the perfect 6mm for hunting

[Beardog]

I have recently bought my wife a Model 7 Winchester 20" barrel 6mm as her frist hunting rifle. My reasoning for that was a light-weight,reasonable recoil, accurate and plenty of killing power for Southern Alberta Prairie goats,antelope)or stubble jumpers,deer). This season so far with 100gr ammo handloaded by a friend she has made some extraordinary shots ...for a rookie. A muley doe walking @ 375 yards, a white-tail doe broad side @ 435 yds and a white- tail 4x4 buck @375 yds,downhill)in a coulee. All shots were...one shot kills. I am so impressed with this caliber,I have always used a 30-06 or at least a 270 in my hunting "heyday") that I would like to build a 6mm based hunting rifle.

I have one more pre-requisite and that is....what about an Elk ? Possible? I can get as close as 300 yds or so as I hunt on horseback. I'm getting too old and fat for walking up and down the Eastern slopes of the Rockies. That's why God made horses ...right? I've been told that with 6 mm 105 gr Swift bullets,I'm not sure which one Scirocco II or the "A" Frame) that with a well placed shot from an accurate 6mm around 300-400 yds the job should get done.

Would a longer barrel be better? A wildcat 6mm ? Ackley Improved ? HELP I'm willing to spend a little more money on one exceptioal rifle and learn to shot it very well than have several rifles ...each one for a different purpose poorly. Is a Mueller 4x16 50 Sport Dot a scope worthy of an custom 6mm? Stocks.... I love a stock with a thumbhole or a pistol grip,10 years of Military training)Richard's Microfit Stocks..Knox Recoil Systems..???????? Suggestions?????

 

[Forum Boss]

For hunting, with a tapered barrel profile, I don't think 24" is too long. There are many good cartridges to choose from, and certainly the 6mm Rem and .243 Winchester would be on that list.

I'm sure you will get plenty of advice on bullet choices. But I have one comment on stocks. I don't think you'll be happy with Richard's Microfit Stocks,of California), unless you prefer to to TONS of finish work and sanding and possibly do major corrections to the inletting. West stocks,available from Richard's Custom Rifles of Virginia) are just the opposite--well-made and properly inletting.

If you like a thumbhole design, and want your rifle to be light weight, also consider a Tom Manners design. He builts fine hunting stocks with carbon fiber. Here's one he built for rocker Ted Nugent.

LINK: http://mannersstocks.com/UltralightHunter.html

The picture above is of a Winchester model 670 super short,
the finished weight is only 6.2 lbs with scope.

 

[Gman]

I think a heavy 6mm. bullet, with proper shot placement will kill an elk. But I think you will need to get closer than 300 yards for maximum ft./lbs. of energy. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure many hunters have killed elk at 300 yards with 6mm.'s, but you would definatly be better off with a 6.5 and larger calibers for clean, humane kills.

 

[expiper]

Hi houndog....sounds like U live in a great place to hunt....we all wuld like to have a 6mm that wuld kill evrything from rabbits to rinocorious's,sp-hahah) ....I would forget your military days with an M-16 and gooks...you are not shooting a automatic weapon that doesnt require your hand to be removed from the comb to fire the next shot, or 30, there is nothing more awkward than having to remove your hand outward and cycle the bolt then replace your hand in the neet lil thumbhole slot...any of the popular large 6mm variants will suffice--,,you are after lots of energy))243/6mm Rem,std and AI versions) and of course the 6mm X .284,,,just think about feeding problems....and speaking of feeding ....If I had a good lil woman like you do,,,I wuld just feed the horses and let her do the shootin... ""All shots were...one shot kills. I am so impressed with this caliber""...you shuld be impressed with ""HER""....hope you stumble on to lots of big game and enjoy every day with your best huntin buddy....Roger
PS ...let us know what u build---and how SHE shoots it!!!!

 

[M700]

After hunting with one since 1974, I'm very comfortable with a 6mm for deer sized game.

Going up to 700+ pound bull elk? Sure, a well placed bullet can kill an elk - but I think it's asking a bit much of a little .24 caliber, 100 grain bullet if it's a less than perfect shot.

Regards, Guy

 

[treeman]

I'm not sure about other states but Colorado has a 270 cal. min. for elk. but 243/6mm will shure work. a hunting guid from out west killed 17 elk with 17 shots! treeman

 

[Twud]

I don't understand why everyone wants to things on the ragged edge. 6mm sure, if all goes well, but how often does the perfect shot present itself? .25 cal. minimum with well constructed bullets and a lot of velocity, for stubble jumpers. Elk, it sure can be done, but who wants to trail a wounded bull over the next ridge? 270 with good bullets, and up.

 

[people]

The 6mm Rem will work just fine for the Deer sized stuff. Heck it does not take a belted mag to kill them. I do not know about Elk they are on the big side. Personaly I like having the extra power of the Mags. Granted I have never shot an Elk closer than 350 so for me I need the extra power.

 

[SongdogHunter]

I think we all know Deer are not hard to kill. A well constructed bullet, north of 70 grains will do it quite easily. In fact I'm going to have a Ruger #1 chambered in 6 x 47 Lapua just for this purpose. I have not used more than one shot to kill each of the deer I season every season. The latest super- duper wizbang magnum is not required. This next week I'm hunting with a .257AI at 2900 FPS with 110 grains bullets and doubt it will require more than one bullet to bring home a whitetail.

Michael

 

[Clark]

Oct 28 I saw a huge bull elk freshly killed by a small young woman with a baby. She said she shot it with a .243 at 200 yards, "right where you are supposed to". It staggered 10 feet while she shot it twice more with less carefully placed shots.
She said that she had shot deer with a .270 in years past, but it kicked too hard.

The same day I saw the guy I was hunting with [who is 2 or 3 times as large as the woman] shoot a white tailed doe with a .270. It did not get another step. Recoil is nothing to him.

 

[treeman]

I made a post on this thread some weeks ago about min elk caliber. I was wrong about the min caliber in colo. but the min caliber here in ok is .270
treeman

 

[wfeher]

i dont elk hunt but i dont see why a 6mm wouldn't work. hell i shot deer on kill permits,crop damage) with a 204 ruger, i have killed many, many deer and at least a half dozen at 500 yds.i haven't wounded one deer yet,knock on wood) but i try to make an absolute perfect shot or i dont shoot,but for deer my 204 is bad ass.also my buddy uses a 223 and has killed more deer than you can shake a stick at i mean hundreds and he dont loose many at all more less than you would think. i dont believe in using a 300remington ultra mag to shoot deer it's an over kill cause if not placed right you can wound a deer with a 300rem ultra mag. bullet placement is the most important no matter what magnum or small 20 caliber you use.

 

[Linefinder]

dmoran's post matches what I've seen over the years. Though I hunt big game mainly with a .270 Win, I shoot antelope with 95 grain NBT from my 6mm Rem. I also hunted for years with a young man who used a .243 Win exclusively with 100 grain Win PP's against whitetail. The wounds he inflicted on the deer he shot under circumstances and ranges that approximated my own were almost always significantly more drastic than those produced by my .270 Win shooting 130 grain NBT's.

There's not much game shy of the big toothy stuff that I'd feel undergunned against while carrying a 6mm of some flavor under 'normal' field conditions.

Mike

 

[yat3b35]

There's not much game shy of the big toothy stuff that I'd feel undergunned against while carrying a 6mm of some flavor under 'normal' field conditions.

Mike[/QUOTE]

Many years ago, 30 I think,I was on a week hunt in northern woods of Potter county Pennsylvania.Turkey,Bear and Deer was in the offerings then we called it the big 3.Not sure if it is anymore sinse I no longer do much hunting. Anyhow I carried a 308 Winchester for deer and bear and took along a 6mm Rem. model 788 for long range turkey on the power lines, gas line etc. I got my turkey with the 6mm using an 85gr Nosler particition bullet at app. 450 yards. Didn't tear it up much either. Next up was bear, and I had planned on using the 308 for that,however my rifle was dropped and the scope was messed up,and the iron sights had been removed, so I was left with either not hunting bear or using the 6mm. Well to make a long story short I dropped a 250 lb. black bear with one shot at 150 yards, with the punney little 85 gr Nosler bullet. Quartering shot behind left shoulder and out the right shoulder smashing it. It was not the ideal combination,but it did the job.
If you are set on the 6mm Rem. or 243 Win. I think I'd have a 1 in 9 twist barrel and use the Hornady 105 Amax bullet. Plenty of speed and accuracy to boot. Oh I didn't get the big 3, didn't see a deer to shot at. John