In the back of my safe there is a model 7 Remington that my Dad bought around '80 or 81. The rifle came to me in the box with a box of Remington 80 gr cartridges with 2 missing. Over the years I've bought brass and dies to get the rifle ready to hunt, I never did. I think the time is right to start hunting whitetails with it.
What bullet and powder do I want to load?

Depending on your bullet preference, some will like heavier (90 to 100 grain ) cup and core, others like lighter bonded or mono metal bullets (80 to 90 grains) all are good choices.
In 6mm IMR4350 is great for 85 and 90 grain bullets. Also IMR 4064

My sons .243 (similar speed to your 6mm) really shoots 85 grain Sierra HP BT's and 90 grain Speer Deep Curl. Both are excellent performers on Deer.

If the barrel is marked "6mm" then it should have a 1/9 twist and should be able to handle up to at least the 105 speer.

I also have a model 7 , first year production in a 243Win.
Remington introduced this gun in 1983 ... and the first ones have a steel floorplate and guard .

I shoot 105 gr. Speer bullets with IMR 4350 ... shoots very well .

That would make sense, I remember I was on a long tour when he bought it. And it has a steel floorplate and trigger guard. I've got some IMR 7828 and 4064. So let the bullet shopping begin.

I have an Ackley but I shoot the same load in the fire forming as I do the Ackley's. 48 grains of Reloader 22, behind a 95 grain anything...loves any 95 I put down it. 1/8 twist, cover a five shot group up with a dime at 100 yds.

In .243 the 100 grain cup and core bullets do the trick. (95 grain cast bullet does not).

100 gr Sierra cup and core, maybe 45 gr or so of IMR 4831. Simple classic combo and will be similar to .257 Roberts. Don't try for .243 pressures with the Remington 6mm brass; it can be a bit soft and if you try to max it out you will loose the primer pockets in a few rounds. Another OLD load that I used in the '60's (when I was trying to flunk out of college by spending the spring hunting groundhogs) was the 80 grain Remington Power lokt and 45 gr of IMR4350. Wonderful old classic cartridge and much underappreciated.

Gojoe,

For those big Maine whitetails you might want to consider a controlled expansion bullet. A couple of my clients shoot the 85 gr Nosler Partition in 243's and say it is a death ray.

Mark

Thanks Mark, I picked up a box of NP and found 2 boxes of Hornady 100 grain sp. I'll work up a load over the summer. I think that model 7 will make a nice stalking rifle, it's 2 plus lbs lighter than my Cz 30'06.
Say Hi to Sadie for us.

Cheers

Those 100 grain Partitions driven by a healthy dose of RL19 should do the trick.

I've been happy in both my 6mm Rem and my .243 with the traditional Hornady 100 grain interlock flat base bullets....I'm still shooting a discontinued poeder (H-450) so go to Hodgdon's website and pick the powder that gives the best velocity for starters.

Always wanted a 6mm Rem. In my mind it's about the best of the 6mm's that have come out. Too bad Remington screwed themselves with their usual trick of using the wrong twist at the start.

A few years back I went on a baited blackbear bowhunt with some friends. The outfitter recommended we bring a rifle for wolf. One friend didn't have one so he borrowed a rifle from his neighbor. It was a Remington model 600 in 6mm. I tried real hard to buy that rifle from his neighbor after we got back. Not many M600's were made.

quote:

Originally posted by Cougarz:
Always wanted a 6mm Rem. In my mind it's about the best of the 6mm's that have come out.

Well, I agree.

If you ever get one, let me know. I've got a reasonably nice stash of brass, and I believe some of it is virgin. I never pushed my loads to the limit and the used brass I discarded over 10 times, whether I needed to or not.

I shot out a Schneider barrel and dumped the rifle. But in it's prime . . . Oh! La! It was a jewell.

I had a Rem 700 6mm Rem, heavy Douglas #7 taper 28" bbl, 1-9 T, Unertl BV20 scope, benchrest style stock w/3" flat forearm and wide flat bottomed rear, roll over etc...dam** thing weighed a ton but I could set it up on the hood ANYWHERE there were ground squirrels and decimate the population as far out as I could see anything moving.

I shot most any weight,(always on sale) into tiny holes but the 70 gr Speer and 87 Horn were the most accurate...100/105's killed every deer I shot definitively...head shots mostly...in the bean fields where I didn't have to carry the rifle...couldn't even if I wanted to. NP"s never did real well in that early 6mm, 1 1/4" at best, but any of the other brands 100 gr always turned in 3/4" or less groups...again Hornady SP's usually the best.

Even today I don't waste barrel life or components on paper as I benchrest prep EVERYTHING so a 2 shot "group" tells me all I need to know and this rifle/barrel produced bugholes for the most part at top velo's and case life was long with very little trimming. Barrel life was ~3500-4000 for the first chamber and about 1500-1800 for the second chambering but accuracy wasn't up to the original and I finally pulled it when the original 70 gr bugholes turned into patterns.

THAT jack handle turned into an 16" NEF 6mm BR stub barrel when I bobbed off 2" off muzzle and cut down the chamber end, threaded, chambered etc...it STILL shoots 70 gr bullets into bugholes with the MUCH shorter barrel, but at much lower velos...still kills sageratz like Thor's Hammer out to ~200 yds.

I always scratched my head over the hoohaw between the 243 and the 6mm...I never could see any difference in killing power between my 6mm and friends 243's and my later 243's(3 over time including present day) nor the supposed difference between the 100 gr and the 105 gr bullets as long as the twist rate was the same...but that's where Madison Ave grabs us by the short and curlys and turns us into mindless goats.

I've had both 22-6mm and 22-243's and found only nitpicking variation (argumentatively speaking) betwixt and between.
They're all good at their jobs...pick one and enjoy it and forget comparisons. Comparisons only make you unhappy with what you have.

OH...you'll NEVER run out of brass...WAY to much 7-8 mm brass about and all those iterations.

Good Hunting

quote:

Originally posted by NONAGONAGIN:


I've had both 22-6mm and 22-243's and found only nitpicking variation (argumentatively speaking) betwixt and between.
They're all good at their jobs...pick one and enjoy it and forget comparisons. Comparisons only make you unhappy with what you have.


Good Hunting

Only reason I favor the 6mm over the .243 is that 99% of my builds are/were on Mauser 98 actions and the 6mm is a slam dunk vs the .243 which can require some feed work. Otherwise, I have both and, as you say, they perform the same.

I saw Model 7 SS in 6mm Rem for sale the other day at the LGS and I am VERY tempted by it.

Right on zlr...the 6mm/244 is/has gone the way of the Auk, the 350 RM and how many other excellent caliber/cartridges...we shooter folk are fickle as a...you know, and the gun rag "riters"??? just go along for the money and/or whatever the "makers" feed them.

There is only and questionably a few grains difference in case volume between the two which can easily be negated as can all the other parameters, but bad press is the end to all kinds of "stuff" and with the advent of the 'net and "YOOTOOB" (or is that "YOOBOOB"), it just gets worse and more mindless.

Evolution at its worst.

Good Hunting

quote:

Originally posted by Gojoe:
Thanks Mark, I picked up a box of NP and found 2 boxes of Hornady 100 grain sp. I'll work up a load over the summer. I think that model 7 will make a nice stalking rifle, it's 2 plus lbs lighter than my Cz 30'06.
Say Hi to Sadie for us.

Cheers

In my 243Win rifles I use a load of 41.0 grs IMR4831 with a 100 gr Hornady, or a 100 gr Nosler Partition for just around 3000 fps, and it "IS" a death ray out of my Mannlicher 61MCA rifle which has a I in 10" twist. It is also a tack driver out to 300 yds on large mule deer! DRT!
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Mac I use 42,0 grains of IMR4831 and 100 grain cup and core bullets--mostly either Winchester or Remington bulk packed.