6x45? Any one

[bobcat93]

I was just laying here thinking of all the LC 5.56 nato brass i have , 223 rem and bags of different brands
Looking at a world of different cartridge it seems impossible to make a decision what is the smartest financial decision i can make moving forward in 2025 in regards to my personal inventory and components on hand.
I have spent a winter in my basement in case prep jail after receiving a box of LC brass. Sorting and cleaning, sizing trimming primer pocet work..you know the drill..it was hell haha
Anyway i have a bunch of 223 rem brass and a bunch of 221 fireball brass is the majority of my hoard.
What should i do with it?
I shoot 6br, 6.5 creed 223rem, and the 3 fireball cartridges
Like a 6mm- 223rem or the 6x45 cartridge is that correct?
The 6x45 is just a 223 opened up to 6mm?
Any one craming a 85, 90,gr. 6mm bullet in a LC 556 case.
What can i expect for accuracy, velocity, barrel life.
Do i want the 6x45 or an Ackly Improved

Is it a logical decision.?
I would like to order a .20 practical, and some sort of 6mm - 5.56 nato combo
To make use of my brass before i leave this earth.
2000 rounds of good brass can keep a man busy for a life time..hunting, and target shooting.
My competition days are over and im just messing around now trying to save what money. i have
All this brass, what was i thinking..hahaha
i can step back and see my obsessive and compulsive disorder all over my reloading bench
Im not gonna spend money on new rifles any more if i can controll my self..i just like talking about buying stuff i dont need I i dont need too
I have the best rifles i could afford already
So its absolutely foolish not to just spend money on a few barrels and be done with it.

I think if i have a
20 practical
223 rem
6mm- 223 rem
Im pretty sure im ready to order these barrels
I do enjoy turning necks. Just for the peace of mind and confidence. everything's has been cleaned up a little just a quick clean up on the necks.
These will all be the same size barrels
Any suggestions..
I have enjoyed Pac-nor barrels the best over the years. So i may order from them but i dont think they mess around with tight neck chambers unless i send them a custom reamer im not buying 3 different reamers.
So what would you do..
I could use some dirctions on my next move to make..

 

[simo hayha]

6 and 6.5 tcu, both excellent rounds

 

[Lopili]

A 204Ruger reamer run in to 223Rem length ... 204Ruger dies cut short to match. A '20Practical' which uses up your 223 brass, and gives a tad more than the regular 20Practical in capacity.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Regular old 20 Practical or 20 Sploder would get my vote if you want to get something for kicks.

Heck man, it's hard to beat a 223 Ackley. No joke.

Unless a man had a stash of old 70 grain varmint or benchrest bullets he wanted to shoot up, I would skip the 6x45. No practical improvement at all over a 223.

 

[K9TXS]

I was at this same cross roads several months ago. I went with the 20 Practical. It's the Easy Button for sure.

 

[muleystalker]

6x45 AI and throat it for the 95gr SMK, there are lots of good bullets in the 80-95gr class for hunting and varmint. 8;1 twist and your good to go. You can shoot a little lighter out of it also.

 

[C.E.Smith043]

The only problem I have had is keeping brass segregated. The main reason I gave up on the 204 Ruger. It's a fantastic cartridge, but I was having to individually read the head stamp on every piece of brass to ensure I had the right one.

204 Ruger next to 223 brass is so hard for me to tell the difference without reading the head stamp.

I imagine the 6x45 is similar.

If your just doing 300-400 pieces it's not too bad to keep track of, but I have thousands and thousands of 5.56LC brass and somehow was finding a 204 Ruger amongst them. So frustrating.

 

[calib]

I too have been wondering about a 6x45 and or a 20 practical. I am in the early stages and have access to a lot of 223 brass to play with. Wil be watching to see what comes of this.

 

[spaniel]

I have a 6x45 and love it. The impact factor on prairie dogs with 75gr vmax is clearly a step above 223 with 50-60gr bullets. The diameter matters. Mine is a bolt, I'll probably built an AR upper at some point. Barrel life is extremely good, better than 223. IMHO it lacks the horsepower to push much past the 75gr bullets. If you want to shoot 80+ you're better off with a 6ARC.

I also have two 20 Practicals, a bolt and an AR. It's a wonderful round and ballistically out-performs everything on a prairie dog town until you pull out a 243 or, recently, a 22ARC.

Regarding brass and round segregation it is a real issue. I have 20P/223/6x45 and 22ARC/6ARC/6.5 Grendel. I use visibly different mag designs for the 223 parent cases so it is easy to know what I'm grabbing out of the ammo bag. For the Grendel class I put labels on the mags.

 

[calib]

I have a 6x45 and love it. The impact factor on prairie dogs with 75gr vmax is clearly a step above 223 with 50-60gr bullets. The diameter matters. Mine is a bolt, I'll probably built an AR upper at some point. Barrel life is extremely good, better than 223. IMHO it lacks the horsepower to push much past the 75gr bullets. If you want to shoot 80+ you're better off with a 6ARC.

I also have two 20 Practicals, a bolt and an AR. It's a wonderful round and ballistically out-performs everything on a prairie dog town until you pull out a 243 or, recently, a 22ARC.

Regarding brass and round segregation it is a real issue. I have 20P/223/6x45 and 22ARC/6ARC/6.5 Grendel. I use visibly different mag designs for the 223 parent cases so it is easy to know what I'm grabbing out of the ammo bag. For the Grendel class I put labels on the mags.

I would think a quick and easy way to mark the brass to segregate would be to take a fat tipped sharpie in different colors to the bases of the brass. Quick, easy, comes off, shouldn't cause any problems.

Have you ran the 20 and the 6 on coyotes at all, how was the knock down?

 

[squarefour]

Heck man, it's hard to beat a 223 Ackley. No joke.

Interestingly, the 80.5/8208 accuracy node in my 223AI is roughly the same velocity as that from my 6x45/95mk/ARComp load, and the windage numbers are pretty much the same as well (within 5%).

 

[urbanrifleman]

Interestingly, the 80.5/8208 accuracy node in my 223AI is roughly the same velocity as that from my 6x45/95mk/ARComp load, and the windage numbers are pretty much the same as well (within 5%).

What velocity are you shooting that 95? I can't imagine that 223 case being much above 2700 fps.

 

[Bc'z]

What velocity are you shooting that 95? I can't imagine that 223 case being much above 2700 fps.

I'm at 2930 with a 80gr Dominator
24" BHW, AR platform 2.33 OAL.
I've never shot anything heavier

 

[squarefour]

What velocity are you shooting that 95? I can't imagine that 223 case being much above 2700 fps.

-about 2650fps from my 20" AR barrel, so i am hopeful for about 2750 from my 26" bolt barrel (which i am still breaking in). That is about what the 223AI/80.5 was running. It was admittedly quite a mild load, but that's where the accuracy was.

 

[squarefour]

Full disclosure: I don't currently have a chrono, I use my Shotmarker downrange velocities and calculate muzzle V from that. My main point is that wind performance of the two is in the same ballpark.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Fireforming 20 Sploder. So, that would be a 20 Practical load.

 

[calib]

Fireforming 20 Sploder. So, that would be a 20 Practical load.

View attachment 1633204View attachment 1633205

What length barrel?
Whats your guess on a 40 grain?

 

[spaniel]

I would think a quick and easy way to mark the brass to segregate would be to take a fat tipped sharpie in different colors to the bases of the brass. Quick, easy, comes off, shouldn't cause any problems.

Have you ran the 20 and the 6 on coyotes at all, how was the knock down?

I have not. Recently got thermal but put it on a 6.5 Grendel.

The direct comparison I can make is on prairie dogs. At 400-500 yards, the 6x45 with 75gr gets more aerial action than any 22 caliber I've tried (including the ARC). The 20P is fun, highly accurate, and fights wind better than either other 223 case variant, but it does not create as much downrange action on hits.

 

[JSH]

Put together a 6TCU rifle a few years back. 55-80 grain bullets, BLC2, boringly accurate is all I can say.

 

[Pete21]

6x45 ai with 68gn barts. All 5 shot groups, just different seating depths. I believe mine is throated for the heavies, but it likes these best. I'm about .150 off the lands.