I got my gun back from GAP about 4 weeks ago with a new 26” 7.7 twist Bartlein barrel chambered in 6mm Creedmoor. The barrel took a bit to break in, but load development was too easy. I just ran 6.5 CM brass through dies that Hornady made for GAP, put CCI BR primers in the back side, added 42 grains of H4350 and 105 Bergers Hybrids and started shooting. I worked loads up to 43.5 grains of H4350 ascending by .5 and goofed around with seating depth. I also tried the Hornady 105 BTHP bullet and conducted the same tests. I eventually settled in on 42.4 grains of H4350 with the Hornady bullet loaded off the lands .030”. The results are 3135 FPS and tight groups. The Berger bullet offers 0.017 better G1 BC, but I don’t shoot well enough to notice. The Hornady bullet is much less fickle when it comes to load length and is 1/2 the money so I bought a bunch of them.
The load is 6.5 CM brass necked to 6mm, CCI BR Primers, 42.4 gr of H 4350, Hornady 6mm BTHP loaded to AOL of 2.775”, which would be awesome in a gas gun.
The 6mm cartridge has so much to offer and there isn’t a short supply of cases out there to choose from, I went with the 6mm Creedmoor for a few reasons. The first and for most was I have a bunch of 6.5 Creedmoor brass. Secondly I wanted a cartridge that would perform well in a gas as well as a bolt gun in order to cut down on my accessories. If you are looking to step into the 6mm world do not overlook the 6mm Creedmoor as a viable cartridge.
GAP has lots of proper head stamped 6mm Creedmoor brass in stock and will do an outstanding job re-barreling your baby. If Hornady is paying attention it probably will not be too long before they will offer factory match ammo in the 6mm Creedmoor as well.
The target is a Big Dog Steel snipers hide head and chest plate target at 535 yards. DA was 1500’ and winds were variable 0-3 full value from the left. I dialed 2.1 mils on the scope, held left ear (as looking at the target) for ten shots.
