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6BR - 6BRA - 6Dasher (and the rest of them) Hmmmmmmmmm

Charlie-NY

I've got a semi-custom heavy barrel rifle built off a Rem 40X action. It sits in a McMillan stock with 2" wide forearm and has a Jewell trigger. It shoots very well in its current configuration of 22-243.

However - I've been interested in rebarreling to one of the 6BR configurations for some time now. The rifle will be used for shooting paper at 600yds and under; and mostly at 400yds which is the longest distance at my current club. I may also shoot a few PA groundhogs when it's all set up. Here's what I was thinking:

Go 6BR - quality brass more available, enough juice for <600yds, best barrel life
Go 6BRA - better design, maintain long neck, more stable brass due to the 40deg shoulder
Go 6Dasher - more HP for the heavier bullets, appears to be the best choice for 600+ if I extend my current expectations

What do you guys think?
 
Any will work, but you already know that.

The dasher has an extra gear the other two do not have.
For shooting in tougher conditions, the extra fuel tank is nice.
You can buy high quality brass for each with no real need to fire-form.
I have all three, I have never shot the BRA, my dashers do all the heavy lifting in F-Class and 600 yard BR for me.
CW

7D5D6D60-8F46-4E08-8FDB-2FD3A7A739C4.jpeg9174BD31-7185-46D0-8E9F-B7A846B2C1B3.jpegD0D37756-DED6-4199-A9A2-584B7ABF2039.jpeg

Edited to add photos of my targets from the last 600 Yard F-Class match.
The Dasher is a solid performer with a bigger fuel tank.
CW
 
What powder do you have? I think BRA is a slight improvement over strait 6BR. If you have only varget class powders I'd suggest 6BRA. If you have only 4350 class powders get dasher. If you have enough of both dasher probably gives more flexibility than 6BRA as you could try both powder classes to see what the barrel likes. 6BRA's longer neck can allow more flexibility with seating depth. So if you want to run a 7.5 twist and throat for 115s you can still easily get 105s near the lands with plenty bearing surface left in the neck in 6BRA.

There are pros and cons to each, that being said you have to screw something up to not get either to shoot well.
 
darkangel_r2 said:
What powder do you have? I think BRA is a slight improvement over strait 6BR. If you have only varget class powders I'd suggest 6BRA. If you have only 4350 class powders get dasher. If you have enough of both dasher probably gives more flexibility than 6BRA as you could try both powder classes to see what the barrel likes. 6BRA's longer neck can allow more flexibility with seating depth. So if you want to run a 7.5 twist and throat for 115s you can still easily get 105s near the lands with plenty bearing surface left in the neck in 6BRA.

There are pros and cons to each, that being said you have to screw something up to not get either to shoot well.
Click to expand...

I don't have a large supply of any particular powder that works in a 6Br. I have single pounds of MANY powders for experimenting. I do have 4lbs of TS15.5 but I wouldn't select a chambering based on that. Been trying to grab a jug of Varget for some time. Got close several times but its like catching shadows, the same with H1000. The stuff appears and then disappears just as quickly.

I'm on the wait list for brass from Alpha. I could just go with whatever brass I can get. Under the current climate, I won't chamber a barrel without at least 250 pieces of bass.
 
Charlie-NY said:
I don't have a large supply of any particular powder that works in a 6Br. I have single pounds of MANY powders for experimenting. I do have 4lbs of TS15.5 but I wouldn't select a chambering based on that. Been trying to grab a jug of Varget for some time. Got close several times but its like catching shadows, the same with H1000. The stuff appears and then disappears just as quickly.

I'm on the wait list for brass from Alpha. I could just go with whatever brass I can get. Under the current climate, I won't chamber a barrel without at least 250 pieces of bass.
Click to expand...
I M O, access ability to components, as with all of us, is Your main issue right now. I’m not going to make any purchases directed toward
BR shooting until I see some real positive change toward sustainable component supply.

The 15.5 can work well for You, but 4 #’s doesn’t go very far. And what is Your bullet situation?

If You proceed with the build, My vote is for the 6BR, for 600yds or less. Good Luck:)
 
Stick to the BR. Either Lapua or Norma. One extra thing to consider....with the dearth and cost of components, the BR is easier to tune , should you have to change powder, projectiles or primers - so doesn't waste supplies. However..if you want to shoot longer distance later, you can always get the chamber reamed to one of the improved cartridges.
 
One thing to consider is how much brass you plan to make? If you are only going to make up 100 cases then fireforming is no big deal. If you want 500 cases then its something to consider. You will never wear out your brass, so in the long run if you stick with the one you decide on you wont be making up new brass anytime soon. I shot my dashers at 2975-3030 fps. Same place I shoot my BRAs. The throats move much faster in a dasher than a bra or br. Id do the BRA or BR. Personally Id rather fireform BRA one time than trim my cases regularly like you need to in a BR. I like to keep my reloading as easy and simple as possible.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'll probably start with an unmodified 6mmBR case and a fast twist bbl. Would you recommend an 8" twist or a 7.5" which seems to be gaining some favor? I expect to be shooting VLD type bullets that range from 103gr-108gr.
 
Charlie-NY said:
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'll probably start with an unmodified 6mmBR case and a fast twist bbl. Would you recommend an 8" twist or a 7.5" which seems to be gaining some favor? I expect to be shooting VLD type bullets that range from 103gr-108gr.
Click to expand...
Generally speaking, 8 is enough. ;)
That said and for the yardages you said you'd shoot most, you might even try 90-95gr bullets. The heavies do pay off at further distances but if most of your shooting is at 100-500, even the blunt little 90gr berger bt is a good bullet to try. They are super easy to tune and shoot faster without hammering brass. At those distances, I see enough value in them to forego the higher bc of the 105-105 class bullets. Pure accuracy trumps bc at those distances, IMO. As conditions get heavier and distances further, I'd hedge more and more toward the heavier bullets. I'd do an 8tw and try both bullet styles. A straight 6BR is straight up EASY! Add a easily tunable bullet, no fire forming and that you don't have to buy custom dies, and you've already got a winner. Nobody hits where they're aiming if they get caught in a switch. BC and speed are the least of your worries until ya get to at least 600, in most conditions.
 
Mulligan said:
Any will work, but you already know that.

The dasher has an extra gear the other two do not have.
For shooting in tougher conditions, the extra fuel tank is nice.
You can buy high quality brass for each with no real need to fire-form.
I have all three, I have never shot the BRA, my dashers do all the heavy lifting in F-Class and 600 yard BR for me.
CW

View attachment 1329859View attachment 1329860View attachment 1329861

Edited to add photos of my targets from the last 600 Yard F-Class match.
The Dasher is a solid performer with a bigger fuel tank.
CW
Click to expand...
Just curious how much FPS a dasher gets over straight BR ?
 
Just curious - If I chose to chamber in 6BRA; would I simply load 6BR cases with bullets loaded into the rifling for fireforming? Would it take more than one load to finalize fireforming?
 
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