Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,746
- 5,817
Wow - this bullet test was particularly enjoyable for me. I got to spend some time with an old favorite, a 6mm Remington 700 BDL.
Dad gave me this rifle 38 years ago when I was just a high school kid. It was really something back then! Little bullet, moving fast! Accurate. Virtually no recoil. Blew the livin' snot out of pretty much everything I shot with it. Did a lot of varmint shooting back then. Reactive targets have always been fun.
Very quickly I started handloading for it, as I'd been loading virtually all my life. Thought you guys might enjoy some of the old stuff, leftover from the 1970's and 1980's when I was shooting this rifle pretty much exclusively. Check out the old bullet boxes! Yes, that box of 85 grain Nosler Partitions dates back to the 1970's, I never finished shooting them. Even then I was concerned that real high velocity, coupled with a smallish bullet might not be a good idea for taking game - so probably before I was 20, I was loading and shooting Nosler Partitions - pretty much the only "premium" bullet on the market in those days.
Heck, even my loading dies date back to 1974...
Not long ago I got to thinking... I'd shot an awful lot of different bullets through that old rifle over the 38 years I've been loading and shooting it... 55 grains all the way up to 105 grains. From left to right: 85 gr Barnes TSX, 85 gr Nosler Partition (old style), 100 gr Remington CL, 100 gr Nosler Solid Base, 105 gr Speer, and the 105 gr Hornady A-Max.
Now several years ago I'd tried the 105 gr Hornady A-Max. I've always been interested in precision shooting - that varmint shooting young kid back in the 1970's never really faded away, and eventually I was competing in rifle matches, particularly enjoying the longer range stuff. I'd heard that the 105 Hornady A-Max was even used to set a new 1,000 yard range record out near Missoula, Montana. Good country by the way. I gave them a try, learned that they were indeed a very accurate 6mm bullet, and went on about my business. Over the years I had several "favorite" bullets for this rifle. Any of the 75 grain hollow point varmint bullets pushed to 3300 - 3400 fps were wickedly effective in the varmint fields. For deer, I grew real fond of the 100 grain Nosler Solid Base (a predecessor to the Ballistic Tip) and eventually the 95 grain Ballistic Tip. It's still the single most accurate bullet I've ever shot through this rifle.
Thought that the 105 grain Hornady A-Max deserved another look, so I loaded up some over a middling charge of H4350 and took them to the range. The first shot was absolutely dead center in the target - which was very gratifying. These are of course very accurate bullets and it was nice to see that my well-worn old 6mm could still fling them well. I ran a few over the chronograph and they clocked the expected 2965 fps from the 22" barrel.
At 20 yards I sent one into the water jugs. Wow! First jug disintegrated! Second jug split. The bullet was recovered from the third jug.
It weighs 33.3 grains and at the widest point I measured it at .486" diameter.
I'd look at it as a very accurate, rapid expanding bullet. I've killed mule deer with bullets that don't retain any more weight. A 115 gr Berger bullet only weighed 33 grains recovered from a big ol' mountain mulie and it had no trouble penetrating into the chest cavity and wrecking the heart & lungs.
If a guy wants a frangible bullet that will go through the ribs and kill quickly, I think bullets like the A-Max and the VLD work, and work well. If a hunter wants a bullet that can penetrate further, I think it's best to look elsewhere - like to some of the Nosler bullets recently tested by David/6mmRemington.
Regards, Guy
Dad gave me this rifle 38 years ago when I was just a high school kid. It was really something back then! Little bullet, moving fast! Accurate. Virtually no recoil. Blew the livin' snot out of pretty much everything I shot with it. Did a lot of varmint shooting back then. Reactive targets have always been fun.
Very quickly I started handloading for it, as I'd been loading virtually all my life. Thought you guys might enjoy some of the old stuff, leftover from the 1970's and 1980's when I was shooting this rifle pretty much exclusively. Check out the old bullet boxes! Yes, that box of 85 grain Nosler Partitions dates back to the 1970's, I never finished shooting them. Even then I was concerned that real high velocity, coupled with a smallish bullet might not be a good idea for taking game - so probably before I was 20, I was loading and shooting Nosler Partitions - pretty much the only "premium" bullet on the market in those days.
Heck, even my loading dies date back to 1974...
Not long ago I got to thinking... I'd shot an awful lot of different bullets through that old rifle over the 38 years I've been loading and shooting it... 55 grains all the way up to 105 grains. From left to right: 85 gr Barnes TSX, 85 gr Nosler Partition (old style), 100 gr Remington CL, 100 gr Nosler Solid Base, 105 gr Speer, and the 105 gr Hornady A-Max.
Now several years ago I'd tried the 105 gr Hornady A-Max. I've always been interested in precision shooting - that varmint shooting young kid back in the 1970's never really faded away, and eventually I was competing in rifle matches, particularly enjoying the longer range stuff. I'd heard that the 105 Hornady A-Max was even used to set a new 1,000 yard range record out near Missoula, Montana. Good country by the way. I gave them a try, learned that they were indeed a very accurate 6mm bullet, and went on about my business. Over the years I had several "favorite" bullets for this rifle. Any of the 75 grain hollow point varmint bullets pushed to 3300 - 3400 fps were wickedly effective in the varmint fields. For deer, I grew real fond of the 100 grain Nosler Solid Base (a predecessor to the Ballistic Tip) and eventually the 95 grain Ballistic Tip. It's still the single most accurate bullet I've ever shot through this rifle.
Thought that the 105 grain Hornady A-Max deserved another look, so I loaded up some over a middling charge of H4350 and took them to the range. The first shot was absolutely dead center in the target - which was very gratifying. These are of course very accurate bullets and it was nice to see that my well-worn old 6mm could still fling them well. I ran a few over the chronograph and they clocked the expected 2965 fps from the 22" barrel.
At 20 yards I sent one into the water jugs. Wow! First jug disintegrated! Second jug split. The bullet was recovered from the third jug.
It weighs 33.3 grains and at the widest point I measured it at .486" diameter.
I'd look at it as a very accurate, rapid expanding bullet. I've killed mule deer with bullets that don't retain any more weight. A 115 gr Berger bullet only weighed 33 grains recovered from a big ol' mountain mulie and it had no trouble penetrating into the chest cavity and wrecking the heart & lungs.
If a guy wants a frangible bullet that will go through the ribs and kill quickly, I think bullets like the A-Max and the VLD work, and work well. If a hunter wants a bullet that can penetrate further, I think it's best to look elsewhere - like to some of the Nosler bullets recently tested by David/6mmRemington.
Regards, Guy
