Building a 6br help!

[rangerjoe10]

Hey Guys, New to the site. I've been looking around for awhile and decided the best way to get what I needed was to ask. I'm looking to build a 6br for benchrest shooting. I'm looking to shoot from 100 to 300 with most of my shooting being done at the 100. What grain bullet have you guys found to be the most accurate at these ranges mostly 100 yards since that's were I'll do most of my shooting? What twist barrel am I looking for to stabalize this bullet? I plain on building it on a Savage short action. This is just the planning stage and I'm still figuring out what questions need to be asked so any imput would be great. Thanks.

Joe

 

[MarkS]

Most like a 14 twist & shoot 65 to 68 gr bullets. I like a 12 twist and shoot 80gr Fowler. I have shot this load In 600 yd Benchrest, with very good results. See 80 GR & egg shoots on Main Page. I now have a 8 Twist, that will shoot everything up to 107 Sierra's

Mark

 

[ReedG]

You will find the 6 BR a very flexible beast to tame. If you have no desire,or, like me opportunity) to shoot over 300 yards, I recommend a 1:14 twist, .271 or .272 neck for "no-turn" necks. My best loads last year using a rechambered BR barrel were with 65 and 68 Bergers, using Benchmark and Varget. This season I am having a new barrel installed, still 1:14, but will try BIB 59 and 66.5 gr. and I have switched to coated bullets. I found last summer that 55-gr. Sierra BlitzKings would shoot phenomenally well in the 1:14 twist at 3,400/3,500 fps. That prompted me to try the 59-gr. match bullets this year.

Lapua 6 BR cases are the best cases I have ever seen. With a .272 neck and .268 sizing bushing, case life is measured in years not rounds. But it is important to get a chamber and twist that are designed to work with your selected loads. Bullets under 80 gr. only need about .040 to 060 throat because you definitely want to be able to seat into the lands. Lots of guys report good results shooting light bullets in the 1:8 and 1:9 barrels, but I believe a chamber properly throated for 90+ gr. bullets will not allow 55-65 gr. bullets to seat into the lands, in my experience.

Enjoy and keep us posted ...

P.S. I have a Savage Model 12 single-shot action with Douglas XX match barrel and McMillan stock which I will use to shoot IBS score matches this summer.

 

[ReedG]

Just some thoughts about building on a Savage action.

They are considered "outre" by most in the BR community. The wisdom is that to be truly competitive you will need a custom,Panda, etc.) action and any money you put into the Savage will be "wasted". That's not totally bad advice.

The Savage action is "different": the bolt handle is at the far rear of the action, the action tang needs to be free floated, the trigger assembly is mounted too far back, it has that "stupid" barrel nut, and also a removeable bolt head. Therefore it doesn't fit well in most of the existing BR equipment.

All that said, the Savage short, single-shot action is one of the strongest and stiffest actions there is. The floating bolt head is an ingenious design that not only allows quick caliber changes but also allows the bolt to align with the base of the cartridge better. You do not have to use the barrel nut, if you so choose. The nut will not work with most BR size barrels as they are 1.250" dia. at the breech. Therefore they are mounted a la Remington without the nut. The action tang does not have a mounting bolt attached to it, like "normal" actions do. That's OK, it's just different -- and therefore must be evil.

My best recommendation is to find a gunsmith that is familiar with Savages ... they are few, but a growing lot. The foremost is Fred Moreo at Sharp Shooters Supply. He carries everything needed for building great rifles, and it's all designed specifically for Savages. His prices are fair, his wisdom and ability excellent and he's great to work with. He carries match barrels that use the barrel nut, which is as it should be.

I've had two Savages built by Mickey Coleman at Coleman Rifles in Alabama. He is becoming a little cantakerous about Savages, but you might give him a try. His barrels do not use the nut.

The problem all the established BR 'smiths have is that their thinking and their equipment is all attuned to custom actions or at least Remington actions. Progress is being made, though, with more and more Savage-savvy 'smiths coming along. Even McMillan now offers their BR stocks inletted for Savages.

One of my BR buddies asked me why I chose the Savage and 6 BR. I told him I like to be different. He said, "If you show up at a BR match with a Savage action and 6 BR you will surely be different!" If you fit that mold you're going to have a great time.

 

[rangerjoe10]

ReedG,

Thanks for the info. I'm quite familar with Fred M. and Sharp Shooters Supply. They are great people and do indeed have great products. I have several "custom" Savage's that I've put together. I really enjoy doing my own work on my guns and have learned a ton about Savage rifle's. I can't wait to show up at a BR match with my Savage. As long as I do my part behind the trigger the nay sayers won't be talkin for long.

I'll keep ya posted.

 

[MColeman]

I've had two Savages built by Mickey Coleman at Coleman Rifles in Alabama. He is becoming a little cantakerous about Savages, but you might give him a try. His barrels do not use the nut.







Yeah, but I'm starting to 'scab over' fairly well. The first one was a 'tribulation' but the second one went OK. I've actually come to appreciate a lot of the features of the Savage action. Reed's rifle had a great trigger.