6mm Remington

[IdahoWoodsbummer]

I am in the process of gathering together the mtls for a new medium to long range varmint rifle. It will be built on an older Rem 700 short action. I just recieved the stock from HS precision the other day. The bbl will be a lilja as I have had very good luck with their bbls on previous rifles.

My intent is for a heavier gun to cut recoil, so as to be able to see my hits through the glass.

I do not have experience with 6mm Rem. any of you guys shoot one? BBl length, contour? What kind of loads? I am inclined to shoot Sierra MK's as they serve me well in other target guns and in 22 cals are devastating on rockchucks and 'yotes. I am interested to hear what grain weight other 6mm guys use and why. I would prefer less than max loads so as to not accelerate wear more than neccassary. Accuracy is Number 1 with me over velocity.

What are your thoughts?

 

[preacherman]

...if your "intent" is to see the hits (or misses), you'd do well to consider a good muzzle brake... even some .22 cf's are pretty difficult to see the hits... of course, at longer ranges, it becomes easier to see the hits due to longer recovery time...hope this helps... good shooting

 

[308sako]

Idaho, I shoot a Rem 40X that first had a 27 1/2 inch 1 in 12 twist 6 Rem tube. Did a year of target and P-doggin and found it to be awesome, but it wouldn't handle anything heavier than an 85/87 grain bullet. Found that by shooting a 6.5/284 and using a ballistic calculator that the bigger heavier bullet is better because of the wind. That said I rebarreled the 6 rem to a 1 in 8 twist 6 rem to shoot the 105 Lapua and 107 Sierra's. What I found was that even in a decent wind, the 70/75 grain ballistic tip style bullets and their greater speed in actual use seem better to 650 yards or so. The big bullets also recoil more and seeing your impact's isn't very easy. Consider the above suggested muzzle break concept. While I shoot Hart's on my centerfires, I shoot a Lilja .22 LR on my 10/22 and find it totally awesome! Dan's tubes are amongst the very best. The 6 Rem is generally under rated by the shooting public, but not by real shooter's with experience who consider it to be the best 6mm cartridge. The bigger wildcats (6mm - 06, 6/284, 240 Weatherby) will burn out without really doing anything better or signifigantly faster! Enjoy your project.

 

[TOM H]

I still shoot my 40x 1/12 twist with 80 gr bullets the factory test target had two 5 shot groups in the mid 2's the other one is a custom with a 1/14 twist for the 68 gr match bullets and for the 95/100gr bullets I have a 6mmremAI with 1/10 twist barrel. Seeing the hits may require a muzzle brake. It's an easy round to load for brass last forever velocity are pretty close to what the manuals publish and I also like 26" barrel lenght. Since I own more than one I don't have to worry about trying to get more than one bullet to shoot so I can match bullet to twist. One of the problem you may have is the magazine lenght and wanting to use it with some bullets. The factory round the bullets are seated fairly deep I'd sure make up some rounds and talk to the gunsmith who's putting your rifle together and look pretty hard at his reamer throat I know you can get some longer magazines from Brownells. If using as a single shot I wouldn't worry about it. Well good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Guest]

I love the 6mm Rem. It works great out to 600 yards but will perform to 1000. It is pretty snappy, especially loading 41.2 grains of Varget. That gives me 3386 fps utilzing an 80 grain Nosler ballistic tip, Spitzer. The barrel is a Shilen 1:8 twist and shoots Very, Very well; best group at 100 yards equals one small hole. To follow through I do have to hold on pretty tight; so the gun would benifit from a break. But I do not use one. It is my favorite varmint rifle.

 

[dbhostler]

I've shot a 244 Ackley, aka 6mm Rem Imp, for a few years now. Fine little cartridge with 105-107s out to 1k.
db

 

[brian b]

I have a 6mm Rem AI, if you have ever read
any of my other post's I am not a huge fan of
remington brass but for some reason on the
6mm Rem brass it is awesome, on the lot I
have after 10 firing's the primer pocket is
still tight and show's no sign's of giving up
yet. it is better in every way than a 243win
and is less finiky than my 6-284,the neck is
so long you can touch the land's with 55's
to 107's
B

 

[Imortal Wombat]

Sorry to sorta hi-jack the post but i was just after some imput on the .243WSSM and i figured that we were already on the subject sorta.

 

[lynn]

IdahoWoodsBummer
I don't know what type of varmints you plan on hunting but here is another choice.Get yourself a 8 twist barrel and make it into a 6BR.Don't laugh as this little cartridge exactly matches the performance of a 300 Win mag shooting 190 Sierras at 2950 fps except in energy.It uses 30 gr of powder so a 8 pound keg lasts 1850 rounds.Brass lasts 20 plus firings,dies are readily available from Redding and Lapua 6BR brass is simply outstanding.You can get a live pilot reamer from Midway for a little over $100 and it is winning everything in sight at 600 yards plus has several records at 1000 yards including smallest group.Varget powder Lapua brass and a CCI 450 Magnum primer will get you 3 inch groups at 600 yards in a 28-30 inch barrel without much effort.The barrel will last more than 2500 rounds to boot.It still has over 500 pounds of knockdown at 1000 yards and accuracy is truly amazing without any case prep at all.It even has its own website www.6mmbr.com My father shot a 0.892 5 shot group at 600 yards with his and he is 70 years old.
Lynn

 

[Guest]

Here is my plug for the 243 Ackley Imp , it'll give the same velocities as the 6mmImp with a shorter OAL , better brass(lapua) and burning less powder.
with a barrel twist in the 1-8 you can shoot the 106gr A-max , a barrel length of 26-30" would be best , a big heavy tube and a good break you should be able to spot your hits from 300 on out.
I love mine and a big plus is that it will shoot factory 243 ammo down below 1 moa.

 

[brian b]

JDJones75,
I agree with everything you said except
"it'll give the same velocities as the 6mm Imp." on this point you are dreaming,the 6mm
Imp. is about 200fps faster with 70's and at
least 100fps faster with 105-107's
B

 

[Aussie]

I would have liked a 6mm Ackley but found that overall cartridge length would have precluded use of the magazine on my Rem. short action .
Went with the .243 Ackley in the end and haven't been disappointed . Still struggle to get VLD's thru the mag if seated into the lands though .
Maybe those longer mags from Brownell's would be the go if they feed properly .
Many prefer the .243 because Lapua brass is available .

 

[sscoyote]

My 6AI has performed wonderfully for me over the last 5 or 6 yrs. i've been shooting it for late season/damage control coyotes. Unfortunately, i can't get it to shoot the 87 gr. V-Max, which by the way, happens to be the highest BC pure varmint bullet made. I'm shooting the 87 gr. Horn BTHP, and it's worked well on coyotes out to around 550-600 yds. so far.

 

[IdahoWoodsbummer]

Interesting replies so far. Obviously I am not the only one who likes the middle calibers. I mostly will be shooting rockchucks and coyotes, in addition to paper. There is just something appealing about the 6 Rem. Kinda like the 6.5 Swede.