What is the best cartridge in the 6mm's for a guy who loads with a standard ('06) length press and wants to avoid buying new hardware? And why, please?

bb

Any press that will load o6 will load all the 6MM's But why is an Anti gunner over here asking this question? You should be over on the political forum no?

quote:

Originally posted by Jay Johnson:
bb

Any press that will load o6 will load all the 6MM's

Somebody told me that I'd have to buy a new press if I went to .243. Have I been having a blonde moment? Now that you mention it I have to wonder why? When I think about it, a buddy who shot .308 Win used to come to my place and we'd load together. I've been out of money until just recently so the question hasn't arisen.

Even if I can go to shorter brass I like the idea of being able to neck down my .270 brass to 6mm. If I do, should I go directly from .270 to 6mm or should I resize to an intermediate size first?

quote:

But why is an Anti gunner over here asking this question? You should be over on the political forum no?

I've been a shooter since I was 12. IMO many US guys shoot themselves in the foot fragmenting your shooting community into partisan politics. Shooting shouln't come into who a guy supports in the polls. Remember the old saw about never discuss religion and politics? Nuthin' in that about hunting and shooting. Many of my rants are just intended to piss off assholes who attacked me first long before you got here. I'd say I have enjoyed a modicum of "accurate reloading" in doing that here, No?

quote:

Originally posted by BBBruce:
What is the best cartridge in the 6mm's for a guy who loads with a standard ('06) length press and wants to avoid buying new hardware? And why, please?

Get yourself a 243 winchester.....your press will reload it just fine.....it's a great performer and will do double duty on varmints and deer size animals.

You can also get a few democrats with it as well.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
You can also get a few democrats with it as well.

Chucking shit requires large bore capacity or the result ain't worth the stink.

The press you have will work fine for every factory 6 mm cartridge made. If you get a set of 243 Win dies you can use the same shellholder that you use for your 30.06.

Brucie:

I for one am glad to see you out rubbing shoulders with the rest of the shooters here....

ON my Rockchucker press I have reloaded everything from 221 fireballs for someone to 444 Marlin on the same press....

IN one of your statements, about necking down 270 brass to 6mm... Are you looking to make a wildcat 6mm/270... or are you looking to shorten your 270 brass down to a 243? if the latter, you will of course have to trim you brass quite a bit first unless you neck it down without the expander ball and decapping unit in the die first... then once you trim the excess, then resize it again with the expander plug back in the die....

and if you are back in the " high life" again on finances.. congrats and good luck with your new endeavour whatever it may be, eh?

cheers
seafire

quote:

Originally posted by BBBruce:I've been a shooter since I was 12. IMO many US guys shoot themselves in the foot fragmenting your shooting community into partisan politics. Shooting shouln't come into who a guy supports in the polls. Remember the old saw about never discuss religion and politics? Nuthin' in that about hunting and shooting. Many of my rants are just intended to piss off assholes who attacked me first long before you got here. I'd say I have enjoyed a modicum of "accurate reloading" in doing that here, No?

that kind of thinking is how your country got your absolutely rediculous gun laws.

it would certainly be preferable if gun ownership and shooting sports were not political discussions, but it only takes a few Anti's to make it one whatever the wishes of the rest of us. you either acknowledge that as reality or you continue to live in fantasyland.

Now as to the press? on virtually any loading press, except those specifically designed to reload the 50BMG cartridge you can reload anything from the big weatherby's down to 25ACP

Though the smallest I've personally loaded is 32ACP.

Reforming brass from 270 down to 243? while possible it's FAR from practical and requires special tooling that'll probably cost more than 500pieces of virgin brass for your 243 could possibly cost, unless of course you buy Lapua or Norma brass.... and that ignores the time, effort and loss from cases that don't form correctly.

AllanD

Go with the 6mm Remington. It will out peform the .243 Win and uses the same shell holder as the 30-06.

Your practical choices are .243 or 6mm Remington. Either is an excellent cartridge. The 6mm will provide you with a very modest amount of additional velocity in any given bullet weight (all things being equal), but not enough to use it for any larger game nor at any longer range than the .243.

Many more rifles are chambered for the .243, so you will have a greater choice of models and configurations in that caliber.

I have both, like both, and can't find a great deal to recommend one over the other.

Haven't followed any of your political comments, Bruce, but whatever they are you're welcome to them, and I'll just offer this observation: Anyone who will tap your phone, imprison you without a hearing or trial, put a gag order on doctors telling women the facts of life, threaten to jail journalists for reporting governmental wrongdoing, and lie you into war can't be counted on to support your Constitutional liberties past the next campaign fundraiser. If we want lasting support of our right to own and use private arms, then we'd better cultivate a much broader spectrum of political support than just those whose view of the Bill of Rights is one of transient political expediency.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Your practical choices are .243 or 6mm Remington. Either is an excellent cartridge. The 6mm will provide you with a very modest amount of additional velocity in any given bullet weight (all things being equal), but not enough to use it for any larger game nor at any longer range than the .243.

I'm leaning towards 25-06. As I read the material, a 25-06 is simply the .243 in a 30-06 length case, correct? In theory I should be able to resize brass from .270 to 25-06, or not? What do you think seafire? Is .270 to 25-06 too much swaging at once?

quote:

Many more rifles are chambered for the .243, so you will have a greater choice of models and configurations in that caliber.

A factor, I admit. But if I find a rifle I'm happy with in 25-06 then I can use all the same brass. How do Remington, Ruger and Winchester match up for field stripping and quality? Or Browning?

quote:

Haven't followed any of your political comments, Bruce, but whatever they are you're welcome to them, and I'll just offer this observation: Anyone who will tap your phone, imprison you without a hearing or trial, put a gag order on doctors telling women the facts of life, threaten to jail journalists for reporting governmental wrongdoing, and lie you into war can't be counted on to support your Constitutional liberties past the next campaign fundraiser. If we want lasting support of our right to own and use private arms, then we'd better cultivate a much broader spectrum of political support than just those whose view of the Bill of Rights is one of transient political expediency.

Yeah well, I've been branded the board liberal and an "America hater" for those views. I went to school two years in California between 1962 and 1964 and was taught that all those things were what the Allies (including America) fought against in WW2. Republicans on the political board tell me I'm wrong. What do I know - I'm just one more foreigner here in virtual Dubai? (In all honesty many arguments got wa-a-a-y out of hand and I gave as good as I got. I said many things I don't hold true just as I suspect others did. But hey, if you can't take it you shouldn't have joined is what I was always taught. )

quote:

Originally posted by Allan DeGroot:

quote:

Originally posted by BBBruce:I've been a shooter since I was 12. IMO many US guys shoot themselves in the foot fragmenting your shooting community into partisan politics. Shooting shouln't come into who a guy supports in the polls. Remember the old saw about never discuss religion and politics? Nuthin' in that about hunting and shooting. Many of my rants are just intended to piss off assholes who attacked me first long before you got here. I'd say I have enjoyed a modicum of "accurate reloading" in doing that here, No?

that kind of thinking is how your country got your absolutely rediculous gun laws.

it would certainly be preferable if gun ownership and shooting sports were not political discussions, but it only takes a few Anti's to make it one whatever the wishes of the rest of us. you either acknowledge that as reality or you continue to live in fantasyland.

AllanD

Chucking shit about dubbya causes Canadian anti's to pass stupid gun laws? Na-a-a-a-wwwww.

Brucie:

I looked at that same idea a few years ago...

I went with a 6mm Remington built on a long action, so I could seat the bullets way out there....

The 6mms offered a lot more bullet selections than the 25 caliber arena...

Handloaded, the 6mm Rem was head and shoulders above a 243 when put in a long action... in a short action, the 243 is an easier choice...

When looking at what I could handload a 6mm Remington to, compared to a 240 Weatherby, which essentially is a 30/06 or 270 necked down to 6mm... the 6mm Remington gave me all the performance capable in the bigger case, in the shorter 57 mm case... with less powder... which meant less throat erosion over time, and longer barrel life....

I took a Remington 700 action ( although when I do it again, it will be a Winchester Model 70 action), removed the 30/06 barrel, and installed a Pac Nor Barrel, 24 inches in length, with a heavy magnum contour and a one in 7 twist in it, so that I could shoot up to 115 grain Berger Match bullets from it... the stock was also replaced with a Boyd's Laminate stock....

75 grain Match bullets can be pushed to 3750 fps with no problem, and 90 grain bullets to about 3400 fps or better... 115 grain Berger match bullets to 3250 fps....

If I decided on a 25 caliber over a 6mm caliber, I'd go with a 257 Roberts over a 30/06 cased 25/06... as a handloader, I can make the Roberts do what the 25/06 will do, with less powder...

But I do shoot the 6mm Remington and also shoot the same case in 6.5 mm, the 6.5 x 57... which is on a Model 70 action with a 28 inch heavy contour Pac Nor chrome moly barrel, with a one in 8 twist on that one....that is my favorite long range deer and antelope rifle....

Hope this answers your questions.. good luck on your project... let us know how it turns out...
cheers, eh?
seafire

Well, I wouldn't characterize a .25-06 as simply a .243 on a .30-06 case. There's considerably more difference than that.

The .25-06 is more of a game rifle that will reasonably double as a varmint gun. The .243 is more of a varmint gun that will double as a game rifle.

You'll have significantly more recoil, muzzle blast, and barrel heating with a .25-06, which is detrimental to its use as a varmint rifle. It must also be built on a "long" action. On the other hand, some people regularly use 120 grain bullets in the .25-06 to tackle elk-sized creatures, a task that it is better suited to than a .243.

Yes, .25-06 is easily formed from .270 or .30-06, just as .243 brass is easily formed from .260 Rem, 7mm-08, or .308 brass. You can make either from the proper parent case with one pass through the FLS die, plus proper attention to trimming, chamfering, and sometimes thinning the necks.

Bottom line: If you anticipate doing a volume of varmint shooting with an ocassional deer or antelope thrown in, then take the .243. If you anticipate mostly hunting deer, etc., with an occasional coyote or prairie dog as a side attraction, then the .25-06 provides a little more authority. What you WILL NOT want to do is sit down at a prairie dog town and shoot 100 rounds through a sporter-weight .25-06 -- the recoil, muzzle blast, and barrel heat will all be more than you want.

Two really thoughtful responses. Thank you.