6mmBR Too Much for Novice?

[Phil3]

I hope this is the right forum to ask this. Is reloading a 6 Norma BR too involved or sophisticated for someone,me) who has never reloaded in their life? I ask because I am buying a basic off the shelf rifle to shoot small groups. The rifle is most likely going to be the Savage Long Range Precision Varminter rifle which comes in 204, 223, 22-250, and 6 Norma BR. Others here have said the 6 BR is best for accuracy, and I am willing to go that route, but not sure if reloading these rounds is more involved than with the .223 and beyond what a novice should engage in. I am willing to invest in quality equipment to do the job right.

Thank you.

- Phil

 

[LarryDScott]

As the commercial says,'so simple a caveman can do it' Loading a no neckturn BR is no different than any other caliber. Go for it and enjoy. Larry in western Ky.

 

[fdshuster]

Phil3: As Larry said,'go for it'. As long as it's a no-turn neck, loading the 6BR is no different than if you were loading 223, 22-250, etc. With it you have the availability of the superior Lapua brass and a cartridge with a long term proven history of extreme accuracy.

 

[rich337]

I can tell you as a fellow novice that it was super easy. I too was new to reloading this year, and got my hands on a custom 6br barrel for an Encore,on this site). It has never shot over an inch. Most groups are under half an inch. That savage should be even easier to get tiny. Lapua brass of course.

 

[Phil3]

All good news. One question. 6BR is more expensive to shoot than .223, and I am OK with that, but to know how costly, how many times can the 6BR brass be reused?

- Phil

 

[janderson0]

One set of 100 cases will out live the barrel.

Jim

 

[Phil3]

Are you serious, and I ask in all seriousness! How long is a 6BR barrel expected to last? - Phil

 

[Posit]

Phil- There are so many variables involved your questions are impossible to answer with any real degree of accuracy.
1) Loading for the 6mmBR is, as stated, no different than loading for any other no turn rifle. However- most 6mmBR shooters are a little more sophisticated in their loading process than they guy loading for a deer rifle. Doesn't mean you can't handload - but that you will probably change and improve your process as you learn.
2) Case life is impacted by many things. Quality of the cases, how much/hard you work the brass, how hot the loads, annealing process, etc. Brass can be fired from,approximately) 3 to 30 times.
3) Barrel life is also impacted by a number of factors... cleaning techniques, pressure of loads fired, quality of the barrel, accuracy standard/requirements. A decent 6mmBR barrel will last for,approximately) 1500 - 5000 rounds.
Good luck.

 

[Preacher]

Don't push on the cases hard and they will outlast 2 barrels...
Don't push on the velocity and the barrel will last as long as the cases...

 

[Phil3]

Thank you, and understood. Since the selection of caliber, and choice to reload is all driven by the pursuit of accuracy, I can say I will be using Lapua brass, and other components as suggested in the caliber section of 6mmbr.com.

Since most of the shots are fired at 100 and 200 yards, I would not expect to need hot loads. What I don't know is how much the brass will be worked during the resizing process, or what I can do to minimize that,still learning reloading).

Still, even if the brass lasted the an average of 15 reloadings, that makes overall cost per shot lower than expected.

- Phil

 

[fdshuster]

Phil3: To answer your question of how many times the 6BR brass, I'm now speaking of Lapua), can be reloaded: Some of my 'high count' Lapua 6BR have been loaded 25 to 28 times, and I've yet to throw a single one away. I also keep a count on my Lapua 220 Russian/6ppc, and recently got my first neck split at 32 reloads. The remaining 19 of that group of 20 were 'retired'. And even at that, the primer pockets were still tight. When I first started loading 6ppc, 6BR has to be similar), others told me to start with 'only' 100 cases, since they will easily outlast the barrel. I did not believe them and bought 300. Now, 11 years later I still have 200 in their factory sealed boxes.

 

[CT10ring]

Phil3, My VERY first custom built rifle with my first reloads EVER was a 6BR and put 3
68g Bergers into 1/5' of an inch @ 100yds. I bought the rifle, loaded & shot. All info came from this site-gunsmith, load data, recommendations... It could not have been easier or more satisfying. If you are like me & want to use the 6BR for PD shooting, you will want more than 100 pieces of brass...or bring an AR and the 6BR...

 

[TheBlueEyedBear]

Amen too what CTshooter said!! This site has a wealth of talented people who contribute information freely. For the person who wants to shoot the 6mmBR, this site is a blessing. No matter how much you contribute; you are still receiving more than your investment. This site IS the 'Gold Standard' of shooting resources for the 6BR.

With this information at hand even the rank amateur who will take the time to read, spend the money for the appropriate equipment; they will not be overmatched by the 6mmBR.

 

[favload]

Phil3, I shoot the Savage LRPV and went through what you are going through last year. A few things I learned with that gun in 6BR.
1. know what bullets you want to shoot, the 12twist version only will shoot up to 80gr bullets well. No factory ammo will shoot well in it so you MUST reload for that twist. With that said my gun shot 80gr Bergers using 30.5gr of Varget and CCIBR4 primers under .5' all day long at 100yds.
2. I bought 200 Lapua casses and put 1000 rds through my barrel in the first year with very little signs of wear in the barrel!! And no cracked casses!!
3. If you want to shoot 300+ I would buy the same gun with the 8twist barrel so you can use the 90+gr bullets. I recently put a Shilen Match pre-fit barrel on the gun for this reason and it shoots very well. I got lots of help from members on this site, some who even sent me the go/no-go gages to use for free!! Thanks again Mike!! Anyway, if you want more info from my Savage load book let me know.
jer

 

[rayjay]

My first precision rifle was a 112 Savage single shot with an SSS/Douglas 12 twist 6BR bbl. I copied the info from the homepage: Forster Ultra BR dies with the sizer opened up to .266. 30grs of Varget, BR4's, 80gr Bergers, .005 or so into the lands. Shot 3's,4's and .5's all day long in actual BR competition. My goal was to keep all the 200 yd groups under 1 inch and all the 100 yd groups under 1/2 inch. I never did pull it off.

The main thing I like to get precision shooting newbies to do is to acquire some way to measure the shoulder bump. Adjust your sizer die to bump the shoulder back .001 to .002' and you will probably never get into trouble and the brass will last a long time.