6X45 Howa 1500 Project

[SmokinJoe]

Thinking about building another 6X45, this time on a Howa 1500 (not the Mini). My current 6X45 is on a Sako A1 which limits me to 2.260 OAL just like an AR platform, and I would like to put a rifle together that has a magazine which will allow the bullet to be seated out farther. Anybody have any experience with this?

 

[harro]

OK

This is what I did , and it was a conscious decision to achieve what your chasing in the way of “ loading long “

I used a Tikka T3 .223 donor Rifle and purchased a Waters Magazine.
That magazine allows you to load to a max length of 2.6 inches which is a heap more than any other factory .223 offering .
Then I made up some 6x45 dummy rounds at the length I wanted to load to and my gunsmith throated the barrel accordingly.
The Howa 1500 ( not the mini ) will allow you to load a fraction longer than your current setup, but no where near as long as the Tikka option .

I’m running a 85 gr hpbt Sierra at 2875 fps with a 22 inch barrel with zero pressure signs .
It is the most accurate Rifle I own and one that I will never sell .
If you already own a 6x45 then I’m preaching to the choir about how effective / cheap / accurate / easy the chambering is .
It astounds me that it’s not more popular than it is .

 

[SmokinJoe]

Thanks, thought about Tikka but already familiar with Howa and it's good and cheap so thinking that way. I'm getting 2750 with the Sierra 85 with my current setup so probably should just be happy with what I have but you are talking to a guy who just has to dream up new projects ya know.

 

[5spd]

I built 3 6x45s on savage short actions.
Can load out to 2.290"easy with 55 to 70g loads.
Most accurate is sierras 85g bthp, 2.280col, 2745 fps 20" bbl

 

[JB10]

I built mine on a savage axis. Was an extrem budget build. That axis detachable mag has a lot of room to load them long

 

[RussellJ]

Thinking about building another 6X45, this time on a Howa 1500 (not the Mini). My current 6X45 is on a Sako A1 which limits me to 2.260 OAL just like an AR platform, and I would like to put a rifle together that has a magazine which will allow the bullet to be seated out farther. Anybody have any experience with this?

In my 6x45 700Rem rifle, I'm using the ACCURATE MAG (SKU: 00100-0038) .223 5-round magazine, it can easily be modified to accept cartridge lengths close to 2.5". My 6x45 with an 80-grain Ballistic Tip bullet is 2.424" long and this magazine worked perfectly with a 5-min. modification. It feeds super smooth.

 

[SmokinJoe]

Hey, thanks for all the input. Guess I didn't give specific info about what I want to achieve. Want to be able to load 90gr Nos BT out so bullet doesn't seat down past neck/shoulder junction. I need to actually measure that but my initial look at it indicated a seated length in the 2.4 - 2.5 range would be needed. My thinking was that if I could get the extra powder capacity maybe I could get an additional 100-200fps with slightly slower powders, i.e. optimize the cartridge.

 

[wwbrown]

Is the full-size 1500 available in 223 or similar rim-sized cartridges, I ask because you will probably need the bolt worked over to handle the 223 rims.

 

[SmokinJoe]

Yes, the full size 1500 is pretty popular in 223. Attached is a picture comparing my current load for the Sako A1 @ 2.255 OAL to what I want to do with the same 90BT bullet seated out to 2.500 OAL which would have the base of the bullet at the neck/shoulder junction and offer maybe a couple or 3 additional grains of powder capacity.