I have been planning a custom varmint rifle for some time now. I had decided I wanted a 6mm class cartridge based on the merits of power, wind drift, and range, when compared to a 22 cal. The 6mm looked good but the fact that normal short actions were too short, turned me off. The Montana 1999 short seems to solve that so if I am able to acquire one, I figure, the 6mm it will be. Then I read recently a couple comments on the Rem brass for the 6mm basically being crap. What now? Is there any merit in these comments on the 6mm brass? I believe I was steered away from the 243 by a bench rest shooter who said the sharp shoulder on the 243 was, to paraphrase, a bad thing. Figured I would pick the brains of all you folks that know your stuff. And I thought I was a fanatic!

Several points:

1. The 6mm Remington works quite OK in a short action, especially if you use the lighter (90 grain or less) bullets in it. It is true that larger calibers on the basic 57mm case (e.g.: 257 Roberts, 7X57, 8X57) don't work well in short actions because those calibers are often used with long heavy bullets, such as 175 gr. in 7mm or 120 gr. in .25 caliber, and those long bullets must be loaded very deeply to work through the short actions. This does not apply to the 6mm because it is usually not used with bullets that are long enough to require deep seating.

2. I do not know where the notion that Remington 6mm brass is crap came from. It is not true in my experience. But if you want something else, Winchester makes a run of 6mm brass from time to time -- I got 100 of them some time ago from either Midway or Grafs.

3. The 6mm is, in my opinion, superior to the .243 because it gives a small but significant velocity advantage with every bullet weight, and because it has a longish case neck. Besides, if you like being different, it's a caliber not everyone has.

Lloyd,

Thanks for the reply. Interesting about the case. I don't plan to shoot over 87gr bullets. I've had zero luck finding a used short action for my purpose so the MRC may be a nice alternative. It was a couple shooters on one of these forums who commented on poor quality of remington 6mm brass. I've only ever seen Remington brass for sale for the 6mm so those comments concerned me.

Ian

I'll second everything LE270 said.

I shoot Rem brass in my 6mm Rem, with no complaints. Remington seems to have become a whipping post lately, but the thing is, most guys complaining are relating second-hand, the-guy-at-the-gun-shop-said, stuff. They wouldn't be able to tell the difference in performance between Rem or Lapua brass thru their factory sporter rifles anyway.

I love the 6mm Rem round, and think you will too. I like it enough that when I had my rifle rebarrelled, and my gunsmith had a 243 reamer that he was trying to convince me to use, I just bought the 6mm reamer & gave it to him.

I've been using Remington 6mm brass since around 1968. Have never had any problem with it...

I haven't had my 6mm as long as Steve, only since 1974. It's a short action Rem 700 BDL - and is bone stock except that I refinished the stock about 12 years ago and mounted a 4.5-14 Leupold on it last year. It still shoots just fine. I've used up to 105 grain Speer SP's, with good accuracy. This is a 22" sporter, so it's not in the same league as the custom varminter you're planning, but it's been one heck of a neat little gun. Would have been just as effective in .243, but it's just a little different. I have had good results with Remington, Winchester and Federal brass. Accuracy hovers around the 3/4" mark. Some loads do a little better, a few do somewhat worse. Not bad for a 28 year old factory sporter.

Regards, Guy

Ian, I acquired up an old Model 77 Ruger in 6mm a couple of years ago, and using randomly thrown-together components, one 60 gr load went into about 3/4" at 200 yards (the adjustable trigger on the old 77 is a big help, too). It is a super shooing round for me, and I have used Rem brass with excellent results. Like Loyd I picked up 100 Winchester from Midway last year, and they all shoot fine.

I have owned and shot somekind a 6mm Rem. and a 243 Win. all of my adult life, mostly for coyote calling with about 15 head of deer and antelope in the mix. Plus one blackbear and one elk. In the field or on the reloading bench, range bench or over a chronograph given the same barrel length there is only less then 100fps. difference, sometimes in favor of the 243. It depends on the individual gun. Both are equally good. Pete

You can get WW or Rem brass from Cabela's in 6mm Rem without a problem mailed directly to you in the USA

Thanks guys, I'll "stand down" and sleep well tonight...dreaming of my custom rifle.

Ian