6mm PPC

[david12601]

He may have found some since 2022

 

[ASbobcat]

Only just aquired a 40x 6mm PPC and already have dumb questions. First, what is the difference between the 6mm PPC Sako and the 6mm PPC USA. Second, I know what a compressed load is and even though I am far from trying one I non the less have no idea how one goes about "compressing".
Thanks for your patience and cheer up, I'll more Q's as I move through this.
John

I found out the hard way that compressed loads are very hard on seating stems. Redding even includes an orange warning tag with their dies now stating as much, and informing the user that seating over compressed charges voids the warranty. The seating force expands the stem mouth.
Hardness of seating stems varies widely across manufacturers, Forster being the softest by far. Redding seaters are the most easily rendered inoperable because of the close fit between stem and sleeve.
Better to select a faster powder.

 

[searcher]

Regarding your question on compressed charges, once you reach a powder level that requires compressing (this compressing is done by the press when you seat the bullet), in order to get your bullet seated to the proper depth, the more powder you add, the more compressed the load is. Eventually, doing incremental powder increases, you will find that you simply cannot add any more powder as the charge will simply no longer compress enough to allow the bullet to be seated to the depth you want. Because of this, if you change brass lots or brands, you have to recheck for creep as some brass has higher powder capacity than others. If you use bushing neck dies and relatively light tension, one thing to be aware of is that the bullet will tend to "creep" partially back out over time after the bullet is seated, depending on how much powder was added. In that case, you need to add neck tension or back off the powder until the creeping stops. In the case of using factory dies and where you have a fixed amount of neck tension, you have no choice but to back off the powder charge to stop the creeping.

 

[COLT45SA]

John: It's really no big deal to outside neck turn your own brass. I turned mine to the required .0085" neck wall thickness for the past 12 yrs. The good news is if you take care of your cases and do not set the shoulders back, and keep away from the max (and over) loads, the brass will last a very long time, so outside neck turning can be a one time "thing". Recently had my barrel set-back (after 2410 rds. fired) and had the new chamber cut with my Pacific reamer, with a .272" neck, so although still requiring neck turning, it's only one light clean-up cut to .013". A compressed load is nothing more than one that has had the powder column "smashed" down when the bullet was seated, something I do not believe in. My standard load, that has served me well for over 12 yrs. is 27.5 grs. of N133 with the 68 gr. Berger #24411 bullet. Base of the bullet is just touching the top of the powder column. Take an accurate throat depth measurement and seat the bullet(s) accordingly. Most ppc's prefer to have the bullet just touching the lands. In the meantime, explore the possibilities of doing you own outside neck turning. There are any number of excellent tools out there. Enjoy your 6ppc.

You're fortunate in knowing what reamer was used to cut the chamber. My custom built .262 necked chamber was cut in the early 80s when the 6PPC was still in its infancy and there was no apparent standard. The smith who cut my chamber was an unbelievably skilled builder but died quite a number of years ago. Therefore fitting cartridges to my rifle has really been a challenge. I'm fortunate to still have a couple of of the loaded rounds he gave me when I took delivery of the rifle to use as patterns to form replacements. Those that he gave me were formed from SAKO brass.
I've acquired quite a few ( advertised as "once fired") cartridges (all Lapua) only because 6PPC brass is so difficult to find, and the dimensions are all over the map making it tedious but necessary to rebuild every cartridge to make it usable in my rifle. This makes it not so fun for me~!
Jas Hare was an incredibly skilled rifle builder and built me a lightweight sporter that shoots one very, very tiny hole all day long at 100 yards.

 

[Murray Brook]

Does anyone know if Sako made 6mm ppc usa brass with the larger (.078) flash hole. TKS