October 18th 2023Intro Ron Dague wanted to buy a new rifle that was similar in design to his.223 Rem but fired 6mm bullets. Ron Dague found that the small.223 Rem cartridge could propel the 95gr Berger to 2604 FPS. This 6mm wildcat, based on a common.223 Remington, offers excellent accuracy as well as very low recoil – something that is very important in cross-the-course. Ron’s 95gr Alliant Reloder 15 load also delivered an ES of only 4 fps for ten shots. This low ES allows for minimal vertical dispersion when shooting at 600 yards. By Ron Dague, Sinclair Reloading TechSinclair’s GunTech Articles ArchiveI’ve seen a change of thinking for NRA High Power in match rifles and calibres. There are four popular chamberings: 6mm AR (also known as 6mm AR), 6.5 Grendel (6XC), and 6.5 Creedmoor. When I started this project, I was looking for a round that would shoot and feed well from a mag. I knew the.223 Rem had fed well in my 722 Remington, so I went with the.223 Remington necked to 6mm. The 6mm-223 offers me the same bullet selection as the standard.223 but with a larger selection. I wanted a bullet that would perform better at 600 yards with a BC higher than the 80 and 82 grain bullets. I also wanted a bullet that would reach 600 yards with a BC of.500 or higher. For those shots that should be 10 rings or better, but always seem to land in the 9 ring regardless of how well I hold and break the shot.
My project began with an order for a 6mm Bartlein barrel with a 1-8″ twist. Pacific Tool sent me the 6mm-223 reamer. I bought a used Remington 700 at a local gun store and had a Remington 400X stock. I started assembling the gun. I already owned a.223 Remington Match rifle and I wanted to make the 6mm-223 as similar as possible. I installed the barreled-action in a 40X wood stock to test load data and resolve any magazine feeding problems. While I was doing that, I searched for a McMillan-Baker Special stock to complete this project. I re-bed the action and the stock, and then took the rifle out to the range to verify the zeros of the sights and the scope. I was surprised to find that I didn’t need to change anything in the sights. I thought that changing the stock would result in sight changes. I thought, “Maybe this 40X stock isn’t that bad.” Here’s a line-up of bullets in 6mm. The Berger 95gr VLD can be found in the middle.
I took the new rifle for its first match of the season, a National Match Course Match. My off-hand score, which included rapid sitting and rapid prone, was 83. The total aggregate score, which included slow fire prone, was 197. It may not be my finest work, but the match day was a windy one with a temperature of 40deg F and threatening rain. This was a reduced-course of fire — we fired at 200 and 300 yard targets on reduced targets. I used 70gr Berger Bullets for this match. I loaded Remington Brass with 25 grains VihtaVuori 205M primers and VihtaVuori’s N540. When I was working up loads for this gun, N540 had the best accuracy and extreme spread — 2,950fps with a 20fps extreme spread on a 10 shot string. The load for 600 yard was a 95gr Berger bullet, with 23.0 grain of Reloder 15, Lapua case, and the same Federal 205M primes. This load has a 2,604 fps with a spread of 4 fps on ten shots. I’ve used this load in several 3×600 yard competitions and have found it to be extremely accurate. My scores at the last 3×600 yard match were: 199-10x, 198-11X, and 193-10X using scopes, and 193-10X using iron sights. The best 600-yard score I have achieved with iron sights is 198-12X.6mm-223 Rem Specifications: 700 BDL Action and Floor Plate, Bartlein 6-mm 1:8″ twist, McMillan Special Stock in Desert Camo with Centra Front and Rear Sights, Ken Farrell Bases with Stripper Clip Guide, Sinclair Hand Stop, and Jewell Trigger. Gunsmith Neil Keller assisted me with the metalwork and gave me instructions on action work and rebarreling.
Similar Posts:Tags: .223 Remington, 40X stock, 6-223 Rem, 6mm-223, Bartleint Barrel, McMillan Stock, Ron Dague
