I was going to do this:

Stiller Predator RBRP single shot
Brux #3 .243 caliber 8 twist, crowned at 24-inches, 1-inch shank
Jewell trigger
Manners EH3 stock
6mm BR

The Brux is bought from darrenk75b here. The Predator was ordered this morning (they said it would probably be a couple of months wait). I will probably order the Manners around the first of May. I will likely order a reamer from PTG.

I am also moving to Alabama in the summer to Maxwell AFB, and I'll be about 30 minutes away from Mickey Coleman. I briefly exchanged PMs with Mickey, and he's happy to assemble the pieces.

Here's my question--why would I not chamber a 6mm Dasher instead of the 6mm BR? Any downside at all to the Dasher?

Any inputs on the freebore? I was thinking of shooting the 107 Matchking and 105 Berger. I was thinking of a .270 or .271 neck (no turn).

Thanks gents!

I think Aalf is your huckelberry on this question.

I do too!

Everything Micky has put together for me has been as it should be.

I see guys running BRs and Dashers at Ridgway quit a bit.
They work very well as long as the conditions are not crazy.
Every now and then they fail to knock over the target.its happens just not very often.
You could take the BR out of the box and shoot it.
The Dasher will have to have the case blown and extra step.
I never considered blowing cases that big of a deal anyway.
Why such a light barrel on a single shot?
All my single shots are RBLP.
Off the bench its just so much more convenient.

dave

Joel, the build sounds sweet, but there's just some stuff that doesn't make sense to me (not that won't work)...

I'd definitely run a repeater on this build, I can't see any reason for a single shot on a lightweight rifle... Chances are you're gonna' love the round and rifle, and want to take it hunting.

I have been shooting a 6BR Improved (not a true dasher)for many years and it is my favorite round for several reasons.

It has about 4 times the barrel life of my 6-284, low recoil, long brass life (Lapua), and accuracy that other chamberings cant match.

I tried the 105's and 107's but the Berger 95gr VLD is the ONLY bullet I shoot in mine anymore, take this into consideration when making your reamer because the bearing surface is much shorter with the 95gr VLD than the 105-107's.
match it with Varget or RL15 and 205 primers and it makes a combo you will love.
I would go with a heavier barrel if it was mine but a single shot action is the way to go but I would suggest a RBLP.

My reamer is a .270 but I turned the high side off my necks.

Does Stiller make a Predator in anything but a RB/RP or LB/LP? They don't list it. I see Borden will do the Alpine in any of these configurations.

I'm correct handed so I didn't ask about wrong handed options. But they offered me the choice of a a RBRP with no rail, and a RBLP with a rail. I imagine you could get either with or without rail. I got RBRP no rail. Talley makes standard bases for a Predator, or you can use 2 Rem 700 front bases/rings.

From almost all accounts a 6 BR is a superbly accurate cartridge, but one that does not feed well from a magazine.

I have thought a little about the "hunting" dilemma. If I were a betting man I would lay money that you are correct, and that I will want to take this rifle hunting. I intend to shoot the hell out of this thing at targets, so I'll likely be very comfortable with it. I am not intending it to be a hunting rifle partially because of the feeding issue--but dudes hunt with Ruger #1s, right? I was thinking if I take it hunting I'll just have to make the first shot count. That's what I prefer anyway. Even with a repeater I seldom take more shots than 1.


For position shooting practice (sitting, kneeling, prone, standing) I think I would regret RBLP. That would probably mean I would end up shooting more from the bench, and what I need to do is shoot less from the bench. I am sure I would get used to it. From the bench it would be terrific!

I have thought about going with a Bartlein #3 instead of a Brux #3. That would mean a .680 or so muzzle instead of a .630 or so muzzle. But it also means a half pound more weight, and I don't want the balance to be off. I'll ask Mickey what he thinks about the balance for the two.

Thanks for your inputs! I'm in no way trying to be defensive. At first glance, this rifle has an identity crisis. From a BR perspective it doesn't make sense to have a 6 BR with a sporter barrel, and it doesn't make sense not to build with a RBLP. From a sporting perspective it doesn't make sense to make a single shot.

Oh, I don't know. Sporter 6mmBRs make a ton of sense to me...

No dispute here!

How did yours feed? Did you need to do any modifications?

With 1 or 2 down, it fed great using a Bryant-mod magbox. When I tried to put 3 down, things got a little wonkey, and reliability was less than perfect.

I just had a LVSF finished in 6BR. It will feed 2 from the mag every time, put in 3 and things go down hill quickly from there. I bet someone smarter than me could fix that.

What is the advantage of a 6mm Dasher over a (say)6XC or 6BR for competition shooting?

The 6mm Dasher is an "Improved" 6 BR with the shoulder moved forward 0.10 inches and with a 40 degree shoulder. The Dasher holds about 3.5 grains more powder than the 6 BR. I think the Dasher holds a current 1000-yard size record, but that doesn't really matter to me.

Here's a link to a page that talks about the Dasher:
http://www.6mmbr.com/6brimproved01.html

From what I can gather, the downsides to the Dasher are you have to fire-form cases (similar to AI), dies are much more difficult to find and/or custom dies are required, and barrel life is a bit less. The upside is about 100 to 150 more fps and cases that require less trimming. Most guys on posts or other pages have indicated the Dasher is beneficial when shooting past 600 yards, as you can move heavier (better B.C.) bullets quicker as compared to the normal 6 BR.

After conferring with a man of rational mind (Mr. Coleman), I will go with the regular 6 BR. It's got enough "juice", offers better barrel life, excellent brass is immediately available, no need to fire form, excellent dies are immediately available, etc. Thanks for the rational gunsmiths of the world!

Looks to me like a 6XC is a larger (longer) case than the 6 BR case. This page indicates it can be made from 22-250 brass: http://www.6mmbr.com/6XC.html

Joel: Thanks...great explanation. I appreciate that!

I loved all my BRs in the past. Killed deer in my Ruger #1 and Dakota Predator. Varmints w Ruger n Rems. If doing a 6 tdy. I'd be very compelled to go XC or 47L because of no mod feeding concerns and powder to run well w heavies.

Can't pick a bad six. Some do better at different jobs. A 243 in 8 twist even deserves consideration

What is the advantage of a 6 BR/ Dasher over a 6-250?

Seems like a little velocity advantage, significant feeding advantage, and Lapua makes 22-250 brass.

These are genuine questions but then there is the Ps- 15-20 gr less powder than 243 w/ equal bullet weights... I am sure that helps barrel life!

Inherent accuracy, known load combos, etc. For me, the 6br ruled as I don't like forming.

Velocity is decent, but the 6br is certainly not a screamer. If I can get great accuracy with a significant reduction in powder, and performance that is not all that diminished from a .243, I'm happy. And that is precisely what the 6br offers.

The 6-250, 6xc, 6x47L all offer a bit better velocity and more reliable feeding but at a cost - more powder, shorter barrel life, etc.

If you're target shooting at 600 and under get the 6br. Past 600 the Dasher does a LITTLE better. If you're shooting mostly 100-400 a sporter 6ppc would be fun too.

That makes sense; thanks for answering!

Outside of competition (read: never running barrel HOT) what do you think max round count would be for a 6-250 vs 6 BR?

EVERYTHING you just said is why the 6BR has been on my short list. My only concern is how it would feed in a 700SA. I've got a crap .243 factory barrel on a 700 right now (fouls like crazy and gives 6BR speed with 10grs more powder). It'd be a great donor for a BR, but I don't really want a single shot, and great barrel life would mean that any feeding problems would haunt me for a long time. IF I could fall in love with a 700 single shot (using a cheap adapter sitting on the follower), then I'd have no reservations with a 6BR.

If going faster than a 6BR, I'd strongly consider the 6mm Super LR. IMO it's what the .243Win should have been with a little more design effort.
There's a good comparison photo HERE

The Dasher is nothing at all like fire forming for a P.O Ackley chamber, the case is supported in a Ackley chamber and nothing is needed but chamber and shoot, with the Dasher there are steps that need to be done in order to fire form, I prefer a heavy Jam, others like a false shoulder and some like both.
Wayne.

Oh and the dies are readily available these days, Redding and Forster, and Wilson are the prefered factory dies, Neil Jones is probably the prefered custom die maker.
Wayne.

Advantages of 6BR far outweigh all disadvantages...
Yes, even works in a sporter weight!


The one pictured is a 8.5" twist Brux #3 in HS stock with an unaltered 700 action. With HUNTING BULLETS (85gr Sierra BTHP) it shoots like this off bipods (all of the six, 5-shot groups shot in about 20 minutes -barrel stayed warm-).

Not shabby for a 7.5# gun & 10x scope. (I wonder what it will do with tuned target bullets & crosshairs that didn't completely cover the dot?)

I have a Wyatts "BR" box in it & it has been nothing but a headache. I finally got it were it feeds reliable but only holds 2 down. I would NOT go that route again. Mucho [bleep] with it to get it "right".

I had the Bryant conversion on another action & it feed good with 3 down but the 4th down would make the round "pop" out. I later rebarreled that action (when I shot out the straight BR) to BRX. After doing that I got to fiddling with the spring placement & now have it were it feeds all four flawless (I had to glue the spring in specific place). I'm not sure if the .1" longer case body helps the feeding or I just got things right but it feeds just as good as any 243Win out there.

Don't overlook the 6BRX. 6Dasher velocities with cheaper 6BR dies & will likely feed easier than the 40degree shoulders on the dasher (if you go the repeater route). I wouldn't be afraid to go straight BR repeater with a tuned Bryant rem bm conversion though.

If you are planning to hunt with it you'll love the #3. However, if your going to do much shooting off a bench or especially if your going to do much shooting past 300-400 yards. I'd go with a bigger longer barrel. The Remington varmint contour is a good comprimise! That's what's on my BRX & it REALLY shoots!!!


Nothing wrong with single shot either but main reason I like a repeater is storage. As long as it will hold just 1 down I'm good. If you NEED the rifle (times when a dangerous crow or groundhog is standing there laughing at you), I don't want to fumble around trying to find a bullet. Jsut grab the rifle & bolt it! SS are for people that can live with missed opertunities.

Pretty good groups for shooting quickly off a bipod.

So if I read correctly, the Bryant conversion will work with some tinkering? Did the action rails need any work too?

A buddy rebarreled a M77 MkII .22-250 to 6BR, and it feeds like a champ. But it's not a push-feed.

I've seen the Bryant converson on 4 Remington 700's personally & all them feed at least 3 bullets with very good success (with the magazine box/spring converision only no messing with feed rails). I have glued the spring on one other box with the conversion for a buddy & it worked fine throught the test I gave it (loaded 4 down & feed them all two seperate times). I think it has been working fine every since (he hasn't mentioned anything about it). I really think the spring placement is THE key to the BR feeding sucess.

I have talked with alf about it a couple time & he has had a few guns set up for the BR case & he doesn't use anything different than the factory BM the way the .478 shortaction comes. IIRC he said "some work some don't but the ones that do work, work fine". I do have another buddy that has a BRX with no modification & he uses his as repeater with no troubles (not sure if he can get 4 down but he says "it works I'm not messing with it").

I think the whole myth about the BR not feeding was from some guys that tried it & it didn't work, so they thought it can't be done. With a little bit of effort you can make them work. You just may need a little trial & error with a little fiddling to boot.

I've read over on sniperhide & soem on 6BR about guys feeding the BR case with great succes through the AI magazines. Some are using modified rails with the 223 size mags & others are using the 308 mags with a filler. I'd like to mess with one...

Thanks for the reply. I spent some time yesterday on this subject, and learned that the DBM (AI mag) route makes the most sense. I'd prefer to avoid the extra $300 expense and have the smooth belly of an ADL, so for ME it'd be worth tinkering (if needed) until either the factory or Bryant conversion worked smoothly. Three down is plenty for me, and four would just be showing off.

I should add that if your going remington bottom metal I highly would suggest BDL floorplate. It makes this SO much easier for adjusting the spring, trial & error fiddling & fixing any problems. Running the above rifle in an ADL stock is the only reason I even tried the wyatts box.

I've never really seen the need for DBM on a hunting rifle really. After 2-3 shots you either need to quit or call for help (dragging).

Thanks again. I can live with a BDL setup, but just prefer the ADL if given a choice. For a tinker-intensive project the BDL would definitely be the way to go.