The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers 6mm Rem build or buy?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| 6mm Rem build or buy? | Login/Join |
| One of Us |
Hello all, I've been contemplating another 6mm Rem and had pretty much made my mind to rebarel a long action 700 I have, but recently a client of mine gave my name to a friend of his that has a Ruger M77 Varmint in 6mm he wants to sell. He wants $500 for the rifle, which is just slightly less than a pac-nor rebarel to the tune of $580. I haven't seen any 77 varmints around here in a while, seems like the last one I saw was a 22-250 with a scope of some variety at a gun show for an asking price of $495. I figure his six maybe really worth about $450 or so. I'm quite aware of the advantages of having a long action for a 6mm, but what are M77 varmints going for in your neck of the woods? What would be your breaking price for buying a factory used rifle vs having one built? The few I found on the internet seemed to be between 600 and 700. | ||
|
| One of Us |
For me this would be a no brainer. I would have a good smith set me up with a fast twist 6mm tube on a squared M700 and for me it would be really hard to not Ackley improve it also. IMHO you can never go wrong with a custom built 6mm on a M700. | |||
|
| one of us |
How far back does the M77 go? The earlier ones (push feed, tang safety) had some barrel problems. It seems that Ruger bought barrels from some "lowest bid" suppliers that were marginal. The early M77's also had very heavy non-adjustable triggers. | |||
|
| One of Us |
If it is the old walnut stock 77v I'd run. Even if the barrel is ok (50/50 chance) the triggers are difficult to manage. The MarkII varmints with the laminate stock I love. I have only had 2, a 243 and a 223. Still have the 223. They are as good a prarie dog gun as I have ever had. | |||
|
| One of Us |
If you use the long action 700 and heavier bullets, I'd have the throat cut for 3 in. overall cartridge length. Clarence | |||
|
| One of Us |
build.. because then you can put it on a long action, which makes it a totally different animal, with a lot more potential, since you don't have to put the bullet to where it is occupying much of its powder capacity... secondly, by building one, you can get a one in 7 or one in 8 twist.. which will allow the use of 105, 115 Berger bullets, and 118 DTAP bullets from David Tubb... which will really increase the range of the round.. plus will provide more killing power at both long and close range.. that is the route I went in acquiring a 6mm Rem to my battery.. 24 inch Pac Nor barrel, one in 7 twist, stainless, Rem 700 Long action.. two most common loads: 75 grain Hornady HP at 3700 fps... 115 grain Berger Match at 3250 fps.. try achieving that out of a factory short action with a one in 10 or one in 9 twist.. and also, this is the most accurate rifle I own.. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Thanks guys, you've definitely helped me make my decision easier. My original plan was a 24" Stainless varmint contour, 9 twist. I may still stick with this since the majority of the bullets I'll shoot will be between 80 and 95gr. I do understand the advantages the 100gr+ bullets though. I haven't decided on a stock yet though. I'm really happy with the HS Precision on my 22-250, but I really like the few boyd laminates I've had the opportunity to handle too. My first 6 was a 788 so most anything I build will be an upgrade. That 788 would shoot though. Stoncreek: Not sure as to the age of this rifle as I have not seen it yet. My cousin's is one of the older models and shoots quite well. Guess he got lucky. Kind of a moot point now. Thanks again guys. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Build on the R700! Then you can build it up as little or as much as you want. If you think every possible niche has been filled already, thank a wildcatter! | |||
|
| One of Us |
Were I to play with the 6mm Remington I'd build exactly the rifle I wanted; definitely fast twist, at least a 26 inch tube, a magnum rather than varmint contour, and probably an AI. I say spend your hard-earned simollians on a build. | |||
|
| One of Us |
The 6MM Remington on a long 700 is silly. The long 700 is .375 H&H length. The Ruger 77 is a little longer than a short 700. BTW my 77 Varmint in 6mm shoots as well as my 700 Varmint in 243 ever did. The short 700 can be modified to make the magazine about .100 longer. If you got to have it longer shoot it as a single shot. I don't really see the point of a lot of jacking around on a deer and varmint cartridge. | |||
|
One of Us |
I didn't note what you want to use the rifle for, so I can't presume to tell you what I think you should do to suit your needs. For myself, it would also be a no-brainer....I'd buy a used one. But that's partly because I have a bunch of custom hunting, target, and varmint rifles already, so don't need another of any chambering or bore size, and also, the 6 m/m is not a primary hunting rifle for me. I do have several 6mm bore rifles anyway, and the one I bought two or three years ago is a fine hunting rifle which I got for $300 at a local gun show with a vintage Weaver K-6 already on it. It is a Remington M-725, still wearing the .244 stamping on its original 1-in 12" twist barrel. It is in NRA VG-to-Exc. condition. It is a nicely accurate rifle (sub MOA with lots of loads). As most "mature"  folks may recall, even with the 12" twist, SOME Remington .244s (now named 6mm Remingtons) shot 100 and even one or two makes of 105 grain bullets quite well. Luckily, mine is one of those which does.My point here is that IF it is not necessary to have 1/2 MOA accuracy or better, one can have a heck of a lot of fun at a minimum of cost by getting an older rifle, tinkering a bit with it and its loads, and putting it back to work as a honest contributor to the shooting society in which we live. It will serve one faithfully for life as a response. My country gal's just a moonshiner's daughter, but I love her still. | |||
|
| One of Us |
This thread is covering the exact subject of my next buy or build. Mine will be a combo light varminter and antelope rifle. I too think the build option is best however I will throat mine with no freebore for some discontinued bullets I bought in quantity. I have 2500 Barnes varminator bullets in 58 and 72 grain weights. I also would go with an 8 twist so it would stabilize either the long match bullets previously mentioned or an 85 grain TSX. I can't decide on barrel contour, lenght and overall rifle weight. But I still say build and be happy getting exactly what you want. DW | |||
|
| One of Us |
on mine, I went with a Heavy Magnum contour.. Stainless 24 inch PACNOR barrel... It is a little heavy still... but lighter than a straight varmint contour.. I went that route for portability... I seem to like the Heavy Magnum contour, with a length between 20 to 24 inches on both a hunting rifle and a walking varminter... the 6mm Rem tho can take advantage of the 24 in length... | |||
|
| One of Us |
seafire what do you think would be lost or gained in fps from a 20 to a 24 inch tube??? | |||
|
| One of Us |
folks always speculate 25 fps per inch.. at the ranges I am shooting any given rifle.. rarely would 100 to 200 fps really matter much to me.. the shorter barrel length would just be for convenience in carrying it hunting at woods ranges.. area I hunt in is close to the house, and a 100 yd is a long shot... | |||
|
| One of Us |
You are correct, I should have specified. It will mostly be a whitetail rifle. A mature buck in eastern North Carolina and South Carolina where I do most of my deer hunting probably averages between 175lbs and 150lbs. I've killed'em with many calibers from 7mm Ultra Magnum down to .22-250. I find the six is a nice compromise of shoot-ability, down-range energy, and flat trajectory. Weight is not really one of my major considerations as I have other rifles to fill that niche and this gun will not be used to hunt in our jungle, hence the varmint type setup. Seafire, the heavy magnum contour, or something in a similar straight taper, was my second choice if I decided save some weight. Did you go with the standard match or the super match? I suspect the super-match barrels are simply the cherry-picked ones correct? | |||
|
| One of Us |
actually Pac Nor is just down the road from here...so even tho I don't know Chris, the owner, personally.. I know enough guys that do know him personally.. and I have heard the same thing, time and time again.. there is no difference in the Standard Match and Super Match barrel at all.. Pac Nor carries them, because a lot of customers demand a barrel with that label on it... so all they are really doing is catering to the market, instead of losing the sale to a competitor that does mark his barrels with that label.. however looking at barrels makers who have high standards of quality, PAC NOR is not the only company that doesn't allow second rate barrels go out the door.. the most accurate rifle I own is this 6mm Rem, with the Pac Nor barrel on it.... to be honest, it is actually a Pac Nor barrel reject.. a few of our local gunsmiths that know the folks at Pac Nor, are allowed to buy some of the barrels they don't feel are high quality enough by the factory to put their name on it.. they buy them in batches and get them dirt cheap.. I actually have 4 or 5 Pac Nor barrels, that fit into that description... and all of them are as accurate as the Match barrels I got from Pac Nor at the full price.. bottom line, PAC NOR really makes some high quality stuff..evidently even their reject stuff is a lot better than about any factory stuff.. | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers 6mm Rem build or buy?
Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia