Rem 700-6mmRem???

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wisconsinteacher

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This past summer my buddies dad called me and said he had a Rem 700 bull barrel in 6mmRem that can't shoot a decent group and wanted help. I got the rifle and cleaned it really well, put a newer scope on it and took the factory ammo he had to the range. At 100 yards, I shot a 4"/3 shot group. I then added a shim to float the barrel and shot a 2.5"/3 shot group. From there, I ran out of ammo and took it back to the guy. He said, keep it because it is worthless to . him So now I'm sitting with my buddies grandpa's gun and don't feel comfortable keeping it. My question is, what are some tricks to get a 700 shooting well and what loads have you had good luck with? The gun is heavy and I doubt they will ever use it in the future. Is this a rifle worth messing with or maybe turn it into a lighter deer hunting rifle with a new barrel?
 
Sounds like a 700V chambered in a very desirable cartridge, in this area it would likely bring in excess of $1000.00 at auction so IMHO it is definitely worth messing with. The 6mm Remington is a handloaders cartridge any more as factory ammo offerings are scarce at best. I have had really good luck with the 90 grain Speer and any of the Nosler hunting weight Ballistic Tip offerings as well as the Sierra 85 grain HPBT Game King. IMR 4350 powder and WLR primers have always been my go to choices in the various 6mm /.244 Remington rifles I have owned over the years. The .244 I had wouldn't shoot anything heavier or longer than the 90 grain Speer but that and the 85 grain Sierra both worked very well in it. I have heard some of the older 6mms were chambered in the slower twist barrels of the .244 but I have never seen one that I know of, you might start off with some of the lighter weight bullets while searching for a good load. I would look at the bedding first for accuracy issues and once you have a good load and stress free bedding I bet the gun will shoot really well.
 
When I had my shop in MN I sold one just like that to a predator caller in Brainerd. It was a really nice rifle. It was new circa 1980 I wonder if that might have been his grandpa's gun. Not many in that part of the country.

You might give it a really good cleaning and scope the throat it could be 40 plus years old.
 
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The ammo that was given to me was had a date of 1993 on it. I guess it has never shot well??? That is according to my buddy and what his uncles told him. There are also two marks on the barrel that I can't understand.

About a 1" from the muzzle are 2 indents. It looks like someone took a drill and went in to make the dimples. They are at the 4 and 8 o'clock postions when holding the rifle in the shooting positions. I'm wondering if someone tried to put a can on it or something like that years ago??
 
More than likely a compensator to make hits visible with that large of a cartridge. And that makes it sound like it may have made a trip or two to a PD town in the Dakota's.
 
I have always liked the 6mm Remington cartridge. I have owned two of them, my favorite was a Remington M700 Classic. I used that for a general purpose varmint and deer rifle for awhile and my dad really took a shine to it for deer hunting. Any deer fairly hit with my handloaded 100 gr. Hornady Interlock was soon to be in the freezer. That is one of those "wish I had it back" rifles.

An acquaintance traded into a 700 HB Varmint like yours. He was also a handloader. I happened along on a trip to the range with him and some other guys once. He wanted to sight in that 700 6mm and got settled into the rest and fired a shot. All good except the bolt handle was locked down and wouldn't budge. He grunted and strained and then got mad and got a hammer. He turned the rifle upside down and using the wooden handle of the hammer he whacked the bolt knob. "Ding"... as the bolt handle broke away from the bolt and rattled around on the concrete floor of the range. First time I ever saw a Remington bolt handle break away from the bolt. I don't remember what load he was using but it was obviously too much pressure.
 
The 6mm Rem. is still an old favorite of mine. The last one I had the ex left with it. Ggrrr. Still trying to get it back. Its a Rem. 600 Mohawk I installed in a BSA Majestic stock. Lots of Acraglass but it really look nice and boy did it shoot. Had a tang safety Ruger Varmint in 6mm, a Tikka LSA 55 in 6mm, and a 240 Gibbs that I finally had the barrel set back and rechambered by Fred Sinclair to a 6mm Rem. The last one I mentioned was in a thumbhole laminated stock with a Douglas premium airgaged barrel they offered, this was back around 1980. Weren't many of those stock around. All of the 6mm I had were extremely accurate.
I rebarreled a Kimber 84M to 243, but looking back I wish I would have went with a 6mm.

I would free float the barrel on the 700 and make sure the magazine box is loose. As AWS said, I would for sure pillar bed it and get the trigger adjusted or install a different trigger.
 
It sounds like it's up to you how much time and effort you want to put into a rifle they've given up on. It's kind of a no win situation financially because you don't want to keep it (which I understand completely and feel the same way).

I would start with a bore scope diagnosis before spending a dime on components or bedding material and just see what you're working with and go from there.
 
I have an original Remington 600 with the vent rib barrel chambered in 6 MM Remington. It's in excellent condition, it's an extremely good shooter, and it's one of the last rifles I'll get rid of.

In addition, the 6MM Remington is an excellent cartridge.

What's not to like? Good luck on curing its accuracy woes.
 
I have had excellent luck with my 6mm's over the years. I have two at the present time that I use 75HP Sierras, 85HPBT Sierras and 100gr Sierras. The best two powders for them is IMR4831 and RL19 based on loads I use and have used since 1976.

As far as your rifle, free float the barrel bed the action and make sure copper is cleaned out of the barrel.
 
The rifle sounds like a Varmint Special. Definitely worth some good money. As to keeping it or not, well that's up to you. If you feel bad about keeping it then I would just stop everything and give it back. That is unless you just want to spend your money on scarce bullets, powder and primers. I've had a few of the Specials and never had one that didn't shoot with a good load. I sure wouldn't rebarrel it with a lighter barrel. That could hurt the value IMO. Do like has been mentioned, clean, float and bed first. 6MM's can be a little finicky and seems bullets can be a love/hate relationship but when you find the bullet it likes it will hammer.
 
I have dies and brass for a 6mm Ackley setting on the shelf and a Stevens 200 action that would sure make a nice rifle out of. Just not sure if I want to use a short action for the build.
 
Love the 6mm Rem. I rebarreled a Savage Model 16, that was a factory 22-250, in 6mm Rem. No problems using a short action Savage for the project. I load 80 gr. TTSX bullets, for antelope/deer, and the 85 gr Speer SPBTs for predators. Both loads shoot sub-MOA.

To the original poster, get a bore scope down that barrel. If no carbon, or copper build up, and the throat looks good, then check the crown for dings or burrs. That rifle should be able to shoot better groups.

Squeeze
 
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