I just bought another

[taylorce1]

6mm Creedmoor rifle, a Ruger American Predator. I really like this cartridge. I'm a huge fan of the .243 diameter cartridges as I own several. No it isn't much different than the old .243, except I don't have to add a custom barrel to shoot heavy for caliber bullets.

I'll now have rifles in 18", 20" and 22" barrels. I might trim this one back to 16.5" after awhile, since I like using my suppressor on shorter barrels. It would then be kind of a faux American Scout rifle. Using high BC bullets I really dont miss the velocites a longer barrel produces.

I should have it in my mitts by the second week of March. The seller is only 3 hours away from me in Golden, but with CO new 3 day wait period it makes a FTF transaction impossible. So I opted to have it shipped to a 30 minute away LGS rather than making two trips to Golden. I'll still only have about $400 in the rifle with FFL transfer, but he was willing to sell the rifle $50 cheaper if I met him at his FFL.

I'm thinking this will be a good candidate to bounce around behind the seat of my pickup out on the grasslands.

[stagpanther]

My 6mm creed really likes hornady's 108 eldm driven by 4000 MR; but for hunting I guess you'll end up with something else.

[taylorce1]

108s would work on LR praire dogs and coyotes. I like the 95 grain Barnes LRX for deer and such, though I've yet to connect with that bullet. Probably my favorite bullet to shoot general purpose is Hornady's 105 grain BTHP, they're pretty affordable in bulk.

[USAF Ret]

Can't wait to get a report with pictures. Are you keeping the stock or upgrading? I love my Magpul on my Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor. Although a little heavy. It is a tack driver, however, I have yet to have a load average over 1" with it averaging 1/2" groups with Nosler CC over H4350.

[taylorce1]

I'll shoot it as is to start. I'm interested in a chassis that has ARCA rails to mout it to my tripod for some LR prairie dogs. Like I said I want to lighten up one rifles. My Savage I built is way too heavy to ever lighten without a new barrel, and buying this rifle was cheaper than a barrel.

That MagPul is an option, and one of the most affordable from what I'm finding.

[Tallest]

I just put a Magpul hunter on a RAP GoWild 243. The green Magpul looks sharp with the bronze cerakote. It's a little heavier than I would really like, but it's hard to argue with the ergonomics and the accuracy, especially for the price.

The weird thing is, even in the Magpul stock, the barrel sits closer to the left side of the fore end than the right. It's still free floating with plenty of margin, but I have to make a conscious effort to not let it bug me.

The more I read though, I wish I had gotten the 6mm CM. I wanted a do-all rifle for groundhogs and deer that is legal in VA (Minimum 24 cal. for deer). For me it's hard to wrap my head around using high BC bullets to blow up wood chucks, so I opted for the 243 to run 75 gr - 90 gr bullets. But I'm still young, still learning. Maybe the next one will a 6mmCM.

[taylorce1]

Originally Posted by Tallest

For me it's hard to wrap my head around using high BC bullets to blow up wood chucks, so I opted for the 243 to run 75 gr - 90 gr bullets.

I don't use a lot of high BC bullets on varmints. The majority of what I'll shoot is 55 grain SP/HP in my .223 at prairie dogs. The 6mm CM only comes into play if I want to try shots beyond 400-500 yds. When I'm shooting a colony of prairie I usually shoot more rimfire and .223 ammunition than anything else.

There is no rule against using low BC bullets in 6mm CM either.

[stagpanther]

I may be wrong--but I seem to recall the dudes that did the "unofficial" world record for accuracy in the totally isolated tunnel did it using flat-base 6mm bullets?

[taylorce1]

@stagpanther, if you're talking about "The Secrets of the Houston Warehouse" it was a 52 grain .224 bullet they shot a .025" five shot group with.

[Tallest]

Originally Posted by taylorce1

I don't use a lot of high BC bullets on varmints. The majority of what I'll shoot is 55 grain SP/HP in my .223 at prairie dogs. The 6mm CM only comes into play if I want to try shots beyond 400-500 yds. When I'm shooting a colony of prairie I usually shoot more rimfire and .223 ammunition than anything else.

There is no rule against using lowe BC bullets in 6mm CM either.

Like I said, I'm young (not even 40 yet!), so I'm still learning. I think I always thought of the Creedmoors as being made for lower velocity, high BC bullets. They have the faster twist rates and, in my limited understanding, could over-stabilize the shorty, more explosive varmint bullets. I've killed so many groundhogs with 50 or 55 grain vmax, it seems dissonant to shoot a 58 gr or 75 grain bullets out of a 1:7.7" barrel. When I would think in terms of large game hunting, the 6CM made the most sense. But on an annual basis, I may shoot 20 - 50 groundhogs, and only 2-5 deer. So for "one gun does it all," the 243 won out.

In retrospect though, I was wrong. 6mm target bullets would be just fine for groundhogs. I'll just try to use all the 243 brass I already have to comfort myself for now. Haha

[Ricklin]

Once upon a time I had my very own 100 yard tunnel range. I never fired a shot in it. My guns were several hundred miles away and I was living in my little camper.
The company I worked for rented the former Nosler bullets plant, my office had a closet with the stairs that went down to the tunnel.
No time either, between driving home on weekends and starting a new management position never got to use my very own private range. The tunnel was corrugated steel pipe about 48" diameter. I think they took the motor and stuff for changing targets when Nosler moved out.

[taylorce1]

@Tallest,

HSM loads a 70 grain varmit load, and Hornady offers a 80 and 87 grain varmint load. Years ago when Hornady offered the SX (super explosive) varmint bullets and if the RPMs got too high they would come apart in flight. I haven't seen reports of other mainstream varmint bullets doing the same thing in years.

I have a very soft spot for the .243 Win. It was my first rifle I purchased at 18 after graduation. I took my first pronghorn and mule deer with it, but I borrowed an 06 to hunt elk. I'll always own one, but the 6mm Creedmoor is just an easy button to shooting higher BC bullets.

[stagpanther]

@stagpanther, if you're talking about "The Secrets of the Houston Warehouse" it was a 52 grain .224 bullet they shot a .025" five shot group with.

Well, so much for my memory. : ) But wasn't it a flat base bullet?

[Tallest]

the 6mm Creedmoor is just an easy button to shooting higher BC bullets.

And for me, that's the draw. In Montana where my sister and brother-in-law hunt mule deer and antelope, I think the 6mmCM would be a ton of fun and just about ideal. I've never been one for 30 cals or magnums, so it'll be 6mms and 7mms for me.

[taylorce1]

@stagpanther, yes I believe it was a flat base bullet.