Is the 6x45 too small?

[megastink]

I've got two cravings: 1) a 6x45 build, mostly for my kids, and 2) a super lightweight pack rifle build with a 20-22" carbon barrel, custom action, and Greyboe Trekker stock. This will mainly be for hunting PA big woods deer out to about 400 yards. I'm considering turning this custom build of mine into a 6x45, but I feel like I should maybe choose a caliber with the .308 bolt face (.260 or 7-08) as deer and bear season do overlap. I already have a 243, ,270, 6.5 Swede, and 7mm Mag, but all are 9-11lbs.

So do I build the ultralight 6x45, or do I add in a larger caliber to the family?

 

[Hugnot]

I had a 6X45 (.223 necked up to 6mm) for many years & shot rodents with the 60 Sierra hp & H335. It was a 12 twist. Perfectly satisfactory for 300 and under rodents. It was built on a Rem XP100 action with a Rem 700 trigger. Long barrel life & easy to develop loads. It would probably work out well with 75 VMax bullets & IMR 8208 for hot day rodents and maybe up to 400. Hodgdon shows velocities between 2850 - 3000 fps with 75 grain VMax bullets making it better than a 300 yard rodent & target round. Rather have a .243W or such for shooting deers.

 

[can1010]

6x45 or 6 TCU are nice cartridges they have a lot of things going for them from brass availability, low recoil, easy to tune and accurate but they are better at 250yds or less with 85-90gr bullets for whitetail with experienced shooters. Bears on the other hand, it will do the job with the right bullet and perfect placement but you might want to look at something in the 260 or larger unless you are very patient and confident in your shot placement there will be no room for error

 

[Outlaw6.0]

I've killed more deer with various 6mms than all of the other calibers in my stable (quite a few). 6mm is perfectly adequate for the +200lb muleys here in Wyoming so i'd imagine they'd work on the big PA deer too.

That being said, I wouldn't be pushing the 6x45 to 400yds, I just don't think it has the grunt. Although, I would like to see what it could accomplish with a light weight mono like a Barnes or Hammer....

If you're thinking something small like that.... how about the 6x47 Lapua?



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[jrock]

I'm a fan of heavy 6mm bullets for deer hunting, especially white tail. Easy to shoot and they knock'em down. My 6 Dasher works great on mule deer out west. It's a 5.5 lb rifle and kicks like a .223. I think you'll get a more bang for your buck going to a 6 BR or other standard bolt face case over a .223 bolt face. However, your idea will work.

 

[4thefunofit]

If you're a fan of handloading, and like the idea of having something a little different, you might think about a 30-250 AI. In a light weight rifle it would make a nice woods gun.

 

[del2les]

While for decades, I have enjoyed the TCU family of cartridges, I do not suggest the 6x45 be used on large deer nor bear out to 400 yards. Even the heavier bullets in my 7TCU's I limited under that range for reliable expansion purposes. For deer in a short, light rifle or AR, the TCU's work well at the shorter woods or similar ranges, but tend to lack at the more medium ranges.

 

[Gordon Schmidt]

I have a friend in NW Alaska who really can see Russia from his back yard (somewhere north of Nome). He uses an AR15 in 223 for seal and caribou. I don't think anything is beyond 200 yards.
6x45 is an interesting round but it falls a bit (a small bit) below what I have set as my minimum. I've decided the 6.5 Grendel is as low as I will go (if you kind of squint at it and ignore bullet weight limitations you could convince yourself it is almost a 6.5x54 which has been used to good effect across the world.) That said, looking forward, I don't expect to shoot anything except paper. MDWS has a number of good choices for smaller cartridges with great potential.

 

[436]

I'm kinda with the guys that are saying don't stretch the 6x45mm out to 400 yards on Deer, not because it wouldn't kill them, but because it would. It's the bad hit that might cause the real problem, we can't always stay in the X ring with all our shots, so... I'd op for a little more punch in the 6mm caliber for Deer at that distance. Cheers

 

[Deleted member 115360]

Just get a 6mm arc barrel. Much faster. I'm shooting 87gr vmax at 3050 from a 22" barrel. Factory 108gr bullets are right at 2,800. Will kill any deer you see. Supersonic beyond 1k. Cheap factory ammo, easy to reload, almost no recoil, forever barrel life, and feeds perfectly..

 

[Chad Erickson]

I have a friend in NW Alaska who really can see Russia from his back yard (somewhere north of Nome). He uses an AR15 in 223 for seal and caribou. I don't think anything is beyond 200 yards.
6x45 is an interesting round but it falls a bit (a small bit) below what I have set as my minimum. I've decided the 6.5 Grendel is as low as I will go (if you kind of squint at it and ignore bullet weight limitations you could convince yourself it is almost a 6.5x54 which has been used to good effect across the world.) That said, looking forward, I don't expect to shoot anything except paper. MDWS has a number of good choices for smaller cartridges with great potential.

Spent some time at Moses Point and Kotzebue. There the National Guard members shoot everything with the .223, including walrus by the dozen. There is nothing like the .223 or a Native for wasting game.

 

[TRG65]

I tried to do a 6x45 with the intent of shooting 105 Bergers. Didn't work might have been the barrel might have been the reaming because it had to be throated more for the 105 at the oal I wanted. I am still intrigued by the cartridge probably because of a bin of unused 223 brass I have. But now I just shoot ARC in an AR platform for my small 6mm needs and can't think of a good reason to bother with a 6x45. I think if you are going to do a bolt gun look at a BR, dasher, gt, or creedmoor. My younger at 7 used a 6creed to take a doe at about 215

My next rifle will be a 6.5 Addiction/Swede AI because I have my own reamer and I sold my last rifle but love the cartridge. However given you put 260 on your list look at 260 AI. Lots of versatility.

 

[STGguy]

Why not a 7-08 w reduced 120 gr bullet loads H4895 etc ad they get to know it and slowly crank it up a bit ?

It's WAY more caliber, like it or not , sometimes newer / younger hunters don't exactly shoot - exactly behind the front shoulder - heart / lung etc . I didn't at 14-20 ish….

Just sayin, it's a lot more round and gives a wider margin of error …

Just my $0.02 thoughts slipping out of my head

 

[Exterminate1]

I've used the 6 x 45 for years as a pest control rifle. Took a lot of coyotes some deer and quite a few pigs with it. It will work great almost everything out to 300 yards but I wouldn't push it much past that. That being said it's a great cartridge for beginners or anybody that is recoil sensitive. It seems to perform way better than it should noticeably better than a 223. I've had great luck with Sierra 85 grain gamekings. Would make a great light weight rifle.
Was going to build one for myself this year but I was up at the nosler factory and they had a 24 Nosler prototype that I picked up instead with a pile of brass to go with it. Hope that helps if you have any more questions let me know.