Preferred bullet when reloading 6mm ARC & Why

[BehindEnemyLines]

I have a few reloads started with down-sized but not fire-formed Grendel brass. I'm using AA2520, Lever, CFE223 & SW Match powders & mostly Hornady 103gr ELD-X bullets but also have some with Nosler 100gr Partitions. I have AR-COMP & Win 748 I wanna try as well. Other bullets I've acquired are Berger 108gr Elite Hunter & 88gr varmint & Sierra 80gr varminters.

I've got over 200 rounds of resized brass I'm gonna fire-form before reloading for accuracy/velocity. Some of that brass is Lapua & AA Grendel brass, some are Remington brand 7.62x39 with small primer pockets & some are up-sized Lapua 220 Russian. I guess I'm gonna have to divide them up for shooting in my AR & bolt gun. I don't now how much difference there might be in the two rifle's chambers if any. I'll measure fired brass & figure it out. I've no doubt what works best in one rifle might not be as good in the other. I'll figure that out too...

But... due to unforeseen problems, I don't know when I'll be able to do any shooting at all. My brother had an accident on his bicycle last Sunday & will be laid up for quite awhile. He & I were taking turns caring for our 97 year old mom. Now, I'm having to take care of both of them. I don't know when I'll have any free time. I wanted to do some gold prospecting as well. Had to cancel that outing... Oh well, family comes first.

OB, What data are you using to start with SW Match Rifle powder?  One of the powders I actually have available.

My prayers go out to you and your family.  You appear to have your priorities in proper order.

[CZ527 Guy]

I have a few reloads started with down-sized but not fire-formed Grendel brass. I'm using AA2520, Lever, CFE223 & SW Match powders & mostly Hornady 103gr ELD-X bullets but also have some with Nosler 100gr Partitions. I have AR-COMP & Win 748 I wanna try as well. Other bullets I've acquired are Berger 108gr Elite Hunter & 88gr varmint & Sierra 80gr varminters.

I've got over 200 rounds of resized brass I'm gonna fire-form before reloading for accuracy/velocity. Some of that brass is Lapua & AA Grendel brass, some are Remington brand 7.62x39 with small primer pockets & some are up-sized Lapua 220 Russian. I guess I'm gonna have to divide them up for shooting in my AR & bolt gun. I don't now how much difference there might be in the two rifle's chambers if any. I'll measure fired brass & figure it out. I've no doubt what works best in one rifle might not be as good in the other. I'll figure that out too...

But... due to unforeseen problems, I don't know when I'll be able to do any shooting at all. My brother had an accident on his bicycle last Sunday & will be laid up for quite awhile. He & I were taking turns caring for our 97 year old mom. Now, I'm having to take care of both of them. I don't know when I'll have any free time. I wanted to do some gold prospecting as well. Had to cancel that outing... Oh well, family comes first.

OB, What data are you using to start with SW Match Rifle powder?  One of the powders I actually have available.

My prayers go out to you and your family.  You appear to have your priorities in proper order.

+1 on priority's in the right place!

[CZ527 Guy]

25.5gr. of CFE223 and the OAL was 2.240.

I only shot the last three sets in the kit, the first two are to be used if you have a barrel that is in bad condition in conjunction with the last 3 sets.

I put over a  100 rounds down it yesterday and I have next to no copper building in the barrel, it is nice and smooth all the way from the throat to the muzzle. The other bullets were loaded with Lever. I was hitting 600 yard steel with 100 gr. SPBT Speer pulled bullets I got from American Reloading.

I got around to sorting through the 500 plus 100 gr. SPBT Speer pulled bullets         While HBN coating these bullets. Id say roughly 40% of these pulled bullets were not fit for much more than fire forming projectiles. The poor form of the lead tip accounted for the greatest portion of the flaws. 
I have been waiting on shipping dies from PV until bullets showed up. must say I am starting to get a bit impatient waiting on the bullets to be fulfilled to ship the dies. Need to make some calls this coming week to explore my options for the back ordered items.

[Old Bob]

I have a few reloads started with down-sized but not fire-formed Grendel brass. I'm using AA2520, Lever, CFE223 & SW Match powders & mostly Hornady 103gr ELD-X bullets but also have some with Nosler 100gr Partitions. I have AR-COMP & Win 748 I wanna try as well. Other bullets I've acquired are Berger 108gr Elite Hunter & 88gr varmint & Sierra 80gr varminters.

I've got over 200 rounds of resized brass I'm gonna fire-form before reloading for accuracy/velocity. Some of that brass is Lapua & AA Grendel brass, some are Remington brand 7.62x39 with small primer pockets & some are up-sized Lapua 220 Russian. I guess I'm gonna have to divide them up for shooting in my AR & bolt gun. I don't now how much difference there might be in the two rifle's chambers if any. I'll measure fired brass & figure it out. I've no doubt what works best in one rifle might not be as good in the other. I'll figure that out too...

But... due to unforeseen problems, I don't know when I'll be able to do any shooting at all. My brother had an accident on his bicycle last Sunday & will be laid up for quite awhile. He & I were taking turns caring for our 97 year old mom. Now, I'm having to take care of both of them. I don't know when I'll have any free time. I wanted to do some gold prospecting as well. Had to cancel that outing... Oh well, family comes first.

OB, What data are you using to start with SW Match Rifle powder?  One of the powders I actually have available.

My prayers go out to you and your family.  You appear to have your priorities in proper order.

BEL...

In the Shooters World manual the closest they have to 6mm ARC is 6mm Norma BR. The Match powder starting load they have is 25gr for all bullet weights. That case's volume is approximately 11% larger than the 6mm ARC case so to be sure I didn't load too hot I reduced the manual's load by 10%. So, with 103gr ELD-Xs, I started my load development at 22.5grs of SW Match & then increased my ladder by half grain increments to 23 & 23.5grs. If I don't have any pressure signs at 23.5, I'll load another ladder starting at 24grs. I might restrict this particular load to my bolt gun to start with. If all looks good, I might shoot some in my AR too.

Thanks for the prayers... much appreciated!

[StoneHendge]

Shooters World Match is allegedly the "old" AA 2520. The new and old 2520 are allegedly similar but not the same. Use your GoogleFu and you'll lots of discussions about it. Anyone who goes through that excercise would likely use Hornady's 6arc load data for 2520 as a reference point.

[Old Bob]

Shooters World Match is allegedly the "old" AA 2520. The new and old 2520 are allegedly similar but not the same. Use your GoogleFu and you'll lots of discussions about it. Anyone who goes through that excercise would likely use Hornady's 6arc load data for 2520 as a reference point.

Thanks for the info StoneHendge. Looks like I could have used more SW Match in my ARC starting loads.

[BehindEnemyLines]

Appreciate the insight OB and SH.

[BehindEnemyLines]

Has anyone tried the discontinued 90 gr FMJBT from Sierra?

https://www.sierrabullets.com/product/6m...-gr-fmjbt/

The 85 gr HP for Grendel seemed to be a big hit on the Grendel65 forum.

Just wondering if these could be used at minimum to get some fire formed brass and some shots down the pipe.

[grayfox]

I got a bunch but haven't tried them yet. I figured same thing, good for trigger time and who knows? maybe a bit more.

[BehindEnemyLines]

Thanks GF. I'll go grab a couple hundred to get started.

[StoneHendge]

BEL, I got a box of the Sierra 90s primarily to try in my 6x45. I was underwhelmed with them there but think it was more due to fast powders being published for the caliber and not being appropriate for a 90. I ended up using most of them for fireforming ARC brass where they worked great.

[CZ527 Guy]

BEL, I got a box of the Sierra 90s primarily to try in my 6x45. I was underwhelmed with them there but think it was more due to fast powders being published for the caliber and not being appropriate for a 90. I ended up using most of them for fireforming ARC brass where they worked great.

Do I gather correctly, that they fed alright from the mag, perhaps accuracy left a bit to be desired with load or loads you had put together?

[BehindEnemyLines]

BEL, I got a box of the Sierra 90s primarily to try in my 6x45. I was underwhelmed with them there but think it was more due to fast powders being published for the caliber and not being appropriate for a 90. I ended up using most of them for fireforming ARC brass where they worked great.

Thanks for the heads up SH.  I'll use 'em to get some ARC brass fire formed and get some wear on the new barrel and not get too caught up that I don't get .25" groups with 'em.

[StoneHendge]

CZ, they fed fine for me. It's not a bullet I would plan on using in my ARC, so when they didn't work in 6x45, I just loaded them up with a random lght load of CFE 223 I'm looking to burn up for fireforming. It actually did quite well on an 8" spinner at 300 yards once I figured out the dope - it was my first session with Rubin and it definitely put a big smile on my face.

I had bought a box locally to see if it could be a high volume practice bullet in 6x45 given the price. I used Benchmark but my guess is it's simply too fast of a powder for a 90 in a necked out .223 case. They probably would work with a slower powder I don't have since I'm well stocked with the powders I use and don't want to add another to the list. Sierra had data for AA 2495 for them and I was tempted since I have a partial pound, but what I have is dedicated to my stash of 75 gr Gold Dots I load for my 5.56 pin and weld (and keep in a very handy location).

[SvenGar58]

25.5gr. of CFE223 and the OAL was 2.240.

I only shot the last three sets in the kit, the first two are to be used if you have a barrel that is in bad condition in conjunction with the last 3 sets.

I put over a  100 rounds down it yesterday and I have next to no copper building in the barrel, it is nice and smooth all the way from the throat to the muzzle. The other bullets were loaded with Lever. I was hitting 600 yard steel with 100 gr. SPBT Speer pulled bullets I got from American Reloading.

I got around to sorting through the 500 plus 100 gr. SPBT Speer pulled bullets         While HBN coating these bullets. Id say roughly 40% of these pulled bullets were not fit for much more than fire forming projectiles. The poor form of the lead tip accounted for the greatest portion of the flaws. 
I have been waiting on shipping dies from PV until bullets showed up. must say I am starting to get a bit impatient waiting on the bullets to be fulfilled to ship the dies. Need to make some calls this coming week to explore my options for the back ordered items.

CZ, I saw in an earlier post that you had some HDY 100 gr BTSPs in your supply, but haven’t seen that you’ve posted any results with those. I happened across a box of those at my local SW today.  Would be happy to hear about your experience with them if you get there before I do.

[CZ527 Guy]

25.5gr. of CFE223 and the OAL was 2.240.

I only shot the last three sets in the kit, the first two are to be used if you have a barrel that is in bad condition in conjunction with the last 3 sets.

I put over a  100 rounds down it yesterday and I have next to no copper building in the barrel, it is nice and smooth all the way from the throat to the muzzle. The other bullets were loaded with Lever. I was hitting 600 yard steel with 100 gr. SPBT Speer pulled bullets I got from American Reloading.

I got around to sorting through the 500 plus 100 gr. SPBT Speer pulled bullets         While HBN coating these bullets. Id say

roughly 40% of these pulled bullets were not fit for much more than fire forming projectiles. The poor form of the lead tip accounted for the greatest portion of the flaws. 
I have been waiting on shipping dies from PV until bullets showed up. must say I am starting to get a bit impatient waiting on the bullets to be fulfilled to ship the dies. Need to make some calls this coming week to explore my options for the back ordered items.

CZ, I saw in an earlier post that you had some HDY 100 gr BTSPs in your supply, but haven’t seen that you’ve posted any results with those. I happened across a box of those at my local SW today.  Would be happy to hear about your experience with them if you get there before I do.

Hope you are able to get out before myself as Ill be waiting on my barrel for roughly 7 weeks yet. give or take a couple weeks. Then I don't have any factory arc brass, so ill be using those pulled 100 gr speers primarily as fire forming projectiles initially. Roughly 300 of the 500 I have are fairly good where I may have a chance of MOA out of them.

My expectations are currently fire forming projectiles w the some of the worst of the pulled bullets & if I hold 2 MOA with that stuff ill be surprised. Should make for some inexpensive plinking ammo for my 11 year old son while working on trigger time. If he does not care for the trigger time than I guess Ill do the same.

[SvenGar58]

25.5gr. of CFE223 and the OAL was 2.240.

I only shot the last three sets in the kit, the first two are to be used if you have a barrel that is in bad condition in conjunction with the last 3 sets.

I put over a  100 rounds down it yesterday and I have next to no copper building in the barrel, it is nice and smooth all the way from the throat to the muzzle. The other bullets were loaded with Lever. I was hitting 600 yard steel with 100 gr. SPBT Speer pulled bullets I got from American Reloading.

I got around to sorting through the 500 plus 100 gr. SPBT Speer pulled bullets         While HBN coating these bullets. Id say

roughly 40% of these pulled bullets were not fit for much more than fire forming projectiles. The poor form of the lead tip accounted for the greatest portion of the flaws. 
I have been waiting on shipping dies from PV until bullets showed up. must say I am starting to get a bit impatient waiting on the bullets to be fulfilled to ship the dies. Need to make some calls this coming week to explore my options for the back ordered items.

CZ, I saw in an earlier post that you had some HDY 100 gr BTSPs in your supply, but haven’t seen that you’ve posted any results with those. I happened across a box of those at my local SW today.  Would be happy to hear about your experience with them if you get there before I do.

Hope you are able to get out before myself as Ill be waiting on my barrel for roughly 7 weeks yet. give or take a couple weeks. Then I don't have any factory arc brass, so ill be using those pulled 100 gr speers primarily as fire forming projectiles initially. Roughly 300 of the 500 I have are fairly good where I may have a chance of MOA out of them.

My expectations are currently fire forming projectiles w the some of the worst of the pulled bullets & if I hold 2 MOA with that stuff ill be surprised. Should make for some inexpensive plinking ammo for my 11 year old son while working on trigger time. If he does not care for the trigger time than I guess Ill do the same.

I'm still working through the 200 rds of 108 gr ELD Match ammo I managed to acquire, so I'll have enough brass for load development when I get started.  Just checked the last item off my supplies list this morning when I was able to get a lb of CFE223 at the local SW!  First rifle powder I've been able to buy in at least three months.  Now it's off to the races, but upcoming travel will slow me down a bit.

[StoneHendge]

CZ, shoot the marred tipped bullets at small targets at 50 yards and try to make a ragged hole. I've found the worst of mine do much better at a closer distance. I think they wobble and get thrown farther off course the farther out I go.