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Old May 13, 2012, 02:24 PM   #1
coldpaddler
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6mm Rem Accuracy

My favorite deer rifle of all time is my trusty Rem 700 in 6mm Rem. It's my favorite mainly for sentimental reasons. It was my first rife and I paid for it myself at the age 12 by saving paper route money. (first job/first major purchase). My son has worked hard to earn the rifle, and it's now passing on to another generation.

Anyway, the rife has never been a real tack driver. I can get is 2-3 inch groups with factory rounds. More that good enough for the MANY deer it has taken over the years.

I am looking for suggestions on what to do to improve accuracy. I have not done much for working up loads. The best I have found is 42gr 4350 w/ 100gr Nozer Partitions, Federal primers - with 4 shot groups approximately 2 inches from the bench. I played around with H380 powder, and groups got even larger.

I am going to start looking into bullet seating depth, and install an after market trigger.

I would really appreciate any advise you guys have on different loads to try, or any other tips you many have.

THANKS

-Dan
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Old May 13, 2012, 03:17 PM   #2
AllenJ
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Dan, do you know what twist rate your barrel is? When Remington switch the name from 244 to 6mm they were supposed to have also changed to 1:9 twist rate instead of the 1:12 as it would not stablize heavier bullets as well. You could also try a lighter bullet like the Barnes 80 grn TTSX and see if that helps.
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Old May 13, 2012, 04:35 PM   #3
PA-Joe
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4350 may be too slow. 4064 may work better.
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Old May 13, 2012, 04:48 PM   #4
jepp2
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Some information that would help in providing guidance:

- what power scope are you using and the cross hairs?
- are you diligent at cleaning all the copper and fouling out of your bore?
- have you checked your bedding to make sure your screws are tight?
- is the barrel free floated or dies it have the contact point at the tip of the forearm?
- what mounts do you use and have you checked the screws to make sure they are tight?

I'm a big Remington 700 fan and the trigger is easily adjusted. I normally set mine at 3 pounds, so you might make a trigger replacement lower on your list of expenditures.

I agree IMR 4350 seems it might a bit slow for your load. I normally try and select a powder that gives a fill of at least 85%. The Dan Newberry OCW system for tuning your load to your rifle.

Nothing personal, but do you have a baseline that defines "your" accuracy potential? What is the best groups you have shot with your best rifle? Some people are the limitation, not the rifle.
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Old May 13, 2012, 06:03 PM   #5
coldpaddler
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Thanks for the feedback.

To answer some of your questions:

My accuracy potential / best groups. My Rem 700 in 340 Wetherby with a 225 grain bullet shoots consistently under 1 inch groups at 100 yrds. Last moose taken at about 350 yards and I put it in the boiler room.

Barrel: I don't know what the barrel twist ratio is. I will contact Rem to find out. I assume they can tell me based on the Ser #.
The barrel mount screw is tight.
The barrel is not fully free floated. It makes a bit of contact at the base of the barrel, but no heavy contact points. I will consider glass bedding.

Cleaning: Clean the gun religiously after each use. No issue there.

Scope: Have used 2 different scopes. Bushnell 4x and a Redfield 3X9. Both have Duplex cross hairs. Scope mounts are Weaver. All fittings are tight. Same results for both scopes.

I'll try some lighter bullets to see how that works. I have not used a bullet lighter that 100gr on deer, so I am a bit reluctant to go lighter. Then again, bullet design has come along way and maybe my concerns are not warranted.

Next I'll try switching to 4064 powders.
I don't want to mess with too many variables once.

Any other suggestions??

-Dan
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Old May 13, 2012, 06:17 PM   #6
1warewolfhntr
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ive used this load for about 20 yrs and works for me shooting out of rem model 7 (1-9 twist).it comes from speer manual #10 using 4064 36 grs. speer 105 spitzer and rem 9.5 primer about 2800fps. shoots 1 in. 100 yrd 5 shots.the base starts at33gr and goes to 37grains but use at your on risk this is an older load
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Old May 13, 2012, 06:25 PM   #7
Ozzieman
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I have a Ruger 77 in 6mm Rem and it likes 70 GR bullets the best. The best bullet I have used is the Sierra 70 GR Blitzking.
I don’t punch paper that much with it, it’s mostly for ground hogs. I won’t get into charge or powders since it would be meaningless for your gun, but for my Ruger it likes them hot, but safe loads. 4895 works well.
Back in the 80’s when I purchased the gun I had the same problem, I just couldn’t get groups with it.
A suggestion from a great gunsmith, he measured the chamber in the gun and I length trim to the exact length of the chamber and seat the bullet so it just touches the throat. This gave the gun sub 1 MOA’s at 100 yards.
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Old May 13, 2012, 07:02 PM   #8
hodaka
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You can easily measure the twist yourself with a tight patch, a cleaning rod, some tape and a ruler. Remington may be right but you can do it yourself in 10 minutes. I agree with the others, the twist rate should narrow down some bullet choices.
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Old May 13, 2012, 07:22 PM   #9
arch308
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I've got an old Rem 788 in 6mm Rem that will shoot 1" or less groups with just about any load I come up with so I know the cartridge is capable.
No brag, just fact.
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Old May 13, 2012, 07:46 PM   #10
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My 6mm Rem is my go-to 1000 yard rifle with 90gr Sierra FMJ/BT. It's been fine-tuned, and the load for that kind of shooting takes serious development. But the cartridge is superb. 100yd range means 5-shot ragged holes all day.

Barrel twist is a big factor in finding the right load combo. Then stock mounting--floated? Piller? etc... Trigger helps, but isn't your first focus. Lots of factors, many just in the load itself.
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Old May 13, 2012, 08:25 PM   #11
William T. Watts
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IMR4350 & IMR4831 produced high velocity with high loading density, these powders should give good accuracy also. If it were me I would try another 100gr bullet instead of changing powder. FWIW you didn't mention if the Federal was a standard or mag primer, 4350 and slower powders might produce better accuracy with a mag primer. William
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Old May 13, 2012, 10:31 PM   #12
jepp2
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Quote:
Any other suggestions??
From your specifics it appears your rifle is sound. And you have proven with a higher recoil rifle much better accuracy.

Other things to consider:
- variations in case weight (easy enough to weigh and sort)
- neck runout due to your sizing die
- bullet runout due to neck runout or seating die
- Some rifles are very sensitive to bullet seating depth as mentioned
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Old May 14, 2012, 07:39 AM   #13
David Bachelder
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arch308
"I've got an old Rem 788 in 6mm Rem that will shoot 1" or less groups with just about any load I come up with so I know the cartridge is capable.
No brag, just fact"

Unfair comparison. The remington 788's are known for being tack drivers. I have a Remington 788 in .243 and can shoot 3/4" groups at 100 yards most of the time. 1 1/4" on a bad day. The rifle is a real shooter.

The remington 788's are great rifles. Remington quit making them because they were out shooting the 700's (or so legend says).

"no brag just fact" You are right.
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Old May 14, 2012, 08:35 AM   #14
dahermit
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The most accurate rifle I ever had was a Browning 1895 single shot in 6MM Rem. I used IMR-4350, Federal match primer, Remington case, and 87 grain Hornady (a varmint bullet), for everything including Michigan deer. It was an honest half-inch, five shot group at 100 yards. Killed deer like being struck by lightning. Bullet would shed the jacket, core would exit out the off side.
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Old May 14, 2012, 08:26 PM   #15
oldscot3
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My old Rem 700 ADL shot 100 gr. Nosler Solid Base bullets well under an inch with good velocity. Now that those are gone I use 95 gr. Ballistic Tips and Sierra 100 gr.s with equally good results.

It wasn't always so though, it took awhile to come up with those good loads. I went through a lot of mediocre loads to find them. I nearly gave up and was about to sell the thing before discovering what it likes.
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Old May 15, 2012, 03:39 PM   #16
coldpaddler
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I contacted Remington and they confirmed the barrel is 1:9 twist. My understanding is that this should eliminate the need to drop to a lighter bullet.

First on the agenda is to glass bed the barrel and make sure it is fully free floating.

Then will work up some loads with a slightly faster burning powder.

Then experiment with bullet seating depth.

I appreciate all the feedback. If you guys think of anything else, please keep it coming.

I want to get this rifle shooting to it's best potential before I pass it on to my son. It's becoming a great Father/Son project as well as a great learning experience.

-Dan
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Old May 15, 2012, 09:10 PM   #17
oldscot3
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I just checked my targets... my best results recently, are with the 95 gr. Nosler BT and RL 22. I worked up to the max load listed in Nosler's manual and get three shot groups just over 1/2" with very good velocity.
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Old May 17, 2012, 12:16 AM   #18
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Coldpaddler, I'd recommend trying a lighter weight (shorter) bullet first. No sense in putting a lot of money into something that may or may not solve your issue. I would also manually check the twist rate of the barrel. The manufacturers have been known to be incorrect on some things. (I experienced that from 2 different companies when asking about twist rates). The Barnes 80gr TTSX is about the same length as the 100 gr partition, so would not be a good choice to see if a lighter weight bullet would group better. A 70gr or 80gr name-brand bullet would tell you all you need to know.
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