6X45

[Dan877]

I lucked up on a fantastic deal on a new 6X45 AR barrel and extras. I've been reloading for about 15 years but this will be my first wildcat, though I suppose the 6X45 is not much of a hurdle as wildcats go.

I've been reading a lot about the 6X45, the basic claims is just resize .223 cases and load 'em. Is it really as simple as that? I suppose I would need to be sure and chamfer the mouth and lube the neck inside and out before sizing?

Any "gotcha's" I need to watch out for?

The consensus seems to be that commercial or military brass work equally well, it that a fair statement?

This will be used mostly for killing paper, and for that prairie dog hunt I've been saying "I'm going one of these days" for the past 15 years, but I swear I'm going one of these days.

 

[trentalan34]

It really is th at easy. I bought Lapua brss for load development, but it really isn't necessary. The cartridge is very easy to load for. I can direct you to some good forum threads and some good spots for load data if you are interested. What weight bullets are you looking at and at what ranges? For 100 yard plinking and target shooting it's hard to beat the 60 Sierra hp with aa2015 or h322. These bullets fall off pretty quickly at longer ranges though. What twist barrel?

 

[Dan877]

Trent

Thanks for the reply.

I got the barrel in a package deal, with a new set of Redding Dies and 200 Sierra 85gr GameKings and 200 Remington 80gr Soft Points. I don't have any other 6mm/243 rifles (everything I load for is either bigger or smaller) so I'll start with what is coming with the barrel and go from there.

I've been checking out load data and reading up on it, did a forum search here and read the previous posts on the 6X45, and posts on lots of other sites. But if you've got some good info sources I'm always happy to accumulate more knowledge.

I live in central Louisiana and we don't have much in the way of varmint hunting, especially at longer ranges (an armadillo at 20 yards just isn't much of a challenge) so, like all of the other varmint rifles I have, besides killing paper I don't have any idea what I'll ever use it for, I just wanted it.

Thanks
Dan

 

[trentalan34]

I can post a longer reply or send you the data via PM later tonight. If you would like powder and bullet recommendations, your intended application and twist rate would be helpful. Redding dies work really well. What powders do you have on hand. I'll post a longer reply tonight, but you might check out some of our discussions on predatormasters forums or ar15armory fourms.

 

[RonS]

trentalan34, I also have a 6X45 with a 24" SS Shilen 1:12 twist barrel on a Savage action. Any recommendations for plinking and possibly some light critter control would be appreciated. I have a varity of Hodgdon and IMR powders, CCI primers and Sierra and Berger bullets.

 

[trentalan34]

By no means do I want to "steal" members from this forum to another, but in this case, the interest seems to be in the AR variety of rifle, so I will direct you to a lively, current discussion on an AR dedicated forum http://www.ar15armory.com/forums/6x45-Project-t83465.html. You'll recognize my same username.
The other posters have shown most interest in shorter range varmint and plinking, so I would recommend 60 gr Sierra Varminter, 25.0 gr H322, and length determined by your chamber (I use magazine length, and most AR throats are longer than magazine length bullets). This is a fairly inexpensive round, and everyone agrees that it is extremely accurate, but it doesn't have a great BC. I don't think it can be beaten inside of 200yds. You might also try AA2015 with which I have been having good luck.

 

[trentalan34]

Here is some of the data that I have used. As always, work up to the max loads and consult a manual or two also. All loads were seated to magazine length of 2.260 with Lapua brass and Remington primers. AA2015 and H335 shoot well, but not as well as H322.
60 gr Sierra HP; 25.0 H322; <1/4" groups
58 gr Vmax; 25.0 H322; 1/4" groups (I might end up going with this bullet becaues it does have a better BC)
62 Barnes; 23.0 H322 (bullet is much longer so dropped charge to avoid overcompressing); really "nice" 2" groups
70 gr Nosler; 25.0 H322; 1/2 groups
80 gr Berger; 24.0 H335; 3/4
80 gr Berger; 21.5 H322; 3/4

 

[trentalan34]

Made a couple of calls because much of the published data does't go as low as 55 gr. Nosler "hasn't worked with that caliber [6x45]." Accurate Arms gave me the following:
55gr bullet; 25-27.9 AA2015; max vel: 3150
55gr bullet; 26.6-29.5 AA2230/Exterminator; max vel: 3250
60gr Bullet; 23.5-26.0 AA2015; max vel: 3000
70gr Bullet; 22.5-25.0 AA2015; Max vel: 2850

Sierra ballistics help is probably the nicest and most helpful in the industry. They add the following:
55gr bullet; 25.6-29.0 Win748; max vel: 3200
55gr bullet; 23.2-27.8 H335; max vel: 3200
70gr bullet; 24.0-28.0 Win748; max vel: 3100
70gr bullet; 24.1-27.7 H335; max vel: 3100

 

[trentalan34]

I have no intentions of using this on deer or anything other than paper or mid-close range varmints, so I am staying with the lighter bullets. The 58Vmax shoots well, and I intend to do rather extensive testing with the 55 gr Nosler soon. Eventually I am going on a prairie dog hunt for which this will be my mid-range gun. I keep reminding myself not to try to make this round something that it is not. It is easy to reload, accurate, compatible with the AR, long barrel life (I haven't gotten to that point yet, but that's what I hear), and is a little different than what most people have. On varmints, velocity does have an effect on the splat factor, but I have yet to lose a critter to the 6x45. My garden was plagued by rabbits. I shot one with the 243 at 100yds with the 60 gr Sierra and blew it completely in half. Same distance and projectile from the 6x45, and I put a big hole in it, and it still kicked a little...a little. The 6x45 is fun, but it's not a long range round in my opinion.
As a side note, get a Geissele trigger...you won't be disappointed.

 

[trentalan34]

The data I got from Accurate Arms might be safe, but I couldn't get anymore than 26.5 gr AA2015 in a Lapua case and still have ample room to seat the bullet. I plan to shoot a number of loads this weekend, and I'll post the results.

 

[Dan877]

I received my barrel and other goodies yesterday. I didn't have a lot of time to play with it to check the twist or anything. It didn't come with a gas block as I thought (looked again at the ad and it didn't say it would, I just assumed it did) so I have to order one before I can put the upper together. I guess there's no hurry anyway, between work being so busy and having a 3-year old who wants my complete attention every second I'm home, I don't get to do much shooting. It's likely to be 2 months or more before I get a chance to even try it out. But I can at least put together some rounds and get ready. Thanks for the great info.

Dan

 

[5spd]

Ive assembled 7 6x45s on savage and ar15 frames.
All barrel lenghts from 24" down to 20" were super accurate and 500 yds is easy with 55 to 85g bullets.
One of my coyote rigs is on a savage action, standard stock, SS, 20" heavy sporter bbl.
All builds were with a 1/9" tw bbl. Accurate no matter the loads.
H335, Xterminator are my go to powders for all weight bullets.

 

[tovaert]

I have used it in an AR out to 600 (70 SMK, 90 Berger, and 107 SMKs). I found that the Lapua 223 brass required neck turning; there was only about 1 to 2 thousandths expansion room in my chamber, and with any non-concentricity in my handloads, I could feel resistance when hand feeding. Lapua necks have a thicker wall, at least the ones I bought. I'm going to go with different brass in the future to avoid that step.

 

[painter]

I have used it in an AR out to 600 (70 SMK, 90 Berger, and 107 SMKs). I found that the Lapua 223 brass required neck turning; there was only about 1 to 2 thousandths expansion room in my chamber, and with any non-concentricity in my handloads, I could feel resistance when hand feeding. Lapua necks have a thicker wall, at least the ones I bought. I'm going to go with different brass in the future to avoid that step.

I bought a bag of Norma 223 primed brass for my 6x45 which worked very well without any issues.

 

[Keith Kilby]

I built a 6X45 a bit over a year back. Bolt action, Howa Mini, Lilja Sako sporter contour 1-12” @24”. Boyd’s stock.
It has been one of the most fun rifles I have ever shot. Easy to form brass, very forgiving with loads and very accurate. I ended up using W748 because I had 8lbs and nothing else to use it for. I tried all the usual powders and with my set up it was basically a toss up…hence the powder choice. I’m using the Berger 68g bullet seated to mag length.
(CZ mag conversion). I ordered my reamer based on dummy round I assembled and do a skim turn on necks.
You’re going to have a ball with this little cartridge!
Keith