barrel life of 6mm AI
- Thread starter AusFclass
- Start date
I cooked mine after firing 680 shots thru it in match conditions shooting 107 Sierra's where barrel heat becomes a problem. One heck of a cartridge with excellent accuracy. You may get more but all in all its a barrel burner and after playing around with 2 of them shooting LR GH matches I believe the cartridge is better suited to LR varminting at a slow rate of fire. YMMV.
Frank
Frank
I have no experience with F-class but mine still holds 0.5 MOA after being repeatedly flogged for over 2500K rounds at P-dogs and gophers. This is my second barrel (Rock Creek). The other lasted over 3000 rounds before it started having flyer issues.
My first barrel shot awesome up to about 800 rounds of F class, after that it still shot really well but I would have had my doubts about using it for a match. I carried on using the barrel for practise and fire forming, it's pretty much toast now on 1300 rounds.
My second barrel has also been fantastic but F class accuracy has dropped off after 500 rounds. There's definite fire cracking and while I'm not prepared to give up on it yet I don't think this barrel will last as long as the first.
Both barrels have been run on RL25 and 115 Dtacs.
My second barrel has also been fantastic but F class accuracy has dropped off after 500 rounds. There's definite fire cracking and while I'm not prepared to give up on it yet I don't think this barrel will last as long as the first.
Both barrels have been run on RL25 and 115 Dtacs.
ooooowwwww that's pretty bad!! haha worse than I was expecting actually! im getting over 1500 out of my 7 SAUM! one thing that may influence barrel life is that we only shoot 10 shot matches over here so I think that would help.
what kind of velocities are you getting with the 105 and 115gr bullets?
what kind of velocities are you getting with the 105 and 115gr bullets?
Elwood said:I could get 3300 fps with 115 Dtacs, accuracy wise it was 3240 fps, the ballistics will equal 7 WSM territory but so does the barrel life
Trust me when it works they are simply a fantastic caliber to shoot, recoil is only worth noting due to the lack of it!
my mate has a reamer and its a bloudy sexy round! but as you point out there is a loss with every gain. It would be nice to shoot though.
The 243 AI isn't that much different from my 6CM. I don't have much experience with the AI cartridge. However, that being said I think the reason the AI has the reputation as a barrel burner is due to the powder choice of the shooter.
This cartridge should work perfectly with H1000 or N165. Shooting these powders should still allow the shooter to acheive 3300 fps from the 105 to 115 class bullets with over 3000 rounds of barrel life.
If you shoot 4831 or 4350 type powders barrel life will be dramatically decreased.
Joe H
This cartridge should work perfectly with H1000 or N165. Shooting these powders should still allow the shooter to acheive 3300 fps from the 105 to 115 class bullets with over 3000 rounds of barrel life.
If you shoot 4831 or 4350 type powders barrel life will be dramatically decreased.
Joe H
Elwood what twist is your barrel? I am building one in about 4 weeks i have a Brux 7.5 on order but can change it if I need too, they will start on it next week or the next. I want to shoot 115 Dtacs also if the barrel will let me. What is your load an what brass are you using.Elwood said:I could get 3300 fps with 115 Dtacs, accuracy wise it was 3240 fps, the ballistics will equal 7 WSM territory but so does the barrel life
Trust me when it works they are simply a fantastic caliber to shoot, recoil is only worth noting due to the lack of it!
Thanks Jack
AmaxJack said:Elwood what twist is your barrel? I am building one in about 4 weeks i have a Brux 7.5 on order but can change it if I need too, they will start on it next week or the next. I want to shoot 115 Dtacs also if the barrel will let me. What is your load an what brass are you using.Elwood said:I could get 3300 fps with 115 Dtacs, accuracy wise it was 3240 fps, the ballistics will equal 7 WSM territory but so does the barrel life
Trust me when it works they are simply a fantastic caliber to shoot, recoil is only worth noting due to the lack of it!
Thanks Jack
Your 1-7.5 will be perfect.
I have used the same load in two barrels, with 53 grains of RL25 (work up to it) and Fed 210 primers.
I normally use RWS 7x57 brass necked down to 6mm, this is considerably time consuming and not for the faint hearted if you don't like neck turning! but the brass has been superior to anything else I have used, I have 100 cases on 17 firings.
Winchester 6mm Rem brass is probably going to be your best bet for price and availability.
WyleWD
Silver $$ Contributor
40X Guy said:
Definitely agree with Frank's post.
IMHO you'd be farther ahead to go the 6-284 route.... you might make it to 1000 rounds out of a barrel that way, have access to better quality brass, and properly chambered you could just size, load, and shoot. No fireforming required.
Having had both of 6AI and several 6-284's, I gave up on all that went with a 6xc. While there is a noticeable difference in muzzle velocity, you use much less powder and barrel life is way above what you'll get with either of the forementioned rounds. There are several other rounds (6 Dasher, and other br derivitives) that are also excellent choices as well. JMHO. WD
I have a 243 ackly and a 6mm ackly i built the 243 ackly because you can get lapua brass for it.
[br]Gman said:
That's right. Not many 6mm cartridges with a .350" neck.
Well aware that the 6mm has a longer neck than the others. I'll take the short neck 243win with lapua brass anyday over the 6mm. When I rebarrel my two 243AI's I'm going to take a serious look at the 6CM and SLR plus the 6 x 47. Out of those I'm leaning to the 6 x 47 great brass minimal effort to make cases and better barrel life. I also shoot a 6mmbr and its pretty darn hard to beat. So for me I'm thinking less is the way to go. About the only thing you gain with the big 6's is wearing out barrels faster.
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