Fastest, Flattest '06 action cartridge

[7ultra]

Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

Hey all,
I have the possibility of picking up a Remington 700 ADL for cheap. I pretty much plan on completely stripping this rifle. New Barrel, new stock, etc. Anyway, the gun would be chambered in 30-06. I was wondering what would be the fastest, flattest cartridge suited for this action. I'm not adverse to wildcats, only criteria is that it is not a Gibbs or 284 family cartridge ( I own a 6.5-284, and don't want to monkey with the reloading process involved with the Gibbs). That said, any ackley is acceptable(some what easier to reload for than the Gibbs I here). I'm just looking for suggestions, thanks in advance.

 

[Fotis]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

25-06 Ackley IMP?

 

[Fiftydriver]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

7Ultra,

Fastest would be the 6mm-06 AI. The flattest would be hard to pick depending on bullet used.

I have reamers for the 6mm-06, 6mm-06 AI, 25-06 AI, 6.5-06 AI, 280 AI and 30-06 AI.

What will you be doing with this rifle, shooting extreme range, paper, varmints, big game???

Let us know what your goals are and we can offer a better opinion.

For extreme range varminting, a fast twist 6mm-06 is very hard to beat and it will serve well for deer size game as well.

For strictly pronghorns and deer, I would go with a 25-06 AI or a 6.5-06 AI. Both come very close to their larger belted magnum brothers.

With new bullets out for the 257 calibers such as the 130 to 156 gr ULDs from Wildcat, the 25-06 AI makes a great extreme range round. The 156 gr is very large for the 25-06 AI class round but the Wildcat 142 gr ULD RBBT is a great option and will compete ballistically with the very best 30 and 338 VLD bullets out there.

Good Shooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[4ked Horn]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

[ QUOTE ]
Fastest would be the 6mm-06 AI.

[/ QUOTE ]

How fast?

I have always been curious about a round like that. I think it was called the "Super Rockchucker" made by the man that started RCBS. I have never been absolutely certain on that point though. May be the "Paige Super Pooper" as well. What kind of bore life would one get with a 6mm-06 AI? Worse than a 6.5-284?

 

[7ultra]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

Sorry for the initially vague post (you'd think I'd know better by now). What I'm envisioning this rifle to be built for is long range shots on medium sized game, Pronghorns to Mule Deer. Most of the rifles life will be spent on the range, but when I do take it out, I want it set to shoot mid-far range (400-600 yards). So, I want a ballistically efficient cartridge, with some hurt down range.

 

[Buffalobob]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

Check out what Kirby is trying to tell you. With a really fast 6mm such as the 6-06 or 240 Wby and a fast twist barrel and some 100+grain bullets you can whack any deer that walks by at 600 yards. I have a 240 on a mauser bolt face which is the same diameter as the 06. So thats what I did when I had an action that needed a barrel-240 Wby=same same as an 6-06.

At a starting velocity of 3400 fps a 100 gr bullet out of a 240 Wby will deliver the 1000# at 600yds. And what is really great is that you hardly feel any recoil and my rifle is not really very heavy. If you like to whack paper this is a mild recoil round for just shooting paper.

Sierra has a 107 SMK that would be really nice to try if I had a faster twist barrel.

 

[Fiftydriver]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

4ked Horn,

Don't know yet. I have a customer with one on order. Got the reamer in, just waiting on the barrel to get here.

I have built several standard 6mm-06 rifles and most will run an honest 4300 fps with 55-58 gr pills, 4050 fps with a 70 gr and very near 3500 fps with a 105-107 gr bullet. These numbers were out of 28" barrels.

The lighter bullets are fast but not overly impressive compared to smaller 6mms as they will nearly match this in velocity.

The heavier bullets are pretty impressive ballistically. You take a 107 gr Sierra MK and drive it to 3500 fps and you will have serious down range ballistic performance.

The AI version would probably add 150 fps to this velocity with the heavier bullets. With the lighter pills I suspect there would not be a great deal of velocity increase as this case is really to large for a 55 gr bullet.

Even for a 70 gr bullet I prefer to stay with the 6mm-284 as a top capacity.

We will see soon how the 6mm-06 AI runs compared to the 6mm-06. I will post results if your interested in seeing them??

Good Shooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[Fiftydriver]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

7Ultra,

Any of them would perform well to this range in a quality rifle with the proper bullet. The 6mm and 25 will be flattest shooting to 500 yards, the 6.5 and 280 will pull away from there because of B.C. advantage.

If this will be a range rifle I would consider barrel life as much as any other aspect. For this reason, you may want to consider the 6.5-06 AI. This round will drive a 140-142 gr VLD or ULD to 3100 fps in a 26" barrel and will be a legit 1000 yard contender.

Loaded with the great 120 gr Ballistic Tip, 3300 fps is not a big challange and performance on game is great as well.

Good Shooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[budlight]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

I also considered the 6mm-06. I'm now convinced that the 6mm BR Dasher is the way to go with 6mm.

For cheaper economical shooting the .270 AI with longer barrels and 140-150 grain boat tails is what I'ved used for years on all kinds of game. The 110's and 100's going 3500 & 3600 respectivly are real bunny busters

 

[4ked Horn]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

[ QUOTE ]
very near 3500 fps with a 105-107 gr bullet. These numbers were out of 28" barrels.


[/ QUOTE ]
Now thats what I'm talkin' 'bout. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[ QUOTE ]
I will post results if your interested in seeing them??


[/ QUOTE ]
Oh you bet. I would also like to compare it to .243 win AI if you hav numbers for that round in a similiar length bbl.

Thanks.

I would like to yield back the remainder of my time to the member from Wisconsin.

 

[Fiftydriver]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

Budlight,

The Dasher is a hell of a round for sure. For its size it is all out of porportion as far as performance goes, as is the 6mm BR.

But...

We were asked about the fastest and flattest in the '06 bolt face and as impressive as the Dasher and BR are, I generally do not care about economy or efficency as far as performance goes. In this case the 6mm-284, 240 Wby, 6mm-06 and the 6mm-06 AI will vastly outperform the Dasher and BR.

I will admit barrel life will be dramatically shorter but for a medium game rifle this will not be a real significant concern.

I also agree that a 270 AI is a great round. All the AIs on the '06 case are great round, just suited for different game and uses.

Good SHooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[Fiftydriver]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

4ked Horn,

They are impressive rounds for sure.

I do not have any hard data on the 243 AI but again I will soon as I have two on order just waiting for barrels to arrive. Will be interesting to compare performance of the medium and large 6mm rounds. With 55 to 70 gr pills there will not be a dramatic difference, with 80 gr and heavier bullets the big cases will pull away from the 243 AI. We will see by how much!!

Good Shooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[7ultra]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

All,
How fast do you think the 6.5-06 AI would be given a 26 inch barrel driving 140 grain barrels? Do you think it would be able to attain 3100-3200 fps, or would a 28 inch tube be necessary (or is 3200 fps just plain unattainable)? Thanks for the input so far.

 

[Fiftydriver]

Re: Fastest, Flattest \'06 action cartridge

7Ultra,

I have worked with several 6.5-06 AIs and most have been 26 to 27" barrels. The 26" barrels will top out around 3025 to 3050 fps with a 140-142 gr bullet. The 27" pipes will add another 25 fps but thats about it.

A 28" pipe should play very close to 3100 fps but personally, without running pressures up more then I like, I do not see the 6.5-06 AI as a 3200 fps cartridge with a 140 gr bullet unless your running a 30" barrel.

This is on average so keep that in mind. There have been some 6.5-06 AIs which produced higher then average velocity but I like to be conservative with my predictions.

To be honest, the difference between 3100 and 3200 fps at long range will be meaningless.

Good Shooting!!

Kirby Allen(50)