Review of Peterson 6XC Ammunition.
Full Disclosure: Peterson Cartridge Company provided me with some of their new 6XC loaded ammunition asking that I review it and post my findings (good or bad) on the forums. I am not employed by Peterson. No additional compensation was given. Also, I am a big fan of Peterson – they are a local company that produces a fantastic product. But, if this ammo didn’t shoot I’d let you all know the truth.
I’ve had this ammunition for more than a month, but due to an issue with the chamber on my initial barrel I could not provide a review. I now have a new barrel from Keystone Accuracy, Green Mountain, 1:7.5 twist, 6 groove, 26” long, Rem Varmint Taper, Savage Small Shank Prefit. This is the Tubb chamber, not the 6XCii. This is screwed into my ARC Archimedes action, sitting in an ARC XYLO Chassis.
THE DATA:
Brand New Barrel, Cleaned and lightly oiled with some Kroil.
I was not impressed but I knew that this barrel would speed up some, so after getting the gun sited in and checking the initial velocities, I shot an 80 round practice match (NRA High Power) at 200 and 300yds. My scores weren’t great due to fatigue from physical therapy on my shoulder that morning, but my shots were on call. I also recently got a new to me Atlas CAL bipod and shot off the bipod for the first time, so I put a few more rounds down range with that as well.
The following Monday I went back to the range before work. I cleaned the bore and put the bipod on to check group size. The clean cold bore shot was about ¼ MOA to the left of center. I moved to the other side of the target and fired several more shots. I saw that shots 2,3, and 4 were also to the left and slightly low. Then shot 5 was directly below the point of aim. I proceeded to put 4 more shots into a small group with shot 5.
At this point I had 123 rounds through the barrel, and I decided to check the velocity again – though I expect it to speed up until about 250 rounds.
While it is still slower than I was hoping for, I’m not too concerned about that at this point. The SD’s are where I want them. The box states that this ammunition is approximately 3000fps. I know that one of the developers was getting closer to 3050fps, so this leads me to believe that my barrel is still speeding up…or maybe it’s just a slow barrel (I've never had a 6 grove Green Mountain - but my .224 - 4 groove Green Mountain is plenty fast). I’ll check around 250 or 300 rounds and provide an update on the velocity.
I really have not shot a lot of factory ammunition compared to how much I shoot. But as a small business owner with a wife and a young son, I am realizing that I do not have enough hours in the day. That brings us to the age-old question of is it a better value to reload or to shoot factory ammunition. You must answer that for yourself. But I think people need to be honest with themselves about their needs and capabilities. With ½ MOA ammunition and an SD of 7 this ammunition will not limit me for any NRA HighPower match. I’ll be shooting it at the PA State Championship (replacement) Matches over Labor Day weekend.
Regards,
Ross
Full Disclosure: Peterson Cartridge Company provided me with some of their new 6XC loaded ammunition asking that I review it and post my findings (good or bad) on the forums. I am not employed by Peterson. No additional compensation was given. Also, I am a big fan of Peterson – they are a local company that produces a fantastic product. But, if this ammo didn’t shoot I’d let you all know the truth.
I’ve had this ammunition for more than a month, but due to an issue with the chamber on my initial barrel I could not provide a review. I now have a new barrel from Keystone Accuracy, Green Mountain, 1:7.5 twist, 6 groove, 26” long, Rem Varmint Taper, Savage Small Shank Prefit. This is the Tubb chamber, not the 6XCii. This is screwed into my ARC Archimedes action, sitting in an ARC XYLO Chassis.
THE DATA:
Brand New Barrel, Cleaned and lightly oiled with some Kroil.
| Shot # | Velocity (FPS) | |||
| 1 | 2943 | Average Speed | 2909 | |
| 2 | 2916 | SD | 18 | |
| 3 | 2897 | ES | 54 | |
| 4 | 2894 | |||
| 5 | 2931 | |||
| 6 | 2922 | |||
| 7 | 2912 | |||
| 8 | 2895 | |||
| 9 | 2889 | |||
| 10 | 2892 |
I was not impressed but I knew that this barrel would speed up some, so after getting the gun sited in and checking the initial velocities, I shot an 80 round practice match (NRA High Power) at 200 and 300yds. My scores weren’t great due to fatigue from physical therapy on my shoulder that morning, but my shots were on call. I also recently got a new to me Atlas CAL bipod and shot off the bipod for the first time, so I put a few more rounds down range with that as well.
The following Monday I went back to the range before work. I cleaned the bore and put the bipod on to check group size. The clean cold bore shot was about ¼ MOA to the left of center. I moved to the other side of the target and fired several more shots. I saw that shots 2,3, and 4 were also to the left and slightly low. Then shot 5 was directly below the point of aim. I proceeded to put 4 more shots into a small group with shot 5.
At this point I had 123 rounds through the barrel, and I decided to check the velocity again – though I expect it to speed up until about 250 rounds.
| Shot # | Velocity (FPS) | |||
| 1 | 2935 | Average Speed (FPS) | 2950 | |
| 2 | 2949 | SD | 7 | |
| 3 | 2945 | ES | 26 | |
| 4 | 2949 | |||
| 5 | 2961 | |||
| 6 | 2959 | |||
| 7 | 2953 | |||
| 8 | 2952 | |||
| 9 | 2959 | |||
| 10 | 2946 |
While it is still slower than I was hoping for, I’m not too concerned about that at this point. The SD’s are where I want them. The box states that this ammunition is approximately 3000fps. I know that one of the developers was getting closer to 3050fps, so this leads me to believe that my barrel is still speeding up…or maybe it’s just a slow barrel (I've never had a 6 grove Green Mountain - but my .224 - 4 groove Green Mountain is plenty fast). I’ll check around 250 or 300 rounds and provide an update on the velocity.
I really have not shot a lot of factory ammunition compared to how much I shoot. But as a small business owner with a wife and a young son, I am realizing that I do not have enough hours in the day. That brings us to the age-old question of is it a better value to reload or to shoot factory ammunition. You must answer that for yourself. But I think people need to be honest with themselves about their needs and capabilities. With ½ MOA ammunition and an SD of 7 this ammunition will not limit me for any NRA HighPower match. I’ll be shooting it at the PA State Championship (replacement) Matches over Labor Day weekend.
Regards,
Ross
