Comments on: Mid-Sized 6mm Cartridges — Great Accuracy & More Zip than 6BR

By: R.G. Robibett

R.G. Robibett — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:41:03 +0000

What’s different [with these new arrivals] than the 6/250; 6/250 Ack. Imp.; or, the original 6 HLS?? Or, as Jed states, the OLDER yet 6mm Intn’l! When it comes to smokeless powder cases, there really isn’t much truly NEW – just more/better powder selection(s) . . . RG

By: sodhogger

sodhogger — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:12:07 +0000

Jed- I agree 100%!

By: Jed

Jed — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:15:18 +0000

http://stevespages.com/jpg/cd6international.jpg

By: Jed

Jed — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:10:24 +0000

Curious as to why the 6mm International isn’t a huge player today. Seems like David Tubb and the 6XC went all the way around Robin Hood’s barn to achieve what Mike Walkers 6mm international achieved decades ago from the exact same parent 250 case no less.

By: Nat Lambeth

Nat Lambeth — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:49:22 +0000

1. Creedmore is coming out with the 6mm Creedmore this year.
2. Several of these 6mm discussed will excell in the velocity department but also excell in the barrel erotion department. The XC only gets about 100 more rounds of barrel life than a .243 Winchester. keeping velocities at 3050 fps and powders quantities below 34 grains is important.
Nat Lambeth

By: Aaron Alexander

Aaron Alexander — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:47:32 +0000

I have played extensively witht he 6-6.5X47L and it was a dog. I tried 8, 7.5 and 7 twist barrels. This cartridge would only produce reasonable accuracy at velocities no different than a 6BR for the 105 VLD’s and would never shoot the 115’s with anything better than an inconsistent .5MOA accuracy.

I tried using trimmed 6XC brass and there was a slight improvement, so I think the small flash hole may have some detrimental effects.

The 6XC is king of the 115 grain hill as far as I am concerned, and for 105’s I will simply stick with the unbeatable 6BR…

By: sodhogger

sodhogger — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:06:12 +0000

What is old is new again. Elgin Gates’s 6.5 IHMSA is back!

I still am partial to the 7mm version tho…

By: mikee

mikee — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:47:19 +0000

@Jed – from my experience the 6XC barrel should be good for about 2,500 rounds before rechambering and recrowning should be considered. My first 6XC barrel with the above maintenance has now seen close to 4,000 rounds and is still competitive for F-Class open. All this of course depends on the operational practices and maintenance one employs during the life of the barrel. Time will tell how well my second barrel will perform.

By: mikee

mikee — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:32:02 +0000

Another cartridge worth considering is the new 6 mm Super. This case is nothing more than a long necked .243 with a 30 degree shoulder. As .243 cases are easy to obtain and only require reshaping through a 6 mm Super die before they are ready for use. Also starting loads, especially for 105 gr to 107 gr projectiles can be readily obtained from .243 loading data supplied by most loading manuals. Early experiments with 105 grain to 115 grain projectiles show very promising results. Testing with RL 15 and RL 17 indicates that the case has all the attributes of the 6XC, 6 mm Swiss Match etc., without the case stretching and “blow torch” effect that the short neck of the .243 has on the lands. The 6 mm Super seems to be able to comfortably propel 115 grain projectiles out of 28/30 inch barrels at around 3,000 fps with reasonable pressures. More testing is required, but the results look promising.

By: Jed

Jed — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:23:35 +0000

@German Salazar what kind of “real world” barrel life are you getting from your 6XC? Bah humbug on the overbore calculators. I think real world numbers from an actual competitive shooter like yourself are of far more value.