Whats a good all around 6mm caliber?

In real terms of velocity, the 6MM Rem cartridge has an advantage over the 243 Win cartridge. However, at realistic hunting ranges, the velocity difference translates into no practical advantages worth worrying about with the same bullet used in each.

As to why 10:1 - 243 versus 6MM? If you're really interested, a little research on the twist rate issue,and hence initial marketing strategies used by Rem and Win for the two cartridges (243 Win and 244 Rem) helps to answer some of the question. In addition the available rifles initially chambered for each also contributed to the 243 becoming more popular out of the gate. Remington tried to catch up with a twist rate change and even with a name change to develop interest, but the 243 Win had already established a large following.

I have several rifles chambered in both cartridges, and my favorite of the two is the 6MM Remington, but just because. Your "just because" might be the 243 Winchester, but for all practical purposes, they are pretty much the same unless you nit-pick. And then either cartridge might win the argument based on who is nit-picking.
 
Good info yall provided on the .243/6mm but kinda back to my original post, what kind of case life and barrel life would be expected out of a 6mm-06? This will be a strict suppressed whitetail hunting rifle with the occasional crow/ pred hunt.
 
Barrel life is not a problem with any of the three, as long as you do not shoot colony varmints. If you use them for shooting colony varmints you can use up a barrel in a busy weekend.

Case life is long if you do not load them to extremely high pressures.

Jack
 
I can live without anything based on the x57 case.

I can also live without a long action chambered to a short action cartridge.

For predators and deer, I'd go 6-06. My last tube lasted 900-1000 rounds but I ran it hard and put it away wet. Case life with necked down Winny 25-06 was never a problem.

If you want to drive a racecar, don't expect the tires to last forever..........
 
Originally Posted By: Tim NeitzkeOriginally Posted By: EJ ReichenbachOriginally Posted By: Smokeless6mm Rem. Much better round than the 243win, and the 6mm can be AI'd as well.

Just how in the world is the 6MM a better caliber than the .243, if this is true than why are there about 100 .243's to every one 6MM. I do realize, despite the reloading manual's, that the 6mm has about 100fps on the 243, one of my good friends is a 6mm finatic but shooting them both at pdogs I have never seen much difference, I know that when the 6mm came out they had a slow twist and wouldnt stabilize the heavier bullets and maybe did cause them to never be as popular as the .243, but I still would like to know why they are so much better. Please enlighten me.

The 6mm can not be a better cal than a .243 since they are one in the same.
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IIRC, .244 Rem and the .243 Win hit the "real world " about the same time. When this happens one always takes off and the other is left behind. Much like the .300 WSM trumped the .300 SAUM .
I think the .244(6mm)Rem and the .243 Win had diff twist rates, with one being favored more.



The 6mm is in fact about 4% more. 243win 52.81gr, 6mm Rem 54.57gr water capacity. In math numbers this is over 100fps. That is approaching magnum status. Improvement? You be the judge, but not until you have loaded for and shot both.

The gun press has done a lot to hold the 6mm down. Shooting side by side at longer range will tell the tale.

Popularity is a funny thing. What makes one thing popular and another not so much? It is all in how you are recieved. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Such is the case with the 6mm, introduced with a 1-12 twist [as the 244 Rem] for varmint weight bullets Remington felt it would be best suited for that task [varmints]. Winchester had their own ideas about the 6mm bore and introduced the .243 Win with a 1-10 twist that stabilized the light bullets as well as the heavier 100gr deer bullets. The race never really got started because the .243 was a better deer rifle in those configurations and took off. By the time Remington realized their mistake and changed the twist from 1-12 to 1-9, and re-named the cartridge to 6mm Remington, the Winchester had stold the show. The rest is history, but that does not take away from the 6mm in terms of capability. It is about 4% up. You can't change that. Nore can you change the first impression of the 244 Rem.
 
Winny marketed theirs as a dual purpose round, Remmy didn't. But still, that being said, the shooting world has had PLENTY of time to discover what the 6mm Rem is all about. If 6mm Rem fans still want to lean on that crutch over a half century later, then so be it.
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In a short action the 243 is king of the 6mms and that fact ain't gonna change any time soon. Could it be most just feel it is a better case design? I'm thinking it could.

In a long action, the 6-06 is the way to go IMHO......
 
Originally Posted By: 2muchgun In a short action the 243 is king of the 6mms and that fact ain't gonna change any time soon. Could it be most just feel it is a better case design? I'm thinking it could.

couldnt of said it better myself
 
I'm sick of hearing how the 6mm is only less popular due to the fact that it was marketed poorly. It's fans need to get a grip on reality. That was well over 50 years ago. In that same time cartridges that weren't marketed nearly as much or at all have surpassed it in popularity.

Taking a look at similar case designs, it seems to me that the 6.5 Swede and 7x57 Mauser both had HUGE jumps on the 260Remington and 7-08 respectively. Yet the latter 2 308 Winny based cartridges are far more popular. I guess they just benefitted from better marketing also
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Well... Old argument.

I guess the .222 is better than a .223?

A 22-250 is better than a 220 Swift?

A .243 is better than a 6MM?

A .308 is better than a 30-06?

All the latter are 75-100fps(aprox.) faster.

That 100fps means little, unless you are talking about the thump effect on target, more energy-penetration at all ranges.

Remington should have come out with it as the .244 REMINGTON MAGNUM! In a 1-9 twist.

The MAIN reason the .243 won the battle was Winchester brought it out in the "Rifleman's Rifle" the Model 70 featherweight.

Marketing is everything.

Oh yeah, since the OP has a long action, I would vote 6MM-06.

We all have favorites, sorry if I am on the wrong side of the 6MM-.243 debate. A 6MM AI is on my list of "someday" builds.
 
Originally Posted By: VAkritterkillerNext question. Would the bolt of my 25-06 work with the 243 casing? I see it uses the same shell holder but can not find any info on that.

Yes. Same bolt face.
 
Originally Posted By: YotesalotI had a 243 for a long time and I also had a 6mm rem.. I kept the 6mm because it is a 243+.. I'd like to know why it didn't take off better also.. It really is a superior round .. In my opinion. Common sense tells me that it was about money somehow.. Good luck on your decision..!!!

The 244 Rem was introduced in 1955, and it was designed by Fred Huntington (who then owned RCBS). It was based on a wildcat developed by Warren Page - a well known varmint shooter and gun writer in those days.

When the 224 (6mm Rem) was introduced, Remington intended it to be a great varmint (woodchuck) rifle - which it is. It was given a 12" twist for bullets up to about 90-ish grains.

Winchester introduced the 243 in the same year, and they thought of it as a light (in the loafers) deer cartridge, with varmint shooting as an afterthought, and gave their guns a 10" twist, which would shoot 100gr spitzers.

When the two cartridges came out, the 244 was considered the better case by those that were knowledgeable about such things - The varmint shooters went for the 244 and the deer hunters went for the 243.

In 1958, Remington changed the twist to 9" in the 722 rifles, but it was not too helpful. So, Remington decided to change the name of the cartridge to 6mm Rem - but the USA was not ready for a metric cartridge yet, so sales collapsed.

Conversely, Remington introduced he 7mm Express (a 7mm-06) and sales sucked, so they renamed it the 280 Remington and it caught on.

... and that is the history of why an inferior cartridge beat a superior one in the market place.
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As an after note - Winchester makes a special run of 6mm Rem brass every year or so... there is so much demand for it.


 
Why not a 6mm AI? And with the long action you'll not have a problem with longer heavier bullets seated out farther not fitting in your magazine. Just something I thought of that I hadn't seen mentioned.
 
Just a question?

Why are you mad at your 25-06? Several of us are big fans of this caliber. 75-120 grain bullets, great for lots of different things. You can push a 85 grain bullet over 3500 fps. and a 115 grain Berger to 3100 fps.

If you want a .243, you would be better off just trading for a good used one. I think you would have no trouble trading even money to switch calibers. I think you would be trading down. The only advantages I see is cheaper ammo, if you don't reload, and slightly less recoil.

If it's not too late just get your can changed to .25 and it will still work on your 6mm AR.
 
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I love the 25-06. I got three others its just this particular rifle has a chamber problem on top of the fact it went thru a fire when my house burnt down and I don't have much faith in the barrel after I cleaned it and shot it. Didn't group to my standards. I'm wanting a 243 Cal due to the fact I just ordered a suppressor for my 6x45 ar platform and I'd like a bolt gun with more power.
 
I think "no-nonsense" goes out the window when your talking about a 6mm bullet out of a long action rifle...


The way I see it, the .243 has a few things on it's side that makes it better than the 6Rem. #1 is the high quality brass available for the .243. The .243 also has enough magazine room for the longer bullets v/s the "need" for a long action with most VLD type bullets COAL (unless very short free bore & then the bullet takes up case cap). In most real world applications, I doubt the shooter could tell if they were using a 6REM v/s a .243Win. Do you REALLY notice 100fps?

However, if your WANT, is for speed, yes the 6Rem or 6AI will get you more velocity.

I would say trade your 25/06 for another 700 in some type of short action .473" bolt face (22-250,243,260,7/08,308,etc) & build a 6mm in some type of short action based cartridge. The 6/06 is grossly overbore & gives negligable returns, especially with a "no-nonsense" mindset!

I personally think a 6BR or or varient (6BRX or dasher) is the best "all around 6mm caliber". That said, I have a 6AI reamer waiting for a try. Hopefully the .243Win gremlins in the safe dont try to hide it from me.
 
That's the thing. I would love to trade it for a short action but having a long action that's been thru a house fire is like having a case of the crabs... no one wants anything to do with it. I'm trying to make the best of what I got and have something different than the calibers I have. If its more headache and cost than I'm looking for then it will sit in the corner and be a memorial to the many whitetails and crows that fell dead to it.
 
If you know it is safe to fire,just has a little cosmetic damage,just don't shoot to your higher standards.Why not just give it to a nephew or other young person for their first deer rifle.Make a friend for life.That is if you know it is safe.I have given away more rifles than I now own,and have enjoyed hearing about what young person did with it than I would have owning it.Just a thought.
 
IME 6-06 performance gains are not negligible. It will leave said smaller 6mms in it's dust. If you want to split hairs, it will top the 240 Roy and 6-284 also. As always, with any ultra high performance cartridge, performance comes at a price. If efficiency and barrel life are of major concern, the 6-06 is not for you.......
 


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