6mm ARC, better than I could have hoped

[IAM Rand]

I got a 6 ARC on a whim. Part of me just wanted it and the other part thought it would make a great hunting cartridge. BOY did I under estimate it.

2nd day of deer season and had my chance at a decent 4 point buck (8 point for you back east guys). My son and I both saw the buck at the same time and, being the only one with a tag, was not prepared. The same expression passed our lips at the same time, "Oh shoot!" I wasn't able to unsling my rifle before he hit the road so to speak. I did my best "bleeting" to try and get him to stop but, no dice.

I ran across the road, took a quick distance check, and set up for what I was hoping would be a quick shot. My estimate was between 225 and 250. My opening happened and was able to squeeze off a good shot. Afterwards I didn't see what happened. My son said he thought he saw a hoof in the air.

We got into the area and low and behold, DRT. Neither one of us thought he made it 5 yards. My son thought he went over backward and stopped right there.

I was a little nervous using such a small bullet. In Colorado, the minimum for hunting any big game is 6mm and 75 grain for deer and Pronghorn, 85 grain for Elk. I loaded up an 85 grain Lehigh Controlled Chaos with Benchmark powder. Chrono came back about 2600 +/-. I couldn't believe how well the combo worked. We looked and looked but, couldn't find the entrance hole. There was an exit hole about the size of a BB. I didn't do a post mortem but, there was a great deal of blood in the check cavity.

I had loaded my 6 ARC to shoot under 1 moa at 100 and by all counts, it was dead on. When people ask me why I reload, this is the reason I reload.

 

[venomballistics]

I find myself gaining some interest in some of these new AR friendly cartridges.
Easy shooting and a good bit more performance than one might expect.

 

[MrOverlay]

6 ARC

My gunsmith built me a custom bolt gun in 6 ARC. I really like it. So far I've made hits with it on steel at 750 yards. Accurate, low recoil. What's not to like?

 

[IAM Rand]

My gunsmith built me a custom bolt gun in 6 ARC. I really like it. So far I've made hits with it on steel at 750 yards. Accurate, low recoil. What's not to like?

The twist on my CMMG is 1:7 which they say are better with heavier bullets. I have tired with 100+ grain bullets and haven't gotten the grouping that I did with the 85 grain Lehigh. Not sure what a bolt gun will like but, you can push it faster than I can with an AR platform.

 

[Luke Duke]

I'm a CO native. Grew up in Red Feather Lakes. First off; great story, and congrats on a successful hunt that's awesome. Nothing better than one shot and DRT. My dad shot a Sako .243 and killed everything from mice to elk with it. Never took 2 shots and never lost an animal. Don't ever under estimate a 6mm in the hands of a good marksman. Back in the day the Nosler Partition was the best bullet going. Nowadays there's far superior bullets. Like what you used, really can make a 6mm an effective round. Not saying a Partition isn't , my ole' man killed Lots of Elk with it!

 

[Nevada Ed]

Nothing wrong with the "6" as a long range target or short range hunting load
with the correct bullet and powder.

I have a friend in Utah with a "Wildcat" 6, that he shoots at 900 yards
in his back yard range, for practice, for meets.

Good job finding yor deer and filling your tag.
Enjoy all that meat, and that rifle that you now, beleive in.

 

[Skeet 028]

Just my take on the cartridge. First glad you are happy. I've had lots of WCs over the years. Accuracy is great. But the poster before taling of better bullets. Yep better bullets out there these days. that said...remember that considering the velocities you start at...these are not 500 yard hunting rounds. You do run out of steam at some point. I used to shoot a 250 AI. with the 100 gr NP it was a wonderful performer at 250 to at the most 325 on smaller critters...deer antelope...200 yard on elk that were walking/browsing. Fired up with adrenaline??not so good. I had a superbly accurate 6x47 and it whacked deer great with a 85 gr Nosler...better with the 95 partition. To be honest though it's hard not to take those longer more questionable shots. Have fun with tha shooter...but remember there are restrictions. I have an extremely accurate 30-06...under a 1/2 in shooter. I still only consider it a 350 yard elk/ moose rifle. Tough critters at times. Try some PDs with that rifle too.. My daughter liked the Bushmaster Varminter 223/40gr Noslers on PDs but preferred the 204 for the hang time

 

[IAM Rand]

Agreed Skeet 028, I am a firm believer in a man's got to know their limitations (sorry, keep forgetting or woman or whatever else someone fancies themselves). My 6ARC was not meant to be an Elk cartridge (for me anyway). Colorado Parks and Wildlife dictates these important things and has a rule that the minimum as 6mm(.24) and 70 grains for deer, pronghorn and bear. 85 grains for elk and moose. Not my rules mind you.

Obviously someone out there believes or has used a 6mm for the big boys and girls. Would I, probably not although seeing how well it did on this deer, I might think about it for a hot minute. One of the selling points of the 6ARC is that because of its BC, it is a long range cartridge because it can retain a great deal of its energy over greater distances. Having said that, am I going to try and take an elk at 900 yards....... UM NO. Am I worried about a deer or pronghorn at 300-500, again no.

I have a 270, 7mag, and 300WM that I have all developed loads for that shoot under 1 MOA at 100 yards. Elk is next for me and as an ode to my father, I think that I will use the 270 WCF.

I am not a preacher for the 6mm but, I am sitting in the pews. I might just one day have to get a bolt gun for my ARC cartridges and really started going crazy.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

6ARC and 6PPC are almost the same cartridge, ARC has a gentler shoulder, more body tapper, and a standard flash hole. The ARC is usually on a faster twist for heavier bullets. But the groundwork was done decades ago on the Bench Rest ranges.

My 6 PPC Varmint Model Sako shoots groups smaller than 1/4" centers at 300 yards, I would expect a properly built AR in 6 ARC to do nearly same.

Ivan

 

[Skeet 028]

Wasn't dissing you shooting a deer with the cartridge. I have a 243 here just in case. Have a 100 res loaded with 95 gr Noslers. I would shoot anything I really needed but to be honest it is a marginal cartridge for anything over about 400 pounds...and the wind is hard on those bullets out here. I was with a friend antelope hunting when we ran up on a fair bunch of elk. Got him situated where the critters came by us at 40-50 ft. He picked out the largest cow in the bunch. 3 shots with 75 gr 243 loads. I shot mine twice with 41 mag.DRT.I have changed his mind on the 243 and he shoots Noslers Partitions now for deer and antelope. He has found they just kill better.He shot an antelope last year with that load. Longest he's ever shot about 275 or so DRT. Shoots a Ruger #1B. Little more velocity out of 26 inches

 

[IAM Rand]

Like pistol cartridges, I think the advancements in bullet technology has made cartridges that one may not have thought would be good for bigger animals possible now. Will a 22 or even a 223/556 ever be good for big game animals, probably not. Would I be overly concerned about using a 6mm/.243 for big and bigger game, I am starting to think not. If you reload, I would definitely look at what Lehigh has to offer for hunting cartridges.

Bottom line is the same for pistols and rifles, Location, Location, Location.
Shot placement will always be king over cartridge.

Just sayin

 

[Luke Duke]

Wasn't dissing you shooting a deer with the cartridge. I have a 243 here just in case. Have a 100 res loaded with 95 gr Noslers. I would shoot anything I really needed but to be honest it is a marginal cartridge for anything over about 400 pounds...and the wind is hard on those bullets out here. I was with a friend antelope hunting when we ran up on a fair bunch of elk. Got him situated where the critters came by us at 40-50 ft. He picked out the largest cow in the bunch. 3 shots with 75 gr 243 loads. I shot mine twice with 41 mag.DRT.I have changed his mind on the 243 and he shoots Noslers Partitions now for deer and antelope. He has found they just kill better.He shot an antelope last year with that load. Longest he's ever shot about 275 or so DRT. Shoots a Ruger #1B. Little more velocity out of 26 inches

Why in Gods great name would anybody shoot an Elk with a 75gr Varmint bullet! Unless your a good enough shot to put one threw the brain . That's why animals get wounded and die a slow death while coyotes eat them. Grew up in the mountains. Dispatched many wounded critters that someone wounded and was suffering from gain green. That's some serious bad hunting. Disappointing post there guy!

 

[Luke Duke]

Like pistol cartridges, I think the advancements in bullet technology has made cartridges that one may not have thought would be good for bigger animals possible now. Will a 22 or even a 223/556 ever be good for big game animals, probably not. Would I be overly concerned about using a 6mm/.243 for big and bigger game, I am starting to think not. If you reload, I would definitely look at what Lehigh has to offer for hunting cartridges.

Bottom line is the same for pistols and rifles, Location, Location, Location.
Shot placement will always be king over cartridge.

Just sayin

Seriously. Marksmanship is King. My Dad only shot a .243 and never lost an animal or took more than one shot. From mice through Elk, and he killed Alot of Elk. Never used a varmint weight bullet either.

 

[Skeet 028]

Well he wasn't elk hunting. We were our on the high mountain prairie. Looking for an antelope. Not a varmint bullet. I had an elk license but not an antelope. Why I didn't have a rifle. We really didn't expect to even see an elk. I saw the elk coming. Got behind a good pile of rocks. When they came walking by he shot the cow behind the shoulder lung shots she went downtried to get back up and he shot her twice more.1st bullet went clear through. I wasn't even going to shoot one just in case his didn't go down. But one just stopped and stared at us...so I shot mine with my bear/moose load in the 41... 245 WFNGC. no the elk he shot wasn't going anywhere. I shot mine twice. If they had been a even 75 yards we would neither have shot. I shot the cow in the chest twice at under 50 ft. Both bullets exited. His 1st bullet passed through. 2nd broke a rib on the off side and the 3rd was under the hide on the off side. A couple days later we caught a nice pronghorn walking a pasture about a mile away on the same ranch at about125 Yds. No. Wouldn't go looking for an elk with a 243. I did learn a lesson though. You never know what you will have walk up on you. Hunting the same ranch up in the timber for elk I had the largest racked mule deer I have ever seen in the wild. An easy book deer. Day after the season ended. Never wanted to shoot a deer for the book. Walked by me sitting against a tree looked right at me and kept on walking.no more than 25 ft

 

[IAM Rand]

Seriously. Marksmanship is King. My Dad only shot a .243 and never lost an animal or took more than one shot. From mice through Elk, and he killed Alot of Elk. Never used a varmint weight bullet either.

Problem is, what is a varmint weight? As I started off this post, The Colorado Parks and Wildlife (formerly Division of Wildlife) has dictated that 6mm and 75 grs is the minimum for deer, pronghorn, and bear. They seem to believe that it is not just a varmint weight bullet. Why is it that only 10 grains more makes it good for elk?

I can tell you that the load I was using would have done a good job on an elk, would it be a one shot drop. No idea. The Lehigh Controlled Chaos worked better than I anticipated on the deer. You said your father used a 243 Win and took elk. What grain bullet was he using? I have seen ammo on Midway USA in 243 Win with bullets from the 50s up to 100 grains. Does 20 or 30 grains make that much of a difference?

I think this is an interesting discussion. You have seen wounded animals that you had to put down. Do you have any idea what caliber was used? When I was younger I had to use 2 rounds of 270 Win to put down a bull elk. Does that make it a bad round for elk? We found one of the bullets in the hide of the elk on the opposite side.

I think we both agree that location is key and that there is no magic bullets. Any grain bullet from any gun can be used to dispatch a varmint, that doesn't mean that a smaller caliber is only a varmint bullet. 223/556 has been used by the military since Vietnam for 2 legged varmints. Should they only use bigger rounds?

 

[Skeet 028]

As I said...I wouldn'tchoose a 243 to go hunt elk...but I know a lady that uses here Rem 760? ...But like her deer they are all under 100 yds. She lives in a perfect area. But when an opportunity comes along at the range we had to shoot...most any cal will work. Every bullet he shot would have killed the elk. I wouldn't normally shoot an elk or moose with a 41 mag except at very short range. Every head of big game I have taken with that 41 has been inside of 25 yards. And to be honest I don't consider it to be an ideal Grizzly shooter either. There are some places where if a bear came for me ...I'd want a 4 barreled 500 Nitro. Almost big enough. In real bear country I carry a Benelli M1 Super 90 with a full load of 9 slugs. The elk I took was a med large cow...and even though I am not the greatest handgun shooter I put two rounds one SA one DA within 4 inches tout de suite. I also have 3 friends that hunt elk...2 use 25-06s and the other a 257 Weatherby...which he bought from me. They all put in for elk tags and usually get one or 2 some years...tags and elk...but then I had a friend who used a 300 Rem Ultra Mag but he did live in grizzly country

 

[SMSgt]

I built an AR in 6mm Mongoose, a wildcat based on the .223 case. It's more a range toy than a hunting gun--22-inch barrel--and only required the barrel, no different mags or bolt. I'm getting =/- 2700 fps with 85-grain bullets and would certainly do a job on deer. I enjoy the "wildcat" aspect of it as forming the cases is relatively easy. Had the ARC been around at the time I built it, I may have gone with that.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I'm not nocking the 6mm round but over all my years of hunting deer,
I have only shot one deer with a little 60 grain Nosler, out of my 22-250 rifle.
It was a small 3x4 , young buck, that was jumped out of it's bed and the shot
was under 200 yards at a slow prance, after missing three neck shot, tries,
that was put into the "Boiler room".

The rest of my deer were with a 130gr bullet or larger.

I would have liked a 243 or 6mm rifle but as a young man, I had a
family to feed and bills to pay, so it did not happen.
I dreamed for years for a "Roberts" or a "Nylon" .22 space age rimfire,
but things did not work out.

PS;
I always wanted to try this one load out on a small deer but
the stars never lined up for the perfect shot, that I thought was
a sure thing, in the area of Nevada that I hunt in.
Looks like I might never know, with my luck at getting a tag, lately.

 

[Skeet 028]

I had a couple TCU Contenders. Never in anything but a contender. They shot pretty darn good. Shot one deer with the 7mm TCU IIRC. about a 100 pound doe. A bang flop. 45-50 yds sitting in a dogwood tree. .Rechambered that bbl to 7x30 Waters. Used it to shoot crop damage permit deer. did great at 100 yds or less. Still got it somewhere. I have a Win 94 Rifle here I've shot a deer or so with. a 170 gr lead bullet at about 1800 FPS. I used to use that to scare the snow geese out of my winter wheat fields. Shotgun didn't seem to bother 'em too much...rifle sound sure did though. one of the other fellows that guided with me used it to chase the snows out of our field one day. Shot twice. the 2nd shot plunked a goose in the air...at about 200 yards. It is amazing what some sub(light) calibers will do. How many 24 cal wildcats do they have based on the 223??