6 Dasher Dual Duty (PRS and P-Dogs)?

[SDC]

So, I've got a prairie dog hunt scheduled for May (about 2 months out from time of writing) and I'm trying to decide what caliber to bring. I'd like to take ~1,000 rounds with me for 3 days of shooting but the question is of what?

My rifle (built on a lefty Impact 737r) currently has a 6.5 Creedmoor barrel on it. Initially, I thought I'd just pick up a .223 barrel as brass and components are relatively cheap. Only problem is, I'm having trouble sourcing a left-handed .223 bolt for my action...

Having been 6mm-curious for a while, I got to thinking about finally jumping on the 6mm Dasher bandwagon (with the help of the Hide's input). It'll be a steep initial investment to purchase 1,000 pieces of brass, but then I'd be set for a while.

So my question is, would a barrel chambered for the typical 105-109 grain projectiles work well at all for the lighter varmint bullets? From what I've been reading, the longer pills like ~.125" freebore, whereas the shorter (secant ogive?) varmint bullets like little-to-no freebore?

Is this a bad idea or am I just over-thinking it?

 

[45-90]

Depends on what you have planned for the hunt ...
Probably just use the 223, cause if ya get into a very populated Dogtown, and plan on a numbers kill shoot... you'll burn up alot of 6 mm Dasher barrel life.
But if you're trying to connect with a dog at a thousand yards, to get onto the thousand yard club, then the 6 Dasher would be a good choice. Or do both shorter range tear up the town alot of shots fired. Or the long range endevor.
I have a 104" free bore with 7.5 twist and it does well with 58 gr Vmax. But if going for the thousand yard shots stay with the 105 to 110 bullets.
I used to belong the Varmint Hunters Club, and shooting Prarie dogs at 3200 yds was accomplished with the big magnums, and the 50BMG was employed, for over 4000 yd tries.
I remember one member making a kill at 1300 yds with the 6 mm Dasher.
Take both 223 & 6 Dasher and try both short range 223 and a few shots way out there, with the 6 mm Dasher.
Have fun.

 

[Rider47]

If you get into serious p-dogs, you will definitely want to have more than one rifle. Something for shorter ranges (even a good shooting 22LR), medium range (.223?) mid-long range (6BR-ish?) and even further (6.5+something - there will likely be considerable wind out on the open prairie). Barrels will get VERY hot. Fireforming and reloading 1000 6Dasher cases? The 6BR "family" should shoot lighter varmint bullets well, but not likely as well as heavier true LR match bullets - but good enough to "pink mist" dogs at distance. My varmint rifles are the only rifles I have with muzzle brakes to help spot LD shots. Note: One or more of your barrels may be a throwaway after a few good days doggin'.

 

[TheOfficeT-Rex]

You don't need to fireform brass, but if you're going to go with alpha or peterson dasher brass 1000 pieces is right around $1200 in brass alone. 53 Vmax 223 loaded ammo on ammoseek is about $1 per...

I wouldn't worry too much about freebore, I had a 140FB BRA 8 twist that shot awesome with 66s. But I probably wouldn't go faster than an 8 twist - at 3500 fps you're pushing 315k RPM. What 6mm bullet were you going to use?

 

[Mordamer]

I wouldn't even bother with the lighter varmint bullets. I'd shoot something like 108 ELD-M. They work great on prairie dogs and allow you to take long shots with ease.

 

[Baron85]

A friend of mine runs his old prs rifle chambered in 6br for prairie dogs. Very accurate with the 58 vmax and puts some serious explosion on the dogs.

I have run my 6br with 108 eldms for dogs and they work well too, just not as explosive and the 58s

Personally if your planning on more than 1 trip of prairie dogs you will be money ahead getting a 223 rifle. So much cheaper and better barrel life. Even consider buying a tikka 223 or an origin with proof prefit in 223. In the long run I think 223 is where it’s at.

Where we hunt there are plenty of opportunities for really long shots but the hit ratio past 300-350 yards is pretty low for us so we rarely waste the ammo past that. We shoot off tripods and just walk closer and are very successful.

 

[FisherT&C]

Match bullets tend to just poke holes in prairie dogs. There is no point in shooting them unless you can watch them explode! Something like a 95 SST or 100 SBT will pop them good.
There is just something about watching a spinal column do somersaults through the air I find amusing.
It's automatic chum for coyotes.

 

[Kiba]

I use my 6 dasher for dual propose as well... 105 hybrids for target use, nosler 55 BTLFs for closer squirrels, and 88 cutting edges for long distance squirrels (I have to use non lead for hunting in my state, so I can't use the 105 hybrids anymore.)

It's not my primary squirrel blaster as it uses too much powder and heats up too fast for a busy colony, plus dasher barrel life isn't that great even if you're easy on it... but I do use it when I want serious acrobatics out of the targets (the 55s at 3850 do that nicely) and I'll use the 88 cutting edges to make long distance hits... but as mentioned earlier trying to hit the little bastards at long distance is a good way to burn money on misses, the better option is to keep moving in as you eliminate the close ones (it is very satisfying to connect with a squirrel at 650y+ though, and that's what the dasher with 88s is for.)

Usually, I'll eliminate all the close ones with my 17hmr, then move on to the 223s, then switch to the dasher for clean up on the longer ones (or if I want to see some spectacular explosions.)

On a really busy spot where the majority of squirrels are 300-350y and in even the 223s can be too much and get too warm, too quickly; I'm now looking at building a 20 vartarg for the primary gun. 19-20gr of powder behind a 32gr bullet works great for 80% of the shots I take in the field, and it's very easy on barrels with minimal recoil so you can watch your hits in the scope.

I built a 22br for a friend for squirrels, and I think for that purpose I like it better than the 6 dasher. Less powder, less recoil, better selection of varmint bullets, and every load I tried in it was very accurate. Still a bit overkill for high volume varmint blasting and wouldn't be my choice for a primary rifle IMO, a bit too much powder and it heats up pretty fast-- although better than the 6 dasher in that regard.

As others have suggested, 223 really is the easy button for smaller varmints and works very well, that's why my primary squirrel blaster is a 223AI. Easy to get components or ammo for, good performance, not too much powder used so it heats up slower than the bigger cartridges. I use 50s, 72s, and 75s in my 223AI. Can't use the 40s as the 7 twist is too fast and bullets start to come apart, but I live with that because it's a dual purpose rifle that sends the 50s for varmints and the 75s for target use.

 

[SDC]

I think .223 is still my first choice, I just haven't been able to source the required bolt for my rifle to make the caliber switch.

As for spending $1,000 on Alpha 6 Dasher brass, it is steep but I plan on shooting a lot of Dasher in the future so it's not a big deal.

I guess I could just go Dasher and assume I'll only get one good tip out of a ~$700 barrel. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a ton of money compared to what else I'll be spending for the whole trip.

Thanks for the feedback so far.

 

[SDC]

Well, I was just able to get ahold of Tate at Impact Precision and it turns out he's about done assembling a new batch of lefty .223 bolts so I think I'll be able to go that route after all.

Now I just need to find a pre-fit barrel.

 

[Kiba]

Well, I was just able to get ahold of Tate at Impact Precision and it turns out he's about done assembling a new batch of lefty .223 bolts so I think I'll be able to go that route after all.

Now I just need to find a pre-fit barrel.

Perfect timing.

Looks like impact is out of all 223 prefits except for the carbon wrapped ones.

TS customs is showing 223 blanks in stock and a 2-4 week turnaround for prefits.

Mile High has 26" proof 223 impact prefits on the shelf.

Bugholes has some 223 blanks in stock but I don't know if they could turn one around before your trip.

 

[Baron85]

https://evolvedballistics.com/barrels/proof-research-impact-737-action-stainless-steel-pre-fit-223-rem-26-1-7-twist-competition-contour/

This is where I buy my prefits and they have impact 223 barrels in stock

 

[SDC]

Perfect timing.

Looks like impact is out of all 223 prefits except for the carbon wrapped ones.

TS customs is showing 223 blanks in stock and a 2-4 week turnaround for prefits.

Mile High has 26" proof 223 impact prefits on the shelf.

Bugholes has some 223 blanks in stock but I don't know if they could turn one around before your trip.

Yeah, I was looking at the Proof option. I think for what I'll be doing with it, the Proof prefit should be great.

 

[Kiba]

Yeah, I was looking at the Proof option. I think for what I'll be doing with it, the Proof prefit should be great.

Some occasional reports of hit and miss quality with proof, but the price is good and it's available right now.

A friend has a proof 6 dasher barrel on his impact and it shoots pretty darn good. Not as well as the PVA chambered gain twist bartlein currently on my 6 dasher or the impact chambered bartlein I recently shot out, but plenty good.

I'm sure the barrel from TS would be great as he does excellent work, but 2-4 weeks lead time won't leave you much time before your trip for load development if you plan on loading your own.

Just keep in mind the proof 223 prefits are 7 twist and might have issues with 40gr bullets coming apart. I'd recommend trying the 53gr vmax, better bc than most light .22 varmint bullets, very reactive, and I haven't had any issues with them coming apart in 7 twist barrels at 3400ish.

The 75 Amax and ELDM also do a surprisingly good job blowing small critters up, do better in the wind, and do better on the longer shots than the light vmax, and they work very well with a 7 twist.

 

[SDC]

Some occasional reports of hit and miss quality with proof, but the price is good and it's available right now.

A friend has a proof 6 dasher barrel on his impact and it shoots pretty darn good. Not as well as the PVA chambered gain twist bartlein currently on my 6 dasher or the impact chambered bartlein I recently shot out, but plenty good.

I'm sure the barrel from TS would be great as he does excellent work, but 2-4 weeks lead time won't leave you much time before your trip for load development if you plan on loading your own.

Just keep in mind the proof 223 prefits are 7 twist and might have issues with 40gr bullets coming apart. I'd recommend trying the 53gr vmax, better bc than most light .22 varmint bullets, very reactive, and I haven't had any issues with them coming apart in 7 twist barrels at 3400ish.

The 75 Amax and ELDM also do a surprisingly good job blowing small critters up, do better in the wind, and do better on the longer shots than the light vmax, and they work very well with a 7 twist.

Good to know, regarding the 40's in the 7 twist.

My first load test was likely going to be the 53 V-MAX, but I'm also intrigued by the new 62 ELD-VT which are starting to become available.

I'll probably order a box of each (and likely a couple heavies, just for "science") and hope something shoots.

 

[Kiba]

I forgot about those.

The 62 eld-vt looks great, if you can get some I'd try those. Half way between the 53s and 75s so you can still get good speed, BC closer to the 75s than the 53s, and supposed to be very reactive. Should also hold together out of the 7 twist since they won't be as fast as the 53s, and the lower speed will keep the RPM down.

I'd love to try some and use them, but unfortunately I'm stuck with non lead for in state hunting. I may try the eld-vt's for out of state hunts though.

Before we had to go non lead here I used the 53gr vmax for the 300y and in shots, and the 75 Amax for the 300y+ shots, and simply dialed the zero offset between the two loads. Both worked very well in my 223AI, the 75 being very nice when the breeze picked up, and it still exploded squirrels with good acrobatics. The 62 eld-vt looks like a nice middle ground between the 53s and 75s and would probably allow me to consolidate to a single load... if I could still shoot them here without risking a citation from fish and game.

 

[noremorse92]

If you want the Dasher then get it. 87gr vmax. .400 bc is pretty decent. And you can push it fast as hell. Point and click dog detonator.

But if you think you're gonna shoot a ton then don't be surprised if you need a new barrel pretty quick.

If thats the case an 8 twist 223, 26 inch heavy profile and the 60gr vmax will do you very well. You don't want to let the worry of burning out your new barrel ruin the fun.