6mmbr or .243

[Woodlander]

I'm toying with the idea of applying for a variation for a 6mm. Would be used for long range small to medium quarry and targets in windy conditions and to take over from where the .222
leaves off,if that makes any sense. What are the relative merits of the 2 calibres and can the 6mmbr be reliably magazine fed. Thanks.

 

[Greener Jim]

So basically a lighter weight 'varmint' rifle?

6BR is great and all but .243 will do everything you want.

Although they do contribute to accuracy and consistency, the cartridge is a very small piece in the puzzle. There will be very little noticeable difference in accuracy when used in rifles of the same quality and when hand loaded (which I imagine you do/will be doing if you are considering 6BR).

Yes 6BR is preferred in competition BUT those guys are after the smallest advantage as everything can be down to thousandths of an inch.

They both launch the same bullets at similar speeds (.243 is a little faster). The main benefit of .243 is that you can get an action which already feeds it's perfectly and then do all the Gucci stuff eg. get it blueprinted, pop a match chambered heavier barrel on (if you want), bed the action etc etc
you can take it as far as you want.
Although 6BR can be made to feed fine it seems like adding a complicating factor which just isn't needed. After all, it was never designed to be mag fed.

Plus if you ever came to sell it, a .243 'varmint' rifle will sell quicker than a 6BR 9 times outta 10.

 

[6pt-sika]

IF it were me wanting a 6mm of some sort I'd give thought to the 243 versus the 6mm Rem and forget the BR .

And yes I have both a 243 and a 6mm Rem at the present .

 

[labrador77]

Have you had a look at 6mmbr.com, really interesting web site. The br is on my bucket list but recently I plumped for the plain jane .243 as a semi custom build, have to agree with the above comments.

 

[Heym SR20]

Very much depends on if your main interest is max accuracy etc, or the hunting / shooting part. .243 is very versitile, feeds better and has more case capacity, thus can send bigger bullets at good velocities - in Scotland, min bullet weight is 100gn for larger deer. And with 243 ammo can be got anywhere.

 

[jcampbellsmith]

There are a wide number of 6mm options. This article lists some current options - Rifle Calibers What The Pros Use | PrecisionRifleBlog.com Regards JCS

 

[6.5rem700]

hi i have a 6mmbr that i use for deer and vermin and my 1st rifle was a 243
the br is a awesome cartridge but some find it hard to get deer legal with 100gr bullet and use 80+gr to achieve it, factory fodder for the br is rare and then i think its only target stuff, and can be a bit of a bugger to feed correctly in some actions ,in the same rifle the br will recoil slightly less but to be honest you will have a job to tell, most br rifles will be a semi custom job [rebbarel]
the 243 is again an accurate cartridge ,maybe not so good as the br but your target wont know the difference , there is a wide range of factory fodder available and is deer legal with the right bullet, and as long as its on a short action it will feed flawlessly and if hand loading you should be able to get
more velocity from the 243 ,surprisingly not allot more tho

 

[bobjs]

I have a br in a tikka595 action, super accurate and I got it dear legal with 90gr with its 24" barrel, I love it for stalking and its point and shoot with clarity and confidence made stalking a pleasure apart from its lenth,it feeds flawlessly using both a 3/5shot 22-250 mags, I now use it for longrange shooting out to 500/600 yards but running a lighter bullet.

I got a cz 243 and tidied it up added a muzzle thread with crown mod and scope, this rifle when it arrived at my Rfd was mistaken for a new rifle, but in fact had shot under 500 shots, it shoots very well and is now my dedicated stalking rifle, also used on fox's if they pop up,this also as a 24" barrel.

Recoil, far more from the 243 than the br even then the 243 is not a heavy recoil,

Accuracy, the br out shoots the cz all day long out to 200 but that's what br stands for, I home load for them both, I have used the same powder bullets and primers in both and the cz shoots superbly but the br wins hands down,

Ammo, you will find 243 ammo all over the place but the br is harder to find than you would like so home loading is the way forward IMO:

MV: the 243 will be faster than the br with the same bullet weight, but speed should never come before accuracy and that's where the slower br wins,

My overall opinion is,

They both have the ability to shoot deer/ fox and be used for longer range shots on vermin or targets at greater distances, it may appear selfish but I would and did end up with both, but if my main shooting was stalking then the 243 has to come first, if it's longer range shooing than stalking then the br is where I would head first,


What ever you choose is down to you and I hope your happy with it,after all it's you that will be using it no me

Regards

Bob

 

[hybridfiat]

I've owned both and my advice is to forget the 6mmBR unless you want to shoot benchrest on the weekend. My .243 will easily shoot 1MOA but the 6mm if I loaded it just right (case trimmed, neck turned, matched weights of cases, matched bullet weights, spin tested bullets, etc etc) it would shoot sub 0.5 all day. It is a fine caliber for benchrest. But is not easy to feed (rare to find a selection of 6mm BR ammo in any shop) and it has a smaller capacity. So why bother?

 

[Foxshot]

Bob, is much of that down to a difference in rifle quality?

 

[bobjs]

Bob, is much of that down to a difference in rifle quality?

I would say some of it would be, but I think the br would still outshoot the same rifle in 243 IE:both rifles makes being a 595,

My mate had Neil mckillop build him a br on the same specs as my one he built, he called Neil and said the following to him,

Hi Neil, just wanted to say thank you for a lovely rifle, feeds flawlessly, trigger is as sweet as a nut, the beed blasting and black action works very well,

Thanks very much Steve, I'm glad you like it,

There is one problem ?

What was that

After just 5 shots taken"............there was only 1 hole in the target,

Bob

 

[interceptor]

I would say some of it would be, but I think the br would still outshoot the same rifle in 243 IE:both rifles makes being a 595,

My mate had Neil mckillop build him a br on the same specs as my one he built, he called Neil and said the following to him,

Hi Neil, just wanted to say thank you for a lovely rifle, feeds flawlessly, trigger is as sweet as a nut, the beed blasting and black action works very well,

Thanks very much Steve, I'm glad you like it,

There is one problem ?

What was that

After just 5 shots taken"............there was only 1 hole in the target,

Bob

Says it all really!!!
Have owned a custom 243 Ackley and a standard 243 - both shot well but having shot a few 6BRs at long range - i must say the 6BR is a cracker!!!
I used to own a semi custom 6PPC , when i done my bit, it would put the 58 V-max into a half inch at 200yds and running @3500fps....
85 grain Nosler SPs were running @3100fps , so deer legal and very accuarte too!!!
All the best...

 

[Fiadh]

I've owned both and the 6br is a great round but its nemesis has always been getting it to feed and more importantly eject flawlessly from a magazine fed action, thats why I sold mine. If you want the best of both worlds, you should consider the 6xc.

 

[bobjs]

I've owned both and the 6br is a great round but its nemesis has always been getting it to feed and more importantly eject flawlessly from a magazine fed action, thats why I sold mine. If you want the best of both worlds, you should consider the 6xc.

Hi bk,

I have to hold my hand up, both my 595 and steves 590 both feed with no issues, steves ejects the case into space, and mine was found to have had a soft ejection not that long back, now I have replaced the spring I have to be careful that I don't loose that expensive br Lapua brass,

I have a buddy up in the home land who has the xc and loves it, but if John was on here I think he would still put his( my old 6mmbr) in first place, but I could just be pulling your leg,

I love mine to bits and I hope it stays here for a long time unlike the others when I lost my job,

Bob,

Psi have a lad who is a contact through shooting who has a sako 85 being done in 6mmbr and he says he chose that because it's believed to feed ok from the mag.. I'll await his findings.

 

[Franklin2890]

Busy waiting for my 6BR coming back from proof went for a T3 action with a 24inch heavy bergara barrel (1-8 twist). Can't wait to get it back and give it ago heard it's a cracking calibre and a very accurate one!

 

[Whitebeard]

No one has yet to mention the availability of factory rifles in 6mmBR despite the scarcitey of factory ammo.
There are very very few , so its strictly a custom/semi-custom option, where as there thousands of 243s about.

Ian.

 

[triggersqueezer]

you will not be disapointed,i will never be without my 6 br awesome round next to no recoil great barrel life and sub .50 on a bad day.

Busy waiting for my 6BR coming back from proof went for a T3 action with a 24inch heavy bergara barrel (1-8 twist). Can't wait to get it back and give it ago heard it's a cracking calibre and a very accurate one!

 

[bobjs]

No one has yet to mention the availability of factory rifles in 6mmBR despite the scarcitey of factory ammo.
There are very very few , so its strictly a custom/semi-custom option, where as there thousands of 243s about.

Ian.

Hi Ian, hope you are well sir, a very good point, I have seen a 6mmbr barrel for one of those gay rifles we all talk about on here but I have never seen a factory one as a built rrifle rather than a add on as I mentioned above, and as you say the 243 being the usa's ladies gun there's a few about most days,

Bob

 

[Franklin2890]

you will not be disapointed,i will never be without my 6 br awesome round next to no recoil great barrel life and sub .50 on a bad day.

That's what the smith said and that's what really appealed to me looks like a awesome round

 

[Fiadh]

Hi bk,

I have to hold my hand up, both my 595 and steves 590 both feed withif going fno issues, steves ejects the case into space, and mine was found to have had a soft ejection not that long back, now I have replaced the spring I have to be careful that I don't loose that expensive br Lapua brass,

I have a buddy up in the home land who has the xc and loves it, but if John was on here I think he would still put his( my old 6mmbr) in first place, but I could just be pulling your leg,

I love mine to bits and I hope it stays here for a long time unlike the others when I lost my job,

Bob,

Psi have a lad who is a contact through shooting who has a sako 85 being done in 6mmbr and he says he chose that because it's believed to feed ok from the mag.. I'll await his findings.

Hi Bob,

Sorry wasn't doubting your word and should have worded my post better. What I meant to say was if going for a magazine fed 6br you have to be very careful what factory action you choose, I had a remmy 700 which fed fine but had a habit of dropping the empties back in the magazine well. Like you say, I believe the Tikka 595 and Sako 75 don't suffer this problem due to the cartridge specific magazine and sako style extractor.

Atb

Bk