Whats a good all around 6mm caliber?

My son's a fire fighter. Structure fires can get REALLY warm. How hot did that action get? If there's ANY doubt, I'd retire it.

Personally, rather than going down .014 to 6, I'd go up .007 to 6.5-06. I confess, though, I'm a 6.5 junkie. If you're dead set on a 6 and since you're already on a long action, I'd go with 6-06 or maybe 6-284 and use the extra mag length to long load vlds.
 
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The action is ok but the barrel got hot enough to melt the bluing off so it wont hold bluing anymore. It was a aftermarket barrel that a local gunsmith had done a botched job on and the chamber had always been "loose". This rifle was at the front of a safe next to the door opening and caught most of the heat. Im going to look into a few of the calibers discussed and see what best suits me. Thanks for all the info!
 
I think you should just get a 6-06 barrel. It's performance is great, it will be nicer to feed a LA case. And you have 25-06 brass around to start with. You don't have to full throttle it, but a 6-06 with some 107 match bullets from a 8 or 9 twist sound wicked.
 
Less is more. I love it. If that is the horse you're ridding.
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As to the OP the 6-06 will be the bang for the buck. It is as hot as any 6mm and is probably the cheapest to get into for wildcats.
 
6-06 should give you all the speed you could want and still be able to back the loads down to be at the top of the 6mm Rem or .243 Win. Plus you'll already have the brass to play with. If you build it light enough for deer you sure are going to want to spend all day shooting prairie dogs.
 
Originally Posted By: 2muchgun
If you want to drive a racecar, don't expect the tires to last forever..........

Bingo!

Everyone wants the fastest and the best but very few are willing to fork over the money needed.

What is the point of fast cartridge just to slow it down???

As said 100fps faster looks good on paper! But you won't see it in real world. (Flash back to the Creedmoor vs 260 thread)

So we all agree the OP should do a 243AI????
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In the end it's your rifle and your money so do whichever YOU want.
 
Like in said, i think im going the 6-06 route. Have tons of brass and the main point of this build is a 243 cal suppressed rifle for whitetails and the maybe once a every few years p-dog hunt. What would be a good barrel length/ twist for a mid weight pill? Remember! Whitetails suppressed! not going for a all out hot as i can load it round. Thats what my 22 cheetah Mark II is for
 
I think a 9-10 twist with an 87 VLD would be a great long range performer. Lotsa speed, still not bad on blast factor.

Or, just go all out, 115 Dtac out of a 8 twist.
 
I was 3600+fps with 85gr XLCs and 87gr V-max. Tweaked both loads til both shot to same POI. Talk about a wicked deer/varmint combo. Toss in either flavor and go.

The 6-06 is a bada$$ cartridge and everyone should have the pleasure of burning out at least one 6-06 tube. In this particular case, it just so happens to make perfect sense also.

The cost of the dies is about the only bad thing, then you are good to go. I used Reddings.

FWIW, I'd twist it 1-9, for said purposes. 105 A-max, 95gr VLD, 87 V-max, and 85gr TSX are the only bullets I'd probably play with.

I can't comment on tube length cuz I don't know barrel countour or how can balances...........
 
All of the larger calibers in 6mm are really rough on barrels, so the 6/06, 6mm AI have shorter barrel lives than you will want to deal with on a p.dog hunt, rock chucks may be another story...not many of those in Texas.

I would keep the 25/06 a deer rifle and have the suppressor fitted to it, and buy a smaller caliber for p. dogs, use the same suppressor on it.
 
Originally Posted By: pahntr760I think a 9-10 twist with an 87 VLD would be a great long range performer. Lotsa speed, still not bad on blast factor.


This is what I did with my 243win. I went 9 twist for 87gr. V-max for chucks and 87 or 95 VLDs for deer. So far both 87's have shot well for me. Haven't bothered with any other weight other than 70NBT's briefly. A 6mm-06 running 87 V-maxes would be hateful varmint medicine. I just wouldn't punch a lot of paper with it. The suppressor should help with any recoil and blast as well.
 
Originally Posted By: 2muchgunI was 3600+fps with 85gr XLCs and 87gr V-max.

Tht would work
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What barrel length were you running?
 
Well...

A maxed out 25-06 with a 85 grain bullet will run just about the same speed (3600), so why all the hoopla and extra expense?

You have a slightly better bc, but at 400 and under I doubt there will be that much differance.

If I want to stretch the range, I go to a 115 grain Berger at 3100.

I would think a 60-70 grain bullet pushed to Swift velocities would be more of a lazer.

I'm not trying to start anything, just wondering...WHY?
 
I would also think with a faster twist, the 6-06 would shine with a 100-120 grain high bc bullet. Nobody makes a good 120+ grain high bc bullet for the .25's as the twist is too slow in the stock 25-06.
 
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If I want to stretch the range, I go to a 115 grain Berger at 3100.

What load are you using? im shooting 115 NBT's with 52gn 4831 @ 2990 and thats as fast as i can move a 115 and its showing pressure then.

And back to my OP about why a 6mm.... Ive ordered a 6mm can for my 6x45 AR and ive got a 700 LA laying around i want to toy with. Why not just step it up to a 25 cal for my 25-06? because then ive got to buy all different adapters for all the rifles i have 1/2x28 threads on and why shoot a 22 cal bullet thru a 25 cal hole if thats the main gun it will be on. The can will stay on my 22 hornet or 223 AR for the majority of the time.
 
Originally Posted By: VAkritterkillerOK I ordered my first suppressor yesterday (Liberty Constitution w/ 6mm hole for my 6x45) and being I got 6-8 months lead time before i see the can, Im thinking about a build on a old Remington 700 BDL with a 25-06 barrel on it now. What would be a good no nonsense 6mm caliber that would preform well on whitetail and the occasional prarie dog hunt? Id like something a little hotter than a .243 but not something that cost a arm and a leg. Ive heard good things about a 6-06.

9H, If VAKK plans to run the can on the new build for deer in VA, I'm thinking the .243"-.257"= -.01" or an expensive single use suppressor and custom barrel. For any 22cal suggestions, VA has a 23cal minimum for whitetails. If he doesn't, then it probably is a lot of hoopla to do a 6mm-06 instead of something standard like the factory chambering he has now.

Looks like you beat me to the post button VAKK
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