Does anyone have experience with the 55gr bullets in the 6mms? I'm loading a borrowed 6mm-284 for coyotes next year (which shoots very well) but I wonder about the performance of the small bullet on the big dogs at 300+ yards.
Any recommendations?

55gn Noslers shoot very accurately in my .243 Ackley at 4030 FPS . 5 shots in the 3's . I can get 4200 in my 26 inch barrel but accuracy goes off .You may be able to reach the next accurate node with a 6/284 without pressure issues .
Wouldn't be my choice of projectile on larger animals . Have had a couple blow up without much penetration at closer ranges . Limited expansion at 400 yards .
Suggest you try the 87gn V Max . It is dynamite . Much more destructive than the Nosler at longer ranges .

Got to agree that the heavier bullets are what the 6/284 was designed for. Extreme speed is cute, but the barrel life will be shorter than your imagination with the little ones. As a minimum I would have to agree that the 80 to 90 grain bullets will due the dogs dirty.

I'll give you my thoughts on this. I am a confirmed nut case for the big 6's I personally dote on the 6/06 which is of course very close to the 6/284 and the 240. I built my first one quite a few years back when I started to get serious about hunting dogs. Most years I and my partner beat up on 50 or so.

Yes the 55's can be made to shoot very well. In ur 6/06's they run over 400 with no problem and 4400 is certainly doable.

The one and only place I personally use the 55's anymore is for about 8 weeks of the winter when the pelts are very good around here. The 55 NBT pushed hard and used on dogs called in works very well and is actually quite tender on the hides. By far the most hide friendly load I've found to date.

IMO it will not really be any tougher on the tubes thatn the 70's or whatever if you push them all hard. So, twer it me I would not worry about this one bit. Now if you took a big 6 to a p dog town it would be extremely tough on it and you could toast a tube in a good day or two.

But for yotes it works to perfection for me. It works very well for the called yotes and to the ones that sit out there and just yip at you.

The bullets that I've used the most is the 70 NBT @ 4000 and this is one wicked yote load. Hit big bones and you'll have a hole in the yote you could pull a cat thru!

The 75 V-Max is more of the same and I've also used the 95 NBT @ 3500 for a lot of yotes and it works well also.

For dogs at the ranges you're talking I would no doubt go to one of these 3 bullets. they have a lot more horse power to them on a yote. And IMO and IME a yote is a small target. You will more than likely have more poor hits on a yote at 300 plus than you ever will have good solid hits. So, I would go with a bit more horsey power.

I've found the big 6's to be quite superior for the long range dogs over the big 22's and their hot 55's ans so on.

That is just my 2 cents but that is the way I owould go.

Next up is how are you gonna site this rifle, and does your scope have targ clicks or a premier reticle in it or no?

Good luck

Mark D

Unfortunately, the owner put a Leupold 3.5-10 Vari-X III on it. No target knobs or reticles.
I'm just going to have to measure velocity and sight in at 200 for the best guess at a 300 yard zero.

My Rem. 40-X in 22-250 with Barnes 50gr VLC at 3900 I think will be ready.

My 6x284 with H4350 get 3,600+ with Hornady 87gr v - max. Shot a yote at 341 laserd yds yote looked like he'd been "Electrocuted" Dead before hit the ground frontal hit bullets never exited.With mush expirament settled on H4350 and a 26'Hart BBL.I can get the 4s with 5 rounds.

If there is any wind the bullets with better ballistic coeficients will be an advantage. You mention 300 yds and more and thats long range. Thus the 55 gr bullet would not be better to actually hit the target.

I have been using the 58 gr VMax in a 243 for coyotes because it shoots much better than the 55 Nosler. The reason that I have been using the light bullets is that for the first time I can see the bullet hit game and I figured the 58's would be easier to see hit as they just have to kick less.

The news is that I just shot a larger animal with a 95 gr bullet out of the 243 and I saw that hit! So my theory that the light bullets are necessary has been shot full of holes.

What with that large case you might was well start with 70's and see what shoots.

For long range coyotes and other varmints I have shot the 264 WM since the early 60's.

I'm shooting a 6mm AI and the 58gr Vmax at 4,000 fps. I took a coyote at 390 on Sat by holding on his throat. The bullet just rolled him over hitting about 2" lower and did not exit. The gun is sighted in 1" high at 100 yds.

Snapper

Snapper- had you been calling El Bun or no?

Good shot by the way!

Mark D

The 55 NBT will certainly kill coyotes with dead certainty, whether out of a .243 or a 6mm wildcat. I have used them on p.dogs with ample accuracy and success, and I have a friend who adores the little bullet and killed two hogs (150 lbs each) with his .243 AI last week.

That said, it is not the most efficient or effective bullet for the 6mm bore on coyotes -- either for maximum range or for lethality. A 70 to 85 grain bullet that shoots well in your gun is a better choice for downrange energy and for less wind sensitivity. Bullets that have worked well in my .243 HB include the 70 gr NBT, 70 Sierra BK, and the 80 grain Sierra SBT.

I guess when I find a bullet that works well I stck with that. An 87gr V-Max out of my 6x284 is just that bullet 5shot groups in the 4s some times less.If with that I can't hit a varmint.Then its time to put the guns down and take up Ping Pong.

that 87g vmax is the ticket!!this is what i shoot out of my cooper 243ai.it will put "ANY" coyote in the dirt..

I shot my 2nd coyote at 341 yds he was faceing me looking over the valley. Looked like he was struck by lightning( However i must admit I've never seen a coyote really struck by lightning,so how would I know.It just looked really cool.

Whoop's I shot him with the 87gr V-max.

I have killed dozens of coyotes with the 55grain nosler out of my 6mm-284 and 6mm-06. Ranges have been 50 yards out to 602 yards. They flat work. My 6mm-284 spits them out right at 4300 fps. To me having lazer flat trajectory out to 300 is very important. I never know where they will show up. I set up a 300 yard perimeter with my range finder before i call and i know that if a coyote enters that area he will die. If he hangs up at 400 or further i have time to range him, make an adjustment and take the shot. The 55s are pretty tough on fur inside of 250 yards esp. if you hit bone. I kill 50 -70 coyotes a year, at that rate it will take me a really long time to wear out my lilja barrel, so i am not worried about it. Clean your rifle every 25 shots and it will last a very long time. If you plan on shooting past 500 yards i would look at the 70 grain nosler bt. With a healthy dose of magpro i can get 3950fps and they will add a couple hundred yards of range past the 55s. Good luck and have fun!