I'm a long time reader 1st time post. I've learned alot from you folks in the forums, so much so I am finally having Rem 700 .243 re barreled to a 6BR by Jim Hart after years of shooting factory guns. I have an old Ruger M-77,tang saftey),22/250 I've had over 30 years that is my winter walking gun for fox and coyotes. I want to re barrel this gun also but it has a short magazine box that wouldn't allow me to seat my bullets out to the lands if I want to use it other than a single shot. Seeing as I have a 6BR coming I wanted to play around with another caliber and was thinking of a 22BR. My question is, can I use my 6BR dies,Redding competition) with an appropriate neck bushing or do I need to buy a completely new set for the 22BR? Also if I do go with the 22BR, what twist would you recommend for 50-55gr bullets at 100-300 yards. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with a newbie such as myself,Marty.
6BR vs. 22BR
- Thread starter marty55
- Start date
Preacher
Gold $$ Contributor
Marty,
Your going to have to much fun with that one, and you can use your 6br stuff with out the 6mm bushings, I'm using a Harrells FL die for one of my 6br's to do my 22br cases and I just popped a .250 bushing in place of the 6mm and got to shooting....
I have 3 different Harrels 6BR dies and one fits the 22br perfect...
Mine's a 16 twist I ordered specially for only shooting 40 grain BT's and some of the coveted 40's from my friend Gerry, and they will shoot. It teases me with 5 shot groups in the 2's, but has never gone over the mid 4's with AA-2015, I tried AA-2460 but it's a bit slow for the 40's it seems. Velocity is higher but the accuracy isn't....
For 50-55 grain bullets I would choose a 14 twist barrel......
Good luck with your project......
Your going to have to much fun with that one, and you can use your 6br stuff with out the 6mm bushings, I'm using a Harrells FL die for one of my 6br's to do my 22br cases and I just popped a .250 bushing in place of the 6mm and got to shooting....
I have 3 different Harrels 6BR dies and one fits the 22br perfect...
Mine's a 16 twist I ordered specially for only shooting 40 grain BT's and some of the coveted 40's from my friend Gerry, and they will shoot. It teases me with 5 shot groups in the 2's, but has never gone over the mid 4's with AA-2015, I tried AA-2460 but it's a bit slow for the 40's it seems. Velocity is higher but the accuracy isn't....
For 50-55 grain bullets I would choose a 14 twist barrel......
Good luck with your project......
Two of my 6BRs' have .265" necks requiring outside neck turning: not my favorite pastime. Another has a .272" no-turn neck, PTG reamer, I bought). I cannot find any significant difference in group size, case life, etc. Doubt I'd ever have another chamber cut requiring neck turned brass. 22BR is a .251" neck, requiring turning, 1-12 Shilen, 52 & 53 gr. match bullet wts. are "winners". I never use a neck expander with any of my neck bushing dies, goes against the idea of using a neck bushing die in the first place, also less chance of pulling the case neck out of alignment. Just my opinion: what works for me.
Preacher
Gold $$ Contributor
Marty,
My reamer is a .254 neck but I still needed to turn my brass down to .013 so the bullets would go back into the fired cases with out using a big hammer.
Now they are a air tight fit, and make a nice pop sound when the bullet is pulled back out.
This particular lot of brass has been .014 out of the box when run into a 22br Redding die...
I did a chamber for a friend in California and he didn't have a problem with needing to turn the necks.
My reamer is a .254 neck but I still needed to turn my brass down to .013 so the bullets would go back into the fired cases with out using a big hammer.
Now they are a air tight fit, and make a nice pop sound when the bullet is pulled back out.
This particular lot of brass has been .014 out of the box when run into a 22br Redding die...
I did a chamber for a friend in California and he didn't have a problem with needing to turn the necks.
Ackman
Gold $$ Contributor
Your Redding Comp die should work fine with either one, just change the bushing. One 22BR has a .243" neck and shoots ferociously well, but I wouldn't go tight neck again. It was built in the 80's and at that time there was no Lapua or even 6BR brass....everything had to be made from Rem. 7BR and neckturned anyway. My reamer has a .253" nk and the second gun works perfectly with this lot of brass at .2515"loaded. Both are 14 twist and work fine with 50's and 55's.
The 22BR is a great cartridge and just ridiculously easy to make it shoot really well. One thing though..... before deciding for sure on a 22BR, shoot the 6BR and see what it does with lighter bullets. The 6 shoots 55's and 58's faster than a 22-250 shoots 55's, and close to as fast as the 22BR shoots 50's. You might decide to go the other way and make something with a larger case.
The 22BR is a great cartridge and just ridiculously easy to make it shoot really well. One thing though..... before deciding for sure on a 22BR, shoot the 6BR and see what it does with lighter bullets. The 6 shoots 55's and 58's faster than a 22-250 shoots 55's, and close to as fast as the 22BR shoots 50's. You might decide to go the other way and make something with a larger case.
NorCalMikie
Gold $$ Contributor
I'am Preachers "friend" in California and the reamer he used is perfect. :thumb:
I measured a loaded 22 BR round and they came out at .251 to .2515 so I figured the .254 neck reamer would do the trick. As far as a "no turn" neck I couldn't be more pleased.
Got a Forster Bushing Bump Die for my 6BR no turn neck chamber.
Ordered bushings in .248, .249 and .250 to do the 22 BR. The bullets slide in smooth as silk.
I would rather spend more time pulling the trigger than turning necks.
I measured a loaded 22 BR round and they came out at .251 to .2515 so I figured the .254 neck reamer would do the trick. As far as a "no turn" neck I couldn't be more pleased.
Got a Forster Bushing Bump Die for my 6BR no turn neck chamber.
Ordered bushings in .248, .249 and .250 to do the 22 BR. The bullets slide in smooth as silk.
I would rather spend more time pulling the trigger than turning necks.
NorCalMikie
Gold $$ Contributor
I've got 3 8 twist barrels. One Shilen in 6 BR, one Pac Nor in 6 BR and a Douglas in 22 BR. I've never tried any other twist for the BRs but some of the other folks might have more input.
The 8 twist will allow you to shoot "anything" from 40s to 100+ bullets. I prefer the lighter bullets up to around 80 grain.
The 40s and 50s make bug holes at close to 4000 FPS. 3800 FPS seems to be about best.
And if someone recommends a 12 or 14 twist, get one of each.
The 8 twist will allow you to shoot "anything" from 40s to 100+ bullets. I prefer the lighter bullets up to around 80 grain.
The 40s and 50s make bug holes at close to 4000 FPS. 3800 FPS seems to be about best.
And if someone recommends a 12 or 14 twist, get one of each.
I can't thank you guys enough for all the great info. I guess I'll stay with a .254 neck. I would have liked to go with a larger case but again I'm limited with a short magazine on this Ruger. Next year I'll be looking to do a build from scratch and go with something bigger. The 6BR I have on the way is a .272 neck and a 12" twist, I wanted to stay in the 70-80gr range for bullets.I hope to have it by this weekend. Thanks again.
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