6mm Remington.. Varmint or Deer?

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

I aquired this rifle in a trade and I am looking for information and experiences about the 6mm Remington cartridge which it's chambered for. The rifle has a heavy 4 1/2lbs barrel so it's a might bit heavy for stalking although not impossible, make a great High seat rifle I suppose.

Well here it is:-


It's a Parker-Hale 1200V which of course is a M98 action.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v166/Brithunter/P-H1200VLHS.jpg

Due to ammunition unavailablity locally I have yet to try it out, for now I have fitted Alloy P-H bases and a once piece alloy P-H mount holding a 6x42 scope. Hope to pick up some ammo on Friday.:)

[Classicvette63]

Brit, To answer your question, both. Bullets can be had from 55 to 105 grs. For deer stick with a brand name like Rem Core-Lokt or Nosler Partition around 100grs. The margin of error on deer is not as big as with a larger caliber like a .270 or .30-06. But if you do your part and take a good shot, the 6mm will do it's part.

[Catfish]

Nice looking rifle. As for what it should be used for depends up on the twist rate of the barrel. A twist rate of 1 in 9 would handle the heaver bullets better and make a dandy deer gun. A 1 in 14 twist would handle the lite wieght bullets better and make a real nice varmint gun. Twist rates in between could go both ways. I would recomand get a verity of ammo and see what it like and use it accordingly. ;)

[Gil Martin]

I have a Ruger 77 in 6mm Remington and have used it for groundhogs. With the heavier bullets, I would use it for deer and carefully pick my shots. All the best...
Gil

[toxic111]

I have been using my 6mm REM for about 4 seasons now (could be more) and it has taken, 4 whitetails, 2 mulie, one antelope, and numerouse coyotes.

Loaded with the right bullets (and as long as the twist is right) it can take deer cleanly. All of my deer were taken with 95g Partitions, the antelope with 90g Ballistic Tips, and the coyotes with various loads.

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

Hmmm I just tried a tight fitting patch on the jag and marking the cleaning rod got a measurement of just over 10" between the marks to the twist is around 1 in 10" which means it should handle the heavier bullets better. On Friday I am going to buy some Winchester 100 Grn SP ammunition and perhaps when I can get chance see just how it performs. Trouble i that I am in the middle of packing fro a move to god only knows when I will get chance to get out onto the range next:rolleyes:

Gettign a variety of ammo is next to impossible, finding ANY ammo in 6mm Remington is hard enough let alone a selection. So far I have found two Gunshops with soem in stock both are a minimum of 1 1/2 hours drive away. The Importes of Remington ammo have some in stock but their prices are reaaly stupid like how about $219:60 for 100 rds of Rem Core Lockt.

Another thing to remember here is most of our Deer species are smaller like Roe and Muntjac which weigh a maximum of 60 lbs, it's not until you start shooting large Fallow do you get over 100 lbs in weight. The .243 Win is used a lot for Deer Stalking here in the UK. I have never been fond of the .243 and I am hoping that the 6mm Rem will be a beter performer. If it's not well I have a rifle for the collection which will be used on paper then instead. However if it performs well on Game so much the better, once settled and an income coming in I will see about some dies and brass for hand loading.

Anyway thank you for you replies and I will let you know how it performs on paper at least as soon as I have tried it out.:p

[toxic111]

Heck, even if the fallow deer are just over 100lbs, the 6mm will be fine... The avearage weight of any of the deer taken with mine is around 170+lbs.

Even in my area finding factory ammo for the 6mm is hard to do, only one place carries it locally, and it is $$, the next closest is about 2.5hrs away! That was the reasons I started loading it!

Try it out and let us know how it performs!

[L. Cooper]

"The .243 Win is used a lot for Deer Stalking here in the UK. I have never been fond of the .243 and I am hoping that the 6mm Rem will be a beter performer."

Brithunter, if that is the way you feel, you will neve be fond of the 6mm. I don't believe anlyone would ever be able to tell the difference between the two rounds in the field. There is no practical difference between them.

That said, I have been present when at least 20 white tail and mule deer were shot with either a .243 or a 6mm. These are all Saskatchewan deer weighing as much as 250-300 lbs. with an average of likely just under 200.

To say they require proper bullet placement is to state the obvious, but I would not hesitate to use either round on deer half that size. Stick with a good heavy for caliber bullet.

[TreeDoc]

I bought a Rem 700 Custom rifle chambered in 6mm a couple years ago. It has a Douglas Precision heavy contoured barrel on it which has the 1:10 twist. Because of the configuration of the barrel, I really considered this gun to be more of a Varmint killer than anything. It's a pretty heavy gun to heft into the steep terrain in my part of the world. The gun will not shoot a light bullet for beans. After playing with my "Load from a disk" ballistic software, the choice bullet will be the 87 grain Hornady V Max or the 85 grain Sierra Varminter. I just last night loaded up a bunch of test rounds with a couple different powder combinations and hope to run them through the Chrony this Saturday. It's been a long time coming to get this thing to shoot right, I hope the software is as good on this load as it has been on all my others.

If it works than I'll have a sweet, wind shuckin' Varmint Rifle! ;)

[Ridge Runner]

max charge of IMR 4831 behind a hornady 87 gr hp, works well for long range varmints or our smallish whitetails.
RR

[Brithunter]

Hi L. Cooper,

The main reason I am not fond of the .243 Win is it's perchant for one rifle will shoot the 100 grn bullets realy well whilst another of the same make model will not shoot them worth anything at all. I am hoping that the 6mm remington wiht it's 1 in 10" twist will shoot them well.

Also the Police like to try to force you to have the minimum calibre for Deer stalking which is commonly the .243" as the law says minimum of 6mm. I doubt many police officers have seen or even heard of the 6mm Remington :rolleyes: Now I brought the rifle as I wanted an example of the P-H varmint rifle, however I do like to shoot my rifles when I get the chance and hunting is as a good a use as any other I can think of so .............. One day I may get a version of BSA's heavy barreled model as well.

[Cal Sibley]

I have a .243Win. and a 6mm Rem. There's not a great deal of difference between them. The 6mm Rem. has a larger case, holds more powder and thus is a bit more powerful, but not so much that a hit deer would notice. My .243Win. usually gets the nod of choice because it is 3lbs. lighter, and more pleasant to carry. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

Well thanks to the relocation as of yet I have not been able to even get the amo for this rifle so it's still sitting in the cupboard untried by me :rolleyes: The move has sucked up any money I had so go only knows when I will be able to get down to collect that ammo now and on top of that I have nowhere to set up my reloading gear so even if I managed to get dies/cases for the 6mm I am stuck for the foreseeable future. Oh well we can't have everything I suppose.

Thank you all for you help and suggestions, once I finally get this beast out on the range I will let you know just how it performs. Meanwhile I ahve to find some work and some placces to shoot and hunt over nearer to where I now live. Although I can still go down to my little spot where I shot the Deer this year, it's now a 4 hour drive so it's not really practical, need to find somewhere nearer, much nearer to home ;)

[gumpokc]

Hey Brit,

as the others mentioned there is really no noticable difference in the .243 and the 6mm remington. On paper there is, but in the field you can't tell the difference.

I've been told, that "in general" the .243 handles the lighter bullets better and the 6mm handles the heavier bullets better, but i'd take that with a grain of salt, since my .243 seems to handle both quite well, it can shoot better than i can with either.

[rem 700]

Well, I'd use it for both varmint and deer... It's adequate for deer, and I personally wouldn't care if it blew prairie dogs to little pieces with some light bst's

[rainydays]

6MM Remington, a great all round varmint and deer size caliber. I've enyoyed Rugers in 6mm for last 30 yrs. They have performed very well on whitetails, mulies, and antelope with 90 gr. speers.
It has also been very effectives on coyotes with 87 gr Hornadays.
Everyone should have at least one of them.
Best wishes--tr Happy 4th

[Cal Sibley]

Whereas I have both the .243Win. and the 6mm Rem. as well, and am very satisfied with both I'd prefer a .25-06 for larger deer.
It packs more of a wallop at all ranges. Just one mans opinion. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[Cal Sibley]

I have both of these calibers and like them both. One problem common to both is if you're hunting woodchuck in an area that has livestock. They are both quite loud and probably will not endear you to friend farmer. Something smaller and not quite so loud would probably be a better choice for smaller game. Just one mans opinion. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[Brithunter]

Hi Cal,

Cheers but we have no Woodchucks so that's not a problem. Also should I wish to quieten it down here in the UK one can always get permission for a Sound moderator ( silencer) which eliminates the muzzle blast although you will still have the supersonic crack from the bullet unless you drop the velocity down to under 1100fps;) Have been considering getting a moderator but just yet I am unable to decide which rifle to screw cut to fit one.