Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 6 x 45 Deer Hunting Loads

For the small crowd that might have an interest. Was chronographing these loads today with Benchmark Powder.
Rifle is a 20 inch heavy varmint barrel, threaded on a Ruger Axxis Action. 20 inch in length and have a recessed crown on it. Settling on a load to carry out deer hunting this upcoming fall.

1. 27.5 grains of Benchmark, 80 grain Sierra SP Bullet:
A:3057 fps B: 3078 fps C: 3062 fps

2. 26.2 grains of Benchmark, 85 gr Speer SP:
A: 2837 fps B: 2836 fps C: 2872 fps

3. 26 grains of Benchmark, 90 gr Speer SP:
A: 2789 fps B: 2766 fps C: 2782 fps

4. 26.5 grains of Benchmark, 100 gr SP Hornady:
A: 2793 fps B: 2787 fps

5. 26.0 grains of Benchmark, 100 gr SP Hornady:
A: 2768 fps B: 2781 fps


6. 25.5 grains of Benchmark, 105 BTHP Hornady :
A: 2666 fps B: 2672 fps

7. 25.0 grains of Benchmark, 105 A Max Hornady:
A: 2640 fps B: 2640 fps ( again!)

Lake City brass on its 8th firing, all primer pockets tight before and after shooting the above.

Remington 7 1/2 primers used on each round.

Brass resized easily for next loading

Resized body with a Redding 223 Body Die, sized neck with a Hornady 6mm Neck Sizing Die/ Short Version.

Bullet seated with a RCBS Small Base Die Set Seater.

Gotta lot of contenders for this coming fall, and each of these loads have a lot more thump that a 223 round, without any noticeable increase in recoil in my Savage Bolt Action...They will easily put down a blacktail with proper bullet placement.

These loads have also allowed me to ring 12 inch steel plates at 300 and 400 yards off the bench at my local range, and surprisingly pretty flat shooting.

wish I'd have looked at a 6 x 45, 30 years ago or more...

Have received another barrel from Douglas, in a Predator Profile, 24 inches, 1 in 7 twist ( oh why the hell not? ) 11 degree crown. Have either a Ruger 77 mk 2 Stainless action, or a Model 70 Short Action Push Feed, that this barrel will go on, haven't decided which. This May be the last rebarrel I'll probably do...starting to reach that age, that I might be put out to pasture in the next couple of years. Going to keep hunting, until I can't no more. But for now, So Far So Good!

Sounds like some great contenders to choose from. 6x45 has peeked my interest to be sure. Though once I did the 6mm ARC the 6x45 went way on the back burner for me.

Can't help but throw out there that while you have some great choices to work from there. If you were to give one of the all copper Hammer offerings a try I expect you would be pleasntly surprised. I was in the 6mm ARC any way. So far the 87 grain Absolute Hammer & the 55 grain hammer hunter is all I have tried. both bullets have been easy to achieve velocity & accuracy with. So far the 87 grain offering is the only one I have used on game.

Look forward to hearing back on fall reports from you & others.

Nothing you ever shoot with those loads will realize you didn't use a .243.

I was thinking seriously about a 6 ARC, as I also use a 6.5 Grendel...

But when I looked a little closer, I found the 6 x 45 does give up some velocity to the 6ARC, but the deal breaker was brass availability. Its not so much I was concerned about finding brass for the ARC, but what can't escape anyone's attention, is that brass for the 6 x 45 is essentially free, if you don't worry about it being once fired, and needs to be tumbled.

In the last 30 days I think I've picked up about 600 rounds of 223 brass at my local range, just laying around waiting for someone to " police up their brass", which I'll gladly substitute for them. I did buy a 6 x 45 small base die set from RCBS, for 30 bucks, and then picked up a Hornady neck sizer die for $20 or so... and I already had a Redding 223 body die.

So the cost to get into it also was readily fairly cheap. There is a lot of appeal in the economy of the entire thing..
plus I'm sitting on a very large selection and amount of 6 mm bullets from the lightest to the heaviest.

The biggest expense was on the barrel, which I got in 3 weeks from Douglas for a Savage Action., and then recently I just received another barrel in 6 x 45 from Douglas, 24 inches, 1 in 7 twist, Predator Contour size.

Sorry I didn't figure this out 30 years ago...

After poor factory ammo bullet performance in the 6mm's back in the 1970s on deer I have relegated the 6s to nothing bigger than coyotes but have killed a number of.them with the 6x45, 6mm-204 and 243. If I were to load a 6x45 for deer today I'd look seriously at the 85gr Partitions.

This entire thread needs a "like button".

Part 2, Father's Day Chronographing.

1. 24 grains of H 322, 85 grain Speer SP:
a: 2734 fps b: 2704 fps

2. 24 grains of 2015, 75 Speer HP:
a: 2691 fps b: 2696 fps

3. 25 grains of H4895. 105 grain Speer SP:
a: 2583

4. 25.5 grains of H4895, 105 grain Speer SP:
a:2677 fps

5: 25 grain of IMR 4895, 105 grain Speer SP:
a:2724 b:2717 fps

6. 25 grains of IMR 4895, 105 grain A Max:
a: 2776 fps b: 2748 fps

Remington 7 1/2 primers were used in each load.

The 105 grain Speer SPs are looking pretty appealing with 25 grains of IMR 4895.

Next step is to try the IMR 4895 load @ 25.5 grains with the 105 grain Speer, and also the Hornady 103 grain ELD X.

There is plenty of deer medicine hiding in these results.

I’ve got a 14” 6TCU contender barrel that shoots 70BT’s very well. I shot one deer with it at 120 or so yards. Shot was quartering to me. Don’t remember the exact bullet track but I did put a nice hole through her heart. Hole was almost identical to the hole my cousin put in the heart of another doe 2 minutes earlier shot with a 14” contender in 35 Rem shooting 170 Speer FN. we were pretty sure Bob Milek was upstairs smiling down on us that day. My bullet did exit by the way.

I have also shot several deer with a 6 ackley at ranges from very close to probably 600 yards or more. Most always bang flops with 70BT’s.

Just my $.02.

Good luck with your new toy. Hope you get many years more use out of it.

Happy birthday John! I hope its a great one.

Impressive. Sounds like a solid choice from my perspective. Have you evaluated accuracy yet? What kind of OAL limitations, are you working with?

Addendum, June 20th

1. 24 grains 3031, 100 grain Hornady BTSP: 2784 fps

2. 24 grains 3031, 105 grain Hornady BTHP : 2698 fps.

Accuracy with this Douglas Barrel, leaves nothing to be desired.

Its been varmint level accuracy with anything I have fed it. 20 inch heavy barrel, with a 1 in 7 twist, with a tight bore, yet long throated, so bullet would never fit in an AR MAG or something as shallow as an AR chamber.

Haven't measured a COAL yet, will try and remember that, and post it later. Too late tonight at this point in time.

Group 4, June 21, 2023

Savage 10, 20 inch Douglas Barrel, 1 in 7 twist, Heavy Varmint profile.

6 x 45, 25 gr 4064, Rem 7 1/2 primer

1. 87 grain BTHP Hornady: a: 2595 fps b: 2576 fps

2. 100 grain BT Speer SP: a: 2585 fps b: 2575 fps

3. 105 grain BTHP Hornady: a: 2530 fps b: 2540 fps

4. 105 grain A Max Hornady: a: 2538 fps b: 2500 fps


ZSR Turkish Brass 223 necked up to 6 x 45

25 grains of IMR 4895, Rem 7 1/2 primer, 100 gr Hornady SP.

a: 2773 fps

b: 2774 fps

c: 2833 fps

For a deer bullet the 85 gr. Speer BTSP, the 100 grain Speer BTSP and the Hornady 100 gr. flat based interlok would be my choices run with IMR 4895 or LVR. In my youth I had a 243 with an 18 inch barrel and it got 2830 fps with the Remington 100 gr. Corelokt. That rifle was a Remington Mohawk, they were on model 600 actions.

Still have an XP in 6-223/6x45. I had shot a 6TCU for a number of years in IHMSA , mostly 80 grain Speer hot core, fueled with AA2015.
I always thought it was good cartridge and offered/gave more than its size let on. Had an extra XP action, a barrel was ordered and a 6TCU reamer was loaned to me. The gent that loaned it gave me some of his data with AA2200. I run 55-75 grain bullets out of the rifle setup.
Years ago seemed like there was always a source for XP rifle stocks. Today those have all but dried up. I got lucky and a fellow bought an XP rifle setup and was putting it back as a pistol, McMillan stock and a Jewel trigger were purchased.

I always liked LC brass and Midway had some virgin, first I had seen in years. I have pushed it pretty hard and it’s still holding up.

The year after we got this rig put together was when the 6ARC came into the picture. I had always wanted a 6PPC. I had little interest in anything much over an 80 grain bullet, I know a lot of folks use the heavies, thanks but I will got to the BR case for that myself.

The 6-223/6x45/6TCU perform well. As mentioned brass is easy to procure. The masses have little interest in wildcats no matter how easy they are to work with. Most folks want to get a box or two of ammo at the local GS or mart and go play. I am glad myself to see a smaller 6mm available even if it is not an old favorite.

That's impressive velocity, not that far off factory loaded .243 Win ammo out of 20" barrels.

I still have no idea if these are varmint style bullets or not, but Midway still has some 6mm cal 80gr spitzers on clearance for $15/box. I ordered several hundred to try out, still haven't actually loaded any.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1025764365?pid=496795

I'm sitting on quite a few 6mm bullets....

the barrel on this Rifle currently is a 20 inch Douglas barrel in heavy varmint contour.

This afternoon, I went over to the range and shot 20 rounds. Was ringing steel at 300 yds,
and chronographed 3 rounds...

Charge was 14 grains of Alliant Steel, bullets were 70 grain Nosler Varmageddons, sparked with a Win Small Pistol primer.
Talk about little Deviation Spread:
1. 2670 fps
2. 2672 fps
3. 2671 fps

Hitting the 300 yd gong, showed this hits with much more authority, that a 50 or 55 grain SP, out of a 223, with a similar powder charge.

its been a fun round to play with...

I'll hunt with the round this fall, but I've got a second barrel from Douglas to put on a Model 70 or Ruger 77 Mk2 Action, that is a " predator " contour and 24 inch barrel, with a one in 7 twist..

This ought to get a little more velocity...

some guys have posted taking antelope sized deer with Speer 70 gr TNTs and 75 grain HPs, which can run at 3000 to 3100 fps... but I'll probably be loading up the 90 to 105 grain bullets, with the 24 inch barrel.

Is there really much difference between the 6x45 and 6mm TCU?

The 6 TCU has a little more capacity, with an Ackley style shoulder..

looking at load data, it seems to produce < 100 fps or so More velocity.