Okay so I'm going to build a rifle for steel and ground-hogs, if I want to keep the barrel length 18-20" which load, and/or caliber would be better? Currently leaning toward the 224V, 20" proof and 80-85gr berger loads after doing some reading.
- Thread starter RickyRodney
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Sure.
I'll always pick a 6mm
Same, i would pick the 6mm also. And midwayusa has 18” proof 6mm arc barrels in stock currently
very close here.
both get a low 0.50s G1 BC bullet going approx 2700fps (in a 20" gasser). 85/90gr for the 5.56mm and 105/108gr for the 6mm, which yield 20grs more mass for 6mm. Is 20grs of mass meaningful? Maybe, certainly depending on how far your steel is. At 500yds? No. At 1000yds. Yes. At 750yds? Not sure. Is it meaningful for the groundhog? No, not at any feasible range.
One thing I will say: 6ARC is based on the 6PPC benchrest cartridge, meaning it inherently is capable of high precision. I have enjoyed loading the cartridge over the years, finding it very easy to get precision, and this is what pushed me into the 6ARC. This has been the case for my 6ARC... nearly every load I tested was sub-MOA.
I wish the 6ARC gasser could get a 105 to 2900 with 30gr of powder, but sadly this requires a LONG barrel.
both get a low 0.50s G1 BC bullet going approx 2700fps (in a 20" gasser). 85/90gr for the 5.56mm and 105/108gr for the 6mm, which yield 20grs more mass for 6mm. Is 20grs of mass meaningful? Maybe, certainly depending on how far your steel is. At 500yds? No. At 1000yds. Yes. At 750yds? Not sure. Is it meaningful for the groundhog? No, not at any feasible range.
One thing I will say: 6ARC is based on the 6PPC benchrest cartridge, meaning it inherently is capable of high precision. I have enjoyed loading the cartridge over the years, finding it very easy to get precision, and this is what pushed me into the 6ARC. This has been the case for my 6ARC... nearly every load I tested was sub-MOA.
I wish the 6ARC gasser could get a 105 to 2900 with 30gr of powder, but sadly this requires a LONG barrel.
I run an 18" in both with identical builds. Mine run within a couple of tenths of a mil of each other until 1100 or so then it opens up to about a .5-.6 mil difference (Factory 90gr vs Factory 108s) with the 6ARC being less squirrely in the wind and still capable of spotting impacts on berms. There's definitely a difference in the energy though with the 6ARC still being at or slightly above 1k ft-lbs at 300yds--even my 12.5 6ARC is just below 1k ft-lbs at that distance (900 and some change).
Interesting, lowlight has some old posts about the 224V being a great performer, but the post didnt include any discussion on shorter-ish barrels. Sound like the 6mm ARC might be the way to go in the 18-20" range.
If I was doing this today I'd try the 6ARC, I built a .224v JP supermatch barrel upper, it's nice, it shoots okay, but nothing special even with the newer match 80.5 and 88gr ammo. We're already seeing some manufacturers (JP for one) abandoning the 224v. I just think with the info out there today if I was doing it over, I'd try out the 6ARC if for nothing else than the extra down range energy
I’m interested in this 12.5 6arc...it would be sweet to have a recce type rifle with my SBR lower. What has been your overall experience with a 12.5 6arc?
You may want to check the 80gr ELD in the Valkyrie, sure thy have a lower BC but with H4895 you can push them to 2900 out of a 20", should get 2850 out of an 18". I don't think the Bergers or the 6mms will catch up at the range you are shooting whistle pigs.
at the least Id go 6mm cm and call it a day it can do anything the other two rounds can do but better with more choices and easier to get parts , not that anything is easy to get anymore good luck with what ever you decide to get .
There's another thread that has info on this but JP and BSF have both abandoned the .224V round. I spoke with a BSF rep at length about it maybe a year or so ago. They had too many variations issues when going past a certain bullet weight. I think it was beyond the 75/77 gr stuff. So far as I understood it, the 75/77 gr stuff ran fine and I didn't get real specifics as to what the problems were, but it was enough for them to refuse to make any more .224V barrels. That rep recommended the 6mm stuff to me then. PRC seems to be common enough for guys who aren't loading to still be able to use but that was before covid insanity had taken hold so I'm not sure now, nor the cost when you find 6mm rounds now... just. Fyi
Yep and that's really the issue with the 224v, if you have to drop down to light bullets to get the accuracy/consistency you give up the bulk of the ballistic advantage. As it is now they would be better off marketing the 224v as a varmint gun with very fast light bullets. I'd imagine in 3-5 years 224v match ammo will be vaporware if not relegated to the reloading only world. Since the 6ARC came out, the only thing you read about the 224v is that it's days are numbered, but mostly you hear nothing about it at all now.
I have no doubt there are amazing shooting 224v out there, and no doubt lots of smiths can turn you a great shooting barrel for one. I think the main issue is if we keep seeing factory support drop, and the 6ARC turns out to be worthy of the hype, no one is going to pick a 224v when they can get a 6ARC in the same platform, unless the ammo is 2x the cost. Right now it won't matter cause all ammo is vaporware or priced at 50BMG levels
I have no doubt there are amazing shooting 224v out there, and no doubt lots of smiths can turn you a great shooting barrel for one. I think the main issue is if we keep seeing factory support drop, and the 6ARC turns out to be worthy of the hype, no one is going to pick a 224v when they can get a 6ARC in the same platform, unless the ammo is 2x the cost. Right now it won't matter cause all ammo is vaporware or priced at 50BMG levels
I am glad I got into the 6 ARC game early on, I had enough time to stock up on loading supplies and work out some load data. I am currently working on 100 grain SPBT load, I have around 3K bullets to play with. I also like to shoot the Nosler 105 bullets the most, have 2K of them. They have proven to me that they can shoot better than the 108's. Now if I could find some 115 gr. DTAC's I would be set. I found one guy that had 1K of them, but he wanted to trade me for 6K CCI 450's. A little to rich for my blood, I have the primers but I use them for my 6 Arc loads. And I didn't want to dive in that big for something I was not sure would work. I want to try the mile this summer with my bolt gun.
I would suggest a look at the .22 Nosler. Way faster then a .224v with 77gr and lighter bullets.
The Nosler brass is very soft. Cartridge isn't a bad idea but bad execution by the company that said they have a whole building full of engineers.
6mm ARC, only because they're very comparable performance-wise, and 6mm is easier to hear when it hits steel, easier to see when it hits dust, and has more energy on target for hunting. Also... (and someone is bound to start yelling at me for saying this but...) .224v is kinda dying off. 6mm ARC is just getting started.
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