Hornady 6mm ARC "New" cartridge

[ormandj]

I managed to get out to the range, just using an LPVO for now, so no group to upload, as I was just sighting in the rifle. I did capture some velocity data for the 108 ELD-M factory ammunition though (keep in mind this is a brand new barrel, less than 10 rounds through when I shot these):

18" barrel (suppressed):

2641
2642
2642
2643
2652
2640
2640
2646

AVG: 2643.25
SD: 4.026696626

10.5" barrel (suppressed):

2343
2319
2313
2335
2312
2336
2287
2329
2301
2318
2322
2327
2318

AVG: 2320
SD: 15.0443788

This data was acquired using a LabRadar. I apologize in advance for the odd shot-string counts, I was in a hurry and just wanted to get some rounds downrange to start the break-in period and get some velocity data to work up some dope charts to start with until the barrel is fully broken in.

Groups were fine as you'd expect for a Bartlein barrel (inch or so 10 shot groups), but the LVPO (Razor G3 1-10x24) has a 0.2MRAD dot and the barrel wasn't broken in, so I wasn't shooting for groups. I'll dial down a mil and use the ranging reticle to shoot for groups when I get to my primary range and take them both out to 1000 yards and grab some pictures then. Being Craddock Bartlein barrels, and bedded using SS shim stock in my uppers, I fully anticipate these will be shooters.

I also expect both barrels to speed up a little. Hope this provides some useful data to those contemplating an SBR in this caliber. At the average velocity above for the 10.5" barrel, it's still moving at 1235fps @ 800 yards, 1129 fps @ 900, and is at 1063 fps @ 1000. I'm generally fine > 1100 fps and definitely fine above 1200. Depending on the bullet and how it handles the trans-sonic region, I bet 1000 is going to be doable with the SBR. The 18" is around 1236 fps @ 1000 yards, so no problem at all with the longer barrel. This at 70F @ sea level, the numbers will change slightly depending on environment.

 

[Brians356]

It will be interesting to see how accurate you guys can make it shoot out of a bolt gun. I think it will create a new surge in the AR-15 platform, hot item for coyote hunters.

Yeah, and we really need a surge in AR sales right now.
-

 

[Lkwebb]

Yeah, and we really need a surge in AR sales right now.
-

Next week I may have my 6mm arc bolt gun up for sale. Its shoots great in a chassis in which I cant afford to buy atm . The stock that it has is the howa mini action stock..
The gunsmith put it in his chassis shoots .36 and in the howa stock it shoots .96..
I can't afford to put more money into it due to other life stuff going on...when I receive it back from him .. keep you head up it might be here for sale

 

[jeffreybehr]

Next week I may have my 6mm arc bolt gun up for sale. Its shoots great in a chassis in which I cant afford to buy atm . The stock that it has is the howa mini action stock..
The gunsmith put it in his chassis shoots .36 and in the howa stock it shoots .96..
I can't afford to put more money into it due to other life stuff going on...when I receive it back from him .. keep you head up it might be here for sale

Tell us more, pls. Action? Barrel length? etc.

 

[jeffreybehr]

I'm more-or-less an AR15 seminovice with experience with only a few ARs.. Currently I'm down to one, an 18"-barreled, custom-assembled 6X45 with 10" twist.. I've had it several years but just this summer restarted reloading for it.. Most recently I bought a BUNCH of unbranded-but-are-Hornady-GMX 'factory-second' 80g., 6mm, all-copper, red-plastic-tipped bullets from Midway (c. 28 cents each)...

Factory Second 6mm, 243 Cal (243 Diameter) Bullets 80 Grain Polymer

MidwayUSA has just made a huge purchase of blemished bullets and we are passing the savings to our customers. Blemished bullets are bulk-packaged,...

www.midwayusa.com

...and have been load-testing them.. Being all-copper, they're longer than lead/copper bullets and have to be seated rather deeply for the '15 magazines.

Here, one is shown with an 85g Speer BTSP.. I've shot some 3-shot bugholes @ 50 yards and am enjoying reloading and using an AR again.

I learned of and became fascinated by--obssessed with?--this 6mm ARC cartridge only weeks ago. I've ordered a CMMG Resolute 200 Mk.4 with 16.1" barrel*, some ammo, more factory-second bullets--(Hornady) 103g. HPBTs this time--Hornady cases, etc.. Fortunately I already have LOTS of SR primers and candidate-powders..

I believe I'll enjoy shooting and reloading for this cartridge and rifle.. More later.

* I'm 76 years old and rather sensitive to recoil due partially to a replaced right-shoulder joint, and I'm a bit feeble overall and no longer can handle heavy rifles.

 

[uncle fester]

Here is the list of current cartridges in use either for testing or issue ammunition:

"One phenomenon that has emerged from the U.S. special operations community over the last 10 to 12 years involves exploration and acquisition of small arms in new ballistic calibers.


Rather than the better known weapon designs in 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, .50 caliber, and even the U.S. Army’s emerging 6.8 mm Next Generation Squad Weapon, the community has embraced calibers like the .300 AAC (Advanced Armament Corporation) Blackout (.300 BLK), 6.5 Creedmoor, .300 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge), and both .300 and .338 Norma Magnum."

https://www.nationaldefensemagazine...perations-community-embraces-wildcat-calibers

They are definitely pushing the envelope of ballistics. One thing everyone needs to understand is that the Army has another Next Gen rifle competition going on. https://taskandpurpose.com/military-tech/army-next-generation-squad-weapon-photos

All of those designs are somewhat innovative and expensive. There is nothing to guarantee any of them will ever actually be deployed.

IMHO - projects like the 6mm ARC are the military’s way of making sure that they have a cheap, low risk way to upgrade their existing rifles with a barrel/bolt swap.

Think of it as Plan B

 

[457ciSBC]

If I remember correctly, the shoulder falls somewhere between the PPC and the Grendel.
1.12 vs 1.145 with the Grendel/6mmAR

A factory +.045 tall 6PPC is all.

 

[Henryrifle]

I have really enjoyed several of the new and/or slightly reconfigured cartridges/calibers that manufacturers have marketed to us and new shooters.

It would be easy to label many of the "new" offerings as a rip-off from (fill in the blank) but, it all depends on where you entered the sport. If you were a 260 or a 243 guy then the 6 and 6.5 Creedmoor likely don't appeal to you. And, similarly if you already shoot 6mm AR or Fat Rat then the ARC is just another take on something that already existed.

I have seen several relatively new shooters get interested in the ARC -- enough to buy or build one. That's great for the longevity of this sport and I wouldn't want to say or do anything to diminish their enthusiasm.

I have been away from ARs for a long time but freely admit that I have been having a lot of fun with a 6mm ARC I put together.

In the past 2 months I've shot it at 1000 yards a handful of times with great success and harvested 4 deer, several of which required 150 to 250 yard shots.

In my book that makes the 6mm ARC pretty versatile and useful for the shooting activities I enjoy.

While I agree that it is like a 6PPC, it runs at a much lower pressure, at least in the AR platform, has factory ammo support and only requires a bolt and barrel swap to run in any AR.

Am I a fanboy? No, it's not the greatest thing since Eugene Stoner invented the AR but it has a spot in my small gun safe for now.

Henryrifle

 

[457ciSBC]

It will be interesting to see how accurate you guys can make it shoot out of a bolt gun. I think it will create a new surge in the AR-15 platform, hot item for coyote hunters

How about we thank Arne Brennan and Bill Alexander? Or better yet, how about we thank Louis Palmisano and Ferris Pindell? Or we can go back to the source and thank Elizarov for the gran-daddy: the 7.62x39.

We all stand on the shoulders of others.

Bingo..........

 

[457ciSBC]

For me this cartridge works best as a repeating Varminter pushing the lighter weight bullets.One of my favorite mid range varmint cartridges is the 6BR and I always wished that I had a repeating version for yotes and foxes and this no hassle factory tall 6PPC should work great. If I want to run the 87-108 faster, that‘s what my 6 creed AR is for. However, as varmint gun, especially for smaller fur critters I think the ARC is the ticket.

While I’m waiting for my AR barrels to show up I just loaded these; 90 FMJ, 58 VMAX and standing the 65 VMAX, 65 Euber, 70 Blitz, 75 VMAX, 87 Hornady HPBT

 

[SD guy]

Nope, never came up. I'm actually surprised at some of the powders they didn't test, but I suppose they can't test them all. I just wish I had a pressure barrel so I could test these powders and see what max loads were. If someone with Quickload who has modeled the cartridge is willing to run numbers with H322 and AR-Comp +108gr ELD-M and see where 52k psi gets you with velocity, that would be nice.

Has the newness of this round worn off or is she still able to gain traction? For me Mini bolt action is where this cartridge shines. In that light Howa looks to have a clear competition free release going in to this coming season. Id prefer to see a bit of competition as we would get twice the press on release.

Though the CZ 527 has been discontinued, re-barreling a older or existing 7.62 x 39 or a 6.5 Grendel is a great option as well. I have been shooting the CZ 527 with a 22 in Pac-nor for less than a year, so the newness has not worn off for me yet. Still loving the CZ 527 in 6mm ARC.

This last falls deer hunt seemed to place the 6mm ARC in good standing for me. Apparently 2780 FPS with a 108 gr Elite hunter can be very adequate for a large bodied whitetail at 254 yards.

 

[Bill K]

Has the newness of this round worn off or is she still able to gain traction? For me Mini bolt action is where this cartridge shines. In that light Howa looks to have a clear competition free release going in to this coming season. Id prefer to see a bit of competition as we would get twice the press on release.

Though the CZ 527 has been discontinued, re-barreling a older or existing 7.62 x 39 or a 6.5 Grendel is a great option as well. I have been shooting the CZ 527 with a 22 in Pac-nor for less than a year, so the newness has not worn off for me yet. Still loving the CZ 527 in 6mm ARC.

This last falls deer hunt seemed to place the 6mm ARC in good standing for me. Apparently 2780 FPS with a 108 gr Elite hunter can be very adequate for a large bodied whitetail at 254 yards.

I am in the process of having my gunsmith place a new barrel, in 6mmARC, onto one of my CZ527's now.
All goes well I should have it up and running and loads worked out by around the end of March.
Then some rock chucks and this fall deer/bear, with it. Must use lead free for game, so will probably work with something like the 80-90 grain TTSX's .

 

[Laurie]

Though the CZ 527 has been discontinued, re-barreling a older or existing 7.62 x 39 or a 6.5 Grendel is a great option as well.

As the 527 and 550's replacement, the Model 600, roll-out continues, CZ has already said that variants handling 0.442" case-head dia. cartridges will be reintroduced 'shortly'. That allegedly includes the 6-ARC alongside the Grendel and 7.62X39mm.

 

[SD guy]

As the 527 and 550's replacement, the Model 600, roll-out continues, CZ has already said that variants handling 0.442" case-head dia. cartridges will be reintroduced 'shortly'. That allegedly includes the 6-ARC alongside the Grendel and 7.62X39mm.

This I had not seen 7.62 x39, 224 Valkyrie & 223 chambering is all I have seen as offerings for the shortest of the new 600 action. Based on the past - personally, I am not expecting a 6mm Arc offering for at least 24 months.

 

[darkangel_r2]

6 ARC can duplicate 308 ballistics out of a 20" ar15. Grab a primary arms 308 acss drop scope and make a load that matches at 800-1k. You now have an accurate, Light weight, light recoiling, highly functional dmr, with good barrel life, and low cost.

 

[jmkasza]

I really like the idea of this round in a bolt action rifle.. I’m thinking something a step up (or two) from a truck gun. Could shoot the 87gr v-max most days with plenty of options for deer in the fall. My range maxes out at 550 yards with steel targets and we get plenty of wind, it would be fun there too. With the exception of brass I already have the components needed to shoot this round. How have I not bought one of these already?? Oh wait, it’s valentines day and the wife’s birthday is not far behind.. maybe I better cool it. But I have a feeling it wont be long till I find one I like.

 

[Rodldavis]

Unless I am reading the prints wrong, this 6ARC case is .030” shorter to the shoulder, than standard 6.5 Grendel SAAMI. So if this is correct, it is not a necked down 6.5 Grendel.

This makes no sense, since it would be alot of extra headspace if this brass is used in the “OLD STD” 6AR chamber.

This ammo would also load and probably fire in a AR chambered in a 6.5 Grendel.

.030 is the firing pin protrusion from bolt face — 6ARC is .030 rebated from grendel so it probably won’t

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

.030 is the firing pin protrusion from bolt face — 6ARC is .030 rebated from grendel so it probably won’t

Huh?