Long action build in 6mm??

[Needle Specialist]

Let’s say a fella just finished a rifle build and found himself in possession of an extra stock that the wife doesn’t know about. And this fella already built himself a nice 7mm rem mag as his “one rifle to rule them all” for reasons that didn’t lead him to building a 280 ai. Since this fella has a perfectly good long action stock laying around he might be wanting to build a smaller caliber long action to use for smaller game or as a loaner rifle for the kid/wife. Which long action cartridge would you recommend? Something in a 6mm? A 25-06? Something that has available factory ammo for sure. But what?

 

[Steve300xcw]

6.5x55 or 270 or sell the stock an get a short action?

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

.25-06 for available boughten ammunition.

 

[TSnave]

If I was going to build a rifle for "small game" with factory ammo, I'd be deciding between 243 or 6mm Creedmoor.

 

[khuber84]

Do something cool, and original! 6x280ai! You'll be handloading tho. There are no commercial 6mm long action cartridges relevant any more.

 

[grfox92]

6.5 PRC would be the only candidate.

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[TaperPin]

6 creed, 243, heck, even a little 6br can feed reliably out of a long action. 6mm-284 or 6mm-06 are hard on barrels, but would be awesome deer and antelope guns.

I have a 6br barrel for my long action - the dies just showed up, so I’m looking forward to finally shooting it.

 

[khuber84]

6 creed, 243, heck, even a little 6br can feed reliably out of a long action. 6mm-284 or 6mm-06 are hard on barrels, but would be awesome deer and antelope guns.

I have a 6br barrel for my long action - the dies just showed up, so I’m looking forward to finally shooting it.

You running a single shot sled for the BR? Curious how that's going to work out as a repeater.

 

[rayporter]

i built a 6 br on a long action once and it shot great with the single shot sled. it was for p dogs and was a shooter. kind if wish i had it back. [but i have built 2 others]

 

[Wyo_hntr]

6mm-7prc (to be honest I have no experience with this round, but it has the potential to be sweet)

 

[TaperPin]

You running a single shot sled for the BR? Curious how that's going to work out as a repeater.

I’ve been told by a guy who’s modified a few that an aluminum filler block for the rear of the magazine, and a standard short action follower will often be all that’s needed to feed properly. I think he might have been talking about aftermarket single feed internal magazines or detachable mags, and the internal staggered mag might need to be slightly shorter. The single feed is easier to get to work right, and a gunsmith friend has said eventually I’ll end up with one after getting tired of fighting it.

 

[7stw]

6mm-06 or 6.5-06 6-284 would be awesome as well. They’re strictly hand loader calibers with some necking required but cool calibers. I ran a 6.5-06 for a coyote rifle until I went to a 6 creed twisted for 75 gr vmax. I sold it and my dies etc and wish I would have kept it.


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[jjohnsonElknewbie]

If the requirements are a long action with less recoil for wife, son, or daughter, and factory ammo, then the .25-06 is a no-brainer. Factory ammo can be had from 85-120 grains for everything from varmints to elk. Very versatile caliber and very accurate in my experience.

If you're interested in handloading, there are many more options available in .257 caliber and brass is easy to neck down from .270 and .30-06 cases.

 

[Needle Specialist]

If running short cartridges in a long action isn’t a problem that opens up the options tremendously. A 6.5 prc would definitely fit the bill. I guess I could sell the extra stock and pick up a short action.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

If running short cartridges in a long action isn’t a problem that opens up the options tremendously. A 6.5 prc would definitely fit the bill. I guess I could sell the extra stock and pick up a short action.

It depends on the rifle. In a Tikka you can get away with it as long as you have the right mag. I don't know about any others.

 

[B23]

Only long action 6 I can think of that has factory ammo available for it would be the 240 Weatherby. In 25 cal there's the 25-06, 257 Weatherby, and in 6.5's there is Weatherby's 6.5 RPM.

Weatherby's 6.5 RPM has a lot of potential and the case capacity is about the same as the 7 PRC or maybe even a tiny bit more and is a standard bolt face case but I'm not sure how good or tough the brass is for the Weatherby 6.5 RPM but if you're just shooting factory ammo I guess that's a moot point anyway.

 

[TSnave]

Short cartridges work just fine in long actions. I spent about a dozen years fooling around with M24 sniper rifles, which were 308 chambered long actions. Never had a problem.

 

[rayporter]

a bud had a 6-06 and it was super. i have couple 6mm remingtons and really like them. but brass is a bear to find. ammo? fer get it. get something you can get brass for!!!

not a thing wrong with a 25-06, it is pretty popular here.

 

[leachguy]

I'm lowering my caliber sizes at the moment and have a Sako 85 30-06. Next project, when I decide to tackle it, will be rebarreling this gun to a fast twist 25-06. Those 133/135 Bergers are speaking to me.