lost in all the 243 variations

[Dgd6mm]

If you use Lapua brass in the .243 30 degree you will get donuts. You will not get donuts in any of the 3 cartridges if you use domestic brass.

 

[mac37]

no fire forming, you size new brass with a die, which means I don't have to have to have one load for shooting new brass and another for the rest of the time.

This really isn't so for 6mmSLR. You definitely get better accuracy with fire formed cases and you have to tweak the powder charge to get the same velocity. Even so, I have not found an easier round to dial in.

 

[kevwil]

kevwil said:
If I weren't looking to use 243 brass I already have, I might be interested in 6 Dasher or 6x47L. I also like the logic from the 6CM description where barrel life is extended by not running hot loads all the time yet still getting 3000fps.

Let me see if I get this right. You're going to have a custom rifle built and the deciding factor is whether you can re-use some 243 brass? What am I missing here? Have I entered some kind of alternate universe/dimension?

"the" deciding factor? No.

 

[kevwil]

If you use Lapua brass in the .243 30 degree you will get donuts.

The website says "Works well with existing Lapua, Winchester and Remington 243 brass." and "No initial neck turning or trimming required." but you're asserting the opposite ... please explain.

 

[Frankr]

kevwil said: You mentioned barrel life, and that is one thing I'm considering as part of this process. The 6mm Comp Match seems to have been designed with long barrel life in mind, and is easily fire formed, but I haven't found any case diagrams yet.

Kevwill,
I don't have case diagrams but I do have a reamer diagram. See below.

Joe it looks like the freebore in the posted print is .066. wow that seems very short?
I was thinking about .160 freebore to be good for 115's I use a .104 freebore in my 6XC and it is very short.
anybody have a suggestion for freebore on the 6CM.

I really cant see any reason for not using Lapua 243 brass in the 6CM(kind of the same as 243IMP30).
as long as the cases is FL sized in a 243 die with out a expander ball. neck expanded and neck turned ,maybe even annealed before loaded and fire formed. they should come out with the cut slightly on the shoulder with no donut. ???

What I need to do is get some Lapua and win brass and some 115's. do some measuring before I order my reamer.I would prefer to use the Lapua brass. I can see no reason for not.

 

[jcampbellsmith]

I'm starting a target rifle project and I think I want to go with an will be chambering it in some improved variant of the 243 Win cartridge. I'm confused by the vast variety of variants which seem to be the same.

What's the difference between "243Win Improved 30Ëš" and "243 BR-K" and "6mm Super X" and "6mm Super LR" and "6SLR"?

They all seem to be a 243 Win case with a 30Ëš shoulder, the only difference I can see is that the 243 BR-K seems to have a shorter neck.

Thanks!

Edit: clarify what's in question and what's not

It's a very good question and I've asked similar questions. The long answer is to try each one and see how they work out. So far I've shot 243 Win, 243 AI, and am now onto 6XC. They will all do a job for you. A lot comes down to three things:

Build quality.
Your reloading abilities.
Your shooting abilities.

Have fun reading the replies, but in practice, you have to bite the bullet and pick one and learn from using it. Then pick another one. My personal picks are based on options that can be fed with factory ammunition in an emergency.

Regards

JCS

 

[Frankr]

yes there are many flavor's of 6mm cartridges. a lot of them are very similar in design. it can be quite confusing .
what's worse is the price of componets. nothing worse than a new rifle and can not get bullets,powders,primers.
I'm working backwards. cases,bullets. I like having my own reamer. so i'm sure of my chamber.then I will have the rifle built. it is very expensive. I have a 6xc and i'm quite found of it. it works as advertised.Very accurate.
I'm going to build the 6mm CM over the other 6mm variants. do to it's well proven design. I do think it will be better than the 6XC in pushing a 115. It's a long term project. the action I want to use with the floor plate repeater set up with shipping and ffl fees alittle over $1700.00. just for the action. so by the time we chamber two barrels stock,scope you can see it is a lot of money. to me. maybe not to some. so I want to try and make it as right as possible from the start.as you know if you don't love it and want to sell it good luck. you may be lucky if you get half what you spent to build it.

joe R thanks for all your help.

 

[Dgd6mm]

If you use Lapua brass in the .243 30 degree you will get donuts.

The website says "Works well with existing Lapua, Winchester and Remington 243 brass." and "No initial neck turning or trimming required." but you're asserting the opposite ... please explain.

I know what it says. I just have a hard time believing it. When you fire Lapua brass like you do in a cartridge similar to the 6CM the brass has to flow somewhere, and that somewhere is up to the bottom of the neck area.

 

[kevwil]

I know what it says. I just have a hard time believing it. When you fire Lapua brass like you do in a cartridge similar to the 6CM the brass has to flow somewhere, and that somewhere is up to the bottom of the neck area.

Fair enough.

So, if all the 243 variants will have some neck turning issues, I guess I'll be looking for a plan B caliber. Maybe 6x47L or 6XC? Norma seems to be a ghost town for brass production lately, so perhaps necking down 6.5x47L to 6mm makes the most sense for me?

*sigh* To many options.

 

[Frankr]

Kevwil Not to be a D**k but when every you neck down or fire form to a AI getting a donut at the neck shoulder junction is highly possible. I had real bad ones making 22-250 to 6XC. A neck turner should be a must have tool if you are going to play with a cartridge that get's fire formed, necked up or even down. But that is not to say you cant fire form a AI type case to 30 DEG or 40 and not get donuts. I'm just saing neck turners are not super expensive and not hard to use. chamber what ever you like try it if you have problems and have to do some neck turning. it not all that bad.

 

[mac37]

Kevwil Not to be a D**k but when every you neck down or fire form to a AI getting a donut at the neck shoulder junction is highly possible.

This goes for necking down 6.5x47 to 6x47 brass as well.

 

[Dgd6mm]

If you use Lapua brass in the .243 30 degree you will get donuts. You will not get donuts in any of the 3 cartridges if you use domestic brass.

Domestic brass, as in Remington, Winchester,etc. I choose to inside neck ream my brass because it Does tighting the grouping up at longer ranges. The .243 Lapua brass is bigger dimension then domestic brass at the web. I have Winchester brass with 20 firings on it. At 200 pieces that isn't enough to burn out a 6CM barrel, and yes it is still accurate at .4 moa, good enough for steel.

 

[kevwil]

Kevwil Not to be a D**k but when every you neck down or fire form to a AI getting a donut at the neck shoulder junction is highly possible. I had real bad ones making 22-250 to 6XC. A neck turner should be a must have tool if you are going to play with a cartridge that get's fire formed, necked up or even down. But that is not to say you cant fire form a AI type case to 30 DEG or 40 and not get donuts. I'm just saing neck turners are not super expensive and not hard to use. chamber what ever you like try it if you have problems and have to do some neck turning. it not all that bad.

Well, damn. Perhaps I need to look for an unmodified chambering.

 

[Rtheurer]

How about a 243 Winchester? I hear it performs the same as a 243 Winchester.... and that's not a bad thing. ( sorry some dry humor there) a faster twist 243 will do everything you could want. Run some H1000 or N160 in it and some 105 class bullets... Bam your done.
RussT

 

[kevwil]

LOL yeah, maybe. That brass stretching though

 

[Frankr]

there is always the 6XC. it is not a bad choice at all. I really like mine. Actually the reason I decided to chamber one and try it is the Norma brass was and had been available for several years now..lol .... it has been scarce lately but does pop up now and then. I just got 100 new cases maybe two months ago. there was some a week or two ago, but they go fast. like one day they are in stock and the next day not. you can even buy Norma Factory loaded rounds if you don't mind parting with a lot of cash. I got 50 of them just for fun..and yep the 243 win throated long and a 7.5 twist aint' a bad thing at all.

yea midsouth shooter supply still shows they have loaded factory 6XC in stock. if ya got the cash ..lol...
I figure with shipping just a little over 3 dollars a round. can anyone really afford to shoot them in matches?
Or are they just for look'en at? thats what I do with the one's I got.lol...

 

[Rtheurer]

Where do you get the 6XC brass from?

 

[kevwil]

Yeah, I've checked 3 or 4 times since I started this thread - 6XC brass has been out of stock every time. Actually, as I've shopped for brass in other calibers, I haven't seen Norma brass in stock in any caliber I've searched for. Remington is even worse, they have stated they're not releasing brass for reloading at all this year, and won't be in the near future. Lapua brass is very easy for me to find in stock, and is top quality brass worthy of its premium price, so these availability differences certainly influence my choices. 6mm BR (unmodified) and 6x47L are top candidates on my list right now, partly because of the component availability.

If Lapua made 6XC brass, that might be my #1 choice of caliber for this project. This begs the question - how reliable/simple/idiot-proof is the process of making 6XC brass from Lapua 22-250 brass?

 

[Rtheurer]

I guess if it was me I would neck down 6.5X47 to 6XC with one stroke of the press. I say this after making 6X47 Swiss Match out of 22-250 brass and it was a lot more involved than taking the X47 Lapua brass and just running it through my full length die and Bang your done. making sure I set the shoulder back just enough to be snug for the first fireing. (checking every one of them in the rifle,prior to loading to confirm spring back or lack there of)
Then you get the small Primer as well which cant hurt any. But if your going to do all that the 6X47 is right there with it all. The 6XC,6X47Lapua and 6X47Swiss match are all so CLOSE together in internal capacity that its just a matter of personal choice or availability in this case....no pun intended.
All good little cartridges in my eyes. The 243 still gets it done too though.

Almost too many options these days.

And before you ask about the Swiss Match... its not imported into the USA, but popular in European areas with good results in 300Meter comps. No dies available and No commercial brass. I just like to have something different.

RussT

 

[kevwil]

I guess if it was me I would neck down 6.5X47 to 6XC with one stroke of the press. I say this after making 6X47 Swiss Match out of 22-250 brass and it was a lot more involved than taking the X47 Lapua brass and just running it through my full length die and Bang your done.

Hmmmm, a 6XC with a small primer pocket, interesting!