Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Favorite 6mm ?

My favorite 6mm is my 6BR. But it gets shot only at the range.

If I wanted a hunting rifle in 6mm I would consider the 6x47L, 6 Creedmoor, and maybe a 6XC. I would consider availability of Lapua brass, think about cold weather and small rifle primers, and consider how the rounds feed from a magazine without special magic tricks that might frustrate me later.

240 Wby

Don’t even own a 6mm right now but will likely have 6mm Creedmoor barrels chambered for my rigs eventually.

John

You said favorite 6 mm. Not your favorite 6mm that is readily available. 6mm rem

Creed....

What bullet were you using
I used to use a 270 when it got windy

Since this is a Gunwriter' s forum I have to share that the main reason my first deer rifle was a 6mm stems back over 50 years to when I was a kid reading a F & S or Sports Afield in a barbershop waiting for my haircut. Musta been around +-1970. There was a deer hunting yarn written by a hunter describing the shot he finally took with his 'flat shooting 6mm' . I always remembered that and thought, "Gee it must be magical" I swear I can just abut remember the illustration too - all these years later . Would love to find that article somehow.

My father liked the 6mm Rem, and it was his "big" gun for big game from the time he graduated high school onward into his 30's. He hunted more with a 6mm Rem than any other cartridge for deer and elk. He liked Nosler Partitions. A lot. Later in life, he preferred punching paper, and got into a 6 PPC that shot better than he could. Then a 6mm BR built on an XP100, again a tack driver. He toyed with those on and off until he quit shooting. He came to prize them.

Dad bought my mother a 243 a few years after I was born, a Ruger M77. I hunted with it several times as a youth, for deer, antelope, and various varmints, including coyotes and rock chucks, usually with the same 100 grain factory ammo. My daughter will have that gun when she is old enough to use it. My son already has a 243 that he loves, and thinks is "the big rifle". I am a huge fan of the 243 as well, for its flat-shooting ability to kill stuff well from 30 feet to 440 yds. Last year I had McGowen cut me a 25" Sporter in 243 AI with a 1:8". I've not messed with it enough to claim undying love yet, but I will say that it is what I hoped it would be, and maybe just a hair more than I thought.

If I was starting from scratch, I'd likely go Creedmoor. For all the obvious reasons. But my AI is built on a standard length action, and feeds just swell with stuff that wouldn't fit in a short action, and I can basically chase the lands until they are all gone. There are several 243's around here, and enough brass that's been stashed to let my kids' kids shoot.

As for me and my house, make it a .243. At one time I was feeding 4 or 5 of them. Came up with a middling load of Varget pushing three 95gr Partitions into MOA groups in most of the rifles. Literally several dozen KY White Tails fell to that combination. Still set up with plenty of brass and and bullets to last my lifetime. No flies on the other 6mm's. But as said above, "If it ain't broke..."

6-06 with an 8 twist. 240 Wby would be a close second.

I am going to go a bit smaller...

My current favorite 6mm is the 6X45. I have an AR with a 20" Black Hole Weaponry barrel on it that is a great coyote or deer gun. I was able to get a very good deal on a bunch (10 boxes) of the now discontinued 80 grain Sierra SSP (single-shot pistol) bullets. They shoot great out of the AR, I am able to get good velocity with them and they perform very well on game. When those are gone, I won't hesitate to use the 90 grain Nosler BTs or the 92 grain Cavity Back MKZs. For the type of hunting that I do (mostly small plot or field corners for meat deer), it is just about the perfect round. Add a suppressor and I can watch the bullet impact through the scope.

I like it so much that I just picked up a Remington SPS Varmint in .223 for cheap with the intention of making it into a lightweight 6X45 repeater that I can throw the suppressor on an put into the hands of my young nephews for deer hunting.

I like the one that doesn't seem to get as much attention as I think it deserves. Plain Jane 6mm Remmy.

I will just keep using my Remington 700 BDL in 6mm Rem from the 1970’s

The 6mm Rem has been my longtime favorite. I’ve offered this point before but it doesn’t seem to have gone much of anywhere. When looking at the ballistics, using longer, heavier bullets, the 6mm Rem runs pretty much side by side with the 6mm Creedmoor. My 6mm Rem uses a 7 1/2” twist barrel, like the CM would and I can’t really tell any difference in the two. Factory ammo offerings aside, I don’t see much difference in the two.
Am I missing anything?

Action length.

The Creedmoor does all of it through a true short action.

I used to really long for a short action as they were pretty scarce in Left hand configuration. Now that they are more available it is sort of like whats the big deal? Any advantages are almost moot. A couple ounces lighter, a half inch shorter, stiffer action which is impossible to tell with a hunting rifle.

I am tempted by the 6x47L due to it's accuracy reputation but will just stick with my 243s and 6mms for now. But I think there is no such thing as a bad 6mm from the Lee Navy to the 240 Weatherby and everything in between. A 6BR would be nice to as a sort of minimal deer cartridge and good for varmints due to barrel life.

You didn't miss anything, but Remington missed the boat when they introduced the .244 originally, and according to the 1964 Gun Digest I just bought, still came up a bit short when they "fixed" it as the 6mm. A 3" "short" action with a fast-twist barrel probably would make it all better, but I don't see the point now with the Creed available. Fans like you can do whatever floats their boat of course. Commercially, it's game over.

Somebody here said Weatherby is selling a fast-twist .240, which ought to liven things up a bit for those who don't reload (reladers would likely have a 6mm/06 or 6mm/.284). I'll settle for the smaller capacity ones and longer barrel life.

Mine would be 240 Weatherby Mag

Cannot believe Big Stick hasn't come along with his brilliance to inform everyone how stupid we are. Then we get to read (again) how great his yellow taped trout stream rifles are and how far off the mark everyone else. Oh, and then followed up with his idiotic signature lines. What a sad human being.

Dang you guys...you got me all stirred up again...gotta get myself another 240 Weatherby. I'm going to try a Vanguard this time. I still have my dies, bullets, and a double handful of once fired cases. Spare scope sitting on the shelf. I figure since I got my 300WM shooting well, I'll get this smaller caliber for range/coyotes and hopefully some antelope/deer/hogs.