I have a Hall action and a lightly used 6 PPC barrel with about 700 rounds down it and am thinking of having it set back an inch and rechambered to 6ARC as a starting rifle for club level 600 yard benchrest. Good or bad idea? The other thought is just finding a 6.5 mm barrel and chambering as a 6.5 Grendel
6PPC barrel rechambered to 6ARC ?
- Thread starter JimSC
- Start date
What twist rate does the barrel have?
It'll need an 8tw to stabilize the 105-108 weights.
It'll need an 8tw to stabilize the 105-108 weights.
If the twist is fast enough, just use the PPC. I shot a 22PPC across the course for several years.
Ehh...it's actually smaller than a Grendel and very, very close to a PPC. Without looking, I think it's like .040 longer than PPC to the datum. The 22 ARC is exactly a 22 Grendel. The Grendel is very near right between a PPC and a BR but uses a ppc bolt face diameter.
If Lapua or someone will offer top notch brass for the ARC family, they will be an excellent option for ppc shooters. That's a big IF, if Hornady is the supplier. Maybe Lapua or someone will offer it at some point, though.
I was thinking I’d doing the same thing, I traded for a Wichita 6ppc but that’s all the info they had. No neck diameter or anything so rather than buy all the stuff to chamber cast it i thought about doing a rechamber since the barrel looks good.
The 6 Grendel or 6 ARC are excellent options but they are only as good as the brass. I suspect Lapua will eventually get with the ARC program, get back on their feet in terms of producing brass for the commercial market...and then we'll be able to see what's what with the ARC family at real pressures. I've yet to see any other viable options for BR pressures in regard to Grendel or ARC brass yet. Lapua is by far the best IME. I'd love to see an American company make equal or better but it simply hasn't happened.
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Peterson brass told me they have no plans to make any of the PPC/ARC/Grendel cases in the future. I think it must be prohibitively expensive to tool up for a new case head vs expand options with an existing head.
@gunsandgunsmithing have you tried Norma brass lately? I bought some for a 22 PPC i have in the works to try at 1000yds with the 90gn bullets.
@gunsandgunsmithing have you tried Norma brass lately? I bought some for a 22 PPC i have in the works to try at 1000yds with the 90gn bullets.
It's been a while but it seems soft and the primer pockets loosened up at the higher end of what I shoot pretty fast. I talk with others who report the same more recently. That said, if Lapua weren't an option, Norma would be my 2nd choice but it's a distant 2nd, ime. If you don't load at the very top end of pressures, you may well be happy with it but that's just not where I load in these small 6's for br work. Due to availability issues, I've started bumping pressures down a little and working with different powders in Lapua to make it last a little better. BR is just a different game from any other and these small 6's shine when near the ragged edge, often. It's certainly not for everyone but I love the game and the people in it, as well as other shooting disciplines. Short range br for score is my first choice but they are all great games with different requirements to be competitive, or just chasing the best out of the equipment possible. A little like top fuel cars. That stuff ain't cheap but there's nothing else quite like it. Lol!
It's a shame Peterson isn't interested in making it and competing with Lapua in this area of the market. A brass maker could kill several birds with one stone by offering 6 ARC brass that could easily be used as is or formed into ppc or Grendel brass. If it's equal to Lapua in quality, it'd beat forming it from 220r brass imo. Shooting a straight 6 Grendel, I'm happy the way it is because it's just super easy to simply neck Lapua 6.5 G down to 6mm in a single pass and it's ready to shoot in a no turn chamber.
One more thing...I've formed 220 brass into 6 Grendel as well. It'll work but it ends up with the neck around .015 or so shorter than I was hoping to be able to stretch it to. That said, if you stay on top of the carbon ring, it'll work and it did. Shot well. The ARC is what, .030 shorter than a Grendel IIRC, so it might get close enough to suit. Of course, a short neck chamber reamer would solve that and be yet another option to get there. Frankly, I said above that Norma ppc brass would be my 2nd choice but using Lapua 220r would actually be my 2nd choice if no 6.5G Lapua brass.
I think you'll love a 6 Grendel or probably so a 6 ARC. Top end pressures just really need top end brass, though. Again...the new 22 ARC IS a 22 Grendel, so that's another option if brass quality is there.
I just finished a couple of 22 ARC bbls for a customer. They are both based on the 6 ARC brass dimensions, though. One is a 21" AR15 and the other a 22" Savage. Both Kreiger 6.5 twist bbls throated for the heavy 22 bullets. We'll see how those do soon. Should ship them out maybe tomorrow for him to start playing.
I think you'll love a 6 Grendel or probably so a 6 ARC. Top end pressures just really need top end brass, though. Again...the new 22 ARC IS a 22 Grendel, so that's another option if brass quality is there.
I just finished a couple of 22 ARC bbls for a customer. They are both based on the 6 ARC brass dimensions, though. One is a 21" AR15 and the other a 22" Savage. Both Kreiger 6.5 twist bbls throated for the heavy 22 bullets. We'll see how those do soon. Should ship them out maybe tomorrow for him to start playing.
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Murray Brook
Silver $$ Contributor
I have been using Norma brass in my 6 ppc usa. So far I've got 7 firings on each case and the pockets are holding out good, but as @gunsandgunsmithing pointed out my best load in my Sako is 27.8 grs of N-133 with a 58 gr bullet therefore the pressure is on the low side.
Mike,
Have you worked any with the 6 Grinch??? Is there enough of a gain in the 40 deg shoulder to fool around with the extra hassle with the brass??? I had thought about a 12 tw with 75-90grain bullets might be something to shine at 300-500 clay shoots???
stan
Not much difference at all. I'd stick with the straight 6 Grendel.
You'll need a faster twist for 90 grainers. But I love my 12 twists for 68-80s
WyleWD
Silver $$ Contributor
After having shot both offerings couple hundred times with 65-70gr bullets it's about a dead heat. Both are good shooters. The ARC holds a little more powder and has an larger flash hole than the PPC. Speed wise not much difference. And for the average shooter like myself, accuracy is nearly equal. JME. WD
Mind if I ask, In each application ARC & PPC what barrel twist have you been utilizing w the 65 - 70 grain bullets?
WyleWD
Silver $$ Contributor
I don't mind at all.
12 & 14 in the ARC, and 13.5 & 14 in the PPC. WD
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