We are often asked “what’s the difference between the 6×47 Swiss Match, the 6XC, and the 6.5×47 Lapua necked down to 6mm?” All three cartridges have 30° shoulders and fit a .308-sized boltface. However, alone among the three, the 6mm-6.5×47 has a small primer pocket and small flash hole. The 6×47 Swiss Match (made by RUAG), and the 6XC (produced by Norma), have a large primer pocket and large flash hole, just like a .308 Winchester.
Forum member DesertLefty has provided a line-up photo, with 6mmBR and .260 Rem cases provided for comparison. As you can see, the three mid-sized cases (6x47SM, 6.5×47 Lapua, and 6XC) are very similar.
The Swiss Match has the longest neck, while the 6XC enjoys the highest capacity. But performance is very similar among the three cartridges (with the 6.5×47 necked down to 6mm), and the same powders, particularly H4350, IMR 4007SSC, and N160 work well in the 6×47 SM, the 6XC, and the 6-6.5×47 Lapua. Alliant Reloder 17, slightly faster than H4350 but with a flatter (less “peaky”) burn curve, could also prove a good choice for both the 6XC and 6mm-6.5×47.
6XC vs. 6-6.5×47
Often the question is posed “Which is better, the 6XC or 6mm-6.5×47″. The correct answer seems to be “it depends”. Current batches of Norma-made 6XC brass are very good, while certain lots of 6.5×47 Lapua brass have somewhat disappointing neckwall uniformity, demanding neck-turning for best accuracy. Overall, however, the two cases (6mm-6.5×47 and 6XC) are nearly identical in performance. Some shooters believe the Lapua brass holds up better under full-power loads. On the other hand, Norma 6XC brass from DavidTubb.com is a bit less expensive than 6.5×47 brass.
The parent 6.5×47 Lapua case is rated at 63,090 psi, while the new CIP rating for the 6XC is 63,844 psi (4400 BAR). Though the 6mm-6.5×47 has slightly less powder capacity than the 6XC, max velocities with 105-108gr bullets are quite similar. However, you should not substitute loads from the 6XC directly to the 6mm-6.5×47 or vice-versa. Because of the different case capacities and primer sizes, you should work up loads separately for each cartridge.
Forum member Stan from Northern California (aka BigBamBoo) has produced a cool video showing a 1000-yard shooting session with his Surgeon Rifles .243 Win. As he shot prone from bipod, Stan filmed with two cameras, one aimed at the shooter and the other zoomed way out at the target 1000 yards away. Using frame in frame editing, Stan combined the two camera viewpoints so you can watch his trigger-pulling and simultaneously see what’s happening downrange. Stan hits steel five times in a row.
If you listen carefully, you can hear the steel ring about three seconds after each shot (it takes that long for the sound to travel back). On a couple shots you’ll see dust kick up at the side of the target — but that’s not a miss. Remember his bullet is impacting on steel and what you’re seeing is dust kicked up on ricochet by a bullet fragment.
The main purpose of Stan’s shooting session was to evaluate a new Badger FTE muzzle brake. Watch the video and you can see that the big brake dramatically reduces both rearward movement and bipod hop. Stan was very happy with the brake’s effectiveness, as it allows him to keep his scope on target, and cycle quickly for the next shot. Stan reports: “Just keep an eye on the rifle. Watch the recoil — it’s greatly reduced with the muzzle brake. Makes spotting my shots very easy.”
LOAD: Lapua .243 Winchester brass, Sierra 107gr MatchKings, Wolf LR primers, 40.1 grains of H4350 powder.
Stan posts: “I recently sent my Surgeon Scalpel in .243 back to Surgeon to have a Badger FTE muzzle brake installed. Got a chance between rain storms to get to the range and do some shooting. As you can hear in the video…the wind was blowing pretty hard. But that just adds to the fun of shooting at long range. Turn up the volume and you should be able to hear the five hits on steel. If you set the playback resolution to 480p or better and go ‘full screen’, you should be able to see most of the hits.”
Why is the Sound of the Hit Delayed So Long?
The speed of sound at sea level, in dry 59° air, is 1116 fps. With the steel target 3000 feet (1000 yards) away, it takes 3000/1116 or 2.69 seconds for the sound of each hit to reach the shooter.
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Forum Member John L. has been intrigued by the question of “overbore” cartridges. People generally agree that overbore designs can be “barrel burners”, but is there a way to predict barrel life based on how radically a case is “overbore”? John notes that there is no generally accepted definition of “overbore”. Based on analyses of a wide variety of cartridges, John hoped to create a comparative index to determine whether a cartridge is more or less “overbore”. This, in turn, might help us predict barrel life and maybe even predict the cartridge’s accuracy potential.
John tells us: “I have read countless discussions about overbore cartridges for years. There seemed to be some widely accepted, general rules of thumb as to what makes a case ‘overbore’. In the simplest terms, a very big case pushing a relatively small diameter bullet is acknowledged as the classic overbore design. But it’s not just large powder capacity that creates an overbore situation — it is the relationship between powder capacity and barrel bore diameter. Looking at those two factors, we can express the ‘Overbore Index’ as a mathematical formula — the case capacity in grains of water divided by the area (in square inches) of the bore cross-section. This gives us an Index which lets us compare various cartridge designs.”
OVERBORE INDEX Chart
So what do these numbers mean? John says: “My own conclusion from much reading and analysis is that cartridges with case volume to bore area ratio less than 900 are most likely easy on barrels and those greater than 1000 are hard on barrels.” John acknowledges, however, that these numbers are just for comparison purposes. One can’t simply use the Index number, by itself, to predict barrel life. For example, one cannot conclude that a 600 Index number cartridge will necessarily give twice the barrel life of a 1200 Index cartridge. However, John says, a lower index number “seems to be a good predictor of barrel life”.
John’s system, while not perfect, does give us a benchmark to compare various cartridge designs. If, for example, you’re trying to decide between a 6.5-284 and a 260 Remington, it makes sense to compare the “Overbore Index” number for both cartridges. Then, of course, you have to consider other factors such as powder type, pressure, velocity, bullet weight, and barrel hardness.
Overbore Cases and Accuracy
Barrel life may not be the only thing predicted by the ratio of powder capacity to bore cross-section area. John thinks that if we look at our most accurate cartridges, such as the 6 PPC, and 30 BR, there’s some indication that lower Index numbers are associated with greater inherent accuracy. This is only a theory. John notes: “While I do not have the facilities to validate the hypothesis that the case capacity to bore area ratio is a good predictor of accuracy — along with other well-known factors — it seems to be one important factor.”
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Fiocchi of America is recalling various lots of 22-250 Remington and .243 Winchester centerfire rifle ammunition. There is a serious safety issue affecting certain lots of Fiocchi ammo types: 22250B, 22250HVD, 243SPB, 243HSB, and 243SPD. The problem involves the loading of multiple bullets in a single cartridge. If you have any Fiocchi ammo from the affected product lots listed below you should return it immediately. The following ammunition products are affected by this recall:
Text of Fiocchi’s Recall Notice:
Through extensive evaluation Fiocchi has determined that the above lots of 22-250 and 243 may have been loaded with multiple bullets that can cause excessive pressure. This ammunition with multiple bullets may cause firearm damage rendering the firearm inoperable, and subject the shooter or bystanders to a risk of personal injury when fired. DO NOT USE THE ABOVE LISTED FIOCCHI 22-250 REM. OR 243 WIN. AMMUNITION OF SPECIFIED LOT NUMBERS. The ammunition lot number is black ink stamped inside one of the box end tuck flaps that you would open to remove the 20-round carrier.
To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, review the ITEM and LOT NUMBER. If the item number AND last three digits of the lot number match the above listed products, please return the ammunition to FIOCCHI of America via United Parcel Service (UPS) or FedEx Ground. Securely pack the ammo in a strong fiberboard box with packing materials to make it “snug” in the box. You will need an “LQ” label to ship the ammunition. To get the “LQ” label, [CLICK this LINK] or you can call the factory customer service directly at 417-449-1039 or email service@fiocchiusa.com prior to shipping. Affix the “LQ” label to the package with packing tape ensuring that all sides are adhered to the carton and ship to:
FIOCCHI OF AMERICA, INC., ATTN. Recall, 6930 N. FREMONT RD., OZARK, MO 65721
Fiocchi will provide replacement product upon receipt of your return. Please include your name, street address, phone number (required for return shipping), and email address with your return. Ammunition cannot be shipped to post office boxes.
This notice only applies to above listed Fiocchi 22-250 Rem. and 243 Win ammunition with the above lot numbers. If you have questions concerning this ammunition recall, please call customer service directly at 417-449-1039, write to the above address, email service@fiocchiusa.com, or visit our website, www.fiocchiusa.com.
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This video has highlights and interviews from the 2011 Tactical Bolt Rifle Challenge (TBRC) in Northern California. Some 66 shooters competed in a multi-stage event held May 27-29, 2011 by the Nor Cal Practical Precision Rifle Club (NCPPRC). You’ll see the latest tactical hardware and shooting techniques in this lengthy (35 minute) video.
The video shows bolt guns being shot from a variety of positions: prone, kneeling, sitting, standing, and off barricades. Match Director Vu Pham explains some of the more interesting courses of fire in the match. There are also interviews with many of the competitors. If you The last 10 minutes or so of the video covers the awards ceremony at the end of the match. If your time is limited, you may want to skip that section.
Barry O. (aka “TheBlueEyedBear”) is a long-time AccuateShooter Forum member and friend of the site. Each year he manages to acquire another good-looking, great shooting rifle. In 2009 he took delivery of an amazing 4000 fps 300 WSM varminter, and for 2010 he put together a fantastic 6mm Super LR long-range varminter on a BAT SV action. Barry actually sourced many of the components for his new rifle through our AccurateShooter Forum Free Classifieds. CLICK HERE to read all about Barry’s new BAT-Actioned varmint rifle, the latest in our popular Gun of the Week Series.
CLICK Photo to Read Full Story
The Richard Franklin walnut LowRider stock (above) for Barry’s new rifle came from fellow Forum member “Preacher”, who also did most of the metal work. The gun is chambered as a 6mm Super LR. This is a 30°, long-necked wildcat based on the .243 Winchester parent case. The 6mm Super LR was developed by Robert Whitley, who wanted something similar to the 6XC, but with “more boiler room” to push the 115s comfortably at 2950-3050 fps.
The 6mm Super LR wildcat is easy to make. Robert Whitley figured out how to reform domestic .243 Win brass with one simple pass through a Redding 6mm Super LR full-length sizing die. Robert has commissioned these dies from Redding. He’s got them in stock right now. Call Robert at (215) 348-8789 to order. You can learn more about the 6mm Super LR on Whitley’s www.6mmAR.com website.
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John Whidden of Whidden Gunworks used a collection of .243 Winchester and .308 Win rifles to win his third NRA National Long-Range Championship this week at Camp Perry. We had a chance to discuss Whidden’s winning guns during a long telephone conversation with John yesterday, as he motored back to Nashville, Georgia. John revealed some interesting facts about his long-range arsenal.
For the “Any sights, Any Rifle” and “Iron Sights, Any Rifle” stages of the Long-Range Championship, John used three different .243 Win rifles. He shoots the same load in all his .243s: Berger 105gr VLD bullets (moly-coated) with N160 powder and PMC (Russian) primers. The bullets are seated very long, with about .001″ neck tension, so the bullets “soft-seat” themselves into the rifling as he closes the bolt. This way he can use the same ammo in different guns and the bullets always find the same seating depth relative to the rifling. John uses a very stout load of N160 that drives his Berger 105s at about 3,300 fps. No that is not a misprint. John launches thin-jacket 105s at 3,300 fps and he doesn’t have an issue with bullet blow-ups. Moly helps keep the heat down, but John’s Broughton 5C (canted land) barrels are key. These are gentler on the jackets than barrels which have very tall or sharp lands.
John shoots the Berger 6mm 105gr VLDs because they are a proven commodity that seem to work in a variety of barrels and cartridges: “We need something that is very reliable from an accuracy standpoint, match in and match out. The 105s are more reliably accurate over a range of different cartridges, barrels, and conditions. I’ve considered using the 115s, but I’ve heard mixed results. Across the whole range of variables, the 105s and 107s always seem to work for people but I’ve heard a lot of mixed results with the 115s.”
At 3,300 fps, the 105s deliver ballistics that are hard to beat, according to John: “My .243 shoots inside a 6.5-284 with 142s. Nothing out there is really ahead of [the .243], in 1000-yard ballistics unless you get into the short magnums or .284s and those carry a very significant recoil penalty. In the past I did shoot the 6.5-284. I went to the .243 because it had similar ballistics but had much less recoil. It doesn’t beat me up as much and is not as fatiguing.
With the .243… there’s no tensing-up, no anticipating. With the reduced recoil, I can break and shoot very good quality shots. I find I just shoot better shots with the .243 than I ever did with the 6.5-284.”
John’s primary “Any Sights” .243 is built on a Winchester m70 action, it has a Broughton 32″, 1:8″ twist 5C (canted land) barrel. This gun shot very well, but he did have a firing pin issue during the Remington Band of Brothers match on Day 1 of the Long-Range competition, so he was forced to bring out his back-up “Any Sights” gun. This features a Stolle Panda action, and Broughton 30″, 1:8″ twist 5C barrel. Both guns employ a Nightforce 8-32x56mm Benchrest Scope. John joked: “I’ve done a lot of hauling back-up guns across the country for no reason in the past, but this time it mattered a lot.”
For the “Iron Sights, Any Rifle” stages Whidden uses a .243 Win with a Gilkes-Ross action, Warner Rear Sight, and CG front sight with +0.5 diopter. As with John’s scoped .243s, this gun has an 8-twist, light Palma contour, Broughton 5C barrel. This is the same gun and 32″ barrel John used to set the Leech Cup record in 2008. It has about 650 rounds through the barrel. The chambering, as with his other “Any Rifle” guns, is a “plain vanilla .243 Win”.
.308 Palma Rifle Shooting 185gr VLDs with N140
Whidden’s .308 Winchester Palma Rifle is the same rifle we featured as our Gun of the Week Number 59 (photo below). It’s the same gun with the same barrel, a 32″ Broughton 10-twist with 5C rifling, light Palma contour. Round-count on this barrel is over 3000! John’s current .308 Win load is a very stout charge of N140 power, PMC primers, and 185gr Berger moly-coated VLDs. The brass is Lapua .308 Win with the standard large primer pocket/large flash holes. He turns his case-necks for a .333″ loaded round in a .343″-necked chamber, which was cut with the popular “95 Palma” reamer. As with his .243s, John loads his .308 ammo long and “soft-seats” his bullets with bolt closure.
Barrel Selection is Key to Running 6mm VLDs at Very High Velocities
Given John’s success with the .243 Winchester at Camp Perry, we asked him why more competitors weren’t using this cartridge at Perry. The combination of great ballistics and moderate recoil seems hard to beat. John explained: “There were several other .243s on the line. Lamar Jones, my travel partner, shot a .243, and there were a couple other guys out there. But there are more 6.5s I think. If there were an equipment list, I would be pretty certain that the 6.5-284 would be the majority in the ‘Any Rifle’ category.”
Importantly, John explained that it takes the right hardware to run the heavy 6mm bullets at high velocities. Bullet blow-up is a risk. John told us: “At the velocities I’m running the 105gr VLDs in the 243s, barrel brand selection is really important. You absolutely have to shoot a barrel that is easy on bullets to run these velocities. To avoid bullet blow-ups at these speeds, you can’t shoot barrels that have the tallest and sharpest rifling, such as you find with some cut-rifled barrels. I’m still shooting the thin-jacket Berger VLDs. I haven’t even switched to the thick-jacket bullets. To do this you need a rifling solution that is kinder to the bullet. The point I’m trying to drive home is that barrel selection is a very important factor. If my barrels didn’t work we would have smoked a lot of bullets. But that’s not the case with the Broughtons. I haven’t blown up a .243 bullet through a Broughton barrel.”
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For the first time in six years, Armalite is producing a special run of semi-auto AR-10 rifles chambered in .243 Winchester. The .243 Win chambering is excellent for long-range target shooting as well as hunting most North American deer species (you want a bigger round for Elk). The new Armalite features a 20″ barrel, 2-stage “tactical” trigger, and a flat-top receiver with Picatinny rail. Units should start shipping in late July, with an MSRP of approximately $1600.00.
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Les Baer Custom (LBC) is a highly respected maker of “semi-custom” 1911 pistols and AR platform rifles. Now Baer moves into the precision bolt-action rifle market with impressive new offerings for 2010. Baer will sell two different bolt-guns, each fitted with a Stiller custom action and a cut-rifled barrel made in-house by LBC. Available chamberings (for both models) are .243 Win, .260 Rem, or .308 Win (later this year LCB will release a .338 Lapua). Remarkably, Baer guarantees these new guns can deliver half-MOA 10-shot groups with match grade ammo.
The new Les Baer Custom bolt-action rifles all feature a Stiller Tac 30 action with Picatinny rail, Wyatt precision floor plate with Wyatt detachable box magazine (DBM), along with a “match grade” 24″ cut-rifled, 5-groove LBC barrel. A Timney match trigger with 2.5-lb pull is fitted, and both action and barrel are coated in a matte-black Dupont S finish.
Two different Bell & Carlson composite stock designs are offered. The LBC Tactical Recon Bolt Action Rifle features a tactical-style stock, similar in appearance to the SAKO TRG stock. It has a vertical pistol grip, undercut toe, plus an adjustable cheekpiece and adjustable buttplate. MSRP for the “Tactical Recon” model is $3560.00.
If you want a lighter rifle with a more conventional stock, the LBC Tactical Varmint Classic features a varmint-style composite stock with a narrower fore-arm, “standard” wrist-grip shape, and a straight comb. There is a small hook in the underside of the buttstock. Like the “Tactical Recon” model, the “Tactical Varmint” features a Stiller action, Wyatt bottom metal/magazine, and 24″ cut-rifled barrel. MSRP for the “Tactical Varmint” is $3410.00.
New Les Baer Bolt-Guns have 10-shot Half-MOA Guarantee
We talked with Les Baer yesterday, and he told us that the prototype Baer tactical rifles have show outstanding accuracy during testing, producing some 1/2″ groups at TWO hundred yards. Accordingly, Baer is offering one of the best guarantees in the business. Both LBC tactical bolt-guns “are guaranteed to shoot 10-shot groups under 1/2 MOA with match grade ammo.”
The new LBC rifles will debut next week at SHOT Show in Las Vegas. We hope to get our hands on one for field testing. It will be interesting to see if the rifles can really put 10 shots inside one-half inch (center to center) at 100 yards.
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If you listen carefully, you can hear the steel ring about three seconds after each shot (it takes that long for the sound to travel back). On a couple shots you’ll see dust kick up at the side of the target — but that’s not a miss. Remember his bullet is impacting on steel and what you’re seeing is dust kicked up on ricochet by a bullet fragment.
Fiocchi of America is recalling various lots of 22-250 Remington and .243 Winchester centerfire rifle ammunition. There is a serious safety issue affecting certain lots of Fiocchi ammo types: 22250B, 22250HVD, 243SPB, 243HSB, and 243SPD. The problem involves the loading of multiple bullets in a single cartridge. If you have any Fiocchi ammo from the affected product lots listed below you should return it immediately. The following ammunition products are affected by this recall:
This video has highlights and interviews from the 2011 
John Whidden of 
John shoots the Berger 6mm 105gr VLDs because they are a proven commodity that seem to work in a variety of barrels and cartridges: “We need something that is very reliable from an accuracy standpoint, match in and match out. The 105s are more reliably accurate over a range of different cartridges, barrels, and conditions. I’ve considered using the 115s, but I’ve heard mixed results. Across the whole range of variables, the 105s and 107s always seem to work for people but I’ve heard a lot of mixed results with the 115s.”
