Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles who here shoots a 6x45mm?

And what do you really like about it? Or more to the point, what is it that you like the best about the cartridge?

I don't, but I'm considering building one. Either that or a 7.62x45 Wilson Tactical. Something 6mm or larger so it's legal for hunting in this state.

I've been shooting one now for close to 20 yrs and like it. Abundant brass, easy to form and mine shoots well with just about every load I've tried.

Mine started as a coyote rig and due to it's accuracy and heavy handedness on pelts has been moved to varmint/target gun status.

I had rather poor results using the 6s in the late 1960's and early 1970's and have never found the need to try them on larger game since. I have built a 6mm-204 and a 25-205, the 6 does yeoman service on coyotes with lead-frees and the 25 is my deer rifle with 100gr partitions at 2800 fps.

My take is that if big game is in the picture why fool with something marginal for the purpose. You can always load something more suitable down for the smaller stuff. A 90-100gr premium bullet in the 25's is as small as I'd use on big game and the 6x45 just doesn't have the capacity to run the heavy premiums.

I built mine for coyotes. I know a lot of shooters built their 6x45mm on an AR platform. I used a Stevens 200.

I've built one on a mini Mauser and like the rifle and cartridge both.

I built mine because VA doesn't allow .224 calibers for big game.
I like that there are good hunting bullets in the 70 to 85 grain category and that you can trump 223 speeds by a bit with the same weight bullets.

All that being said, I find myself carrying my 223 normal or AI more than the 6x45.

If not for my states dim view of 22 cal CFs I wouldn't see much reason to step away from a fast twist 223

Not a 6x45 but a 6x43 (6mmx222) on a mini Mauser.

Very little recoil, extremely accurate, very light and hopefully gentle on furbearers.

What bullets have you been shooting in your 6x222 Mart?

I had one 25 years ago, found it to be grossly under powered and underwhelming in killing power on small deer. Best suited for shooting 55 grain bullets at rodents.

To date I have been doing most of my load development with 80 grain Speer spitzers. I have played a little with some 70 and 85 grain Sierras and some 100 grain Hornady round nose but haven't done enough work with any of those three to really say what load is best. I have several boxes of 85 grain Nosler Partitions I need to work with but the primary focus of this rifle is that of a fur calling rifle. The Speer 80's seem to do well with BLC2 but my data is all at home and I'm on the slope right now so can't say what the best load was.

Low recoil, abundant brass, and heavier bullets for larger stuff..

H335 or TAC is all you need to try - Trust me...

Deer love to die with 85's at 2750 +....

thanks Mart.

I have been shooting mostly 70 grain TNTs and 75 grain speer and sierra HPs. I'm getting around 2950 with 70s and 2900 with 75s using H335 in a 21" barrel. I want to shoot some 80s and 85 grain bullets in mine but haven't played with them much.

Greg,

Do you miss that one you had on a Howa yet? I'd love to hear some of your loads with TAC, there is not much data out there for it. Which bullets did you find worked best for deer with yours?

I had one built last year. Rem 700 action, 22" Benchmark barrel with a 1-10 twist. Dave Sink in Clemmons, NC did the work. I wanted a mild round to hunt deer on my in-laws' farm in southeastern North Dakota. The deer there run big; lots of corn and other crops to get them fat for the hard winters, but because of the wooded ravines bordering the property, most shots are 150 yards or less. I loaded up some 85 gr. Nosler Partitions using H335 and they shot "holes touching" at 100 yards right off. Was able to knock down a nice six point last Nov at about 125 yards with one shot; he dropped right where he stood. The six does with him took a couple steps then went back to feeding after the shot. If I'd been using my 30-06, everything in the area would have taken off. So, great performance at 200 yards or less, almost no recoil, little noise and easy/cheap to load for; not much NOT to like about this round.

I've been promising myself to find a little action, prolly a Mini-Mauser, to rebarrel to either 6 TCU or 6.5 TCU. With an 18" or 20" barrel, I think it would make a just about perfect walkabout rifle.
As has been said, unlimited, free cases, light recoil, great accuracy, and low noise-level. What more can you ask?
Have fun,
Gene

Maverick,

With the mini Mauser and the TCU cartridges you may have to have the magazine lengthened. I have three of them and the mag length on all three is 2.270 inches. That makes a tight fit for any of the 223 wildcats. Otherwise the bullets end up seated really deep. That's part of why I went with the 6x222. I don't think it's too awful big a job to open up the magazine but I haven't explored it cost wise.

You're right. They make a nice walking varminter. Mine with a 24 inch barrel weighs 5.5 pounds.

Mart

I've got the howa back....grin....

Mart- I agree with you, except I don't mind about seating the bullets deep. My intention was to load them with the Speer hollow-points from 70gr to 100gr, whichever is appropriate for the caliber, as they are quite short. I thought, also, about getting a reamer with no throat, and getting a throating reamer for a custom chamber.
The TCU was designed for T/C Contenders for Metallic Silhouette shooting using the maximum possible powder charge.
My idea is for a small walkabout. It would be great little unit here in Nevada, but the idea came to me and I started to think about the specs when I lived, and walked around in Juneau.
Have fun,
Gene

Gene,

Sounds like a workable plan. That will make a really nice little walk around rifle. That was kind of my idea with the 6x222. I wanted a light calling and walk around varmint rifle, with the primary focus on furbearers. Keep us posted on your project.

Mart

Greg, glad to hear you have her back.

what bullets have you found to be the best for deer, I imagine bullet construction doesn't have to be too stout given the speeds they run. can you tell much difference between 75s and 80s or 85s

I shot about 5-10 deer with the 85 gr. Sierra gkhp. Through and through every time. Flys like a mattress but kills real well at those impact speeds. Any c and c will work well...

Double tap