6MM BR starting point

[Gary C]

OK,
I just ordered a Savage LRPV in 6MM Norma BR.
I ordered Lapua brass and now need suggestions as to the best bullets to start
with.
The factory barrel is an eight twist.
Next comes dies. Lots of ways to go here. should I get a set of LE Wilson dies
and an arbor press?
Just go with Forster or widden with micrometer seating? Bushing or arbor neck tension?
My very limited experience loading for my 7-08 deer rifle is with RCBS press and dies
using full legnth resizing.
So, I have a lot to learn and am thankful for any advise.
My head is full of the methods used by the best here but i'm not going to be competing
so I don't need to go whole hog but want produce good ammo.
I am starting with a factory Savage to shoot with other guys at our club at the
Monday morning geezer bench rest league.
I intend to put a decent scope on the rifle and have fun with the guys.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Rook 6]

Check out the favorite 6mm BR loads elsewhere on this forum. Ignoring any powder constraints, 30.0 gr of Varget and a 105 gr match bullet is a good place to start. But there’s many other good choices. One of the easiest cartridges to tune for sure!

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

This article explains everything very clearly. The rest is up to you.

You are being redirected...

 

[marchx]

I am, just a rookie in the reloading department and thus can only share my experience with you. I have also 1:8 twist. I think you need a regular one stage press and an arbor press. I have a set of Forster Benchrest dies. I use the Forster FL die for FL sizing and LE Wilson for seating. I shoot 105 gr BTs and 105gr Hybrids. Both work great.

 

[Dave M.]

OK,
I just ordered a Savage LRPV in 6MM Norma BR.
I ordered Lapua brass and now need suggestions as to the best bullets to start
with.
The factory barrel is an eight twist.
Next comes dies. Lots of ways to go here. should I get a set of LE Wilson dies
and an arbor press?
Just go with Forster or widden with micrometer seating? Bushing or arbor neck tension?
My very limited experience loading for my 7-08 deer rifle is with RCBS press and dies
using full legnth resizing.
So, I have a lot to learn and am thankful for any advise.
My head is full of the methods used by the best here but i'm not going to be competing
so I don't need to go whole hog but want produce good ammo.
I am starting with a factory Savage to shoot with other guys at our club at the
Monday morning geezer bench rest league.
I intend to put a decent scope on the rifle and have fun with the guys.
Thanks for the help!

Let me save you a ton of time. With an 8 twist 6BR barrel, get a good full length resizing bushing die (Whidden, RCBS, custom die, etc.). Look at the Berger line up of bullets and try the 105g VLD Target or the 105g Hybrid Target. For powder, ones that perform well with this combination would be RL-15, Varget, H4895, RL-16, and RL-15.5, N130 & N135. Consider using small rifle mag primers if you can find them. Start at jam+0.001” and work your way back to as far as jam-.030”.

 

[RegionRat]

Berger 105 Hybrid Target. They have more than one 105 bullet, this would be part number 24733 in 500 count and part number 24433 in 100 count.
This is designed with a secant and tangent ogive, thus they all it a hybrid. It is very forgiving and can be jammed or jumped.

 

[lawman29]

What distance are you going to be shooting

 

[RegionRat]

The advice will be better if you mention the yardages you plan to shoot.

Why not start by visiting with the folks in the club? I am sure you would get an idea of how to start up from visiting with them.

 

[Clancy]

It’s really hard to go wrong with 105 class bullets and Varget.

I would get a quality full length sizing die and definitely seat with an arbor and Wilson micrometer seater.

Once you’ve seated with an arbor, there is no going back.

 

[Ccrider]

Buy once cry once with your die selections. Wilson full length click adjustable custom dies are great. I would send them three cases fired at least three times and buy their die. If not, I would send the cases to Harrell’s and by they will send you a die that fits your chamber. The people at Harrell’s are top notch.

Go with a micrometer top seating die. If you intend to buy an arbor press, get a Wilson or Sinclair. If not, Redding competition seaters work well. Redding and Forester also make micrometer top seating dies.

As for bullets, Berger’s work well, especially starting out. As you refine your reloading skills, you may decide to go with custom bullets. They are more expensive but more consistent in their size. However, the Berger’s will not hold you back.

If I had to choose only one powder, it would be Varget. Get what powder you can find that have suggested loads for BR on the main page. Work up your load. Same for primers. I have had good luck with 205s and 450s. Use what you have access to and work up the load.

Post your questions and progress on this site. You will get good feedback. Be careful. Make one change e at a time during load development. Keep written records of your load development. Have fun. The 6br is easy and will definitely get you hooked.

 

[Gary C]

Distance is 100 to 300 yards.
The group shoots 6.5 CM to 308 and i'm not sure what else at 100.
One guy shooys 1/2 MOA with cast bullets out of his 40X Remington 308.
I did read the article Nick. and there is a lot there. Thanks
We will be renovating the range and should end up with four 300 yard
bench positions. My hope is to run some 300 yard egg challenge shoots
after the renovation. That sounds like fun.
I did see the berger selection of 105 bullets and will be testing them for sure.
I'm leaning towards the Forster dies and do have an RCBS single stage press.
I'm interested in the Frankfort M press too if I find I would like to upgrade to
a coax press.
The 30 GR Varget load looks like a great starting point and I will test up and down
in .3 GR increments and see what that yealds.
Thanks for the opinions guys!

 

[HTSmith]

The 30 GR Varget load looks like a great starting point and I will test up and down
in .3 GR increments and see what that yealds.

I would not start at 30 gr of Varget if I were you. Manufacturing lots of Varget can vary a fair amount. I had two rifles that showed high pressure at 30.0 Gr. I would start at 29.0 and go up from there.

 

[Ccrider]

The thread below is when I first started. I started with a 6br. Some of the info may be helpful:

6BR “Boyer Method” Help Needed

Decided to test 80gr Bergers in my 1:8tw 28” Criterion using Varget and 450cci primers. Started off at .01 jumped and made .005 increases. Pretty much confused as to where to go next. No pressure signs with the 31.8 gr Varget. Too much info for me to process. Any help will be appreciated.

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[strut64]

I have had good luck with a Redding bushing die, Forster micro seater, Varget powder, BR4 primers and 107 SMK bullets, also Berger VLD. watch for copper residues in the Savage barrel. Good luck with your project. Northland shooters supply has a good stock of high end barrels by the way.

 

[mgunderson]

Just started loading a 6br. Been reloading for decades. The 6mm is one of the easiest to load. Your distance will dictate your bullet. The 90 to 105 class would be common with an 8 twist. We are in a shoot what you can find time.

 

[marchboom]

I use Forster FL sizing dies and Forster seating dies with a micrometer top. I tried a Redding bushing die with a .22-250 and the runout got worse. No matter what I did the runout was substantially worse compared to a Forster FL die. Now all my dies are Forster FL. Their honing service is great and no runout is introduced. Runout is either the same as what comes out of the chamber or less.

From the info I've seen most of the F-Class guys are using FL dies.

 

[JimSC]

Only been playing with the 6BR's about a year or two now but they don't seem real particular. I have a pair of Criterion 8 Twist barrels , one a 26 inch varmint taper on a Bighorn action the other a 29 bull on a Savage 10 action.

I have been able to get sub .5 MOA 5 shot groups using the following, 105 Bergers with Varget, H4166, and IMR 8208XBR. 107 Nosler CC's with 8208, 80 Berger flat base with 8208 XBR, 68 gn Bergers with N133, 68 Bergers with H322. In other words I have found it is not a real picky cartridge to develop for. Pick any decent bullet and powder and if will shoot with a bit of development. I have used both Fed Blue box and CCI 400's with good success

I size with a Whidden FL die and seat with a Forster micrometer die

Edit just saw your post on shooting 100 - 300. Get hold of some of those Berger 80's and you will shoot bugholes out to 300. Best groups I have ever shot were using those with H322.

One thing you may run into is failure to eject with the Savage. Here is a old thread I found that helps. I did the ejector mod in post #8 and it cured the problem for me.

Does your Savage action actually eject 6BR cases?

Does your Savage actually eject fired 6BR cases? None of my Savages can actually eject a fired 6BR case. Extraction works fine. However, once the neck of the shell gets to the ejection port, the case basically drops back into the action or gets flipped around so it faces backwards. The...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Distance is 100 to 300 yards.
The group shoots 6.5 CM to 308 and i'm not sure what else at 100.
One guy shooys 1/2 MOA with cast bullets out of his 40X Remington 308.
I did read the article Nick. and there is a lot there. Thanks
We will be renovating the range and should end up with four 300 yard
bench positions. My hope is to run some 300 yard egg challenge shoots
after the renovation. That sounds like fun.
I did see the berger selection of 105 bullets and will be testing them for sure.
I'm leaning towards the Forster dies and do have an RCBS single stage press.
I'm interested in the Frankfort M press too if I find I would like to upgrade to
a coax press.
The 30 GR Varget load looks like a great starting point and I will test up and down
in .3 GR increments and see what that yealds.
Thanks for the opinions guys!

I bet the other guys in your group are fixing to get a eye opener!

 

[NorCalMikie]

I just ordered a Savage LRPV in 6MM Norma BR.

First thing I would have consider is the "freebore" of the chamber.
Long and you'll have to choose heavier bullets to get close to the lands.
And when the throat goes away, you'll have to go to even heavier bullets?
Short throat for starters and the lightest bullets you can find, at or close to the lands.
THEN, go heavier as the throat wears. YMMV.

Forster Precision "full length" Bushing Bump Dies.

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

Distance is 100 to 300 yards.
The group shoots 6.5 CM to 308 and i'm not sure what else at 100.
One guy shooys 1/2 MOA with cast bullets out of his 40X Remington 308.
I did read the article Nick. and there is a lot there. Thanks
We will be renovating the range and should end up with four 300 yard
bench positions. My hope is to run some 300 yard egg challenge shoots
after the renovation. That sounds like fun.
I did see the berger selection of 105 bullets and will be testing them for sure.
I'm leaning towards the Forster dies and do have an RCBS single stage press.
I'm interested in the Frankfort M press too if I find I would like to upgrade to
a coax press.
The 30 GR Varget load looks like a great starting point and I will test up and down
in .3 GR increments and see what that yealds.
Thanks for the opinions guys!

Like you I am new to the 6BR. Brand new rifle and new loading experience. I have only shot 116 rounds so far. My first attempt is to use Lapua brass,105gr scenar L bullets and 30.3gr Varget. I can't believe the accuracy of this load. I will of course experiment with other loads. I particularly want to test some Berger bullets as I have found them to be extremely consistent in weight and shape. I have had great success with them in other rifles and calibers. For me, the the velocity seems to be best at 2925 FPS or so.