My 6mm BR Project Specs

[Justin_B]

I'm going to build a 6mm Br for informal bench use and maybe a future pdog shoot, 95% of the time it'll be punching paper. Here's what I've decided, please give any feedback before I order.

Savage stainless short action,probably repeater)

.272 no turn neck, .90 freebore

Pac-Nor 28inch, full contour, 1 in 8 twist, 3 groove barrel

Main diet will be 75 vmaxes, 105 amaxes and 107 sierras. I plan to use lapua brass, cci br450 primers and probably Varget. I'm open to opinions on dies, I'm thinking about the Forester Full-length benchrest die set. If anybody has something to add, please do so. Thanks.

 

[Wild_Bill]

Hi Justin your rig should work well i would only change 1 component i would still use your Forster seating die but shange to a Redding Tyoe s bushing Full length sizing die and a .266 or .267 bushing you will get better ammunition with the ability to change bushings to a smaller one when the brass has less spring back.
The 28" barrel is enough and i could even go with a 26 for what you are doing. I also use Varget 30gr with a 105-107 projectile but use Reminfton 7 1/2br primers.

Cheers Bill
Australia

 

[Aussie_bob]

Only problem with that is he isn`t turning necks so the outside dia or his necks will vary form .271 down to .267 so neck tensions would be all over the place i just went through some new Lapua Cases and they range from .012 to .014 neck wall thickness so with a .266 bushing he would have .001 tension on some and .005 on others.
My self i would go for a .269 neck in the chamber and skim all the necks of the brass to .012 then use a Redding S type die with a .265 bushing that way the brass will last much longer and you have consistent neck tension.

 

[Justin_B]

I'm sure turned necks would be better, but I would rather spend time shooting. I'm not building a competition rifle, or I would be going with a better action. I'm just looking for that fine line between spending too much money and enough money to be satisfied.

 

[Aussie_bob]

Skimming that .002 can be done in one pass and wouldn`t take much time and you would have much more consistant brass.
Otherwise you may as well just use standard dies with the expander ball to give you consistant inside neck size.

 

[BoydAllen]

The Redding S type FL die comes with a decapping pin retainer, to be used when no expander ball is needed, and an expander ball. My reason for pointing this out is that one can choose a bushing that leaves only a thousandth interference between the expander ball and the neck and not mess up brass concentricity, especially if the neck ID is lubricated and the press handle is operated so that the expander is pulled through the neck very gently. Lapua brass is so consistent that this approach may work well for someone that does not want to turn necks, but wants to achieve straighter brass than a standard die will give. One reason that expanders are a problem is that the typical die ID in the neck is excessively small, reducing the neck to the point that enough axial pull force is exerted on the neck as the expander is pulled through it, that the shoulder yields slightly, one side more than the other, cocking the neck relative to the body. Choosing the correct bushing reduces the pull on the neck to a point below the yield point of the shoulder brass.

 

[Caduceus]

As soon as you commit to the 6BR, order your brass. Maybe you'll get it right away, maybe you won't and it will need to go on back order for a while. Both recent shipments from Finland seemed to sell out very quickly. There would be nothing worse than getting a new rifle and then having to wait weeks or months to get brass to shoot in it.

Oh, I suppose you could always use Norma

 

[Forum Boss]

If your PacNor barrel performs like my 27" 3-groove, you may find it prefers the 105 Scenars and 80gr Bergers over the other bullets you mention. The 75 V-max could only do about 1/2 MOA in my gun. The Bergers shot cloverleafs.

 

[Justin_B]

That is a nice group, one that I would be more than happy with. My main reason for building the rifle is to help improve my shooting abilities at longer ranges with less wind drift. That's why I'm leaning toward higher bc bullets. I've got other rifles for short range work, but wanted something consistant so that I know it's my fault when groups open-up. If I like the round, I will probably end-up with a custom action, etc later on. For now, the forementioed set-up will probably shoot better than me.

I've noticed that the brass is sold-out in most places, but I haven't even ordered any parts yet. I figure it will take at least 4-6 wks for the barrel to get here according to pac-nor.

Moderator, I would be interested in some more specifics of your set-up and pics.

 

[Forum Boss]

My Savage/PacNor is featured here:

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek036.html

I use a Redding FL,nonbushing) die honed to give about .002 tension. You can do the same thing with a Forster die for less money.

The stock on my rifle looks nice, but I wouldn't buy another Microfit stock. The inletting was badly done. I would also prefer a stock with a flat 3" fore-end and less drop in the butt. However when I first bought the rifle it was a .260 and I was thinking of using it for tactical matches off bipod.

I've loaded with "competition" seater dies from RCBS, Redding, Forster, and Wilson. I prefer the Wilson SS micrometer die. It is a joy to use.

 

[Justin_B]

Thanks. Nice looking rifle, very similar to the specs I plan to use. My stock will be the long-range benchrest stock offered by brownells.