New varmint rig, now to pick a chambering

[stacy]

NOTHING LIKE A 22 DASHER 0 TO 700YDS NOT A PROBLEM WITH 75GR BERGERS VLD'S!!!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK

 

[22DASHER]

The action is a short action for sure. I'm thinking more and more after reading through all of the comments that a 6br, or one of its spawn is out. Based on the comments and feedback I've had so far I'm leaning towards the following calibers now (but still open to hear ideas):
22-250AI
6-6.5x47
7mm-08
One thing i do have going for me is i don't have to battle wind like those of you in the west/mid-west. I hardly ever see more than 10MPH and most days its closer to 2-3MPH.

First off, you will be extremely happy with either the 22-250 AI or the 6X47L. I couldn't decide so I have both.

One thing that will help you decide which way to go is if you want to do any fire forming. If not then go with the 6x47L since that is just a simple neck down procedure. Note that the fire forming 22-250 AI loads will be darn near as accurate as the formed loads, just slower.

Another is barrel life, the 6x47L will outlast the 22-250 AI.

Another is ballistics between a 6mm 105 grain pill at 3150 fps vs a 22 cal 75 grain pill at 3450. Run those through a ballistics calculator and that may help you decide as well.

Good luck, you cant go wrong with either one

 

[wvuredneck09]

First off, you will be extremely happy with either the 22-250 AI or the 6X47L. I couldn't decide so I have both.

One thing that will help you decide which way to go is if you want to do any fire forming. If not then go with the 6x47L since that is just a simple neck down procedure. Note that the fire forming 22-250 AI loads will be darn near as accurate as the formed loads, just slower.

Another is barrel life, the 6x47L will outlast the 22-250 AI.

Another is ballistics between a 6mm 105 grain pill at 3150 fps vs a 22 cal 75 grain pill at 3450. Run those through a ballistics calculator and that may help you decide as well.

Good luck, you cant go wrong with either one

I did some ballistic comparison last night, These numbers may not be correct but heres what I got (keep in mind 24" barrel):
22-250AI w/75gr. bullet at 3250 gives me 39.5" of drop at 500 and 18.3" of wind @10mph
the 6x47 w/75gr. bullet at 3400 gives me 39.9" and 23.6" respectively
the 6x47 w/87gr. bullet at 3200 gives me 42.5" and 20.7"

With such similar ballistics I think barrel life might be the tie breaker. That is if these velocities are accurate. Ballistics have rulled out the 7-08 for this project. If anything the only change in my mind is after discussing the project with a few people today it seems that the 6brx feeds well and may be back into worth looking at. What kind of velocities should I expect with the 6brx with a 75gr bullet and 24" tube.

 

[maxscm]

Pretty tough to beat the 6x47L for what you want to do. 6BR and/or one of its variants are too risky/touchy with feeding.

Second this ^^^

 

[ltcjwb]

I have decided to build a a dedicated varmint/target gun. I currently have mostly larger hunting guns for whitetails and on up and want to dust off a savage action that has been laying around and get something thrown together that i can punch paper and coyotes with. Keep in mind that the coyotes out my way are quite large, not that a well placed round out of my 22-250 wont do the job i just want something more accurate with somewhere in the 75-125 grain bullets. I think I'd like to go 6mm as I currently have a 223,22-250,270,7mm-08,7mm WSM, 308, 300 WM. I'm leaning towards a 6mm BR or one of its improved versions, or a 6-6.5x47. I want to use lapua brass and plan to shoot it a good bit so barrel life is somewhat important. Rifle will have a box mag so seating length is limited but wouldn't be an issue with either of those calibers. Other than mag length and 308 bolt face though I am open to other options if someone has a better idea. Rifle will likely get a 22-24" barrel to keep it compact for varmint hunting.

I know I am late to this discussion, but if you are going to build, .243 AI might be a good choice. The longer the barrel the better, but 24" is standard. If you are going to buy, any of the Rem 700 Varmint models in .243 with 26" barrels would be an excellent choice. And if you don't like the stock or trigger, they are easily replaced.

 

[weejohn]

You should be somewhere around 3100fps with 105 amax out a 6x47lapua with 24" barrel, this gives 39" drop and 15.3" for windage @ 500 yards

 

[wvuredneck09]

3100 seems like it would be pretty high pressure in that small of a cartridge but i'll take your work for it. Still kicking around some ideas. Might be sticking with the 22-250 I have for awhile since I'm going to load up on suppressors before the law changes in July.

 

[DogBuster]

6BR or 6XC........8 twist

 

[Drop Port]

6BR or 6XC........8 twist

This but I would add a 6 Dasher, hard to go wrong I use a 6br.

 

[Tommie]

WV -

Howdy !

A .250 Savage would fit your set of requirements well:

- You can use .22-250 brass from Lapua ( if desired ), and simply neck-up to .250" calibre.

- A .250 Savage would be useable for not only coyotes and varmint, but also on deer; and is plenty accurate for target work.

- Even with the on-going and perhaps now fore-castable shortages of certain bullets/brass, one still sees .25 cal bullets on gunstore shelves quite often.
Here's where use of the comparatively less popular .25 calibre could work to your advantage !

I shot a 22" barreled M-77 .250 Savage for many years. It was canned death on groundhogs when using Sierra 75HP's.
.250 Savage factory guns are often offered w/ a 1-10 twist, which is certainly workable w/ bullets of 75- 100gr.

It'd be a great walking varminter/sporter, featuring low recoil and modest report.


With regards,
357Mag

Yep

 

[savagedasher]

I don't own one but a 6 x 45 looks good on QL and all the 6 mm BR bullets . Larry

 

[MQ1]

I have a short action switch barrell 700 that runs the AI mags.

The 243AI barrel feeds the Ackely like butter....and I formed them from .243 Lapua brass. It shoots a 70 TNT about 3700fps and the accuracy is there. 26"HV Contour. Mine is a 12 twist and shoots 80 grain bullets exceedingly well too.

I also have a 6x47L chambered for the same rifle. It is a fast twist and shoots a 105 Amax faster than my straight .243 with slightly less powder. It feeds like butter too. 26"HV Contour...Never shot smaller pills...

If I had to have 1, I'd pick the .243AI. Fireform loads are great for groundhogs, and I noticed little accuracy difference from the formed brass. When it comes to smacking a hog, the Ackley is good to go...it was my perfect varmint rifle when I lived in Northwest Ohio. Another plus is I don't have to trim the Ackley brass hardly ever...prep it once and your brass maintenance is minimal.

FWIW,

MQ1

 

[weejohn]

3100 seems like it would be pretty high pressure in that small of a cartridge but i'll take your work for it. Still kicking around some ideas. Might be sticking with the 22-250 I have for awhile since I'm going to load up on suppressors before the law changes in July.

It may be pretty high pressure but I don't have any pressure signs in my rifle and brass is on 6th or 7th firing.
First barrel @ 26" was 3150fps using imr4350.
Second barrel @ 20" is 2980fps using imr4350 using the exact same load.
Using RL17 you will get even more speed using around 1gr less powder , but I couldn't get any so stuck with imr4350.

My first choice of calibre was some kind of 6mmbr but as it is a hunting gun I didn't want to run the risk of it not feeding correctly.

I have managed to get hold of some RS60 (RL17) so will report back on speed shortly.

 

[MQ1]

Here is some more information you may want.

I have a .22BR barrel for the same switch barrel M700 running the AI Mags. I have had no success in feeding the 22BR in the AI mags, and have little doubt that even if you are running longer bullets (like 105s) the 6BR would be marginal running in the AI mags.

The issue is the feed lips on the .308 sized AI mags are not close enough to the chamber to reliably feed the shorter OAL cartridges into the chamber.

Yes, I'd love to have the .22BR mag fed for varminting, but until I can find someone who will affordably make or modify an AI mag with longer feed lips, it is a waste of time. A single shot bobsled style mag insert is my compromise until someone makes a magazine that is a better fit.

Hope this Helps,

MQ1

 

[WyleWD]

I would suggest a 6xc in 10 twist or 9 twist. It will feed fine out of a box magazine, takes a short action, my experience is that they are as accurate as a 6br so no loss there either. 6xc brass is available from Norma and could be made from Norma if you wanted to put yourself through all that. Barrel life on the 6xc is quite good as well. JME. WD

 

[wvuredneck09]

information overload is setting in, thanks for all of the advice and data so far.

 

[maxscm]

information overload is setting in, thanks for all of the advice and data so far.

I vote for the 243 Ackley , 8 Twist, then you can shoot the 55 grs up to the 105 grs depending on your needs.

 

[PAshooter20BR]

6x47 Lapua with 87 V-Max.

 

[EWaugh]

Went through deer season here and a trip out West carrying a 6 Dasher with a modified KwikKlip magazine and experienced zero feeding problems. I am a big fan of detachable magazines for hunting rifles. I prefer a Dasher, however the 6BR is also a good choice. If you decide in favor of either of these, I can send you a picture of the modified detachable KwikKlip magazine.

I'd like to see the modification.

 

[Changeling]

Before you go 6mm Br. get with someone who'll line out how to make it feed and eject. a concern for a repeater. if you can get that done it'll be a great choice
Idahoorion

Recently a member "Timeout" has outlined the modifications necessary to get a bolt action to feed reliably with the BR/Dasher cartridges.

The action is a short action for sure. I'm thinking more and more after reading through all of the comments that a 6br, or one of its spawn is out. Based on the comments and feedback I've had so far I'm leaning towards the following calibers now (but still open to hear ideas):
22-250AI
6-6.5x47
7mm-08
One thing i do have going for me is i don't have to battle wind like those of you in the west/mid-west. I hardly ever see more than 10MPH and most days its closer to 2-3MPH.

Take a look at the 6XC it sounds like what you are looking for, feeds well, great velocity and accuracy. Lots of guys here shooting it.