6x45... whats the deal?

DeauxJoe

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Sep 15, 2011
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Did some quick Google-fu on 6x45 and all the information on it out there seems to be from years ago then it dies off. Can anyone give me the pros/cons of it? I have an extra .384 bolt face action and trying to figure out what to do with it lol.
 
Just a “tweener” wildcat cartridge. For the people who have it, they seem to like it. Efficient, east to make, feeds and functions like the parent cartridge, and barrel life that's measured in generations. With the 6 ARC today, the 6x45 will just hang on by a thread I think. A friend of mine swears by it for use on coyotes over the 223.
 
I have one and it's a decent caliber. Push 223 brass in a 6x45 die and you're done.
GR for gr, it'll shoot faster than 223. Bc for bc, it'll shoot slower. So there's trade offs.

There's also 20 practical if you wanna go smaller.
Or 25-45 if you wanna go larger.
 
I enjoy 6x45. Have a few carry handle ARs in it and a old Steyr scout for when I’m predator hunting in the PNW. Not the greatest caliber but its fun enough to try out. Shoots far faster than normal .223, but the option to have heavier slugs drew me to it.
Practical sense tho, 6ARC
Reloader sense, 6x45 or 25x45
 
Never had one and not likely to, but, I always like the concept.

It always seemed like it was made for a light 16-18” barrel and 87 V-Maxes, suppressed. Dunno why, just always struck me that way….
 
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I built a bolt gun in 6x45, I did it to use up my odd lots of 6mm bullets and 223 brass . It has turned out to be a great coyote rig and I have taken deer up to 220 pounds so far . I like bullets in the 85 grain range but have taken deer with 100 grain bullets that performed like they were supposed to .
 
Down time. I hear you.

We got the range open on Wednesday.
If it hadn't been for @Schütze , I still wouldn't have even shot yet.
He showed up, so I had to. I shot a mag full of his 6-BR , handed my new 18x Mavens to him and headed home.

Been busy getting the gate opener installed. 4 things left:
Install the free exit system. (Waiting on the trencher)
Hook up the solar to the batteries. (30 minutes or less) (Sunday project since I'll already be out there)
Weld the arms. (Need a welding shop, or need to buy a small welder)
Set the limits and force. (To be done last)

It got hot and was spitting rain, so we called it a day.

Want to try and have it completed before Wed of next week, so I can start going shooting again.
 
The 6x45 and its cousins the TCU series, 6, 6.5 and 7, are all really good rounds. Exceptionally easy to make (though through the years, I seen multiple people do their very best to make it difficult). Back in those years, we didn’t even use expensive brass. Winchester brass lasted as long and shot as good as Lapua. Load the rounds on a progressive press on Saturday, shoot a 40x40 on Sunday

One pass though the resizing die, fireform using match capable loads, and never have any issues. Brass lasts forever, Barrel life, for these rounds, barrel life is not defined in Websters.

I’ve owned a 7TCU for decades. Purchased it from a friend. I can’t imagine how many rounds have been though that barrel. Obviously thousands, with the number on the far left being at least 5 or larger. Shoot’s shockingly good groups, like something around an inch at 200 meters. (Still).

Almost want to make a Precision Rifle in 7TCU, add roughly 300-400 FPS with a 26 inch barrel over the 15 inch barrel, which still gives a rainbow trajectory, but heck, that’s what they put those dials on the top of scopes for. (And bases/rings that are 20MOA and greater).

IMG_3324.jpeg
 
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Can you get a long bullet in your mag and seated out far enough to give decent powder space? I am all for anything that can be made with 223 brass. That stuff is practically free. 🤣
All of ours were single shot, however, several years ago Reloader magazine published an article on the 7TCU in a bolt action rifle.
 
I have reamers for it and I had one many years ago. It was fun enough but largely a novelty at the time. It would be an acceptable short range deer round, especially for a kid that's recoil sensitive. I shot 75vmax an 87 vmax from it mostly but I did make some ammo up at one point using 95 match kings and 105 Hornady Amax. The Amax was too heavy for it IMO, not enough speed for the BC to be useful and the long bearing surface meant that getting more speed was difficult.

In a shorter barreled gun or a pistol like pictured above I think it would do fine for predators inside 300-400yd and whitetails to 250-300 or so. It's like shooting "Youth Loads" in a 243 from the 1980s. Lots of deer were killed by those guns.

Any more I am short on time and long on projects and things to do so I've been migrating towards factory ammo options (the 25 year old me from this forum in 2009 would kick me for saying such a thing!!)

I still have lots of wildcats and other odds and ends but most of what I shoot with my boys these days are the 3 major creedmoors and 223.
 
Like the 20 Practical, a big advantage is you can take advantage of surplus 223 brass. The 6x45 does blow up prairie dogs with more authority than a 223. I built one in a bolt gun and I like it, it's an internal mag hunting build because it was initially intended as an gateway youth gun for my kids to do close range deer given 6mm minimum bullet diameter regulations.

Now a number of years on, I've also built a 6mmARC bolt gun. It's simply better at everything. So 6x45 isn't bad, it has the brass thing going on, but the ARC kind of overshines it.