Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Model 7 6mm Remington

Just wondering if anybody has or had one and what you thought about it ? I've owned some model 7's and like the way they balance and handle,I've heard the 6mm does better in long action. Thanks guys

I have a custom Model Seven in 6mm Remington. Loading 95-grain Partitions to reasonable OAL is no problem. I don't see the cartridge OAL as any kind of problem except that I have to place loaded cartridges into the port bullet first---an easy adaptation. I have no ejection issues, but my rifle has a Sako-style extractor so I do not know how the original Remington extractor would work out.

I've owned at least 1 rifle in 6mm REMf for 50 years, mostly 600s, 660s,700s, and a single Winchester/USRA 70 FWT. All of them are/were short actions and I never ran into a COAL issue with any of them. You MIGHT if you are planning to shoot long VLD bullet weighing over 100 grains, but I never have loaded them in any 243 or 6mm and load bullets in the 90 to 100 grain range for shooting whitetails.

I am one of those who doesn't like the butt-heavy balance of the Remington 7s with 18.5" and 20" barrels. If I was in the market for a 6mm REM. I'd be looking for a 700 CDL-SF.

One of my hunting partners has been using a model 7 6mm for 30 years atleast. No issues I'm aware of. I had one in a m77, wasn't reloading at the time and ammo was hard to find so I let it go, wish I kept it. Actually ran across a used model 7 6mm locally recently, it was owned by a big rifle tuner in town and was his personal rifle.

The 6mm theoretically does "better" in a long action because too many handloaders still believe seating bullets a little deeper makes a vast difference in potential muzzle velocity. It doesn't.

I'm also a big fan of the Model 7. I've been SORELY tempted by last year's run of Model 7 6mms! It just seems like the 6mm Rem really needs a longer barrel though.

Mine has a 24-inch barrel, but I still find it to be very easy handling. Nicely balanced, too.

My 700 short action has no problems with bullets up to the 103 ELD-X. I was going to open the action to 3.1" but now I am not sure it is worth it.

I also prefer the CDL balance better. On a model 7 I might be tempted to add some weight to the fore end for better balance and or a lighter recoil pad. I definitely prefer the 20" barrels. Only if I was going to add a suppressor would I go for the 18" barrel.

msquared,

I can absolutely guarantee you, due to personal experience, that a 6mm cup-and-core in the 100-grain range will kill deer (and even bigger stuff) out to pretty long range, even when the muzzle velocity's only 2700 fps or so.

My 6mm Rem is built on a VZ-24 action with a 22" barrel....it shoots tiny little groups with 55 grain bullets and I've mostly left it that way.....it's taken over my 22-250 as my primary varming rifle.

I have used it for deer with Hornady 100 grain interlocks and it's just fine for that.

If I could find a Model 7 with even a 20" barrel in 6mm, I'd give it serious consideration.....The short action and barrel wouldn't bother me a bit......but I already have one and it's a definite keeper.

I bought one from a member here a few years back,short barrel 18.5" so be sure to wear earplugs. I picked up a varix-lll 1.5-5 from another member here. Main use is deer and I loaded it with 90gr AB and 47gr, Rel.17 for 3110fps,groups are under 3/4 at 100. nice for when you plan on doing some walking around.

I have no doubt they will. I started my hunting career with a .243 and had some dramatic kills. It just seems that an 18.5" or 20" barrel would unduly handicap a fairly fast cartridge like the 6mm Rem.? That also raises the question: Is a barrel that short any less inherently accurate at long range? Or, perhaps just a bit harder to shoot accurately at long range?

Shorter barrels can be more accurate due to less "whip" or vibration. A muzzle light rifle can be more wobbly when shot with out a rest, sling or bipod. It can be faster for quick off hand shots. Practice can overcome this to a certain extent.

Some older 243 W ammo only produced about 2,800 fps and they worked fine.

For anyone interested, this past weekend I saw a new Remington Model 7 in 6mm Rem. at the Kittery Trading Post in Kittery, Maine.

Any idea what they were asking for it ?

I would think it would have some collector's value.

LGS has them NIB $650 Stainless.

msquared,

Several things:

The 6mm Remington's powder capacity is very close to the .243 Winchester's. When handloading you can make either one do basically the same things.

Many hunters still judge cartridges (or handloads) by muzzle velocity, which is natural since higher velocity was the best way to flatten trajectory since smokeless powder was introduced. But that changed in the past couple decades, as more high-BC bullets were introduced. What really matters is retained velocity, and while a short-barreled 6mm Remington may get 100 fps less with the same load using, say, Nosler Ballistic Tips or Hornady SSTs, the retained velocity is a lot better than it was when both rounds were introduced.

In a typical 2.85" magazine, even higher-BC bullets might not be practical--but if you only shoot deer at "normal" ranges (300-400 yards) so what? The difference in trajectory isn't enough to notice.

It was a stainless Model 7 and was priced I believe in the $700.00 range.

Thanks for the input, I'm probably overthinking it. I would have expected more velocity loss in a Model 7 (I didn't say so but, I was mentally comparing it to a 24" barrel). But, even so, as you suggest the loss is nearly irrelevant.

I will admit to having an emotional attachment to the 6mm Rem. as it was my late brother's favorite cartridge. It's also time for me to switch to a lighter recoiling rifle. So, the 6mm is tempting and has a strong pull on me. But, is the .257 Roberts a better idea? It seems to do everything the 6mm does with similar recoil, while leaving the door open to heavier bullets for game larger than deer.