Does anyone shoot this caliber? I would be interested in hearing about your experiences with it as well as some of your favorite loads.

I've had a M700 ADL 6mm since 1973. It will shoot under MOA with these handloads:

46 gr. IMR4350 with Speer 75 gr. HP, Rem 9 1/2 primer, WW brass.

Same load with 70 gr. Sierra HPBT.

Same load with 70 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip.

I used to shoot 47.5 gr. IMR4350 but found the 46 gr. load to be more accurate.

Next most accurate varmint load is:
50.0 gr. Reloader 19, 70 gr. Nosler BT or 75 gr. Hornady HP, WW brass and CCI or Rem primer.

Game load:
45.0 gr. H4831, 100 gr. Sierra spitzer, WW brass, Rem 9 1/2 primer.

I had a good game load using the Speer 90 gr. spitzer but can't find any written records on it at the moment. I remember it used IMR4895 which would seem like the wrong powder for the 6mm, but it worked well.

Good luck. It's a good caliber that is overlooked.

My experiences with it go back to spring, 1973 when I bought it new. I went to buy a .25-06 but they didn't have one so I bought the 6mm. I'm glad I did. I've used it on everything from prairie dogs to big whitetail deer. I used it extensively to hunt coyotes; I think 6mm (which includes the .243 Win) is the minimum caliber that is reliable on coyotes.

I killed my biggest deer with this gun with a 75 gr. HP, a bullet which I would never deliberately use on game. I was hunting coyotes and a 12 point buck made a mistake of presenting a shot and I didn't have any game loads on me. He was running and that 75 gr. HP took him down instantaneously but I still would not recommend using that bullet on game, given a choice.

If the range gets long enough, it will drive a 90 or 100 gr. game bullet completely through a deer. Up close, (under 200 yards) it won't do that, they usually stay inside.

The first time I went prairie dog hunting, the 6mm was all I had. I put about 150 rounds through it in a few hours. The barrel was almost smoking; you didn't dare touch it. Although the 6mm is a mild recoiling gun, that was enough that I had a bruised cheek and shoulder the next day. I was afraid I'd burned up the barrel, but it seemed to have no effect. It shoots as good now, if not better, than it did then.

I bought my first one, a M-700 ADL, in 1967 and still have it except for the original barrel which I wore out. I also have a M-722 in 244 Rem. I have had great success using them with everything from 55 gr - 100 gr bullets.

I use it mostly for hunting the undersize white-tail deer we have here in the Texas hill country. I prefer Nosler partitions (85 or 100gr) and either H-4350 of IMR-4350.

It is a great coyote rifle with lighter bullets, too.

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6/23/2022

Good info on the 6mm. I've got a seldom-shot custom Rem 6mm with a 26" stainless barrel that might be perfect for Texas whitetails. Thanks for the data.
Bob

I picked up a M700 BDL in 6mm Remington over twenty five years ago. I haven't done much deer hunting lately, but I did take a couple of deer with it. I don't remember the load exactly, but I used Remington cases and primers, and 100 gr. Nosler "partition" bullets.

My other deer rifle was a Ruger .30-06 shooting 165 grain Hornady spire points. The 100 gr out of the 6mm Remington did just as well. I would pick up either rifle, without reservation, using these loads.

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G.P. Charlie

I have an older Ruger Mark I (tang safety type) varminter in 6mm Remington. It is a VERY accurate rifle with loads it likes. I bought it for shooting rockchucks and ground squirrels when I lived in Idaho. With the Sierra 85 grain flat base bullet it will shoot 5 shots into 1/2" at 100 yards. If you switch to the Sierra 85 grain boat tail it will barely do 1.5 inches at 100 yards. It isn't horribly particular as to the powder, but it does prefer flat based bullets. I've used H414, IMR 4350, and H4831 with equal success in this rifle. A friend of mine had his rifle stolen just before we were to go to Wyoming to hunt antelope, so I took this 6mm for him to use. I didn't have time to work up a load with a heavier bullet, but he and another friend both used it to shoot their antelope. It worked perfectly! On broadside shots it would penetrate to and bulge the hide on the far side. I grabbed the lump under the hide and cut the bullet out of both animals, and the bullets were perfectly mushroomed! The 6mm has a nice long neck, and I think it is a better rifle than the .243. It is too bad the .243 gets all the sales and so few buy the 6mm. There are darned few rifles I know of that are even chambered for it any more. As a matter of fact, I don't know of ANY currently made factory rifles chambered for the 6mm.

I guess I like all the odd calibers. I shoot a 7x64 Brenneke instead of a .280. I shoot a 6mm instead of a .243. I shoot a 376 Steyr instead of a .375 H&H. I shoot a 9.3x62 Brenneke and a .35 Whelen instead of a .338 Winchester. I prefer the original .222 Remington to the .223 and I also like the 218 Bee. Find me a rifle that nobody else likes, and I'll shoot it!

I bought a M600 new in 1965. All the ammunition I could find was .244, so I used that to get some brass.

In the early 1970s I used 53.0 gr of N205 with a 85 gr Nosler Zipedo and wish I would have had a chronograph for those loads! A more recent load was 48.0 gr of H4831 with a 100 gr bullet. Come to think of it, that's similar to what we're using now, 48.0 gr of H4831SC.

Here's a 100 yard three shot group #1 son shot with that gun with a cheap Rem 100 gr Core-Loc and all 18.5" of its barrel, but we used Blue Dot for that load.



BTW, those are Speer #8 loads I still use.

Whelenshooter is right, it's a better round than the .243 ever will be and when I couldn't get my bull barrel NEF to shoot right, I replaced it with a .25-06 barrel (they don't make a 6mm barrel).

CP1969 has it nailed. In looking back at my old notes, 46gr 4350 with 75 gr bullet was best load. It also shows a 105 gr with 42.5, 4350 to be good also. This was with my 1969 700BDL.

I have owned a Rem.700 VLS rifle in 6MM since last Fall. Have worked some loads up that will shoot at least 1/2" groups if I do my part.
Mine likes IMR-4064 and Hodgdon BL-C2 and 70gr. Sierra/Nosler bullets. Will drive/remove a thumb tack with these loads at 120yds. These same loads are also impressive with milk jugs full of water!!
I think I will try some IMR-4350 this season also from what this post has stated.
If anyone wants, I have three-new boxes (of 20) of .244 Remington New Brass, would sell as collector brass, if wanted.

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Outdoor Sportsman

My rifle old rifle is a twin to yours. If I have an unfilled deer tag on the last day of the season the handgun plays second fiddle and out it comes. Over the years it has never failed me; I'm convinced it is the luckiest gun ever built. I don't know how many Michigan deer it's taken but it's more than a few ranging from small to fairly big. My shots have all been broadside heart / lung shots ranging from 30 yards to (I'm guessing) 150 yards with 100 grain Partitions. I've never recovered a bullet.

For the little stuff and playing at the range the Sierra 70 gn HPBT Matchking over 40.0 grains of IMR4895 shoots like a dream. If I let the barrel cool between shots it's capable of shooting bragging size groups every time.

I agree. It's a very under-rated cartridge, especially if you handload.

Hey Billybob44,
Interested in your 244 Rem. brass if still available.

azprancer