The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

FrankenMauser · September 2, 2013, 03:04 AM

My current 6mm wildcat has not seen anything lighter than 80 gr, so I'm not sure how that barrel would do with lighter bullets.

But... my previous .243 Win absolutely HATED light bullets (even with a 1:10" twist). It would print decent groups with most light bullets, but the point of impact would be dramatically different than any other bullet. And 58 gr V-Maxes... you're talking about a shotgun pattern, not a group.

So, it was eventually given a minimum bullet weight of 75 grains (Hornady HPs). They worked well, were quite accurate, and the point of impact was close enough to other loads, that the zero could remain the same (with just a bit of Kentucky windage).

Although the 75 gr HP did well in the .243, my current 6mm will probably never see a bullet outside of the 85-95 gr range, unless there's some kind of "emergency" that forces me to fire factory ammo. It saw some 80 gr bullets (Core-Lokts) during break-in, but was built to only shoot 85 gr to 95 gr bullets (Partitions, Ballistic Tips, SSTs, and Sciroccos ... maybe the 87 gr V-Max).
Sticking around 90 grains seems to be the sweet spot for .243 Winchester, and .243-based cartridges.

September 2, 2013, 03:04 AM	#7
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	My current 6mm wildcat has not seen anything lighter than 80 gr, so I'm not sure how that barrel would do with lighter bullets. But... my previous .243 Win absolutely HATED light bullets (even with a 1:10" twist). It would print decent groups with most light bullets, but the point of impact would be dramatically different than any other bullet. And 58 gr V-Maxes... you're talking about a shotgun pattern, not a group. So, it was eventually given a minimum bullet weight of 75 grains (Hornady HPs). They worked well, were quite accurate, and the point of impact was close enough to other loads, that the zero could remain the same (with just a bit of Kentucky windage). Although the 75 gr HP did well in the .243, my current 6mm will probably never see a bullet outside of the 85-95 gr range, unless there's some kind of "emergency" that forces me to fire factory ammo. It saw some 80 gr bullets (Core-Lokts) during break-in, but was built to only shoot 85 gr to 95 gr bullets (Partitions, Ballistic Tips, SSTs, and Sciroccos ... maybe the 87 gr V-Max). Sticking around 90 grains seems to be the sweet spot for .243 Winchester, and .243-based cartridges. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.