped VLDs failed.

I might suggest trying the newer Sierra GameChanger bullet:

6MM GameChanger

• (.243 Diameter)
• Tipped GameKing
• Boat Tail
• 90 Grain
• BC = .49
• 50 and 100 Count

I have read your post several times but find little information on your 'light-ish' 6mm Creedmoor rifle barrel. I've had some decent success with cutting an inch off the muzzle end of the barrel then cutting a new crown. It weird but it works a high percentage of the time. The loss of one inch should not overly affect your velocity.

After hunting season you could consider having a discussion with the bullet makers to determine if you need a different set of dimensions for the throat in this barrel.

Regards.

Thanks for the input. I did order a box of 50 90gr TGKs but doubt very seriously they will shoot due to their nose profile. They follow the new SMK design like the 110s and 183s. Both those bullets are problematic and picky in forgiving barrels. But, I'll give them an honest chance and we'll see how they do.

The rifle is an Origin action, Proof Carbon 22" 1:8". The freebore is .120 and it has a .277 neck. Not sure what the leade is, but I doubt its unique. I'll ask the Smith today. There isn't enough meat on the muzzle of a Proof sendero lite 22" to cut an inch off. Its bedded into an HS Precision sendero take off stock. I measured the last groups I shot with the 95 Classic Hunters. Any Classic Hunter with a .020" jump shoots well. .17" using 40.3gr and .19" using 41gr; 3rd groups. The speed difference between 40.3gr and 41gr is 30fps. I think this tells me I'm in a nice flat node.

Hopefully the 90 TGKs shoot!

 

[adam32]

Shoot the 103gr...a .7" group for coyotes and deer is more than adequate if you can do your part when hunting.

 

[reubenski]

What about cutting edge bullets have you looked into them, also don't forget the Nosler partition, accubonds, and seirra game Kings, maybe a Barnes.

Do any of those offer a BC improvement over the Classic Hunter at .427? I'm sure many of those will "hunt" better; controlled expansion.

 

[reubenski]

Shoot the 103gr...a .7" group for coyotes and deer is more than adequate if you can do your part when hunting.

This is a true statement. Especially for east coast whitetail with an average shot at 65yds. I grew up hunting with a 30-30. I guess my disappointment is assembling the latest high tech components and getting the performance of a $500 Tikka. Nothing wrong with Tikkas, if I was to buy a factory rifle it would one of those. But I paid 4 to 6 times what a Tikka costs. I want that high tech rifle to laser the latest bullets. Otherwise, I shouldve bought a Tikka...LOL!

 

[Dvldad]

The Hornady factory 108eld shot unreal out of my 6creedmoor and they have been a do all bullet for me killed a half dozen deer and truck loads of coyotes with them. 42gr of h4350 is my load for them but the factory ammo shot just as good.

 

[reubenski]

That seems to be a lot of disliked quality bullets there. Give the Speer 100 gr boat-tail bullet a try. It has a BC of .43 (G1) and when I had a 6mm Remington I pushed them slightly over 3200 fps (26" barrel) with IMR 4451.

I did see those and the Sierra 100gr Gameking SPBT have a .430 BC and will undoubtedly "hunt" better than a match bullet turned hunting bullet by using a thinner J4 jacket. Those are basically my next option. They have a traditional design so they will likely be accurate.