What is holding back the 6mm arc in a bolt gun or do we even need a 6mm arc Bolt gun? For many of us the answer for this question may boil down to another cartridge may scratch our itch better than the 6mm ARC.
For my itch to be scratched I was seeking a caliber/cartridge that was suitable for deer and Varmint hunting. I like the idea of longer barrel life. I really like the idea of burning less propellant & lower recoil.
Seems many are stuck on rifles set up with a 308 bolt face & if you can't get past that then the good news as there are many cartridges to choose from calling for that bolt face.
I wanted this cartridge for the CZ527 platform & thus 308 bolt face was the furtherest thing from my mind. Was very sorry to see CZ opted to drop the mini Mauser action this year & thus a great platform for the 6mm ARC. Looking like Howa may be the primary kid on the block going forward in my view for a mini action made for the 6mm ARC. Correct me if you see this differently.
Fortunately for me I had a few CZ 527's purchased already with a barrel switch in mind. What can I say other than I tried it & like it. So far she has been loaded with a range of bullets from 80 GMX to 108 GR Elite hunters. my experience has been favorable with everything I have tried thus far.
More folks than myself have had favorable results on deer with the 6mm ARC. In my case there has only been one deer hunting opportunity made available since putting this rifle together. More about the rifle, a CZ 527 barreled with a 22" SS light contour 5 groove 7.5 twist barrel. Hunting load settled on was a 108 GR Elite Hunter that produced 2780 FPS at the muzzle & 3/4 MOA accuracy at 100 yards. Shot opportunity came for the nicest deer I have ever had the opportunity to hunt.
With that 108 gr Elite hunter at 250 yards I did not feel under gunned. So yes shot opportunity presented worked out to be at 254 yards. High shoulder shot placement was selected As it worked out I found a very solid rest or I would have passed on this shot opportunity.
Anyone familiar with the CZ 527 would be Familiar or at least aware of the set trigger option. I most frequently use the set trigger option. So as the crosshairs were settled high on the shoulder of the buck, the set trigger was set. When the trigger was touched their was an audible click though she did not fire. Sorry to say this is not uncommon for my experiences with this rifle. No problem just re-set the trigger & try again.
So the trigger was re-set & cross hairs re-settled. This time their was a mild crack and a thwap/crack to be heard. The scope did jump a bit. Though was quickly resettled & a bit of shock & awe was experienced to witness that the buck was down & out right there.
So based on this sample of one Id dare say the 6mm ARC is very capable of taking a whitetail deer. I have taken deer with Archery Equipment, 6.5 Grendel, 6mm Rem, & 270 Winchester & generally see a quick kill. Never have I seen a deer expire any quicker than this deer had with the 6mm ARC. This is more a testimony of shot placement than caliber choice.
First time I opted for a high shoulder shot & will likely employ this again.
For my itch to be scratched I was seeking a caliber/cartridge that was suitable for deer and Varmint hunting. I like the idea of longer barrel life. I really like the idea of burning less propellant & lower recoil.
Seems many are stuck on rifles set up with a 308 bolt face & if you can't get past that then the good news as there are many cartridges to choose from calling for that bolt face.
I wanted this cartridge for the CZ527 platform & thus 308 bolt face was the furtherest thing from my mind. Was very sorry to see CZ opted to drop the mini Mauser action this year & thus a great platform for the 6mm ARC. Looking like Howa may be the primary kid on the block going forward in my view for a mini action made for the 6mm ARC. Correct me if you see this differently.
Fortunately for me I had a few CZ 527's purchased already with a barrel switch in mind. What can I say other than I tried it & like it. So far she has been loaded with a range of bullets from 80 GMX to 108 GR Elite hunters. my experience has been favorable with everything I have tried thus far.
More folks than myself have had favorable results on deer with the 6mm ARC. In my case there has only been one deer hunting opportunity made available since putting this rifle together. More about the rifle, a CZ 527 barreled with a 22" SS light contour 5 groove 7.5 twist barrel. Hunting load settled on was a 108 GR Elite Hunter that produced 2780 FPS at the muzzle & 3/4 MOA accuracy at 100 yards. Shot opportunity came for the nicest deer I have ever had the opportunity to hunt.
With that 108 gr Elite hunter at 250 yards I did not feel under gunned. So yes shot opportunity presented worked out to be at 254 yards. High shoulder shot placement was selected As it worked out I found a very solid rest or I would have passed on this shot opportunity.
Anyone familiar with the CZ 527 would be Familiar or at least aware of the set trigger option. I most frequently use the set trigger option. So as the crosshairs were settled high on the shoulder of the buck, the set trigger was set. When the trigger was touched their was an audible click though she did not fire. Sorry to say this is not uncommon for my experiences with this rifle. No problem just re-set the trigger & try again.
So the trigger was re-set & cross hairs re-settled. This time their was a mild crack and a thwap/crack to be heard. The scope did jump a bit. Though was quickly resettled & a bit of shock & awe was experienced to witness that the buck was down & out right there.
So based on this sample of one Id dare say the 6mm ARC is very capable of taking a whitetail deer. I have taken deer with Archery Equipment, 6.5 Grendel, 6mm Rem, & 270 Winchester & generally see a quick kill. Never have I seen a deer expire any quicker than this deer had with the 6mm ARC. This is more a testimony of shot placement than caliber choice.
First time I opted for a high shoulder shot & will likely employ this again.