Short-Barreled 6mm Dilemma?

L

LipscitzWrath

New member
Alright guys, long time lurker here, need some expert advice. I have been wracking my brain for about 3 days straight, which usually means to me that I need some fresh perspectives from others. So here I go. And apologies if there is a better sub-forum that this should be posted in. Mods, please feel free to move.

I have a Model 7 chambered in 6mm Remington. Serial number indicates it is from the early 80's??? The gun holds serious sentimental value as it was given to me by my father as my first ever hunting rifle. His recent passing has only amplified this. Many mule deer and an occasional antelope fell prey to this gun, usually at short-intermediate ranges (150-350 yds). I used to be a very avid big game hunter but an engineering degree got in the way of that for 4 years and that absence from hunting continued for some time after that. It is only now that I am starting to get back into the big game hunting scene and have been faced with a dilemma.

I love the 6mm remington. I think if Remington had done some things differently, it may have enjoyed the same success that the .243 currently does. I handload, so I can take advantage of the 6mm's inherent case capacity. Problem is, this particular gun came factory equipped with an 18.5" barrel. I can't help but think I am leaving some velocity on the table for this cartridge.

My knee-jerk reaction was to take it to the precision rifle builder across town and have him fit a 24" tube. After initial discussions with him, he even suggested going to a 26" tube. I had heartburn with this for two reasons. First, the gun is incredibly light and handy in current form. It is only 2" longer than my AR15 with 16" barrel. Second, and perhaps more importantly, I loathed the thought of butchering such a prized family heirloom. This brought me to my next quest.

I began looking for a 700 BDL with 22"-24" barrel. To say that they are rare is probably exaggerating. However, I can say when I do find one, if it's in good condition they generally have it priced north of $700 (without optic). I can only surmise this is due to the fact no new rifles are chambered in 6mm remington from the factory.

If I were to spend that kind of dough on a rifle and then throw a suitable optic on it, I am looking at spending over $1,000 for basically a longer tubed 6mm.

My question to you is this - what do you think I should do? Am I overthinking how much velocity I am giving up with a 18.5" barrel? I was hoping for 3,000 FPS with 100gr bullets, which seems lofty given my short barrel. Why? Hell I don't know, because it's a nice round number. Which may be flawed from the starting line.

Should I continue my search for a longer barreled 700? I guess the way I looked at it was if I had a longer tube gun, I could relegate the 7 to varmint hunting with lighter bullets and leave the big game duties to the 700.

I plan to add several other calibers to my arsenal over the coming months including .260 rem, .280 rem, and possibly a 7 and/or 300 mag for the longer-range, heavier-bodied stuff. As you can see, I tend to root for the underdogs...

Gimme your guys' hard and fast honest opinions. Please bring sanity to my world!
 
what do you think I should do?
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I think you should stop worrying over a couple of hundred FPS, and should shoot the great little rifle you have

If you feel the need for a longer 6mm, get a Remington varmint model that won't be one you'll want to carry around to hunt with

I've never understood why so many feel they have to squeeze out the most FPS in every cartridge, when shot PLACEMENT is what matters.

Nothing you kill with your Model 7 will ever notice a few hundred fps difference as long as you have a good bullet and good accuracy
 
Short answer, the way I see it, is keep this short barreled rifle for varmints and buy something else for deer. Lately I'm a 260 guy, and I went with a 20 inch barrel. I prefer short rifles these days. With the 260 you can get 3100+ with the 100 grainer and close to 2900 with the 120 grainers.

But, there are plenty of other good options and I expect that you'll soon hear about them.
 
First, I wouldn't mess with the rifle your father gave you. Personal attachment aside, it sounds like it has been very effective. You could contact Remington's custom shop, or another maker's. I bet they could fix you up for a few bucks more than the standard model. Or find a rifle of another caliber that uses the same action length and get that rebarreled. It's only money.
 
Buy a clean used rifle in whatever caliber and have it rebarrelled 6mm x 24-26".

Pay for it with what you would have spent on one or even two of 260-280-300. Those calibers are spaced too close to need all three or even two.
 
Leave your dads rifle as is and buy what you think you need. Besides that you would be mad if you ran the barrel replacement across a chrono and it showed almost no improvement.
 
Wow! Thank u for so many great replies. And in such short order too. I knew u guys would bring perspective to what I was asking.

It rings especially true that my caliber choices for future guns are closely stacked.

Sounds like my time would be better spent developing a load that works especially accurately with what I have, rather than getting a new gun and doing the same. This gun is quick to shoulder and people are always impressed that such a powerful punch can be delivered with such a small package.

That said, what are my next two calibers? .280 and .300?
 
Sounds like my time would be better spent developing a load that works especially accurately with what I have,
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Mine (I have the exact same rifle) likes 95 gr Ballistic Tips, and 85 gr Speer Spitzer boattails

If you want a long range gun, go on up to a 7 Mag instead of a .280, and get an older Sendero in the H-S Precision stock
 
#1, leave dad's rifle alone! Your dad took game with it, in its current configuration. You can too, and with your reloading skills, could come up with more potent/accurate ammo than factory.

My best friend back home bought the exact same rifle. None of us had ever heard of 6mm Rem in those days in our circles. However, by the end of his first season with it, we were all convinced in his handy rifle. Shooting hogs and deer in FL, anything he hit with that gun went down for the count, but as we all know, that comes from good shot placement more than anything.

As for your next, what do you want it for? Since you reload, there are a lot of bullet offerings for both, but the .30 probably has an edge there in total offerings. In factory offerings, based upon what I see at BPS and Cabelas, your .30 options are more than your .280, 7mm Rem Mag, and 7mm-08.
 
Well for what I want a bigger caliber for is mainly for elk and (if I ever draw out) moose. I feel like the 6 just won't have the punch for those animals, especially given the ranges I am likely to encounter here in wyoming. My worst nightmare is to have a shot at a trophy bull and have it wander off wounded never to be seen again.

Sound like the .280 is out stepped by the 7 mag. Gets into a whole belted vs unbelted debate. No room in between for the two or are u just better going to 7 mag?
 
I tend to disagree with the others here. I say "what would Dad do?" If he would be happy with you having a loud barking, slow moving version of a hot rod cartridge, then leave it alone. If he would have wanted you to hunt with the rifle and be happy with what you are shooting, then rebarrel it.

And get the 280. It will do everything the 7mm Rem Mag will with less recoil and less powder. Besides, you don't need a cannon for elk or moose, any good bullet placed right will take one down. Hundreds of elk killed every year with plain old 30-06 and 270, even 30-30s.
 
People brag on the 243 Winchester. By having the short barrel on your Model 7 you are only reducing the performance of the 6MM Remington to the 243 Winchester level.
I would not change a thing. You have already witnessed it's usefulness. Keep it the way it was given to you!:D
 
Congrats on post number 4800!!!

One thing I am already loving on this forum is how all u guys keep intangible things like a family heirloom in mind. Truly we are a group of people that have values beyond muzzle velocity, sectional density, and group size.

U all have renewed something that has welled up in me. And something any hunter knows. "A poor craftsman blames his tools". That 6 can be as deadly as the man shooting it, so maybe I need to worry more about being the marksman that my dad was than looking for a larger bore to compensate.

The Gun is awesome as is. I just bought a .17 rem with a 24" barrel and it almost seems unwieldy compared to this quick little gun.

I look forward to harvesting much more with this gun in the name of my family. I will augment with more calibers as the need calls for larger game but until that time comes, know that there is a model seven out there that any deer should fear.
 
Mr Scorch is not wrong.

You are the one who has to decide on the intangibles.You know better than we do the sentiments with this rifle.

In the end,your preferences matter most.Its yours.My approval,unnecessary.

A good argument can be made for the idea that Remington excersized poor judgement building an 18.5 in bbl 6 mm.I think they figured that out in later production.
If you choose,you can keep the same stock and receiver dad gave you,and correct Remingtons mistake with a new bbl.And,IMO,something like a 22 in Featherweight from Douglas or any other upper medium good barrelmaker would be true to the idea of a light,handy rifle.Shootability will improve with ballistics.Going heavy on the bbl will be the advice of some, like your gunsmith and the 26 in,but the stock will need a mod and the original character of the rifle will be lost rather than enhanced.I have a 22 in fwt Douglas on my .257AI,love that rifle!!With the Leupold 6x by 42 mm,7 lbs.I get 3050 fps with 115 ballistic tips...not quite a published load.

Agreed with Scorch on the 7mm Rem Mag.I have had three,still own one.Its not a bad cartridge,but I'd go .280 ...thing is,after traveling the great circle a number of times..the doggone 30-06 is where I've gone back to.But .280 is a great choice.
 
There is a theroy regarding per inch of a barrels cutting having a effect on its bullet speed. I think but not sure its something like 100-fps per inch of a barrel shortening. I don't know if its a blanket theroy covering all cartridges or not.

IMHO: Consider keeping the 7 as is.
Since the 6-MM Remington is getting harder to find in most new rifle offerings perhaps its time to reconsider your plan. The old 7 deserves a place on the rack or wall to rest by now anyway. Quite a few new rifle cartridges showing more efficient ballistics marketed these days also maybe need consideration. But in the end its your decision how you want to proceed with that rifle you have there. All's good.
 
Also a valid point.

Due to the high comb on the stock I am told it is designed around youth and women shooters. I can feel it when I shoulder the rifle. Have to really get down on the stock to get on the scope. Perhaps it's time to upgrade and leave this rifle for what the family intended - leave it to my children.

Gotta believe this thing would terminate a coyote with extreme prejudice.
 
I briefly owned a 700 6mm with 20" barrel. That was still too short.
A friend has a full house target rifle in 6mm with a 30" barrel. Nothing you would want to carry in the woods, but it will hammer at all ranges.

Another friend recently reported that, for the second time, his .280 Rem bullet did NOT bounce off the hide of an elk. A 7mm Magnum would be easier to find rifle and ammo for. I do not enjoy shooting a .300 Magnum but a third friend said she did not notice a thing when she shot a big deer with one.
 
I am saying that a .280 is enough for my friend Fred.
He never had any trouble killing them with a .30-06, either, but I figure that might not be exotic enough.
 
I'm in a similar but diffrent situation...
I'm dusting off dads varmint rig he had built in the '60's....
Heavy fajen stock, fn mauser 98 action, 29" douglas bull barrel...1:10 twist 6 mm rem..

Found a little brass, loaded up some 75 gr hornadys over imr 4064, and wanted to see what it would do..

First round had a heck of a time extracting...note.. this was a starting load..not hot..

Then I started shooting some new brass I had..was in the middle of the charge weights...
Still having extraction issues.. primers looked good...not flat.. cases had circular scoring on them..

I ended up having the barrel set back and a new chamber cut...
Found some more new cases (tough) found some 87 gr bullets..

According to what stability calculators I have seen it looks like 90 gr and under...

So I'll work up a load with those..
I wanted to keep it a 6mm for dad, even though 243 would have been easier to find/form brass for..
 
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