Which 6? GT, XC, XC II, Creed, C47???

[shoot4fun]

You are 100% correct about the # of brass and ammo manufacturers but that doesn't mean the creedmoor is a better round. The 6.5 Creedmoor had more hype than any new round in my 60 years. A 6.5x47, 260 rem or 6.5x55 do the same thing. I do agree the Creedmoor more case design is a good one but marketing and hype is what sells...

I'm going to defend marketing hype in the firearms industry. As someone who made a good living there, the hype is necessary. Nearly every product (ammo, firearms, scopes, etc) has been hyped. IMO, my friends at Hornady are good at it. Before the 6.5 Creedmoor no one would "waste their time" with the 6.5 bullets or cartridges. You have to admit that we (USA) didn't have the 6.5-47 until after the 6.5 Creedmoor started taking off. We didn't have the array of bullets either. Today is a variable smorgasbord of bullets in a multitude of weights, configurations and purposes.
Finally, this thread is about "WHICH 6" and not really about the 6.5's. I regularly shoot 6BR, 6BRA, 6GT, 6 Dasher and (yes) 6 Creedmoor. All I can say about them is I hope I never have to choose just one.

 

[Steve Donlon]

I'm building a 6mmGT now. I have the 30" Bartlein barrel, New scope, Stock on order, all the dies and gauges, mic's and all the stuff for a new cartridge. First time loading a 6mm cartridge. The thing about the 6mm GT is it is all I need. Not as good as some 6mm's but will get the job done for target shooting with less recoil than my 30-06's or 6.5 Creedmoor's and have BR accuracy, if I do my part. It is more like a BR cartridge. Never thought I would go there. Looking at the 6mm bore in that big 1.25" barrel , it looks very small.

 

[shoot4fun]

I'm building a 6mmGT now. I have the 30" Bartlein barrel, New scope, Stock on order, all the dies and gauges, mic's and all the stuff for a new cartridge. First time loading a 6mm cartridge. The thing about the 6mm GT is it is all I need. Not as good as some 6mm's but will get the job done for target shooting with less recoil than my 30-06's or 6.5 Creedmoor's and have BR accuracy, if I do my part. It is more like a BR cartridge. Never thought I would go there. Looking at the 6mm bore in that big 1.25" barrel , it looks very small.

I'm working with the Vapor Trail 103 and RL15.5 in Alpha brass so far in 6GT. My barrel is 28" and I am seeing velocities just over 3,000 FPS. Not much off of my newest 6 Creedmoor barrel at 26".

 

[Woollybugger]

I'm going to defend marketing hype in the firearms industry. As someone who made a good living there, the hype is necessary. Nearly every product (ammo, firearms, scopes, etc) has been hyped. IMO, my friends at Hornady are good at it. Before the 6.5 Creedmoor no one would "waste their time" with the 6.5 bullets or cartridges. You have to admit that we (USA) didn't have the 6.5-47 until after the 6.5 Creedmoor started taking off. We didn't have the array of bullets either. Today is a variable smorgasbord of bullets in a multitude of weights, configurations and purposes.
Finally, this thread is about "WHICH 6" and not really about the 6.5's. I regularly shoot 6BR, 6BRA, 6GT, 6 Dasher and (yes) 6 Creedmoor. All I can say about them is I hope I never have to choose just one.

Agree, the hype works. Some hit the wall and stick, some not so much. The WSM vs RSUM and now the PRC flavors come to mind. They all have brought a ton of new choices in bullets and brass that both wildcaters and factory fans can enjoy. The Hornady 53grVmax is a big win. The 62gr ELD-VT not so much, but to Hornady’s credit, a 69gr ELD-VT is already out that looks even to be a better option.
Not all of us shoot, or need, tiny groups on paper out of every rifle we own, so quality volume bullets and brass are always a win.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Agree, the hype works. Some hit the wall and stick, some not so much. The WSM vs RSUM and now the PRC flavors come to mind. They all have brought a ton of new choices in bullets and brass that both wildcaters and factory fans can enjoy. The Hornady 53grVmax is a big win. The 62gr ELD-VT not so much, but to Hornady’s credit, a 69gr ELD-VT is already out that looks even to be a better option.
Not all of us shoot, or need, tiny groups on paper out of every rifle we own, so quality volume bullets and brass are always a win.

Hey, at least Hornady is DOING SOMETHING in the varmint world.

Better than any of the others.

 

[Ackman]

Considering doing one of the sixes. Which one did/would you choose and why??

They're all good. I have a 6BR, 6BRAI (2), 6BRX, and a 6XC coming. The 6BR works beautifully on pd's with 58 and 55gr bullets....all I shoot through that rifle. The 6BRA's, same thing, one 24" the other 20", like 70TNTs, but bullets up to 75gr The 6BRX is just so amazingly accurate - fireforming - with the Sierra 60hp, I can't believe it. And the 6XC, I've no doubt my very high hopeful expectations will be fulfilled. These are all varmint rifles, none of that match / long heavy bullet shooting stuff.

*****The 6BR feeds as a repeater in the Sako 579 action.

 

[Clancy]

Hey, at least Hornady is DOING SOMETHING in the varmint world.

Better than any of the others.

And that something is trying to catch up with Bart, Berger, Nosler and Sierra….

 

[urbanrifleman]

And that something is trying to catch up with Bart, Berger, Nosler and Sierra….

Please tell me the company that you just mentioned that has developed a new varmint bullet in the last I don't know, 20 years? If ever?

 

[Clancy]

Please tell me the company that you just mentioned that has developed a new varmint bullet in the last I don't know, 20 years? If ever?

Uh, all of them.

I don’t know if you get a little kickback from Hornady, or if your standards are just lower than mine, but I’ve had access to the VTs since way before they were released and they left a whole lot to be desired when it came to terminal performance.

 

[simo hayha]

6 Dasher

 

[J.d. Popkes]

XC. You avoid having to admit to your friends that you shoot a creedmoor, like riding a moped.

The xc/xc2 thing is a thing of the past, it’s standardized. Great brass offerings, srp/lrp, great dies, reamers, hits the sweet spots in velocity, length isn’t an issue, feeding like gas through a funnel, big enough to shoot heavies and pdog varmint bullets, etc.

A br based case is fine, and all the way up to a 6x284 is fine, but an xc is the best of all worlds. No necking down, fire forming, just go.

A gt, x47, dasher, to me is a half measure. Not enough more than a BR (that everyone has), to make it worth it. But once you have an xc, if you’re like me, the BR doesn’t get taken out as often.

 

[Damon555]

I'm building a 6mmGT now. I have the 30" Bartlein barrel, New scope, Stock on order, all the dies and gauges, mic's and all the stuff for a new cartridge. First time loading a 6mm cartridge. The thing about the 6mm GT is it is all I need. Not as good as some 6mm's but will get the job done for target shooting with less recoil than my 30-06's or 6.5 Creedmoor's and have BR accuracy, if I do my part. It is more like a BR cartridge. Never thought I would go there. Looking at the 6mm bore in that big 1.25" barrel , it looks very small.

You'll like that little 6mm.....I've had a 6mmAR for years and it has served me well.....Made my (and my little hunting party's) longest shot ever on a prairie dog with that SabreCo upper this past summer. 1095 yards.....I made that shot the day after my brother set the previous record of 950 with a 6.5 Creed.....

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

I could read twenty pages of this thread. It will get to ten, pretty soon!

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I could read twenty pages of this thread. It will get to ten, pretty soon!

Especially when someone says the x47 and Dasher are half measure.

 

[J.d. Popkes]

Especially when someone says the x47 and Dasher are half measure.

When looking at something bigger than a BR, correct. 100 fps gain over a br seems pointless. But if you don’t have a br, or maybe a guy wants every 6mm chambering imaginable, I say go nuts.

 

[2dogs]

I could read twenty pages of this thread. It will get to ten, pretty soon!

I wasn’t trying to start an avalanche here with my original post but I agree with you, it’s been very interesting and informative.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Uh, all of them.

I don’t know if you get a little kickback from Hornady, or if your standards are just lower than mine, but I’ve had access to the VTs since way before they were released and they left a whole lot to be desired when it came to terminal performance.

Ok I'll bite.

(Please forgive the thread drift from me).

Please tell me the new varmint bullets from the others.

Nosler hasn't made a new varmint bullet in 30 years. Unless the Varmegedfon counts (which is a flat back VMAX knock off).
Sierra came out with thr Blitzking in the late 1990s, I haven't seen anything new from them since. Another VMAX knock off.
Berger has a few varmint offerings, certainly nothing new since Walt was still alive.
Bart never had a designed for specific varmint bullet, much less a new one.

The real truth is that Hornady is the only company that has developed a new, original VARMINT bullet in multiple decades. I'm happy to see SOMEONE doing work for the varmint hunters. I wouldn't care who it was.

 

[urbanrifleman]

I wasn’t trying to start an avalanche here with my original post but I agree with you, it’s been very interesting and informative.

6br is king. All of the wildcats of the 6br are great. 6 Dasher has set a ton of records, if they ever make native Lapua I would say that is a good choice. It does has a very short neck, which can be very limiting for bullet choices for a given freebore.

I shoot 6bra and if I started over I would just stay with 6br. Same with 22bra verses 22br.

Of the larger cartridges I would pick the 6xc TUBB. It just ticks a lot of boxes, and Tubb always has brass cheap. 6 Creed if you already have the dies. It's closer to a 243 (which is awesome too).

6gt with factory Lapua brass would be excellent.

 

[chrisj]

I think David made it pretty clear that the 6xc tipped the hat to the Swiss Match. He made changes to accommodate his across the course goals, and to make it where it could be made from 22-250 brass. Obviously, it must have some things in common with 22-250 also.

In my mind, in the beginning, he took the 6br front end and stuck it on a 22-250 case. Which was a great idea. Not saying those were his thoughts at all... But that was the result, pretty much.

Heck man, there is nothing new under the sun. People bad mouth whatever these days and say ridiculous things. I guess it would not be that far fetched that someone would say "ain't nuthun but a shortened thirty ot six".

Funny, I worked with PTG to make my "6mm BR Long" before the 6xc came out. At first there was the 6mm X. Which was 243 held .125 short so a 22-250 case was used. I thought.. why not a 6mmbr on a 22-250 case? I Did that before the 6xc came out but I dont have Tubb recognition. Im sure many others at the time made up similar type cartridges as well. None of them are miracle, cartridges based on neck length or shoulder angle. One of my friends shot the 6mm X (short 243) and got consistent 1/4- to 1/3 moa at our 200 yard range with Sierra 107's and bbl life was the same as a 6xc or 6/250.. right around 2k-2200 rounds. My most accurate rifle to date was a standard 243 Win. Hands down. Doesn't mean that a two forty three is inherently the most accurate cartridge out there.It just worked perfectly in my barrel, rifle and ammo combo and that is doable with anyone with almost any six millimeter cartridge from 6br to a 243 based cartridge.