6mm Caliber Barrel life and Caliber Choice (6CM/6XC/.243, etc)

[peaceatwar]

What Caliber are you shooting in the 6mm variety and what is your barrel life? Have you had to do any maintence on the barrel to maintain accuracy?

I know there is a lot of information from the search string on this I am just looking for a place to bring it all together and answer the barrel life question very specifically.

 

[ranger1183]

Torching a 6mm barrel is so easy, and happens so often, that I would look at this "problem" from a different perspective. Barrels are expendable. Pick a cartridge that you can get brass for (assuming that you have a supply of 6mm bullets already) and build a rifle around that. Order a barrel or two from your maker of choice and just run with what you've got. The 6XC vs. 6x47 Lapua vs. 243 Win vs. 6mm Crusader becomes a mute point if you can't find brass anywhere. Find your brass and your bullets. Buy bunches as well as a good supply of powder and primers. Buy an extra barrel or two, have your rifle built and away you go.

 

[scatterbrains]

I went 243 just due to component availability. I may rebarrel into an AI just for giggles

 

[peaceatwar]

Torching a 6mm barrel is so easy, and happens so often, that I would look at this "problem" from a different perspective. Barrels are expendable. Pick a cartridge that you can get brass for (assuming that you have a supply of 6mm bullets already) and build a rifle around that. Order a barrel or two from your maker of choice and just run with what you've got. The 6XC vs. 6x47 Lapua vs. 243 Win vs. 6mm Crusader becomes a mute point if you can't find brass anywhere. Find your brass and your bullets. Buy bunches as well as a good supply of powder and primers. Buy an extra barrel or two, have your rifle built and away you go.

Just out of curiousity as I'm pretty noob when it comes to home gun-smithing but are you installing those other barrels yourself? As in you get it chambered by a smith then when it comes time to swap you are doing that on your own? How hard is that?

 

[Captain Kirk]

I am currently sitting at 2640 rounds out of my 243 and it is still holding under 1/2 MOA. Shooting only 115 BN coated DTACs at around 3K fps out of a 26" Broughton barrel. Its been a match rifle so its seen its fair share of barrel burner stages, and it gets cleaned about every 200-300 rounds. If you use a slower burning powder and all the stars are lined up, you may get more than the average 6mm barrel. Seems like 1500 rnds is the answer you will get, but its like the old Tootsie Pop add, "how many licks does it take to get to the center....no one will know"

 

[2Shots]

Usually if you're wanting to barrel up more than one on the same action your gunsmith can go ahead and cut the chambers, headspace to your action, and then you could change it out assuming you had a barrel vise and action wrench. Some guys are claiming to get close to 2,000 rounds out of a barrel, I wasn't so lucky on my 243, about 1,100. The bullet/powder selection seems to make a big difference on throat erosion. I was shooting 115DTAC and H4350, a very popular combination, next time i'll make the barrel longer and use a slower powder.

 

[TRAAV]

What kind of powder are you shooting to get 2640 out of your 243

 

[2Shots]

What kind of powder are you shooting to get 2640 out of your 243

I would love to know the same, none of us have had near that much success.

 

[Captain Kirk]

H4350 was a little hot, started using RL22 and RL25 with the 115 DTACs. The chamber was cut with a reamer based off the 115s and Lapua no turn brass, so it has seen one specific load, bullet and brass since the first round.

 

[Captain Kirk]

I was able to push the DTACs to 3100-3150 with RL25 and a 26" barrel. Realizing there is a ballance between velocity and barrel life, 3K fps with the 115s works pretty good, farthest I have shot it to date is 1370 yds and still well above subsonic.

 

[ranger1183]

I am currently sitting at 2640 rounds out of my 243 and it is still holding under 1/2 MOA. Shooting only 115 BN coated DTACs at around 3K fps out of a 26" Broughton barrel. Its been a match rifle so its seen its fair share of barrel burner stages, and it gets cleaned about every 200-300 rounds. If you use a slower burning powder and all the stars are lined up, you may get more than the average 6mm barrel. Seems like 1500 rnds is the answer you will get, but its like the old Tootsie Pop add, "how many licks does it take to get to the center....no one will know"

That is certainly a magnificent feat to see 2640 rounds out of a .243 winchester barrel. I've seen barrels go with less than half that many rounds. 2640 rounds pushing 115 gr DTACS @ 3000 fps is just amazing! Way to go maximizing the use of ultra-slow powders!

To peaceatwar, midwayUSA has 243 brass in stock ( Nosler Custom Reloading Brass 243 Winchester Box of 50 ) as well as 6mm bullets ( Target/Match | 85 Grains & Above | 6mm 243 Cal (.243) ). If you can get your hands on some primers and powder, you'll be ready to rock.

 

[slm9s]

Way to go maximizing the use of ultra-slow powders!

Wideners still has WC867 and WC872 in stock, $46 for EIGHT pounds!

 

[JGorski]

Im shooting the 6 Creed, not sure how long the barrel will last, from trajectory figures Im getting around 3350ish from the 28" Bart and 105s, no high pressure to get this speed, either, but the load I used sunday at 600yds didnt have the best vertical,(.5moa) that was obtained using 42.2grs H4350(.25moa" Vert), but 200fps slower than the RE17(41.9grs) I was using. Posted this on another thread, I did dial my scope down one click so the 300yd group would be a zero, thats still a tight trajectory in my book. 6 Creed brass is readily available.

 

[Capt Academy]

I will also be shooting my 6 Creed using 41.5gr H-4350 105 Hybrids. Will see how long the barrel lasts.

 

[Muskox]

Agreed, availability of componants is more important than barrel life.

 

[JGorski]

I will also be shooting my 6 Creed using 41.5gr H-4350 105 Hybrids. Will see how long the barrel lasts.

Ill be testing that load against the 42.2grs I have been using. got 3 new pounds of H4350

 

[bward]

Any 6 will be tough on barrels. The XC and 47 are the all around winners in the 6's when looking at brass quality, case efficiency, case design, and reliably feeding out of a mag.

 

[TRTAC]

I like my 243 AI. have about 1000 rounds down the tube and still going strong. If you shoot a lot just expect to replace a barrel. its gonna happen.

 

[Captain Kirk]

Also, barrels need to be looked at as a "consumable" item, just like bullets brass and powder. They do wear out

 

[Emilio]

I run a 6BR with 107gr. Still shooting sub MOA after 2200. I know it may not compare to the 243s but she can shoot.

 

[bjay]

Im with guys above.. once you go 6mm you already know conciquences on barrel life. Just go with what can give u more fun ie. Reloading components which is easier to find (brass bulleys powder) ..
Litle off topic guys since i choosed 6mm CM
Which bullets this reamer for and brass? Since im insude 6mm room i figured i ask

 

[peaceatwar]

One of the main reasons I started this thread is I've been hearing a lot locally about 6CM(Competition Match) and how its a 6mm with a 3,000 round barrel life. The guys over at Accurate Shooter.com are talking it up big time. I know that a lot of you are saying "barrels are consumable look a them like powder and brass. Well right now I have one bolt gun, its a great one in .308 (GAP Custom) that barrel is gonna last 5k+ before I shoot it out. While I have some scratch to throw at one of these hot rods that is just something I'm not 100% comfortable with at my stage of the game. I just started reloading, still haven't made my first round yet.

Maybe that means nothing but barrel life is important. Else I need to find a gunsmith other than the guys at GAP i will trust to work on my rifle. Maybe its ignorance but as of now they are the only ones I forsee servicing my rifle.

 

[KYS]

Im with guys above.. once you go 6mm you already know conciquences on barrel life. Just go with what can give u more fun ie. Reloading components which is easier to find (brass bulleys powder) ..
Litle off topic guys since i choosed 6mm CM
Which bullets this reamer for and brass? Since im insude 6mm room i figured i ask

You will be safe with a 105gr Hornady BTHP. I always try those first to see how they fly. Then move on to the Berger Hybrid

 

[Captain Kirk]

Could always do a 6.5CM or 260, much better performance than 308 with more barrel life than 6mm, and much better performance than 308......

 

[demolitionman]

Not to change the subject, but I'm dialing about 8.5 moa to 600 meters. Is this about what you all see out of your faster 6mm cartridges? This is with a 95smk. I'm not used to this flat shooting of a round. What a fun gun. I'm hooked on 6mm.

 

[turbo54]

It's worth mentioning that 6mm bullets are cheaper than 6.5s, 7s and 30s.

Assuming top end bullets, the 30¢ 105 hybrid, the 47¢ 140 hybrid, and the 51¢ 180 hybrid....

Powder charge is essentially identical between 243 and 260 so I won't factor that in.

At 47¢ per bullet and figuring 3000 rounds to a barrel, and figuring $700 per fitted barrel, the 260 will cost you ~$2100.

The 243, at 30¢ per bullet, 1500 rounds to a barrel, and $700/barrel will cost ~$2300 for the same 3000 shots.

Of course there's downtime and shipping...but you get the idea.

 

[Captain Kirk]

What turbo said, this is another reason I went with the 6mm. Tubb DTACs are around $130 per 500, when you compare that to 500 of the top shelf 6.5, 7, or 308 pills, its a little easier to accept the fact the barrel life is shorter.

 

[Randoman5]

It seems like the expense of barrels is secondary to the inconvenience of sending your rifle in to have them installed. I thought only a gunsmith could fit Remington barrels and it seems like almost everybody runs a Remington or a clone.

Do you guys plan around the downtime of barrel replacements?

 

[Captain Kirk]

It seems like the expense of barrels is secondary to the inconvenience of sending your rifle in to have them installed. I though only a gunsmith could fit Remington barrels and it seems like almost everybody runs a Remington or a clone.

Just have your smith spin up two barrels. I am about to get a new barrel and will just have a second done up, then its just a mater of spinning it on.

 

[xdeano]

I've read really good results from the 6 Competition Match at <3000+ rounds. I've also heard this claim from the 6mm Super LR. The conclusion that I can come up with is the powder used and case design. Both can be stuffed with H1000 for a longer barrel life. The 30-31 Degree shoulder also seems to be the most efficient funnel for the powder to flow. These cartridges also utilize a longer neck to confine the powder column and cause less torching at the throat and causes heat further down the barrel.

Now with that said, i have not seen anything to back that up. But many people are getting high round counts on these cartridges and these are just hypothesis. I can honestly say that with the 6SLR i can shoot 10 rounds and feel the barrel in different spots down the barrel and at the chamber it is warm, but about half way down the barrel it is much warmer and again cooler toward the muzzle. I don't know what kind of special magic there is going on but there is way to many variables to draw a conclusion. barrel quality, velocity, bearing surface, number of lands and groves, bore dia., coatings, powder, design, etc.

There are much better people on here to explain this better then me.

xdeano

 

[8AteEight]

Hey you Re-25 guys: any chance you wouldn't mind sharing you're load recipes?? I've no clue where to start with this powder.

 

[Hawk45]

I've learned to keep things simple and life is good. Nothing wrong with the tried and true .243 and components available everywhere. If worried about barrels, any 6mm will eat them, but if you really are all in on the 6mm, just order 2-3 barrels at a time and have them chambered to your favorite round. That way you don't have to rework loads on barrel swaps. If you shoot a lot, it's inevitable, so buy all 4 tires at once from the same shop and be done for a long time. Just my .02

 

[leadbullet]

I had a 243 AI pushing 95gr SNK at 3450fps with 100yds zero I was up 6Minute to 600 yds then the barrel was done at 800 rounds. woohoo it was fun.

 

[K_4c]

It's worth mentioning that 6mm bullets are cheaper than 6.5s, 7s and 30s.

Assuming top end bullets, the 30¢ 105 hybrid, the 47¢ 140 hybrid, and the 51¢ 180 hybrid....

Powder charge is essentially identical between 243 and 260 so I won't factor that in.

At 47¢ per bullet and figuring 3000 rounds to a barrel, and figuring $700 per fitted barrel, the 260 will cost you ~$2100.

The 243, at 30¢ per bullet, 1500 rounds to a barrel, and $700/barrel will cost ~$2300 for the same 3000 shots.

Of course there's downtime and shipping...but you get the idea.

Hit the nail on the head ^... the down time that was mentioned was the deciding factor for me... I went the 6.5 route.

 

[RTH1800]

What? No votes for the 244 H&H! Amazing....

 

[ranger1183]

What? No votes for the 244 H&H! Amazing....

You mean a .375 H&H Magnum necked down to 6mm? What's not to like!

 

[RTH1800]

That is the one. I used the same case for a 7mm-375 all over the world and have the reamer. Just never got around to the .244. I have a Rigby Mag Mauser action set away for the project. Might do it soon!