• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

6xc powders

I got similar velocities with RL17 when I started testing it in a then-new 30” 6XC build late in 2008. Was using DTAC 115’s at that time, LR primers literally fell out of just-fired cases. Later load testing had me settle on Berger 105VLD’s and 8208XBR.

Did you notice any reduction in barrel life by using 8208? This is the only concern I have with trying a faster powder. It’s a minor concern to me as I use economical button rifled barrels inside 600 yds. The 6xc will burn out a cut rifled barrel almost as fast as a buttoned rifled barrel, but the button barrel costs about half the price.
 
Did you notice any reduction in barrel life by using 8208? This is the only concern I have with trying a faster powder. It’s a minor concern to me as I use economical button rifled barrels inside 600 yds. The 6xc will burn out a cut rifled barrel almost as fast as a buttoned rifled barrel, but the button barrel costs about half the price.
A hart button rifled barrel finished at 30"is $345 and a Krieger cut barrel 30" is $355. Not much difference in price. Where can I find one of these half price barrels?
 
Oh, it's a real advantage. 50fps is a nothing gain. 250fps is actually a big deal. It's the difference between missing with a wind call that's off by 2mph and not missing. FWIW, it only takes me 15 seconds to pull a bolt apart, shake it out and reassemble. Practice makes perfect and all.
Agree 250fps is a big difference, but still the caliber is not able to do it within reasonable pressures. Blanking primers should be rare as should bolt disassembly. Assume that you are shooting a discipline where changing caliber is not an option. If a 6XC is not getting enough speed there are other alternatives.
 
That's kinda it. When I do that stupidity I'm only doing it with my .223 and only because every other competitor is doing it and that's only because there are restrictions about chamber and rifle configurations but not about velocity (probably a lack of imagination is responsible for that oversight). When everyone else is bending the rules right up to the limit just to be competitive, I have no option but to follow along or I can just not play. The game is fun so I take the measured risk. I do NOT advise others to follow. What it's cost me in the real world is quite a bit of brass and 4 extractors.

I wouldn't ever do the 80K psi thing on anything bigger than a .223 case for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that all else being equal, the bigger the pressure vessel the lower the peak pressure needed before you see a container burst. Restricting my insanity to a .223 case really limits the amount of personal damage either I or the gun can suffer. A .308 case coming apart is always more dramatic than a .223 case coming apart.

What it's really saying is that the rules we put forth for that game need changed regarding running dangerous pressures. Once we're all back on even footing then we can get back to losing fair and square.

6XC is more recent for me and for a different match class entirely where I have zero reason to push pressures at all. Coach has been running 6XC for 2 years while I was running a .243AI. We had very similar ballistics which was helping on wind calls when working as a team. Our old barrels were both due for replacement before spring this year so now we're running identical barrels in 6XC so we can share a load spec, interchange ammo and interchange DOPE. Since we only get 1 shot each per target in matches, both of us shooting effectively identical rifles means if one misses on wind the other can note the miss and hold and correct on his run. It's not cheating. It's live data analytics.
 
I'm working on some load developement for my nex 6XC.
Using the 115 dtacs seated at 2.780" OAL I've started with 37.5 grains of Reloader 17. Would going up to 39.0 grains in 1/2 grain increments be reasonalbe; or would 39 grains of R-17 be too hot? I'd hate to put the time in loading them just to pull them apart after firing the lighter loads.
Finding load data for this powder sucks! Unless I've just missed it, not even Alliant's own website provides recipies for the 6xc and 115s.
 
Nobody's going to be able to tell you for certain. 37.5 is going to be enough to punch the bullet out. I bet 40 will be about the max given the burn rate, energy density and bulk density and some experience in the matter. It's going to have some pressure to it but we're not going to be able to predict if it's gunna turn out 58k psi or 70k psi for sure. Your chamber is your chamber and things like primer selection can seriously affect pressure. Load development usually involves pulling down some number of loaded rounds. Don't try to get around it, deal with it.

FWIW, RL17 is very close to H4350. 40 of H4350 is getting up near max pressure on 6XC with that bullet. See my 6XC powder thread for some recent test results you might just find interesting.
 
Someone test the Berger 108 with N160 and tell me what pressures and velocities you get. I would be really surprised if it were less peaky at max pressure and is sure easier on barrels.
 
Using the 115 dtacs seated at 2.780" OAL I've started with 37.5 grains of Reloader 17. Would going up to 39.0 grains in 1/2 grain increments be reasonalbe; or would 39 grains of R-17 be too hot?

39.0 be borderline unsafe IMHO with DTAC115's. I'd approach it with caution, if at all.

Back in 2008 I tested RL-17 (alongside four other propellants) with Berger 105VLD's. Two loads over 39.0 gn (and not much over) gave me 3,178 & 3,261 fps but trashed the Norma brass I was using then.

By comparison, 38.9 & 39.4 gn of H4350 produced 2,940 & 2,985 fps, SD's of 7 & 10.

N550 @ 35.5 gn/2,822 fps/SD 39; 36.5 gn/2,906 fps/SD 16; 37.5 gn /2,990 fps/SD 5.

ALL CAVEATES APPLY here as always with loads described here. PLEASE work up safe loads in your equipment! What I consider safe in mine MAY NOT BE in yours!
 
My 6XC barrel must be a real oddball. I tried for an embarrassingly long time to make H-4350 shoot and H-4831 as well as R16. Didn’t shoot bad, about 3/8 for 3 shots and many times 2 touching and 1 out but felt it should do better. In a fit of desperation I tried AA2700 before a prairie dog hunt shooting 80’s 90’s and 95’s. Several groups were virtually 1 hole. The gun had never done that before.
I figured that powder may be a little fast for the 105 class bullets but was pleasantly surprised when it shot bug hole groups with those too. Matter of fact, my long range hitting % went up a lot with the 105’s. Just wish I would have figured this out sooner.

John
 
My 6XC barrel must be a real oddball. I tried for an embarrassingly long time to make H-4350 shoot and H-4831 as well as R16. Didn’t shoot bad, about 3/8 for 3 shots and many times 2 touching and 1 out but felt it should do better. In a fit of desperation I tried AA2700 before a prairie dog hunt shooting 80’s 90’s and 95’s. Several groups were virtually 1 hole. The gun had never done that before.
I figured that powder may be a little fast for the 105 class bullets but was pleasantly surprised when it shot bug hole groups with those too. Matter of fact, my long range hitting % went up a lot with the 105’s. Just wish I would have figured this out sooner.

John

We are testing Magpro in 243 and we are getting tiny groups.
 
Does anyone have any real world experience using faster powders in the 6xc with 95-107 class bullets? Specific powders would be RL15, H4895, N140, and 8208xbr. I know H4350 is tough to beat, but I want something that meters better. Primary use is inside 600yds.
From my new Sierra Manual.
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
166,247
Messages
2,214,765
Members
79,495
Latest member
panam
Back
Top