April 10th, 2007

6mm 117 grain DTACs–First Look

Superior Shooting Systems has released a new 117 gr DTAC bullet, designed for 1:7.5″ or faster twist barrels. David Tubb advises these 117s require at least .040″ more throat length compared to his 115s. Robert Whitley got some new 117s and he told us they look very impressive: “The 117 gr bullet looks great, but it’s a real Goliath for a 6mm projectile. I checked on how the bullet sits in relation to the throating of various 6mms. I measured them multiple times in three different barrels–two with brand new, unfired chambers. It looks like you need about .050″ – .060″ more freebore than you need with a DTAC 115 to keep the junction of the boat tail and bearing surface in the same place, and about .125″ – .135″ more freebore than you need with a Sierra 107 to keep the junction of the boat tail and bearing surface in the same place. (I have cases with a slit up the neck so I can see where the junction of the bearing surface and boat tail sits in relation to the neck and shoulder of the case.)”

Robert adds: “I will try these in a 6XC (after I throat out one of my barrels a bit) but the bullet looks big for a 6XC case. I am also looking forward to trying these in the 6mm Super X, the 6CM, and the 6mm Remington I have, all of which have a good bit more powder capacity to enable the use of slower powders (H4831SC, H1000, etc.) with such a bullet. If these shoot as well as they look, the 6mms may give a 6.5 x284 some real competition at long range–we’ll see!”

DTAC 117 gr Bullet David Tubb

Left to Right: Boron nitride-coated 117 gr bullet (1.376″) ,
Moly 115gr DTAC (1.290″), Moly 107 Sierra MK (1.225″)

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