1st 6mm ARC Coyote

6mm06

6mm06

Well-known member
Well, early this morning I scored three firsts: (1) first for the upcoming 2026-27 season, a young male at 80 yards. He was unusually colored with almost a rust and black color. (2) He is also the first with my new 6mm ARC Howa Mini bolt action, 20" heavy shooting a 70 gr. Sierra Blitz King. Last 5 shots averaged 2967 fps. I have been consistently shooting 1/2" groups at 80 yards with the load. (3) And, another first coyote suppressed with a new Dead Air Nomad LTi XC. He was quartering to me, a shoulder shot and if not for a couple of small drops of blood, it would have been difficult to see the impact.. The Blitz King did not exit and continues to impress.



View on the way to the shack yesterday evening. Just at dark it came one heck of a storm with thunder, lightening and hard rain, but it only lasted a few minutes. The rest of the night was totally quiet until the alarm sounded early this morning. I squeezed the trigger at 0525. DRT with hardly a twitch.

IMG_8614.jpg


IMG_8617.jpg


IMG_8620.jpg


IMG_8634.jpg
 
Last edited:
I like it, I love it, send some more of it! 06, are you pushing the 70's or running them where they just shot good? Reason I ask is that's about the same FPS I could get with my 6x45 and a 20-inch barrel using 70 NBT's.
 
DoubleUp said:
I like it, I love it, send some more of it! 06, are you pushing the 70's or running them where they just shot good? Reason I ask is that's about the same FPS I could get with my 6x45 and a 20-inch barrel using 70 NBT's.
Click to expand...
I was gonna ask the same question. My 6x45 bolt gun with a 20" barrel runs 70gr Varmageddons at 3005fps.
 
Thanks for the comments everybody. I prefer accuracy over velocity, but really like both. You all are correct that my ARC velocity is about on par with what my AR 6x45 with 20” barrel is doing with the same bullet, 70 gr. Blitz King.

Hodgdon reloading data shows 30.9 gr. max for 3264 fps with H335 for a 70 gr. bullet, and from a 24” barrel. I am loading 29.0 gr. I had the velocity slightly higher (over 3,000) earlier with a higher powder charge, but was getting a stiff bolt lift on extraction, so I backed down. I think it was a combination of powder charge and seating depth. Accuracy was not what I wanted either. I played around with seating depth to get groups to shrink a little and to chamber easier. I figure while velocity is nice, accuracy is more important and the difference between what I am getting and what the manual says at max load for a 24” vs. my 20”, is negligible, especially at my 80 yard bait site. No coyote that gets in its way will know the difference. The round suppresses pretty good too.

In comparison (of course apples to oranges) my favorite 25-06 load with a 70 gr. Blitz King and 24” barrel, is getting 3400 fps generally and very good accuracy, while some data says it can do over 3500 fps. 3400 is plenty fast, and my particular rifle shows pressure signs when I go higher. I’ll take the accuracy any day and call it good.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top