6MM ARC Ammo and loading components

[David Milisock]

Ok so mid last year I ordered an Aero Precision rifle and bought loading dies and supplies. I will not make brass so I bought 100 rounds of Hornady Black 6MM ARC as a factory base. I then back ordered another 200 loaded rounds.

All prices are + shipping. The ammo at that time, late last year was $105 for 100 rounds.

Now, brass (which is all back ordered) is $1 per case for a bag of 50, loaded Hornady Black ammo is $1.29 per round. I can't load a round for 29 cents.

I now have 300 rounds of factory ammo and tons of loading supplies so I'm good to go. The cost of brass is outrageous, it's not just the 6M ARC but all brass is up in some instances 300%.

 

[The boogalorian]

I’m sort of in the same boat, except that I am still waiting on a lower, hand Gaurd and barrel. I bought some of the black just to have something to shoot. I have Berger 109’s and varget when I am ready to reload. Still have a 4 month wait on the barrel.

 

[David Milisock]

I’m sort of in the same boat, except that I am still waiting on a lower, hand Gaurd and barrel. I bought some of the black just to have something to shoot. I have Berger 109’s and varget when I am ready to reload. Still have a 4 month wait on the barrel.

Who would have ever thought that brass would have gotten so expensive that buying factory ammo just to get brass would be a smart move.

I have plenty of target loading supplies but after making myself familiar with the rifle and cartridge I need to find a hunting projectile. I'm looking at the 103 grain Hornady ELDX.

 

[The boogalorian]

I am going try and get some 6.5 grendal lapua brass when it comes available and try to size it 6mm arc. It will be months before I get to that point. I think brass will be more available by then.

 

[David Milisock]

I am going try and get some 6.5 grendal lapua brass when it comes available and try to size it 6mm arc. It will be months before I get to that point. I think brass will be more available by then.

That was going to be my route also but the ammo became available, lucky me. Try luckygunner.com they may still have ammo.

 

[The boogalorian]

I have 400 rounds of black, so I am good to get started. Just hope it shoots ok.

 

[BOLTED]

I have found and purchased 250 once fired cases of 6mm ARC. Some I found here, and some from an online supplier. Fifty cases were fired from an individuals gun, and all fifty of those had a very pronounced bulged line around the web of the case, about a 1/4 up from the face of the head. The ring was easily felt when I ran my fingernail across it. I sent a pic of them to Hornady, and they said the brass was toast due to excessive headspace in the rifle.

The other 200 came from factory rifle test firing. All once fired, these are factory Hornady rounds fired for testing the function of rifles before they are sold. Out of the 200, 76 had the same telltale bulged line around the web of the case. Some only had the bulge halfway around the case, others had it all the way around. None of these were as bad as the first fifty cases, but I could still feel the bulged line with my fingernail. I have yet to split one open, but this seems to be quite a few cases that are showing the problem, and it makes me nervous to reload a case that may have a weak point. It's just not worth the risk to me. When I contacted the supplier, he said he doesn't have time to pay someone to sit around and check cases. "Just run them through a small base die and that ring will go away" he said. He seemed to be kinda pissy when I said that they could be a potentially dangerous to reload if they have a weak spot, and that I was just letting him know what I am seeing. He offered to send me replacement brass, but I declined, since I would most likely just get more brass that had this issue.

I have a 6mm ARC, its a CMMG Endeavor gas gun, factory new. I fired 5rounds of Hornady Black 6mm ARC ammo through it for a function test and brass check. All rounds fired, chambered and ejected as they should. There is a discolored halo up the web from the head that ends exactly where the ring began on the bad cases, but no bulging on my brass.

Is anyone else seeing this? Hornady insists its a rifle problem, and I would tend to agree. I also know that a new cartridge comes with teething problems that can be found in rifles, barrels, bolts and cases. I have given up on purchasing once fired brass, and I will only use the brass that I form myself or is factory ammo fired from my rifle. New brass still seems to be non existent at this time, and unless you can find a good deal on ammo, it's almost cheaper to shoot 50 cal.

Maybe I'm just a bad brass magnet for this caliber, but if you have seen anything like this I would like to know the story.

Cheers,

Dave

 

[EOD Rob]

Just stopped by the gun shop today! They had a mess of Hornady Black 6 ARC ammo. Thought hey, maybe I'll pick up a box or 2. $49.99 per 20! Nope, I'll wait!

 

[morpheus]

Starline has finally made 6.5 Grendel brass available for backorder again in case anyone wants to go that route. I have been checking on this for the last several months and this is the first time I've seen it available for backorder this year.

Starline #2310 - 6.5 Grendel Brass

I have not tried this approach myself, but I understand that it is a viable option so I'm going to give it a try.

 

[David Milisock]

Just stopped by the gun shop today! They had a mess of Hornady Black 6 ARC ammo. Thought hey, maybe I'll pick up a box or 2. $49.99 per 20! Nope, I'll wait!

Wow, I passed on the price Midway had, $39.00 for a box.

 

[457ciSBC]

I have found and purchased 250 once fired cases of 6mm ARC. Some I found here, and some from an online supplier. Fifty cases were fired from an individuals gun, and all fifty of those had a very pronounced bulged line around the web of the case, about a 1/4 up from the face of the head. The ring was easily felt when I ran my fingernail across it. I sent a pic of them to Hornady, and they said the brass was toast due to excessive headspace in the rifle.

The other 200 came from factory rifle test firing. All once fired, these are factory Hornady rounds fired for testing the function of rifles before they are sold. Out of the 200, 76 had the same telltale bulged line around the web of the case. Some only had the bulge halfway around the case, others had it all the way around. None of these were as bad as the first fifty cases, but I could still feel the bulged line with my fingernail. I have yet to split one open, but this seems to be quite a few cases that are showing the problem, and it makes me nervous to reload a case that may have a weak point. It's just not worth the risk to me. When I contacted the supplier, he said he doesn't have time to pay someone to sit around and check cases. "Just run them through a small base die and that ring will go away" he said. He seemed to be kinda pissy when I said that they could be a potentially dangerous to reload if they have a weak spot, and that I was just letting him know what I am seeing. He offered to send me replacement brass, but I declined, since I would most likely just get more brass that had this issue.

I have a 6mm ARC, its a CMMG Endeavor gas gun, factory new. I fired 5rounds of Hornady Black 6mm ARC ammo through it for a function test and brass check. All rounds fired, chambered and ejected as they should. There is a discolored halo up the web from the head that ends exactly where the ring began on the bad cases, but no bulging on my brass.

Is anyone else seeing this? Hornady insists its a rifle problem, and I would tend to agree. I also know that a new cartridge comes with teething problems that can be found in rifles, barrels, bolts and cases. I have given up on purchasing once fired brass, and I will only use the brass that I form myself or is factory ammo fired from my rifle. New brass still seems to be non existent at this time, and unless you can find a good deal on ammo, it's almost cheaper to shoot 50 cal.

Maybe I'm just a bad brass magnet for this caliber, but if you have seen anything like this I would like to know the story.

Cheers,

Dave

The devil is in the details; if a chamber cut for the .125 bolt is used with a .136 (type 2) bolt, you will have excessive headspace. I see very few barrels that specifically state for the type 2 bolt.The BA barrels that I purchased last Fall from Brownells, stated type 2 and thus I used the Aero type 2 65G/ARC BCG in my ARC build.

 

[ASbobcat]

I have found and purchased 250 once fired cases of 6mm ARC. Some I found here, and some from an online supplier. Fifty cases were fired from an individuals gun, and all fifty of those had a very pronounced bulged line around the web of the case, about a 1/4 up from the face of the head. The ring was easily felt when I ran my fingernail across it. I sent a pic of them to Hornady, and they said the brass was toast due to excessive headspace in the rifle.

The other 200 came from factory rifle test firing. All once fired, these are factory Hornady rounds fired for testing the function of rifles before they are sold. Out of the 200, 76 had the same telltale bulged line around the web of the case. Some only had the bulge halfway around the case, others had it all the way around. None of these were as bad as the first fifty cases, but I could still feel the bulged line with my fingernail. I have yet to split one open, but this seems to be quite a few cases that are showing the problem, and it makes me nervous to reload a case that may have a weak point. It's just not worth the risk to me. When I contacted the supplier, he said he doesn't have time to pay someone to sit around and check cases. "Just run them through a small base die and that ring will go away" he said. He seemed to be kinda pissy when I said that they could be a potentially dangerous to reload if they have a weak spot, and that I was just letting him know what I am seeing. He offered to send me replacement brass, but I declined, since I would most likely just get more brass that had this issue.

I have a 6mm ARC, its a CMMG Endeavor gas gun, factory new. I fired 5rounds of Hornady Black 6mm ARC ammo through it for a function test and brass check. All rounds fired, chambered and ejected as they should. There is a discolored halo up the web from the head that ends exactly where the ring began on the bad cases, but no bulging on my brass.

Is anyone else seeing this? Hornady insists its a rifle problem, and I would tend to agree. I also know that a new cartridge comes with teething problems that can be found in rifles, barrels, bolts and cases. I have given up on purchasing once fired brass, and I will only use the brass that I form myself or is factory ammo fired from my rifle. New brass still seems to be non existent at this time, and unless you can find a good deal on ammo, it's almost cheaper to shoot 50 cal.

Maybe I'm just a bad brass magnet for this caliber, but if you have seen anything like this I would like to know the story.

Cheers,

Dave

The "bulge" is actually a combination of three things.

Hornady brass is under-size at the rim and web by several thousandths (rims vary from .435-.438 and webs .437-.438). The small rims may also contribute to extraction issues.

Hornady brass is soft, don't count on too many re-loads if you're pushing the envelope.

AR chambers are oversize to facilitate feeding and extraction.

I picked up 50pcs of once fired at the range and all also had the significant bulge. Bound to end with premature case separation at the web after repeated resizing cycles.

 

[ASbobcat]

I am going try and get some 6.5 grendal lapua brass when it comes available and try to size it 6mm arc. It will be months before I get to that point. I think brass will be more available by then.

Back ordered Lapua Grendel brass from Creedmoor Sports and didn't have to wait long. Lapua costs only a little more than Hornady and lasts a LOT longer. A better bargain in the long run and MUCH more accurate/consistent dimensions (Hornady is WAY under-size at web and rim).
You only have to push the shoulder back .010in because Lapua Grendel shoulders are .020in short out of the box. Picked up a Redding 6PPC body die ($31) from them along with the brass and it works GREAT. Set this die .040 off the shell holder and you end up with a neck OD of .273, ready for final sizing in an ARC F/L or bushing die after annealing. At the moment, Wilson makes the only ARC bushing die. Proper bushing is Redding TiN .269 or Redding/Wilson. steel .268. These will give you .003in tension with loaded OD .271.
And if you don't want to wear out your elbow turning necks, buy a small cutoff saw from Harbor Freight. I used one of these for 300BLK and it worked perfectly, and a bargain at less than $40. Thin blade is very accurate and durable.

 

[cem]

Unfired 6.5 Grendel brass works just fine for 6mm ARC for what I have from Hornady to go with Hornady factory 6mm Arc ammunition. Reforming takes work in my experience. My unfired cases the necks are way too thick on sizing down in the 6mm ARC loading dies and must repeat must be neck turned. With a different sizing down setup others may not have the same issues. For the present I'll settle for neck turning with tools I have rather than spend money for more and different sizing down tooling. I notice neck turning tools are if not as hard to get as primers still not universally available. This may be an issue.

In other cartridges I've had cases separate from excessive headspace and I do look for a bright ring combined with gaging fired cases usually Wilson gages but also Redding Instant Indicators and other brands and looking inside the fired case with a bore scope as well as feeling with a wire for the inside groove. If in doubt section the case is my own rule and I have a few such cut away cases with surprisingly big internal grooves lying around to show people. The 6mm ARC was chosen as perhaps the best MSR cartridge to play with and I wish I had a set of headspace gages like the match gages by thousandths in .223/5.56 but I don't have gages at all for a home assembled rifle so I am trusting bolt and barrel without really verifying.

 

[David Milisock]

The devil is in the details; if a chamber cut for the .125 bolt is used with a .136 (type 2) bolt, you will have excessive headspace. I see very few barrels that specifically state for the type 2 bolt.The BA barrels that I purchased last Fall from Brownells, stated type 2 and thus I used the Aero type 2 65G/ARC BCG in my ARC build.

Your post is why I bought a complete Aero upper. Too many details for a one time build

 

[BOLTED]

Unfired 6.5 Grendel brass works just fine for 6mm ARC for what I have from Hornady to go with Hornady factory 6mm Arc ammunition. Reforming takes work in my experience. My unfired cases the necks are way too thick on sizing down in the 6mm ARC loading dies and must repeat must be neck turned. With a different sizing down setup others may not have the same issues. For the present I'll settle for neck turning with tools I have rather than spend money for more and different sizing down tooling. I notice neck turning tools are if not as hard to get as primers still not universally available. This may be an issue.

In other cartridges I've had cases separate from excessive headspace and I do look for a bright ring combined with gaging fired cases usually Wilson gages but also Redding Instant Indicators and other brands and looking inside the fired case with a bore scope as well as feeling with a wire for the inside groove. If in doubt section the case is my own rule and I have a few such cut away cases with surprisingly big internal grooves lying around to show people. The 6mm ARC was chosen as perhaps the best MSR cartridge to play with and I wish I had a set of headspace gages like the match gages by thousandths in .223/5.56 but I don't have gages at all for a home assembled rifle so I am trusting bolt and barrel without really verifying.

This is an interesting read on the Grendel bolt type.

6.5 Grendel Type 2 Bolt Vs. Type 1: Which Is Better? - Adventure Footstep

Are you disquiet which is better but you don’t have a full understanding about 6.5 Grendel Type 2 Bolt Vs. Type 1? Read on to this article to find out your answer!

adventurefootstep.com

 

[Rustytigwire]

This is an interesting read on the Grendel bolt type.

6.5 Grendel Type 2 Bolt Vs. Type 1: Which Is Better? - Adventure Footstep

Are you disquiet which is better but you don’t have a full understanding about 6.5 Grendel Type 2 Bolt Vs. Type 1? Read on to this article to find out your answer!

adventurefootstep.com

Thanks for presenting this valuable info!
I had no idea!!

 

[ASbobcat]

Lapua 6.5Grendel brass is available now at Creedmoor Sports for $107/100. This will last forever at 52KPSI (it's designed for 62KPSI, checkout Hornady's bolt gun load data). Best bargain anywhere considering total life cycle cost.

Wilson 6mmARC FL bushing die comes with small decapping pin, so it's GTG for Lapua Grendel brass.

 

[457ciSBC]

Thanks for presenting this valuable info!
I had no idea!!

Only if it was correct……

 

[ASbobcat]

Only if it was correct……

Well then perhaps you could enlighten us all by presenting facts.