6 BR vs 6 BRA

[SteveOak]

6 BR or 6 BRA?

Let’s say you request Alex to build you two rifles. Both are to be 6mm and compliant to NBRSA and IBS Light Varmint rules.

They are to be as identical as possible. Alex is to choose the action, stock, scope, trigger, barrel, bedding, and any other part of the hardware or any technique he thinks to be the best for the application and to use all of his powers and skills to make both rifles equally perfect and perfectly equal, which he does.

One will be 6 BR, the other 6 BRA. Alex is free to make whatever minor adjustments necessary to accommodate and/or optimize the rifles for the different cartridges and may engineer the rifle to best exploit the inherent characteristics of the cartridge such as barrel groove and land dimensions and type, twist, and may design for design for and use any bullet that can actually be obtained and is able to use any commercially available powder and primers.

On an impossibly perfect day regarding conditions, whatever that may be, and permitted unlimited testing to select components and tune the respective loads, with the best benchrest shooter on earth on the trigger, at 300 yards, which would be more accurate?

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Too close to call IMHO. The better barrel, bullets and tune will dictate the winner. Me personally, I'd go straight 6BR, especially for 300 yards. At the very least, readily available quality dies and no fire forming. It's really hard to beat a straight 6BR, especially at 300. I like a 6 BR-DX if fireforming is a viability. Longer neck(not a biggie but the longer neck of a br is nice) than a Dasher and enough improvement over a straight BR to make it worthwhile to fire form. But that's just my opinion and this thread is bound to get a lot more than just mine. Nothing wrong with a BRA and they've done very well to date, too. Not many DX's to compare.

 

[SHall]

If you want a LV which is 10.5 pounds and your max distance is 300 yards, I would be looking at a 6PPC, 13.5 twist with 66-68g bullets.

 

[marchx]

I shoot a lot at 300m with 6BR. It is a very accurate round. It is however not enough to win. In moderate or strong wind conditions I am loosing to 7mm. If you want to win shooting 6mm, go GT or dasher.

 

[ARW]

If it was me and since Alex has well over 50% of the decision making, I'd definitely ask his opinion.

 

[NC/Br Shooter]

One thing I learned shooting Bra was the fact that just because I got a barrel chambered in 6bra, didn't necessarily mean that my best tune would be higher node above what a straight Br chamber would produce.

 

[Jefferson]

6 BR for 600 yards and closer

6BRA for 1000 yards and I don’t care for the 6BRA, some barrels don’t work with that cartridfe
what I am saying is not all barrels work with that combination and a 6BR is very forgiving at almost any node

 

[SteveOak]

If it was me and since Alex has well over 50% of the decision making, I'd definitely ask his opinion.

I am hoping he will weigh in.

One thing I learned shooting Bra was the fact that just because I got a barrel chambered in 6bra, didn't necessarily mean that my best tune would be higher node above what a straight Br chamber would produce.

This is the kind of information I was hoping for.

 

[Fire Dog]

6 BR for 600 yards and closer

6BRA for 1000 yards and I don’t care for the 6BRA, some barrels don’t work with that cartridfe
what I am saying is not all barrels work with that combination and a 6BR is very forgiving at almost any node

That is so true, I had my old tired fire checked 3,500-4,000 rd 6BR barrel replaced and chambered for 6BRA and never could get it to shoot as good as the old barrel at about 3,000 rds...
Major disappointment +$$$ though I still have the reamer and have loaned it out to someone else at the club and his 6BRA {with my chamber reamer} shoot extremely well and once over 600 has a bit more wind advantage then my 6BR in the same conditions... Just over 3,000 fps vs my 2,840 fps, his driving a 105 Hybrid and me using a 103 Copperhead.
He keeps asking when I am going to use the reamer again and chamber for the Ackley and perhaps when the current 6BR Benchmark goes South I will step up to the challenge once again...
Sold off the other rifle along with dies and 100 cases so I will be having to start over again though I did keep my custom Whidden sizing die and I have some more Peterson cases set aside that I can fire form.
He has shot some of the 103's that I use and cannot get them to perform like I can so there is definitely some variance factors that come in and barrels can certainly be one of them...

 

[6BRA]

Same case length, same long brontosaurus neck. More powder/slower powder(H4350) If you chose. Do I buy the 4 cylinder or the LS, just in case?
Why wouldn't a PPC be as effective at 2700 fps vs 3400 fps? I'm not arguing you can't shoot good at lesser speeds. Just asking why the PPCs are run ? Light bullets/wind? Reference tack driver results. As stated a 6br high node would be a walk in the park for a BRA. Can't argue the success of the 6br...it lives in the back of my mind. Lol Haunts me..lol causes bad dreams at times!
Steve, am I seeing 2 new Wheeler builds coming to the range soon?

 

[SteveOak]

Just asking why the PPCs are run ?

This is actually the core of the question. At 100 and 200 the 6 PPC seems to be more accurate although according to Jim Steckl, if Remington had made BR cases, the PPC would not have become prevalent. So is the dominance of the PPC due to an inherent advantage over the BR? Or is it a case of so many people shooting it that more information has been generated, resulting in a better understanding of that cartridge yielding techniques? The PPC it is a smaller case, both in diameter and capacity (20% less that the BR). How, if at all, does the case capacity and/or shoulder of the BRA affect the inherent accuracy of the cartridge vs the BR?

Steve, am I seeing 2 new Wheeler builds coming to the range soon?

I am going to shoot what I have this year. It is plenty good enough for me to learn the basics of the VBR game. I do like collecting information though.

And his LBR stock is very interesting.

 

[Jefferson]

This is actually the core of the question. At 100 and 200 the 6 PPC seems to be more accurate although according to Jim Steckl, if Remington had made BR cases, the PPC would not have become prevalent. So is the dominance of the PPC due to an inherent advantage over the BR? Or is it a case of so many people shooting it that more information has been generated, resulting in a better understanding of that cartridge yielding techniques? The PPC it is a smaller case, both in diameter and capacity (20% less that the BR). How, if at all, does the case capacity and/or shoulder of the BRA affect the inherent accuracy of the cartridge vs the BR?

I am going to shoot what I have this year. It is plenty good enough for me to learn the basics of the VBR game. I do like collecting information though.

And his LBR stock is very interesting.

‘comparing a good or great barrelled PPC V BR THE

PPC will always do just a little better as long as the winds are not howling

the aggregate will awakes be just a little better and that is why it is being used, not much but enough to make a difference on the podium

100 and 200 is owned by the PPC

so close but no cigar. for the BR. at close range

 

[Fuj]

Just ask Alek what he's taking to the Tack Driver......Or just go over
the stats of that shoot for the past 4 years at 330 meter's.

 

[Jefferson]

Just ask Alek what he's taking to the Tack Driver......Or just go over
the stats of that shoot for the past 4 years at 330 meter's.

Alex likes the bra for various reasons and has lots of data to back it up

but folks shy away from the pitfalls of the bra, different dies that did not work,

MOST not all of the average shooters in the USA and Canada would be better off choosing the 6br

UNLESS you bought a turnkey operation from a pretty good gunsmith or business

in the last 40 years the 6br has been EASY TO TUNE easy to find good bullets powder and barrels

does the bra work yes BUT NOT FOR EVERYBODY and mostly at the longer distances

the bra has more powder capacity,which I,like and some other features BUT

for NON - 1000 yard folks the 6br out to 600 is really good and much easier to use (theoretically no difference in user friendly but in reality it is not the same)

and most guys on this forum and elsewhere don’t know how to properly tune at 1000 yards

IF YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO TUNE AND KEEP IT IN TUNE THEN USE A 6BR

also my beef with the 6bra is not much for GREAT windflags out to 1000 so a lot of info is ANECDOTAL

now
go ahead ALEX sing the virtues of the BRA, and I will agree with Alex SUBJECT to the limitations I have attempted to outline above

agsin just to be clear, MOST SHOOTERS PROBABLY 1/2 or 51% cannot tune worth shit and would be better off served by sticking with the plain old vanilla 6br

ok ALEX take it away

 

[JFrank]

I’ve grown accustomed to the BRA, it’s very rewarding cartridge that for myself is a bit different to tune then just 30 gr of Varget under a 105 class bthp in a straight six, the low node of a BRA shoots very well as does the higher node. I doubt I’ll go back to a straight six.

 

[Fire Dog]

‘comparing a good or great barrelled PPC V BR THE

PPC will always do just a little better as long as the winds are not howling

the aggregate will awakes be just a little better and that is why it is being used, not much but enough to make a difference on the podium

100 and 200 is owned by the PPC

so close but no cigar. for the BR. at close range

100 & 200 on usually sheltered ranges just have the 6PPC being just about the only cartridge at the match.
6BR starts hammering them once it gets to 300 and at 600 they are just "also ran"... due to all the PPC shooters that I know or have seen use projectiles much lighter than the 6BR and wind starts to play a big roll in getting the lighter bullet to go where you aimed them...