6mm ARC bolt gun for competition?

[Force_Multiplier]

I’ve been shooting a 6ARC for 2 years now… I’m a casual competitor, too old and lazy to push and endure the heat… that said, I have 2 top ten finishes with a 6ARC in regional matches this year

Origin
28” hawk hill
Triggertech
Foundation
Razor G3

Runs a 108eld to 2805 with a gas gun load of 29gr of CFE223… and I load it on a progressive… with cheap starline brass

 

[TheOE800]

The factory shit is 108 ELD-M at 2650 though

 

[Force_Multiplier]

The factory shit is 108 ELD-M at 2650 though

Ran 2790 out of mine
And 2754 out of my 26”

 

[TheOE800]

Ran 2790 out of mine
And 2754 out of my 26”

Hm I’ll need to chrono my 26” bolty after I finish breaking it in and compare to my 20” semi after I finish breaking that in.

 

[Force_Multiplier]

Hm I’ll need to chrono my 26” bolty after I finish breaking it in and compare to my 20” semi after I finish breaking that in.

And I’ve ran a 108eld to 2950 in the 28” with CFE223… but that Is MAX and I won’t trust running it with a temp sensitive double base ball powder

 

[Rob01]

I only have chronoed the first 20 rounds in my 26” barrel and the factory 108 were 2680fps. Next time out I will chrono again with 60 rounds through and see where it’s at.

 

[Force_Multiplier]

I only have chronoed the first 20 rounds in my 26” barrel and the factory 108 were 2680fps. Next time out I will chrono again with 60 rounds through and see where it’s at.

Both mine sped up at 300ish rounds… 26” jumped 70fps and the 28” jumped 40

 

[Force_Multiplier]

2 years ago I decided to try it, grabbed a savage small shank 8 twist Shaw 26”
Put 1300rds through it in the first 90days

Decided I was sold and ordered a 28” Hawk Hill shouldered and throated to my dummy round

 

[Rob01]

Both mine sped up at 300ish rounds… 26” jumped 70fps and the 28” jumped 40

Yeah I know it will speed up. Most of mine do in the 100-150 area. I plan on loading 110 A-Tips in it anyways.

 

[Force_Multiplier]

Yeah I know it will speed up. Most of mine do in the 100-150 area. I plan on loading 110 A-Tips in it anyways.

6ARC is slow to speed up… everything else I ever tracked was done and stable by 150ish too

 

[Force_Multiplier]

Here’s a pic of the throat on the 26” with 2000 rounds on it

 

[Rob01]

6ARC is slow to speed up… everything else I ever tracked was done and stable by 150ish too

Well good thing I have 320 rounds of factory ammo I bought to make brass. Lol

 

[Force_Multiplier]

For comparison, a 243 win with 1800

 

[Rob01]

Here’s a pic of the throat on the 26” with 2000 rounds on itView attachment 8193789

When did it end up dying?

 

[Salinas]

I can only say that for over 30 years I've been a 6MM shooter. I am very interested in the 6MM ARC but only in the AR 15 platform. As a general purpose self loading hunting rifle the 6Mm ARC in an AR is ok, but as a combat rifle I find the concept intriguing.

I can see interest in it as a bolt gun chambering as it is similar to the 243 Winchester, in a bolt gun it will not reach the 243W capability. Which is why I shoot the 6MM Remington in my bolt gun, 243 +300 FPS with most projectiles.

 

[Force_Multiplier]

When did it end up dying?

I’ll let ya know… lol

Miles Neville pulled his at 4000 and it was still going

 

[Force_Multiplier]

Honestly, my 28” will go first, it’s at 2000ish now too… I shoot it almost exclusively now, have only put around 350rds through the 6.5 CM this year

The old savage barrel got put on a savage action and gets passed around to niece, and others who want to go play at the occasional 1 day match

 

[chevy_man]

Straight 6BR would be a better option IMO.

Better brass, more reloading die options.

Not much reason to not do a 6mm brx. Still use the 6mm br dies and brass with extra speed.

 

[Jerry m]

Just got the notification my PVA 6mm ARC barrel ships tomorrow! Can't wait!

Rob, sorry if I missed it, but what twist are you using?

 

[Rob01]

Rob, sorry if I missed it, but what twist are you using?

It’s a 7 twist. The Osprey 6mm barrels only come in 7 twist but works fine for the heavier 6mms I plan to use.

 

[Digetydog]

The factory shit is 108 ELD-M at 2650 though

It has to not blow up in a gas gun. Swap to bolt gun data and it becomes 2800+.

 

[Force_Multiplier]

It has to not blow up in a gas gun. Swap to bolt gun data and it becomes 2800+.

Hand loads in a bolt gun can go 2900+…

Hornady’s max charge for CFE223 and a 108 is 30.6… that got me to 2920 and change in a 26” bolt gun at 70ish degrees

 

[Force_Multiplier]

Gas gun data is 29.1gr CFE223 with a 108… 29.0 gets me 2805 in a 28” bolt gun

 

[AKMachinist]

I'm really enjoying the 6ARC for PRS. Granted this is my first season and I'm a shitty enough shooter that it's more about learning than being competitive.

Tried reloading it with 103 eldx's, 107 SMK's, 108 eldm's and 112 match burners. In a stock Savage bbl I haven't been able to get anywhere near Hornady's advertised speeds without hitting pressure signs. I've spent the most time shooting 107 SMK's at 2615 with 27.9gr of LVR and 112 match burners at 2525 with 27gr of LVR.

I have a Rock Creek bbl from PVA on order that I'm really excited to try for both a better rifle balance and hoping something will be different about the chamber and I'll be able to get another 200fps out of it.

All told I'm having fun with it, and the throat is holding up amazingly well for having 1300 rounds through it.

 

[Rob01]

I'm really enjoying the 6ARC for PRS. Granted this is my first season and I'm a shitty enough shooter that it's more about learning than being competitive.

Tried reloading it with 103 eldx's, 107 SMK's, 108 eldm's and 112 match burners. In a stock Savage bbl I haven't been able to get anywhere near Hornady's advertised speeds without hitting pressure signs. I've spent the most time shooting 107 SMK's at 2615 with 27.9gr of LVR and 112 match burners at 2525 with 27gr of LVR.

I have a Rock Creek bbl from PVA on order that I'm really excited to try for both a better rifle balance and hoping something will be different about the chamber and I'll be able to get another 200fps out of it.

All told I'm having fun with it, and the throat is holding up amazingly well for having 1300 rounds through it.

Yeah with a 26" custom barrel you should be able to get closer to where you want to be for velocity. I am getting more velocity with factory ammo than your handloads so you should be happy with the new barrel.

 

[AKMachinist]

Yeah with a 26" custom barrel you should be able to get closer to where you want to be for velocity. I am getting more velocity with factory ammo than your handloads so you should be happy with the new barrel.

Thats good to hear. It's the first time I've ever seen primer flow and hard bolt lift while not being even halfway into the published load data range. It was disconcerting.

I'm super excited about the new barrel. Even if the speed stays as slow as it is the improved balance on the rifle will be amazing.

 

[Force_Multiplier]

Thats good to hear. It's the first time I've ever seen primer flow and hard bolt lift while not being even halfway into the published load data range. It was disconcerting.

I'm super excited about the new barrel. Even if the speed stays as slow as it is the improved balance on the rifle will be amazing.

Try CFE223

 

[AKMachinist]

Try CFE223

I picked up a pound of it the other day and will be trying it out. I have a match this weekend, so I'm just going to keep the load the same for right now. When the new barrel shows up in the next couple weeks I'll go through a load development cycle and see what happens.

 

[Rob01]

Try some N140/540 also. Both will be much more temp stable than Lever or CFE.

 

[AKMachinist]

Try some N140/540 also. Both will be much more temp stable than Lever or CFE.

Awesome. I'll throw those on the list of things to try. Do you have a suggestion of a starting load with either of them?

 

[Rob01]

Awesome. I'll throw those on the list of things to try. Do you have a suggestion of a starting load with either of them?

Here is some data that the guys at Vihta Vuori sent me.

 

[Tx_Aggie]

Here is some data that the guys at Vihta Vuori sent me.

View attachment 8199283

@Rob01 thanks for sharing this!


@JAS-SH Thought this might help with your project, and maybe save you a little time. It's load data for the 6mm ARC from the folks at VV Powders.

 

[SMTGWKD]

Chiming in as one of those gas guys who is considering a move to 6mm ARC bolt for competition.

Given your experience, what action, barrel, chassis would you start with if you were looking to have fun and be competitive, but not wince every time it smacks a barricade?

 

[Rob01]

Chiming in as one of those gas guys who is considering a move to 6mm ARC bolt for competition.

Given your experience, what action, barrel, chassis would you start with if you were looking to have fun and be competitive, but not wince every time it smacks a barricade?

How much you looking to spend? LOL Seriously though.

Why would you wince when it hits a barricade?

 

[Birch7]

My trainer is an Origin, Proof prefit and Aero chassis. Plenty smackable

 

[SMTGWKD]

How much you looking to spend? LOL Seriously though.

Why would you wince when it hits a barricade?

Good question - no real budget per se. I'm a relative noob to PRS but shoot a bunch. I ran my DT SRS through a few matches, but a more purpose built solution is preferable. I stumbled on this thread after Goigle brought me an article of the Howa 1500 in an Oryx chassis and got me thinking.

I have a Radian builder kit with JP internals and 18" Proof CF barrel that I love. Spits 108s at 2670 and manages
.5 moa. I have components to load.

I have plenty of scopes I can repurpose to a PRS setup, but haven't looked much into it.

Why cry you ask? Cuz all of my rifles hang on a wall in my vault and are art I can play with. I'd like the PRS rifle to be a literal hammer (like my DD V11) that I run hard without thinking twice.

 

[Ledzep]

Been running 6 ARC Bolt gun for about 3 years now. 27.5-28gr of Varget with a 105-110gr match bullet .035 off the lands and call it good. 26-28" barrel length is advisable for velocity. I run 109 ELD-M's and 110 A-tips at 2.350" COAL and aim for 2720-2750fps.

Several top-10 finishes now in 2-day NRL and PRS gamer gun matches. This year I did mostly gas-gun (6 ARC also) for PRS and I'm sitting with 300 points for the finale, but I did take a break and did 1 match with my ARC bolt gun and got 6th in SD. It's just enough cartridge to get it done. Recoil is very mild, reloading is easy-- plug and play with factory components and it works well with Varget. My first barrel I pulled at 4500 rounds because I got scared but it was still shooting very well. It's basically 24" 140 6.5 creedmoor trajectory without the recoil.

I have 7 barrels chambered, broken in, and waiting in line all in 6mm ARC. Easy button do-all cartridge for my purposes.

 

[Rob01]

Good question - no real budget per se. I'm a relative noob to PRS but shoot a bunch. I ran my DT SRS through a few matches, but a more purpose built solution is preferable. I stumbled on this thread after Goigle brought me an article of the Howa 1500 in an Oryx chassis and got me thinking.

I have a Radian builder kit with JP internals and 18" Proof CF barrel that I love. Spits 108s at 2670 and manages
.5 moa. I have components to load.

I have plenty of scopes I can repurpose to a PRS setup, but haven't looked much into it.

Why cry you ask? Cuz all of my rifles hang on a wall in my vault and are art I can play with. I'd like the PRS rifle to be a literal hammer (like my DD V11) that I run hard without thinking twice.

Get a Bighorn Origin, Prefit barrel, trigger of choice, brake of choice, stock/chassis of choice, and MDT 6 ARC mags. Trigger will depend on how light you want it. Stock/chassis will depend on what you like. I like the Manners stocks and have run them for years in matches and they hold up real well. I have smashed them into everything and they keep running.

 

[JBoomhauer]

Been running 6 ARC Bolt gun for about 3 years now. 27.5-28gr of Varget with a 105-110gr match bullet .035 off the lands and call it good. 26-28" barrel length is advisable for velocity. I run 109 ELD-M's and 110 A-tips at 2.350" COAL and aim for 2720-2750fps.

Several top-10 finishes now in 2-day NRL and PRS gamer gun matches. This year I did mostly gas-gun (6 ARC also) for PRS and I'm sitting with 300 points for the finale, but I did take a break and did 1 match with my ARC bolt gun and got 6th in SD. It's just enough cartridge to get it done. Recoil is very mild, reloading is easy-- plug and play with factory components and it works well with Varget. My first barrel I pulled at 4500 rounds because I got scared but it was still shooting very well. It's basically 24" 140 6.5 creedmoor trajectory without the recoil.

I have 7 barrels chambered, broken in, and waiting in line all in 6mm ARC. Easy button do-all cartridge for my purposes.

What mags do you use for the gas gun?

 

[Ledzep]

E-lander mostly, but have had decent luck with ASC, too. Facebook group dudes seem to have solid luck with Duramag, but I haven't tried them.


MDT for the bolt gun.

 

[SMTGWKD]

Get a Bighorn Origin, Prefit barrel, trigger of choice, brake of choice, stock/chassis of choice, and MDT 6 ARC mags. Trigger will depend on how light you want it. Stock/chassis will depend on what you like. I like the Manners stocks and have run them for years in matches and they hold up real well. I have smashed them into everything and they keep running.

Thanks! I'll check it out. I live in Utah and a lot of locals use Lone Peak. I ran one today and it was buttery smooth.

 

[JBoomhauer]

E-lander mostly, but have had decent luck with ASC, too. Facebook group dudes seem to have solid luck with Duramag, but I haven't tried them.


MDT for the bolt gun.

Running the 24 rd E-lander now with the occasional failure. Do you run the 10 or 17?

 

[Rob01]

Thanks! I'll check it out. I live in Utah and a lot of locals use Lone Peak. I ran one today and it was buttery smooth.

You can use whatever action you want. I was just low balling with the Origin as it's only $900. Also it has the ability to easily swap out bolt faces so if you wanted to go from the .441 for the ARC up to a .308 bolt face or down to a .223 sized it's easy.

 

[Ledzep]

Running the 24 rd E-lander now with the occasional failure. Do you run the 10 or 17?

All 15-17 rounders. Had issues with the 24's especially suppressed getting outrun by the BCG.

 

[JBoomhauer]

All 15-17 rounders. Had issues with the 24's especially suppressed getting outrun by the BCG.

Ill have to order one to try. Thanks.

 

[CK1.0]

@SMTGWKD , I can recommend an Origin/Manners TCS/TT Diamond/Proof prefit rig... I've got a lot of life left in the first of two 6GT barrels, but I'm going to try 6ARC next with my same rig, I'll just need some MDT mags, a new bolt face, and to spin on a 6ARC barrel in my garage.

I didn't buy the Origin because it was a little cheaper than some other actions, I got it because it's awesome, has all the rifle-nerd features like CRF and a mechanical ejector, and I like a swept handle. I could've bought anything else at any price and ~7000rds later, many matches, and with no issues, I'd buy one again. The TCS is bombproof too, many barricades have been and continue to be smashed into on a regular basis, it's rock-solid with very little to get loose or go wrong.

 

[Rob01]

I didn't mean the Origin because it was cheap either but because of the features and the ease to find prefits. The being cheaper is a bonus. If I didn't have a TL3 already to swap over to an ARC I would have gotten an Origin.

 

[CK1.0]

I didn't mean the Origin because it was cheap either but because of the features and the ease to find prefits. The being cheaper is a bonus. If I didn't have a TL3 already to swap over to an ARC I would have gotten an Origin.

I didn't take that from your comment, you just hear guys say "budget action" when talking about the Origin around here and there's nothing "budget" about it really.

@Rob01, actually you have better intel for the OP since you're already running a Big Horn with the 6ARC... I feel comfortable recommending one based on how silky my action runs the shorter 6GT without having to do shit, I'd assume the CRF helps, but what have you noticed?

 

[Rob01]

I didn't take that from your comment, you just hear guys say "budget action" when talking about the Origin around here and there's nothing "budget" about it really.

@Rob01, actually you have better intel for the OP since you're already running a Big Horn with the 6ARC... I feel comfortable recommending one based on how silky my action runs the shorter 6GT without having to do shit, I'd assume the CRF helps, but what have you noticed?

Yeah a lot of people call it a budget action and in the world of customs it is on the low side for price but not at all for the features. Has features that make it a great choice over even more expensive actions.

I have 100 rounds though my rifle and they feed like butter. Same with extraction and ejection when I run it like in a match. If you slow extract you can get some pops back into the action but it's not an issue when actually "running" the rifle. The MDT mags work great also. When I got them I loaded them with 12 rounds and let them sit for a few days and then loading after that was easy.

I was going to buy some N140 to try with the 110 ATip but seeing the Varget recommendations and also the CFE223, both of which I have, I might try some of them first.

 

[SMTGWKD]

You can use whatever action you want. I was just low balling with the Origin as it's only $900. Also it has the ability to easily swap out bolt faces so if you wanted to go from the .441 for the ARC up to a .308 bolt face or down to a .223 sized it's easy.

That's awesome. Thanks for the insight!