.243 vs. 6mm Remington 700 rebuild

[Badbob]

Hey folks

I've posted in another thread about a Rem 700 SA that I acquired that went through a fire. Action checks out fine, barrel was toast. Original chamber was .243.

I own a .270 ADL so I'm looking for a gun to used for long range Antelope (400yards) (my state requires at least .243 for antelope, min 70grain bullet), PDogs, and a fun range gun that can hold its own.

My choices seem to be narrowing to:

1) Save $$ and find a new factory .243 varmit barrel and have it installed. Minimum gunsmithing since the headspace should be fine. New stock, trigger, scope and rings. Pop has lots of brass, bullets and dies since he previous owned a .243

2) Put a custom 6mmbr barrel on the action. New stock, trigger, scope and rings.

My thoughts are that a factory .243 barrel is only going to yield factory accuracy and results which I already have with my .270 (I can use 110g spitzers for antelope, etc.) I wouldn't expect the .243 to shoot better than 1" at 100 yards. So why waste the money?

Any thoughts would be helpful. Money is tight but I could find the $$ to do a build.

Thanks,

Badbob

 

[fredhorace77]

if they( your state) require a cart. length the 6br will pobably not fit the bill...so ur opitions are going to be 243 or larger

 

[JeffG]

6mm Remington (not 6mmBR) will out perform the 243 if you reload.

Check your magazine length as it will be the limiting factor for heavy bullets in the 6mm Rem. Custom barrel is the way to go if you can afford it.

The only reasons to go with the 243 would be to save money with a factory barrel, and have plenty of factory ammo choices.

 

[bheadboy]

i have had 2 6mm's and they were in the .5-.6 area with factory bbls, and reloads.
you can buy a takeoff rem stock on gunbroker for a song, bed and in business.

the 100 sierra sbt's are a good game bullet and you can get 2950-3000 out of a 24" bbl. slightly faster than the 243 in a simular bbl.

the thing about the 6mm is at a point you can go AI and enter a whole new world if you wish with 3200fps within reason and verry accurate.

Bob

 

[STS]

The BR case is VERY difficult to get to feed properly out of a 700 magazine. I have a .22 BR that will feed OK some of the time, but not reliably enough to use as you are intending. I am going to rechamber the barrel to .22x47 Lapua which will feed out of that action. I would have a custom 6mm Remington barrel put on it if I were you.

 

[Badbob]

if they( your state) require a cart. length the 6br will pobably not fit the bill...so ur opitions are going to be 243 or larger

No length requirement here. Just .243 or larger, 70 grain or larger

Thx, Badbob

 

[Badbob]

i have had 2 6mm's and they were in the .5-.6 area with factory bbls, and reloads.
you can buy a takeoff rem stock on gunbroker for a song, bed and in business.

the 100 sierra sbt's are a good game bullet and you can get 2950-3000 out of a 24" bbl. slightly faster than the 243 in a simular bbl.

the thing about the 6mm is at a point you can go AI and enter a whole new world if you wish with 3200fps within reason and verry accurate.

Bob

you factory guns were 6mm remington? Am I correct that you cannot get a factory gun or barrel any longer in this category so it would be a custom build?

Thx Bb

 

[Badbob]

The BR case is VERY difficult to get to feed properly out of a 700 magazine. I have a .22 BR that will feed OK some of the time, but not reliably enough to use as you are intending. I am going to rechamber the barrel to .22x47 Lapua which will feed out of that action. I would have a custom 6mm Remington barrel put on it if I were you.

Good point . . . I didn't think about the feed issue. I don't like to hunt with one the chamber especially since my boys will do most of the shooting.

But still I want confidence with this gun out to 400 yards (about the distance the Pronghorn are always standing0.

Bb

 

[STS]

The BR case is VERY difficult to get to feed properly out of a 700 magazine. I have a .22 BR that will feed OK some of the time, but not reliably enough to use as you are intending. I am going to rechamber the barrel to .22x47 Lapua which will feed out of that action. I would have a custom 6mm Remington barrel put on it if I were you.

Good point . . . I didn't think about the feed issue. I don't like to hunt with one the chamber especially since my boys will do most of the shooting.

But still I want confidence with this gun out to 400 yards (about the distance the Pronghorn are always standing0.

Bb

400 yards is a chip shot for a good 6mm Remington.

 

[jonbearman]

Why not try this! Go to northland shooter supply and talk to Jin Briggs about a remage conversion.He has the barrel you will need and the savage type nut to tighten the barrel.You can do it at home and then rout out the stock alittle for the nut clearance.1-419-695-3179.The conversion works nice and accurate and you will end up with a much better barrel.

 

[bheadboy]

Badbob, these were rifles from years ago, and you may not be able to get a factory bbl today, my point is the 6mm is a very accurat round with proper reloads, you can take a243 bbl and chamber it to 6mm, if you want a factory bbl., however i would go with a custom bbl, and if money is a factor look at Douglas.

Bob

 

[Hombre0321]

Why not try this! Go to northland shooter supply and talk to Jin Briggs about a remage conversion.He has the barrel you will need and the savage type nut to tighten the barrel.You can do it at home and then rout out the stock alittle for the nut clearance.1-419-695-3179.The conversion works nice and accurate and you will end up with a much better barrel.

Jon, Why would he want to do this? What is the advantage you see with this conversion?

Roland

 

[CatShooter]

Jon, Why would he want to do this? What is the advantage you see with this conversion?

Roland

You turn a good looking rifle into an ugly rifle...

 

[Badbob]

Folks, a quick update on the .270 project. I did build a 6mmBR for goats and Pdogs and love it. I recently worked up new loads for my factory .270 R700 with floating mountain barrel. I'm running berger 140 gr VLD hunting bullets pushed by 58grs of 4831sc. Things looking promising. .638" 3 shot at 100. I put two fowlers right on top of each other. I'm about .020" off the lands. So my rifle really likes the 140s better than the 130s.

 

[mongo chicago]

I am a bit confused. You compare a factory 243 to a custom 6mm. First decide on a cartridge, then a bbl. IMHO -- go with a quality aftermarket barrel instead of factory. They are generally much better.

 

[hoz53]

Folks, a quick update on the .270 project. I did build a 6mmBR for goats and Pdogs and love it. I recently worked up new loads for my factory .270 R700 with floating mountain barrel. I'm running berger 140 gr VLD hunting bullets pushed by 58grs of 4831sc. Things looking promising. .638" 3 shot at 100. I put two fowlers right on top of each other. I'm about .020" off the lands. So my rifle really likes the 140s better than the 130s.

shall we expect your next update in 2021?

 

[mikeinct]

Bad bob if money is tight & you still want to re-build the salvaged from fire rem 700 action...I'd scrounge up a used factory stock or a Boyd's laminate pre fitted...Look for a deal on a Timney trigger w/ safety & bolt release for hunting..After that I'd order a 243Win C brand barrel about $340.00 plus shipping & the Remage nut...Pretty similar to the Savage system..one diff is the Barrel Vise & action wrench you need to do the swap...After that you are in Business..Want a 6mm AI order that barrel...See a deal here on a slightly used maybe a 260Rem or 22-250 Whatever caliber with the Remington threads ...You can do the job yourself...I'm Very satisfied with the replacement barrels from Northland Shooters Supply..James over there is a good guy to deal with...Learning to do your own barrel swaps for hunting rifles is a good thing to know..Enjoy your project..Mike in Ct...

 

[Shynloco]

Badbob,
I believe your answer lies in the overall purpose of shooting the rifle in the first place. If it's for hunting, leave it chambered in the .243 caliber but with a new barrel. If it's for Benchrest style shooting, then the 6mm is better, but it'll cost you considerably more to include all the other changes you mentioned. But you sure as hell don't want to have to carry around a heavy rifle when hunting. As you say, why spend the money if you don't need to. A dead animal could care less if your rifle shoots groups the size of a dime or shoots groups the size of a small coffee can. A well placed shot is all that really matters in hunting anyway. Besides you can tune a .243 having a good barrel to shoot groups quarter size or less without much effort or expense.

Alex

 

[carlsbad]

I opened this thread because I thought you were considering 6mm Rem. I have an awesome old r700 in 6mm Rem in the safe and I am fond of it.

After reading the thread, 6BR isn't a hunting cartridge. Hard to get to feed well. Not enough muzzle energy. It pokes holes in paper at 600 yards real well but wouldn't take down a deer at 600 without a perfect shot. 6rem is a bit esoteric for a hunter. Not much ammo available. It gets you a few more fps but you don't seem to be concerned about that. It might be my choice for a deer rifle but probably not for you.

243 win is an underappreciated cartridge. Many a match has been won with it. A rebarrel with 243 by bartlein, krieger or brux will make you a rifle that shoots bugholes, lots of ammo choices, and you can reload to get long range accuracy.

If you don't plan to reload,6mm Creedmoor is marketed as a round with target quality ammo available off the shelf. Might be a good choice.

--Jerry