Powder for short-barrel 6mm Remington

[twoftagl]

Looking for input on the right powder for a 6mm Remington with a 20" barrel. I'm using 100gr Partitions in a 20" barrel and I have IMR4064, 4350 and Superformance already.

I'm interested in the superformance's velocities but with the heavier bullet and shorter barrel, would the 4350 or 4064 be a better choice?

Your thoughts?

Chris

 

[FearNoWind]

Have you tried Varget?

 

[Hornhunter32]

I would try H4350. I have a 20" barrel 243 and it works good with 87 grain vmax bullets. I know they aren't the same but it should work great.

 

[AZShooter]

A short barrel doesn't require faster powder. Use the same powders that are listed in the loading books for standard length barrels.

Hodgdon doesn't list superperformance load data for bullets heavier than a 80 gr bullet.

You didn't say which 4350. Any of them would be a good choice for a 100 gr bullet. While 4064 would work it would be better with a lighter bullet. Varget would also be a good powder for a lighter bullet.

I realize you do not have RL-17. If you were to get some it would give you some of the fastest velocities. I helped a friend set his 22" 6mm Rem with RL-17. Worked up to 45 gr and got the stunning velocity of 3300-3325 fps. The five shot groups are at 100 yds.

 

[lloydsmale]

4350/4831 have been my go to powers in the 6mm for 40 years. Hard to beat either of them.

 

[budlight]

Looking for input on the right powder for a 6mm Remington with a 20" barrel. I'm using 100gr Partitions in a 20" barrel and I have IMR4064, 4350 and Superformance already.

I'm interested in the superformance's velocities but with the heavier bullet and shorter barrel, would the 4350 or 4064 be a better choice?

Your thoughts?

Chris

I'm a 243 person, but I reload for my friends 6mm. 4350 is not a good choice with 100 grain. I never got the higher chrono speeds achieved by the slower powders and rod type powder doesn't meter as well.

With 100 grain pills I have found that Hodgdon Hybrid 100V, Ramshot hunter, and Superformance are the best powders.

Work up your load of course, but I would start with 47.4 of Super and work up with .3 grain increments. Both rifles I load for have longer barrels than yours, but I got up to 3300 fps before pressure signs and then backed them off to 3200 with 100 gr SPBT's.

I imagine that a 20 inch barrel 6mm can get a 100 grain to go about 3000 fps. Good luck. I just bought a 2 X 8 pound kegs of superformance so I'm pretty dedicated to it in these days of limited powder. I posted pictures on here of a 100 gr spbt recovered from a 428 yard antelope drt

 

[TJAY]

I have loaded 90 gr. Noslers AB's with superformance with good results. I worked up to 49 gr. without pressure issues. Just start low and work up.

 

[Trickymissfit]

I used to have a 22" barrel 6mm, and found that anything from H414 to 2700 worked well. IMR4064 shot well, but generated a lot of heat in the barrel. AA4350 might work better than H4350 as it's a little faster, and should give a better powder burn. Try the 2700, and go up or down from there. If you use H414 (my favorite) try a mag Federal primer with the bullet seated about .005" the lands for starters.
gary

 

[twoftagl]

OH, and forgot to mention: what's the best NEW 6mm brass? I don't have the time for caseprep, so I'm willing to pay for the higher consistency?


Fearnowind: No, I haven't tried Varget yet. If I can't get these to work then it will be on my list, especially cause its in the burn window I'm looking at with the shorter bbl.

Budlight: Interesting, your unsatisfactory results with the 4350. I'd heard so many good things about the superformance I picked some up before realizing they don't list it for the 100 grain pills, but a quick search here shows another guy getting exactly what you predicted, 3000, out of a 20" barrel.

AZ: man, if I can't can't get a respectable velocity out of these others, I'll be sure to go to the rl17 first. That's really good for a 100gr. Only reason I have these two IMRs is because 6mm, 243 and 30-06 (of which I'll be doing load workups for all three here shortly) seem to have two powders as the time-honored standbys, the IMR 4064 and either IMR or H 4350. So, that's the only reason I had those two, and the superformance I grabbed cause it was on the shelf and I remembered hearing some good results in 243 with it.

Shoot, I think I might take both powders to the range and run em side-by-side and see what happens. That's about the only way I can get a decent comparison with my crono anyhow.

Thanks for the input! Any experience with new brass that doesn't need prep would be a big help! Never delt with new and I don't have enough of the same brass to get started with the 6mm

Chris

 

[FearNoWind]

Have you tried Varget?
These are 107 grain Sierra HPBT
Of course, your load data will not be precisely the same but Varget can get the job done for you once you find the sweet spot.

 

[twoftagl]

Tricky: What differences do you find in the AA, H, or IMR 4350? I have the IMR in stock is only reason I was asking. No heat concerns for this load as it's for pigs and deer. As for primers, was planning on BR2s, but also have CCI200s and fed 215 (but want to save those for the 300wm).

Thanks for the insight!

Chris

 

[budlight]

Not to answer for Tricky, but I worked up 100 and 110 grain varmint rounds out of my 29 inch 270 using imr 4350 and later h4350. The vel was nearly identical @3500 fps 100 gr HP or sp, But the ES was larger with IMR. the 110 BT's liked the H4350 for a 30 fps avg advantage with the same powder weight. CCI 34 primers.

I've been reloading and working on race cars for many years. It bothers me when somebody tells me that is how my grandfather did that........... Or that's how PO Ackley did it in his book from the late 60's. They only had limited powder choices back then. So I for one have tried new powders when they came out. rod type powders and using big drop tubes to get it all in the case and crunching the bullet in for compressed loads just sucks when you have these denser small spherical powders that leave room to spare.

I use H414 in my 223 for 62 - 75 gr pills

You only ask about 3 powders. My testing for 100gr used r17, h100V, R-19, RamShot hunter, AA3100, H4831sc, and finally superformance. Ramshot hunter is great stuff, but non existent on the shelves.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Tricky: What differences do you find in the AA, H, or IMR 4350? I have the IMR in stock is only reason I was asking. No heat concerns for this load as it's for pigs and deer. As for primers, was planning on BR2s, but also have CCI200s and fed 215 (but want to save those for the 300wm).

Thanks for the insight!

Chris

I liked H414 best, but to be honest was only in the beginning of load development with 2700. Looked very promising with 87 grain bullets. The H414 just seemed to work well for most any bullet. I tried all three 4350's, and like AA best in that barrel, but none were my favorites. All three 4350's have a different burn rate with AA being the fastest. If memory is right, I also tried H380 with some of the lighter bullets with pretty good results. I found that when the temps got below forty degrees the Federal mag primer was best for me in ball powders. 4064 was the fastest, but as I said it has it's own issues.

I found the 6mm to be sensitive to the distance to the lands. Depending on the chamber, one needs to know the actual cut neck length. I've seen a couple that were over .070" too long! Mine were around .045" longer than the case length. The best seater is the Forster micrometer seater. I just used standard Co-Ax full length dies, but used Wilson dies at the range. If you neck size, I found the rounds to be sensitive to bullet tension.
gary

 

[twoftagl]

Budlight: I know what you mean with trying the new stuff, I suppose that's why the superformance peeks my interest. It's a 300 yd deer and pig gun so I don't plan on getting too technical with a whole host of components as long as it doesn't give me fits.

Tricky: by "cut neck length" do you mean the dimension that would support the neck out to the "second shoulder" in the freebore area? What is the significance of knowing this dimension once I measure it? I would think as long as the neck is not too long (i.e. I have adequate clearance) then I just measure my CBTO and seat accordingly. Does excessive clearance in this change my decisions as far as neck length, bullet seating, etc?

Fearnowind: No, haven't tried Varget, but it is in the same ballpark burnwise so it's on the list. Sure is a nice load and some nice shootin!! Out of curiosity, what twist do you shoot those 107s through?


Now, if I can just find some lightbulbBRASSlightbulb

If I buy 7x57 or 257 roberts can I just "lube 'n cram" in a 6mm sizer (asuming casenecks aren't too long) or do I need an intermediate step? Or two? Incremental cramming?

Thanks again for the help folks!

Chris