Which 6 & what bullet weight?

Steve bonson

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Central pa
Going to have a coyote/varmint gun put together this year, would like to go with a 6mm of some sort, I'm in central Pa, so don't see many shots over 600yrds, what bullet weight would you guys go with? Getting ready to order a barrel, so trying to come up with a twist rate, also would a 6x47 lapua give better barrel life than say a 243 or 6cm? Thank you
 
Thanks guys, I should have mentioned I do reload, I'm probably going to have it built on a blueprinted 700 action with a Bartlein 3B barrel. Any problem running 6br through a 700 bdl blind mag?
 
The a 6.5 PRC would be an amazing varmint gun but likely with very short barrel life. Same with necking down a .264wm.
Thanks guys, I should have mentioned I do reload, I'm probably going to have it built on a blueprinted 700 action with a Bartlein 3B barrel. Any problem running 6br through a 700 bdl blind mag?

Shouldn't be if you have even a half decent smith.
 
6×110mm USN. basicly a 20mm cannon case necked down to 6mm. should have plenty of energy at 600 yds.

just use the .243 win it has stood the test of time and it will continue to do so.
 
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The "easy" 6mm would be either the .243Win or 6mmCM. Only problem I see with the .243 is the incessant case trimming and the only way around that would be the .243Win AI. That would make a top tier 6mm Varmint rifle and could definitely take a deer down with a heavier bullet.
Now, I have no experience with the 6mmCM but I have read others are enjoying the success of the CM's accuracy even in the 6mm version. I am beginning to see factory rifles on the shelves in this caliber and factory ammo is probably there too.
Again, no experience with the 6X47 Lapua but owners speak highly of it's accuracy and ease of loading for. A top contender in certain BR disciplines.
Like you, I reload, so factory fodder rarely is part of my equations when dreaming/deciding cartridges and rifle configurations.

The 6mmBR Norma is crazy accurate. I put one together one last year with a 26", Shilen, Stainless Steel, Select Match from Northland Shooters Supply and it has been totally rewarding. I enjoy this little cartridge so much. It has digested 70 to 108gn bullets and the outcome has been sub 1/2" groups at 100yds. .1 & .2" groups are common place! Half MOA is this cartridges norm from 0-1000yds, in my rifle at least. I really can't say enough good about it. All from a Savage pre-fit.
Lapua makes brass for all these cartridges mentioned, so that's a win-win. There seems to be a metric ton of 6mm bullets available. Length of your barrel should be dictated by your personal preference and I would have you consider a no slower than 1-8 twist for it. Mine easily shoots the 108 ELD-M's and I have considered trying the Berger 109's and the newer Hornady 110gn A-Tips. Not sure it could/would stabilize anything heavier than these.
As for feeding; like the others said a good rifle smith could solve any issues that might come up with a 700 action. Mine was built on a Savage 10 w/DBM and it will NOT eject properly. With the magazine in it feeds great but as the little case starts coming back out it seems it's so short the extractor looses it because there's not enough pressure on the case from the side of the action? Not 100% sure what is going on there. I load and shoot single-shot with the magazine out. Not ideal for a hunting scenario but mine was built with competition in mind and a SA 700 would probably be more easily tweaked.
Good luck with your decision and let's us see her when she's done!
 
Steve -

Howdy !

The .243's built-in challenge to long barrel life is it's shallow shoulder angle. It also has a tad more case capacity than is really needed, to fit a lot of shooter's applications. The rise in popularity of newer factory and wildcat 6m cartridges like the 6X47L, 6XC,
6 Creedmoor et al; are evidence to those realities. The 6mm Remington case holds approx. gr more than does a .243Win, and we all see how well that case is doing.

One would be challenged, if trying to give definite proof that a 6X47L-chambered would exhibit longer barrel like than a 6XC or
6 Creedmoor-chambered barrel.

If your chosen 6mm bullet wt runs as high as 95gr, I'd recommend a 1-8 twist.



With regards,
357Mag
 
Are you looking for top velocity, shoot light or heavy bullets? For speed I'd go with any mentioned above. The 243 would be very easy and give a bit more speed than the creed or x47. I've never run a 6br but I do have a shorter 22" 6 dasher I built this year. I'm currently shooting 103 ELDX at 2905 FPS with 32 gr of varget. Very fun gun to shoot. I went with the Norma dasher brass so I don't have to fire form. It's built on a Remington SA and did take a little tweaking to get it to feed good. It's a BDL set up. If going Norma dasher be sure to use the right reamer. It has a longer neck.
 
Going to have a coyote/varmint gun put together this year, would like to go with a 6mm of some sort, I'm in central Pa, so don't see many shots over 600yrds, what bullet weight would you guys go with? Getting ready to order a barrel, so trying to come up with a twist rate, also would a 6x47 lapua give better barrel life than say a 243 or 6cm? Thank you

Thanks guys, I should have mentioned I do reload, I'm probably going to have it built on a blueprinted 700 action with a Bartlein 3B barrel. Any problem running 6br through a 700 bdl blind mag?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with shooting any of 6mm BR-type cartridges. Most are extremely accurate when put in the right mechanical set-up and you do your best to design a superb load. Just be sure to pick a proper bullet which will work with you at 600 yards. I've been using the Hornady 87 grain VMAX with excellent results on varmints.

I understand the use of a 'blueprinted' Rem. 700, you don't want to ante up to make a real custom so you tone down the cost by trying to make a 700 better. There are successful renditions of this which are touted everywhere, even here. But, in my opinion, when the shot is 600 yards on a woodchuck, I'll take my custom and the best glass I can afford to make the best shot I can. No compromises.

Jim Border makes an action he designed just for the express purpose you state:

Borden Super Short 6

These are well suited to the varmint fields and you don't have to worry about which gunsmith can tune a 700 to run the 6BR consistently.

If you insist on using a 700, MDT makes a magazine specifically designed for the 6BR cartridges.

https://mdttac.com/us_en/blog/mdt-releases-6br-aics-magazine/

Or if you want to modify your own magazines:

https://patriotvalleyarms.com/6mm-br-6mm-dasher-mag-kit/

Any way you cut it, these magazines function better in the long run than trying to modify a 700 action for feeding.

My personal choice is Tubb's 6XC cartridge and I would get the barrel with a twist rate to accommodate the 105 grain bullets for the added attraction of using the same rifle for deer hunting.

Enjoy the process!;)
 
Thanks so much guys! A lot of great information from you all, I really appreciate it. I'm more interested in accuracy than speed and am thinking about using bullets in the 80 - 107 grain range. Great advice on the 6br, never even gave it a thought, going to take a good look at it. Thanks again!
 
Going to have a coyote/varmint gun put together this year, would like to go with a 6mm of some sort, I'm in central Pa, so don't see many shots over 600yrds, what bullet weight would you guys go with? Getting ready to order a barrel, so trying to come up with a twist rate, also would a 6x47 lapua give better barrel life than say a 243 or 6cm? Thank you
I agree with the 6Br idea great round if that does not suit you the plain 243 win. is hard to beat
 
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