6mm for long range prone?

[bored184]

I am looking at building a 6mm for long range prone. I am looking at the 6xc, 6 creedmoor, and 243 win. Anybody shoot the above cartridges with success out to 1000 yards? The reason I am going with 6mm is because I can shoot the same weight bullet 105 and 107 grain bullets in my 6br for midrange and one of the above cartridges for long range. Trying to save some money where I can. It also appears brass and dies are also reasonably priced. That being said I want a cartridge that has a good barrel life and the life of the brass holds up well. I have been told the 243 is barrel burner. Does the 6xc and 6 creedmoor have a better barrel life?

Thoughts and opinions on this adventure would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rtheurer]

Prone Long Range and " Save Money " has no business being in the statement together. LOL
HOWEVER. 6XC or the 6 Creed might be your best bet. They Will do everything you want to do and capable of winning a National Championship. or your 6BR will do it as well. 105 class bullet at 2800fps from you 6BR will shoot about the same as every Palma Rifle on the line and you can see how they do. so there is that....

 

[MikeMcCasland]

I think you can build a competitive 6mm for low wind conditions, but you're not going to get good barrel life. When the wind picks up, the 7MMs and 30cals are going to realize a significant advantage.

Also, the 6XC/6 CM/.243 are all pretty much in the same ballpark as it pertains to round count.

 

[ShootDots]

Let me give you MY experiences with 6mms at 1000 yards. In excess of a year I was shooting both 6mms and 6.5mms for everything, 500, 600 and 1000. I had a 6 x 47 that shot 107SMKs at 3080 and 2 / 6Creeds that shot the 115DTACs at 3115. The Creeds, with the 115s were extremely accurate. At 500 and 600 yards I had "decent" success. However, even in "moderate", as in 6-10m.p.h. winds, at 1000 yards, the little 6mm bullets were whipsawed all over! Wind "pick-ups", "let-offs" and "switching winds" were almost impossible, at least for me, to read correctly, in order to put the pills in the 10s or X rings! Nines became all too common. I NEVER, and this does hurt to say, NEVER won a 1000 yard match with the 6mms! F-Open is a tough game to play at 1000, with changing winds, it is REALLY difficult, with changing winds and small bullets, it is almost impossible to pull off a win>>>at least it was for me!

 

[Kurz]

Although I disagree with his choice, John Whidden has used the .243 Win. to win National Championships:

"Now a six-time NRA High Power Long Range National Champion, Whidden chose to shoot the .243 Win. for Long Range Any Rifle competition."

My response has always been that the cartridge doesn't work for me but that John owns his own gunsmithing business and can afford to replace barrels as needed. It just goes to show that it's the Indian and not the arrow...

It reads like you're trying really hard to hedge your bets in anticipation of everything and I'm here to tell you that you can't. Competition costs money, time, bullets and barrels. If you want to save money, then shoot for fun on a few occasions. If you want to compete, buckle up, the ride gets rough!

 

[swd]

I've shot 6BRX's for a long time. On a good day when I'm really on I can run just behind the 284's and beat the 284 guys that aren't on their game for the day, but I've never won at 1K with a 6mm...

 

[gme]

the BRX and Dasher are excellent choices for a longrange prone gun, that said they wont hang with the heavy 6.5's in the wind.

 

[1shot]

I have been shooting a 6SLR on and off since its appearance in 2008. I've won some 1K matches with it, but nothing major. However, at 600 it is an absolute laser and my "go to" cartridge for important matches. With that said, everything @ShootDots said is true. Being a knuckle dragging sling shooter, I have a bit more real estate on the target to play with.
I hope this helps,

Lloyd

 

[mongo chicago]

The wind doesn't seem to bother Tubb when he shoots his 6mm. winning several long range championships in the process. I think a lot is "shooter dependent"

 

[6fatrat]

I shoot the 243 in me any prone rifles, you can slow it down a bit 3150 with 105's and 107's or 3080 with 115's.
Still competitive and easier on barrel and brass, 2500+ rounds before chamber set back.
Steve Bair

 

[1lnbrdg]

.243 or 6SLR running N-165 gives me a competitive barrel (Sling) for around 3,000 rounds.

 

[DR_2297]

6XC works fine for me. 105 Hybrid or 108 and go. No need to overload or hotrod with H4350 to hit 3k FPS from. 26-30” barrel either. Shoots about 7 min less elevation @ 1000 than a palma rifle and 155s and a solid minute inside of the same on wind.

 

[Dgd6mm]

I shoot the 243 in me any prone rifles, you can slow it down a bit 3150 with 105's and 107's or 3080 with 115's.
Still competitive and easier on barrel and brass, 2500+ rounds before chamber set back.
Steve Bair

This^^^^^

 

[Dgd6mm]

.243 or 6SLR running N-165 gives me a competitive barrel (Sling) for around 3,000 rounds.

Or This^^^^^

 

[Kurz]

I went back to review my notes on the 6XC and 6SLR. Both shot extremely well at 1,000 yards when winds were somewhat forgiving. I compared the difference between the Berger 105 VLD and the DTAC 115 Rebated Boat Tail in both cartridges with 30" barrels. I had initially figured that the 105's would have it all over those 115s but the surprise was that 115s rule the day if only by very small amounts when scored. Either could be a positive choice for your needs. Either bullet will perform well as long as the wind is basically under control. As the wind picks up, the 6.5 cartridges will be a far better choice in the long run.

 

[jr600yd]

I agree with shootdots. I’ve shot the 6, 6.5’s at 1K they work well if the wind cooperates. I gave up. Shoot a 6BR or variant I’m mid range and a straight 284 at long range.

 

[davidjoe]

I think half the posts are about a “prone” rifle like Whidden and Tubb use, and the others are about f-Class rifles. Whidden and Tubb shoot at the bigger sling rifle rings where the 6’s demeanor suits them and the rings provide some cover from the wind, but the drift charts show how extremely fast you’d have to push them to match wind calling with a .284 in FClass.

Tubb considered the 6XC about ideal for across course use and his coated 115 with Norma brass was a great in a gun I built at midrange, even in FClass.

Pi x r squared for area of a circle would mean the 10 ring of the sling target has 4 times the area of the FClass 10 ring. Assuming it has twice the radius. So that’s a big factor in using a 6 for long range sling.

 

[ballisticxlr]

I shot a .243AI for 2 years, got 1500 rounds before ammo was longer than the mag. Gun still shot like a house on fire but pulled the barrel since I was starting a new season anyway. It would have easily done another few hundred at match quality but I wanted to start the season and end the season on the same barrel. That .243AI pushed 3180fps with 115 DTAC's with a decent bit of room left. Could have gone up to 3250 or so but no reason to push that hard. Brass was neck sized only and never needed a shoulder bump or trim across 5 loads. The high FPS made for a wind bucking machine that was very easy to use in prone competition. I'm using a 6XC now which takes a good bit less powder and trims off 250fps for that which has its effect in how much wind I have to worry about. With the .243AI I could be a little more sloppy in my wind call compared to my 6XC. It's still an awesome match round. One of my teammates used the same 6XC combo I'm running now and got >2000 rounds before we pulled his barrel and replaced it to start a new match season and the gun was still shooting bugholes.

All fast 6mm's are going to eat barrels faster than a 6.5 or 7mm of equal case capacity. It's about how much powder you send down how small of a tube diameter. 6xc uses less powder than a 6CM or a .243 or .243AI and runs slightly slower for it so it gets a decent life bump.

After I finish this 6XC I think I'll go back to .243AI.

 

[rafale]

Although I disagree with his choice, John Whidden has used the .243 Win. to win National Championships:

"Now a six-time NRA High Power Long Range National Champion, Whidden chose to shoot the .243 Win. for Long Range Any Rifle competition."

My response has always been that the cartridge doesn't work for me but that John owns his own gunsmithing business and can afford to replace barrels as needed. It just goes to show that it's the Indian and not the arrow...

It reads like you're trying really hard to hedge your bets in anticipation of everything and I'm here to tell you that you can't. Competition costs money, time, bullets and barrels. If you want to save money, then shoot for fun on a few occasions. If you want to compete, buckle up, the ride gets rough!

Yes but the best indian take the best Arrow… I think that John Whidden know and experimented the potential of this Cartridge .

 

[mgdietrich]

I had the same question several years ago. I had been using the 284 for LR and 6BR for mid. I switched the 284 to a straight 243 and like the change. The milder recoil allows a better more consistent shot delivery.

Barrel life from a 243 with N160 isn't bad, I got 1500 from my first barrel and expect the same from the second. With the expense to play this sport at the highest level another 500 rounds of barrel life is pennies per shot.

I like my 243, since I have a reamer I will keep using it. If starting over I would look at 6 creedmoor now that excellent brass is available.