Long range 6mm varmint cartridge?????

[Phil]

Looking for opinions on a long range (1000yrd.) 6mm varmint gun.

Lapua brass is a HUGE plus for me...

I want something FAST and flat using 105 A-maxes.

6Dasher....Little slow,good brass,slowest of the bunch.

.243AI....good brass,hard on parts,good velocity.

6mmAI...Brass issues,possible with Norma,good velocity.

6-284...good brass,hard on parts,mucho velocity.

6SLR/BRK...brass issues,decent velocity.


Am i leaving something out here????

This will be a live varmint rig,NOT a high volume colony gun.

Phil.

 

[CanusLatransSnpr]

I'm in the same boat as you right now Phil! I'm trying to decide which 6mm chambering to go with for the same type of work. No matter what I look at, I keep leaning toward the 6mmAI though. Winchester brass isn't horrible to work with so the brass thing concerns me none in the least. All I have is short actions to work with so a 6-284 is out of the question for me. Everything I've read implies that the 6mmAI will live a bit longer than the .243AI and its a bit faster too! Hope I helped!

Mike

 

[ollie]

I know this is a simple answer but i have been running a 6br 8tw out to 1200yds.

 

[fivering]

One very good LR cartridge is the 6mmx22-250.
They are extremely accurate, good barrel life, and have excellent velocity, with low recoil.

Simply neck up your 22-250 brass to 6mm, reamers and dies are very easy to get, and you're off and running.

For a little more oomph you can Ackleyize it, and essentially have a 6XC.

Of course, the biggest drawback is it is not one of the new "latest thing, I have to have one" cartridges.

 

[Phil]

Ollie,

Sometimes the simplest answers are the best.....

I havn`t ruled out the 6 Dasher, i just wish it had some more velocity to offer..

Shooting unknown distances i`d like to have the flattest shooting cartridge i can get.....Within reason of course. ;D


Phil.

 

[Phil]

Mike,

Good brass can be had for the 6mmAI from Norma 7x57...It`s a little work, but worth it in the end.

The .243AI wins in simplicity...Load,BANG AI case formed....

I`m still not sure it`s the winner though...

The 6SLR is a one pass/load/shoot, and is about 100fps. slower than the AI version...better barrel life?????

 

[expiper]

Doesnt any body shoot the .243 win.

I hav had em since the beginning and always keep going bak.....I got one now with 8 twist bbl...mmmmmmm///// you suld try it....Roger

 

[Phil]

Roger,

The AI version is on my list of possibilities.....Talk me into it...

 

[Rookie]

243 or 243AI
I have a 243AI in it's finishing stages now, It's been test fired and brass formed (270 neck) PacNor 27" Super Match 8 twist for 105-115 VLD bullets. Just waiting for the stock to come back from paint.

 

[TheBlueEyedBear]

Here's one to consider; 6-6.5x47 (6x47). Check this article out:
http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek093.html
Stan has this gun for sale at present.

 

[LRPV]

It seems that this is a pretty popular question right now and possibly always has been. I'm trying to decide the same thing and as of right now am trying to decide between the 6mm AI and the 6-284. The Sierra book lists a longer OAL for the 6mm than the 6-284 which we all know will vary according to the chamber anyway. From what I have read either of these cartridges would be better served with a long action. My project is going to be on a pre-64 M70 so the cartridge length isn't going to be a concern with the "long action" parts installed. It looks to me that both cartridges are pretty close in top velocity but the 6-284 is just a simple neck down on superior brass where the 6mm AI will require fire forming and if using 7x57 norma brass, extensive brass prep before you get to the usable brass. Dies are about the same cost, brass is about the same if you figure the cost of the 7x57 Norma or a lot cheaper if you use domestic 6mm brass. The 6-284 takes more powder and also needs a longer barrel to get the velocity. It seems like I'm chasing the holy grail trying to find the ultimate 6mm speed round. Jason

 

[HillbillySniper]

What about a 6x47 Lapua? I have one that shoots the 105 vld bergers right around 2950-3000 fps. Brass is easy to come by with the right dies and a no turn neck on shot thru the die load it and shoot it.

Hillbilly

 

[coyoteklr]

243 AI is really hard to beat....... as mentioned before easy to form brass and can still be accurate while forming.... brass is readily available in several brands....brass doesn't stretch after forming... the barrel issue is as valade as the 220 swift issue... with the new barrel steels and the ackley shoulder the barrels last way longer.... and anytime you want the speed your going to have a shorter barrel life.....
the superformance powder may very well help immensly..... have a friend that just had a 243 ai built and likes it with the superformance powder.... he uses it to hunt everything ....10 twist..... final thing .... you can pick up regular 243 ammo off the shelf just about anywhere you want to go in this country..... and it will shoot it accurately...... of course there's always the 220 swift AI with an 8 twist barrel......

 

[40X Guy]

Go with 6AI, I have 2 and will not ever look back. I have had in the past a .243 AI with which I shot light 6MM bullets, but I can do that with my .220 Swift and achieve same speeds. I also had a 6-284 about 15 years ago and it was pretty finicky to load for and IMO is overbore. The 6AI is the best combo of case capacity, wind bucking ability, long neck, 40 degree shoulder, easy to tune and is deadly with an 8 twist shooting 105 class, or a 10 twist shooting 75-95 class bullets. I fire the Norma 7X57 brass in my one rifle that i necked down in 2 stages and fireformed, and it is very consistent brass. My new 6AI is a .269 neck for which I just got 88 pieces of Winchester brass prepped and ready to fireform. First rifle throws Lapua 105's and Sierra 107's right at 3180-3200 and load is very mild with 48 grains of H4831SC. It likes that node so I leave it at that. Rifle shoots lites out at 600 yards, looking to stretch the legs on both this year out to 1000.

To make a long story short, I like the cartridge so much that I am in the planning stages for one more. I have the Broughton 5C 8 twist 1000 yard profile barrel blank, just researching actions at this time. Also go to home page and read about Richard Franklins 6AI under gun of the week.

Frank

 

[ChrisNZ]

The 6 Hot (6-6.5x47L) is a useful little number for sure but can be hard on barrels. A local guy running hottish 4350 loads found his throat was toast at 700rds. Depends how many rounds you intend to get through I guess.

Chris-NZ

 

[K22]

This happened to me five years ago while hunting groundhogs. I would have never believed it if I hadnt' seen with my own eyes.

I was hunting this farm when this older fellow came up to me (with no equipment) and asked if I minded if he hunted on the backside of the hill where I was sitting. I thought he was nuts because hill where he wanted to hunt faced a large field of corn that was seven feet high. There was really no where to hunt hogs so I thought. It didn't affect my hunt so I said sure buddy.

An hour later I heard him shoot, it sounded like a cannon. Twenty minutes later, he shot again. I was curious so I walked over the hill to see what was going on. What I saw blew my mind. He was shooting a custom rifle with 30 inch bull barrel that was about 2" thick that he hauled up the field in a golf cart with a myriad of other equipment. He had a shooting mat and was shooting off a Harris bipod prone.

The rifle was an 8mm Remingtion Magnum necked down to 6mm using a Hornady A Max bullet. The real amazing thing was he was shooting across the corn field to a tree line on another hill that was about eight hundred yards away. And yes, he got two hogs one at about 750 and the other at about 800. He was a gunsmith and had built the rifle himself. He had all the ballisitics work out on a chart, used a range finder then would dial in the elevation. This was August and there was virtually no wind. I sat there the rest of the evening watching him. He got two more, and missed one; all three in the 700 to 800 yard range.

He was definitely a long range specialist.

 

[kjcpoint]

6-06?

Kyle

 

[STRSRLVR]

I highly recommend going with the 6xc. You can get the norma made brass direct from David Tubb & save big $$. I had PT&G make reamer made for the 87 & 105 grain & I am running a 1 in 8 twist bartlein & it's an absolute tack driver. I went through the same thing trying to figure out what to build. Finally I figured out I had better things to do than fire form brass. Pierce still has the reamer & I think you would be very pleased with their work.

 

[RJinTexas]

I own and shoot most of them, hands down the 6mmAI is my favorate long range p-dog cartridge. I'm shooting 87gr Vmax and 105 Amax.

RJ

 

[sscoyote]

Got a buddy that's shooting a 243 AR-10/87 V-Max on coyotes. The past 2 seasons so far he has 1-shot kills at 785, 650 (2), 535, 500, and 440.

785-yarder was turreted using his I-Pod Touch with JBM downloaded on it with his verified ballistics profile for his load. He calls the local airport for air density changes several times a day.

Others were with the Varmint Hunter's reticle in his 6.5-20 VX-III.

He's the most efficent long-range to 800 yds. coyote shooter i've ever known or even heard of. One thing about this kind of LR shooting though--usually time is of the essence which puts a whole new variable into the equation.