243/6mm Rechamber Questions

S

Sportdog

Moderator
I have three questions if someone would care to enlighten me. 1) I have a Remington 700 .243Win barrel. Can this barrel be rechambered to 6mmRemington? 2) Does the 6mmRemington require a short or standard length action? 3) Will the 1-10 twist of the .243 barrel properly stabalize the heavier 6mm bullets at the increased velocity of about 150fps that the 6mmRemington has over the .243Winchester? To answer anyone's question "Why would you want to do that?" I like the small increase in performance and I like having cartridges that are not so "everybody has one of those". Thanks for any input, it is appreciated.:)
 
1) I have a Remington 700 .243Win barrel. Can this barrel be rechambered to 6mmRemington?
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Not without setting the barrel back. The 243 is larger in diameter at any point of the cartridge case forward of the head. If you cut off the barrel threads, rethread and rechamber it will work, but you will lose almost 1" of barrel and will have no velocity gain over the 243.
2) Does the 6mmRemington require a short or standard length action?
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It is a tight fit in a short action, most were chambered in long actions from the factory.
3) Will the 1-10 twist of the .243 barrel properly stabalize the heavier 6mm bullets at the increased velocity of about 150fps that the 6mmRemington has over the .243Winchester?
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Yes, if the 243 stabilizes the bullet at a given velocity, the 6mm will stabilize it also.

I know you didn't ask this, but I believe you would be better suited by buying a new barrel for this project, since most of the cost of what you are talking about is machine work and you will have to do it either way. Adams & Bennett barrels are relatively inexpensive, and chamber/thread/crown will be the same no matter what. With a new barrel you will have more length, which is what you need to gain any advantage with the 6mm Rem over the 243 Win.
 
Thanks Scorch

OK, how about the 284-6mm Wildcat? I believe that case is larger than the .243 and with the rebated rim the bolt face will work, right? Do you think that I will have feeding problems? Short or standard length action?
 
That one is doable. The only hitch is modifying the feed lips, but on a Rem 700 it's easier than on many others. That is a real flat-shooting round, you should enjoy it.
 
I had my .243 reamed to an Ackley Improved. Involved taking the barrel off and setting it back one thread. It will get you nearly the same case capacity as the 6mm.

My .243 has a 1 in 12 twist and works great up to about 95 grain bullets. The 6mm Rem is usually 1 in 9 twist.
 
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