What do you guys think of the remington 700vls in the 6mm?I know very little about the 6mm as far as accuracy and range and I was wondering if you guys thought it might be worth a try.I am thinking hard about buying one for varmint hunting and P dog hunting.

There are those who say the coyote was designed with the 6mm in mind and I agree. It is also a good but not ideal smaller varmint cartridge. I use one myself for ground squirrels and it does the job alright. Regards, Bill.

I own a M700 BDL sporter.I can get 3800 with the 55gr nosler BT from a 22" bbl.With 70 gr BT I get around 3400 the coyotes I have shot have never taken another steo with either bullet.I think you'll find the 6 mm can do anything the 243 can and more. My only wish is that it was more common in factory ammo but other than that it is my most carried rifle.

I think it is the best kept secret in the varmint/deer sized cartridges there is. People really ignore it but alas, it is their loss.

I have a 700 bdl varmint in 6mm that's 15yrs old. I'll go as far as to say it's probably my favor rifle to shoot. Soft recoil, easy to reload and shoots little tiny groups. As far as the cartridge itself- it fast, flat and powerful enough for any varmint at any range. The only bullet i use in it is a hornady bthp 87gr. It will shoot lighter bullets faster but 87gr is a better longrange choice. (b.c, wind, and energy)

rifle and caliber would be an excellent choice.
mine wears a Leup. 6x20x40
Stevo

If you are serious about prarie dog hunting then I suggest the .223 or .222. The 6mm will generate too much heat, resulting in your waiting a long time between shots, or burning out barrels. When you can see 5 or 10 prarie dogs out, it is really hard to wait for the barrel to cool. Also, the 6mm is unnecessarily expensive when you shoot 300 rounds in a day.

For coyotes, the 6mm is far superior to the .222 and .223. I got 3 rounds of .223 55 grain rem JSP bullets into a coyote and he got away. The rem bullets are not as explosive as some.

I have an older one (the one with pressed checkering on the stock), a Varmint Special with the heavy barrel. It is my most accurate rifle. The bullet I've used most often in it is the 70 gr. Sierra Matchking, but recently I've used several weights of moly coated Berger bullets uo to 90 grains, and they've all given very good results.

My rifle does seem persnickety about what powder it likes. The only ones I have been able to get excellent accuracy from in this rifle are IMR4064 and H380. I haven't tried any of the 4895's in it. I have tried H and IMR 4350, H and IMR 4831, H414, Varget, Benchmark, IMR3031, and probably a few others I've forgotten. My experience may be atypical -- others have reported here that they've gotten excellent accuracy with this caliber with some of those powders that didn't work well for me in my rifle.

[ 01-14-2003, 23:06: Message edited by: LE270 ]

My dad bought a 6mm 700 BDL in '78, I think, and it has taken more than its share of deer, including his largest in '79. I won't say how much we estimated his weight to be, as we didn't have a scale back then. Anyway, the rifle isn't fussy. I can throw any combination in the book in it and it just prints itty bitty groups.

[ 01-14-2003, 23:56: Message edited by: W. Wilson ]

I've had mine since 1974, a 700 BDL w/sporter weight 22" barrel. Great little rifle that is still accurate and has done in many varmints.

Honest 3800 fps with 55 grain ballistic tips at less than maximum loads, but I've had better varmint accuracy with 75 & 85 grain hollowpoints at lower velocities.

Now my youngest son is learning to shoot centerfire with it.

It's a fine cartridge and frankly I've been considering having a 6mm Rem fast twist barrel made up for my long range match rifle - but there's still too much life left in the .308 barrels I have for it. Regards Guy

I have the exact rifle you are talking about. A Remington 700 VLS in 6mm Rem. Quite frankly, its a blast to shoot!

I have shot .30 inch 10 shot groups at 100 yards. And, it is the rifle I used to take a prairie dog at 592 yards. (BTW - That's with a laser rangefinder, not steps.) So, in my opinion, its a great choice.

I topped mine with a 6.5-20x40mm EFR Leupold VariX-III and QRW rings and bases. It sports a Harris Bi-pod and has had about 5000 rounds shot through it to date. True, it is not the best rifle to see the shot hit the dog, but it is very light in recoil and relatively efficient. To sum it up, I love mine!

Isn't the .243 virtually identical as far as ballistics? And factory ammo is available everywhere. Of course that probably wouldn't stop me if the price of the rifle were right.

Just a thought.

I agree 270.I just not one that wants what everyone else has.That why the 6mm has really got my attention.And..The ballistics do look very close from what I have seen.

I have one in mdl 725 marked 244rem
love it!

280Win - your .244 goes back a few years! Of course Kettle Falls is right in the heart of outstanding whitetail deer country, so that little rifle should have seen some use. Regards, Guy

Seems the people who claim there isn't a dimes worth of difference between the 243 and the 6mm are the same people who berate the 308 when it is compared to the 30-06.

Go figure!

mine has the 12xAO Leupold Varmint scope and shoots the 70 Balistic Tip with IMR-4064 at 3600 with decent groups.

Good group mr Big.I think I am going to have to have one.I went back to the gun shop last night and looked again.I need to buy a lightweight deer rifle that I can carry around a little easier but I just can't get away from the heavy barrel guns.Does anyone know where I can get some good loading data on a 6mm.The only place I have found anything is stevespages.com

I can save ya some time.for 80 grs and below IMR-4064 and 85 grs and above RL-19 is all you need to know.

I've been looking at the energy figures in Remington's ballistic tables. The 6mm with 100 grain bullets has energy figures that are higher than those from the 6.5x55 with 140 grain bullets and the .300 Savage with 150 or 180 grain bullets at many distances. The figures are about the same as those for the .303 British with 180 grain bullets, and substantially higher than those at any distance and any bullet weight for the .30-30, .32 Winchester Special, 8x57, and .35 Remington. These figures are all for Remington factory loads; in some cases, such as the 8x57, 6.5x55, and .300 Savage you could likely get higher figures if you handload.

Lord knows that a lot of moose have been successfully taken with the .300 Savage, 6.5x55, .303 British, .30-30, 8x57, .32 Winchester Special, and .35 Remington. I doubt I'd choose a 6mm as a moose rifle, but these figures suggest that if you, the shooter, do your part, a 6mm would take a moose very well.

[ 01-19-2003, 04:30: Message edited by: LE270 ]

500grains is right on the money. For p-dogs 222s and 223s are the ticket. I have had a few 6MM Rems and one that is a custom on and old 722 action. It is a fine cartridge but not the cartridge for a p-dog shoot. You will burn up the barrel. Also it is a little on the light side for deer. I know that some will screem when I say this, but bullet placement and bullet construction is of the most importance when using a 6MM Rem on deer. I have seen groundhogs take a 70-grainer mid-ship at 130yards and make it down the hole some 20 feet away.

Nosler, Hodgdon, and Alliant all have load data for the 6mm on line.

Nosler's 55 grain ballistic tip is the high velocity champ for the 6mm Rem:

47 grains Varget, 55 grain bullet, 4002 fps
53 grains H380, 55 grain bullet, 4019 fps

These are both max loads, repeat, max loads, taken from Nosler's web site. I prefer heavier bullets at lower velocity, but those little guys are scorchers! I suspect those were from a 24" barrel.

Sierra, Speer, Hornady and Nosler all have published load data in their manuals. Have fun bustin' varmints! Guy

a 70 gr bullet with 45 grs powder in the 6 shouldnt be that much harder on barrels than a 55 gr bullet and 40 grs powder in the 22-250.

I own two 6mm Remingtons, one is a Remington 700 "Classic" and the other a 700 BDL Varmint Special. These are pleasant, accurate rifles which work equally well on deer sized game and all varmints. My 700V will make 3600+ fps with the 70 grain Ballistic tip and 4100 with the 55 grainer. The Classic does 3120 with the 100 Partition and 3200 and pennies with the 95. The loads I have developed all shoot under 1 MOA and the Varmint loads will hover around .5 or so. I have owned 243's but just like the 6mm a bit better. It's a shame it didn't do better in the marketplace, because it is a great cartridge. Regards, Eagleye.

Had a Ruger 77V many years ago in the cartridge that was my staple coyote rifle for several years. Very well designed case that many feel is right at the upper end of efficiency for the bore diameter. Bob Jourdan (PS magazine)has written a # of articles on the bigger 6's (.243, .243AI, 6mm, 6mmAI) and is one of his favorites for general purpose varminting, especially in wind. The best thing about the 6's are the quantity and quality of bullets available for them, and the 6mm itself has a nice long neck which allows for a lot of flexibility in bullet selection. Excellent cartridge! P.S. Blew out the barrel on that old 6, and am now using its Ackley Improved counterpart. Couple suggestions, this cartridge has some long range capability in the hands of the right shooter-- develop a load with a high B.C. varmint bullet (70-90 gr.), make sure your scope has some sort of reference reticle/target turret system, buy a laser rangefinder, shoot at long-range (let your groups be the judge of how far), and then you'll realize the full potential of the cartridge/rifle/scope in a varminting scenario.

The most accurate factory rifle that I've ever owned was a Rem M700 Varmint Special in 6mm Rem. It would hang with any of my "custom-barrelled" guns. Awesome shooter!

I have a 1973 Remington BDL 6mm Rem and it is my best shooting rifle. I really love it. Why doesn't Remington offer any standard barrel rifles in this cartridge? I guess you have to by a Ruger if you want a non-bull barrell rifle in 6mm Rem.

Remington now doesn't offer 7mm-08 or 6mm Rem in their BDL Rifles. WTF?

I also have a 88 vintage Model 7 in 6mm that will drive nails.

I think mine is THE southern counties UK roe stalking cartridge!

Mr Big,I just realized you are the same Mr Big that post on tndeer all the time.I like to get on there and see whats going on but those little administrator clicks kill me.

I just speak my mind on whatever is up and dont worry about what anybody says.