Not Very Long, But Good; 6X45 Takes Deer

[krummarine]

Recently took delivery of a 6X45 caliber rifle built on a Rem 700 action, Benchmark 1-10 twist barrel, Shilen trigger and walnut, ADL stock. I put a Nightforce 2-10X32 scope on it and took it to a farm I've hunted for years in eastern North Dakota. All of the many deer I've shot on this farm have been with a 30-06 (except for one with a .270) The deer run big and fat from eating the area corn all fall but ranges are relatively short averaging 75-200 yards. With a buck tag, I only saw does the first two days but early this past Sunday, this feller walked into a corner of the field where 6 does were feeding. He dropped with one shot at about 125 yards. The bullet was a 85 grain Nosler Partition on top of 25 gr. of H335.

All work on the rifle was done by Dave Sink out of Clemmons, NC. He has built several rifles for me and I've never been disappointed with the quality of workmanship and attention to detail. He is a true friend and professional gunsmith that I would recommend to anyone considering a custom build.

This rifle is a keeper; I might have to retire my 30-06.

 

[rjmarine]

great job on the wt with a very good round from a nice looking rifle
a guy the hunts deer without a super mag this or a super mag that ?
its so nice to see that i am not the only guy that does not believe you need to burn 110 grs of powder to take a good size deer very cleanly


btw i use a 25x47 for most of my hunting these days from caribou to bear to mule deer

 

[johnnyk]

krummarine,
Nice deer. He looks like a heffer, bet they get big up there. Like the rifle also. Not familiar with your round but I like it. Sure saves on powder compared to the big magnums. I have a .300WinMag and a 6.5-284Norma and the 6.5 gets way more attention (and deer) than the big 'un.
Don't get me wrong; I love my .300 and have it set up for the Long shot, but even when I set up in a 2000yd field, the deer seem to walk out at 150yds. I don't care what people say, a 208gn A-Max at 151yds against a 140lb whitetail is overkill! LOL.
Anywho, thanks for sharing and happy trails. JohnnyK.

 

[krummarine]

Thanks, Gents for your comments. Until this year, I was dubious about going after any deer with anything less than a .270 or better yet, my trusty 30-06. I know one shot and one deer doesn't make a scientific study, but after seeing the performance of this round; a .223 necked up to 6mm, and 25 gr. of powder, I am rethinking my approach to deer rounds. After I shot, the does that had been feeding with him stayed around only slightly alarmed. Had I shot with my 30-06, they, and everything in the area would have scattered.

 

[Greywolf18]

I've actually looked into getting a rifle in this caliber for my son in a couple of years as a first rifle (he's 5 now). Just out of curiosity, what would you put the max range on that rifle? What kind of speeds are you getting out of it? What's your barrel length?

 

[krummarine]

Brian: that was one of my reasons for going to this caliber. I have a daughter who is nearing hunting age and I thought this would be a perfect round to learn, and hunt with. The gunsmith that built it recommended to keep the hunting range for deer to 200 yards. That's about perfect for the farm we hunt as 95% of the deer we've taken over the years have been shot at about 75-125 yards. I've read accounts on the net of people taking deer and coyotes at much longer ranges with this round but I haven't had the opportunity or need to do that yet. The barrel is 24" but I see lots of guys using a 22" and 20" or less on an AR-15 platform while getting good results. My book says this load runs at about 2700 fps; I could have loaded it a little hotter but didn't see the need. It's a really "user friendly" round to load for even a novice like me with a good selection of bullets to choose from. If you google, "6X45" it will spit out lots of info. Good luck; let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[d11r529]

Congrats on the deer. Nice lookin rifle, should be a good coyote thumper as well. I used to hunt with a 300 win mag but have sold it (because of recoil) and now hunt with 243 win. I have rifles with 1X9 1/4, 1X8 and 1X7 twist barrels and shoot from 85 gr to 115 gr bullets. I'm in central ND and most of the deer I've taken with the 243 where beyond 400 yards, the longest was a doe at 596 yards with a Barns 85 gr X (around 3200 fps), hit through the lungs she ran about 75 yards and dropped. The buck last year measured 163+ and was taken at 554 yards with a 105 gr A-Max (3150 fps), he staggered 20 feet and dropped, through the lungs with an exit hole about the size of a tennis ball. As far as I'm concerned, it's always been about bullet placement, shoot the cannons if you want - not because you think you have to.

 

[krummarine]

d11r529: my dad was born in Hazelton, ND, south of Bismarck, and east of the river. He went in the army then got married and moved to the big city of Fargo. We used to go back there and hunt deer as well as pheasants because he knew everyone...it was a lot of walking and some really good times..

.243 is a great round; I have one also built by the guy who built this one. My magnums are going to be getting a lot more down time after this season...

 

[snox801]

I also just built a 6x45. I did a 16 inch barrel how's action and axiom stock. The stock was chosen for the adjustable lop. I shoot 95 gr SST and 90 gr nosler. Leaning towards the nosler at this point. I push it with 26gr of CFE 223.
I have to do more load development to get it dailed in. I always felt comfortable shooting deer out to 300 yards with this round. Softer bullets are key to the longer range. I am bringing it to Kansas Monday to try it out. Will post pics if I'm lucky. I will post a kill at 300 if I get a chance this year.

 

[snox801]

Just wanted to update you on the 6x45 performance. All I can say is wow. Shot my buck with my 257 Roy. Went out that afternoon for a doe and brought along my 6x45. After about an hour in came 12 doe. So I picked out the biggest one at just over 100 yards put the crosshairs on the boiler room and bang flop. That thing never even tried to get up. I was amazed both at how fast it dropped without any part of the bullet hitting the spine, and at the amount of damage internally done. The exit hole was also huge. The 95gr sst really hurt that thing. Needless to say all the guys in camp that thought it was not big enough quickly changed tune. I must admit I was not gonna take it after a big buck but after this I would not hesitate.

 

[krummarine]

Congrats, snox!! got any pics?