6mm SLR

[JODOHL]

I can find every 6mm combination out here except one that really ( in my opinion) seems to be a winner. Very few people have tested these extensively. Why? What is wrong with this caliber? Is it the case reforming or what? Would love to hear some good explanations. Thank you.

Jeffrey D.

 

[clowdis]

I used it and I don't think it's that accurate or that fast. Just another solution looking for a problem. For match shooting I think there are better solutions out there.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Its been tested for sure. Some just never make the cut

 

[1shot]

I've been shooting it since Robert came out with it. What do you want to know?
Lloyd

 

[7mmmag]

I have one in a 15 '' barreled XP 100 that shoots Very well with 107 SMK . I am running RL 17 and Peterson brasss .

 

[Dgd6mm]

What do you consider very few? I've been shooting a 6mm Competition Match since '07. I would transition to an SLR if I wasn't already shooting 4 different 6mm cartridges. I don't know why it would be case forming, it's about as easy as pouring milk over cereal. I've searched the archives over the years and read a lot on here since Robert came out with the 6SLR. My opinion is there has been and still are quite a few shooters shooting it. If it came in a nutted pre fit many a 6mm shooter would be shooting it that much more. JMO.

Don Dunlap

 

[jkohler]

I’ve got a few chambered in 6mmslr. I personally like the round and everyone of them have shot great.

 

[Laurie]

It's a very nicely modernised 243 Win - a proper long neck and 30-degree shoulder. Simplicity to reform the brass too - just FL size and use. No fireforming, neck-turning, etc, etc.

Why doesn't everybody use it then? ...... or for that matter the Tubb 6XC with its identical top-end and only slightly less case capacity? I reckon that first and foremost it's still a 243 Win to most people, which is not the number one choice of precision shooters despite John Whidden's success with it (the base version) in Long-Range Hi-Power. Most (deerhunting) 243 users will never have even heard of the top-end improved variants (SLR and Comp-Match) and probably wouldn't give a fig even if they had.

........... and where is 6mm now among precision shooters? Where it is other than short-range BR, is in BR and PRS, and the Dasher and a few other 'in' variants of the 6mm BR Norma rule there. Those who are a lot better than me in getting tiny 600 yard groups off the bench opine that the Dasher is as large a case / charge as can be regarded as near optimal. Certainly there have been many attempts to show otherwise, but none has succeeded or lasted the course. When the 6.5X47mm appeared 14 or 15 years ago, there was a rush to try the necked down 6-6.5X47 wildcat in mid / long-range BR, and also some 'improved' versions to increase powder charges a bit more. How many users are there today? Not a lot I'd reckon in BR, anyway.

So that leaves the prone and tactical disciplines. Sixes were very popular in the early days of F-Class, but raw external ballistics has seen them left way behind on the roadside with today's debate about the relative merits of the sevens and 300 short magnums. PRS in a few short years has burned through 6.5s, the 6XC, 6 Creedmoor and from what I read at any rate has ended up with - yet again - the 6 Dasher.

Over here in the UK, our rapid-fire disciplines - McQueens, Civilian Service Rifle, Tactical and Practical Rifle - (all bolt-action as we're not trusted with semi-autos), see 6.5X47mm and 6.5 Creedmoor used mostly. Not many sixes.

So that leaves the SLR (or even the 243 Win basic) to eccentrics, actually I really mean individuals with refined and exquisite taste and appreciation, (aficionados to use a fancy pants word) like @Dgd6mm @jkohler @urbanrifleman and me.

 

[carlsbad]

I built one. It was very, very accurate. then I started getting carbon ring problems, realized that my neck was too tight for the unturned brass. The velocity was nice but not high enough to justify the short barrel life. I set it back when I went to 6xc. --jerry

 

[RussellJ]

I can find every 6mm combination out here except one that really ( in my opinion) seems to be a winner. Very few people have tested these extensively. Why? What is wrong with this caliber? Is it the case reforming or what? Would love to hear some good explanations. Thank you.

Jeffrey D.

Nice article in the March 2010 Precision Shooting Magazine on the 6mm SLR cartridge.

 

[dsbw]

It's a very nicely modernised 243 Win - a proper long neck and 30-degree shoulder. Simplicity to reform the brass too - just FL size and use. No fireforming, neck-turning, etc, etc.

Why doesn't everybody use it then? ...... or for that matter the Tubb 6XC with its identical top-end and only slightly less case capacity? I reckon that first and foremost it's still a 243 Win to most people, which is not the number one choice of precision shooters despite John Whidden's success with it (the base version) in Long-Range Hi-Power. Most (deerhunting) 243 users will never have even heard of the top-end improved variants (SLR and Comp-Match) and probably wouldn't give a fig even if they had.

........... and where is 6mm now among precision shooters? Where it is other than short-range BR, is in BR and PRS, and the Dasher and a few other 'in' variants of the 6mm BR Norma rule there. Those who are a lot better than me in getting tiny 600 yard groups off the bench opine that the Dasher is as large a case / charge as can be regarded as near optimal. Certainly there have been many attempts to show otherwise, but none has succeeded or lasted the course. When the 6.5X47mm appeared 14 or 15 years ago, there was a rush to try the necked down 6-6.5X47 wildcat in mid / long-range BR, and also some 'improved' versions to increase powder charges a bit more. How many users are there today? Not a lot I'd reckon in BR, anyway.

So that leaves the prone and tactical disciplines. Sixes were very popular in the early days of F-Class, but raw external ballistics has seen them left way behind on the roadside with today's debate about the relative merits of the sevens and 300 short magnums. PRS in a few short years has burned through 6.5s, the 6XC, 6 Creedmoor and from what I read at any rate has ended up with - yet again - the 6 Dasher.

Over here in the UK, our rapid-fire disciplines - McQueens, Civilian Service Rifle, Tactical and Practical Rifle - (all bolt-action as we're not trusted with semi-autos), see 6.5X47mm and 6.5 Creedmoor used mostly. Not many sixes.

So that leaves the SLR (or even the 243 Win basic) to eccentrics, actually I really mean individuals with refined and exquisite taste and appreciation, (aficionados to use a fancy pants word) like @Dgd6mm @jkohler @urbanrifleman and me.

As always, well written, informative, thank you Laurie!

 

[clowdis]

Another thing to add, if you don't want to turn necks you'll need to use Winchester brass. I bought Lapua and had to turn the necks on 500 pcs. of brass to get them to chamber. Other brass may be the same neck thickness as Winchester, I just don't know of any.

 

[HPMike800]

I shot one for long range. After one barrel I let it go, never scored very well with it. The 6.5 SLR is a good cartridge though.