roysclockgun
Handloader
- Dec 17, 2005
- 736
- 2
As a little background: I bought the E.Brown M97D rifle almost a year ago,
strictly on a lark. I had no intentions of using the falling block, single shot
rifle for hunting, but only as a firing range toy. I chose the 6mm BRM
chambering because the maximum range at which I would be firing, is 200 yds. In
my retirement, I do not deny myself those toys that I want and can afford. When
a comparison is made, range shooting falls into the ranks of one of the least
expensive of ourdoor hobbies, well below the fees that I hear are laid out in
order to take part in golf!
E.Brown Co. approaches arrogance when questions are submitted, regarding loads
for the 6mm BRM cartridge and in fact, they only list one hand load to use.
While I enjoy working up my own loads, the fact that E. Brown list on one load
for the 6mm BRM is not one of the positive aspects of their company.
After some judicious experimentation with bullet and propellent, I have hit on a
number of loads that turn in respectable groups. The rifle is a joy to shoot,
with little perceived recoil. Some of my brass has now been loaded four times,
and shows no signs of being overworked. Because of using relatively light loads,
the near absence of recoil and useful life of brass comes as no surprise.
The rifle is handsome and well put together. I do not set up at the range
without at least one other shooter wanting to know the story behind my single
shot rifle.
One has to enjoy work at the loading bench to like the process of creating the
hand loads. The parent brass is 30-30. The ammo that E. Brown sells all has
"30-30" headstamp, as all that they have done, is to resize 30-30 brass. I am
able to retrieve more once fired 30-30 brass at my county range, than I will
ever use. First off the 30-30 brass has to be resized through a 7-30Waters die.
Then, again resized through the 6mm BRM die. The brass will then have two steps
behind the case's mouth, which needs to be pushed out into one step, by fire
forming, after trimming if necessary. We then have 6mm BRM brass.
Claims are made by E. Brown, regarding all of his BRM cartridges, relating to
the killing efficiency of all their cartridges. I have no doubt that the 6mm BRM
falls just below the 243Win, in terms of killing power. The 243Win will, of
course, out perform the 6mm BRM on longer shots, due to the ability of the
243Win to attain higher MV.
In terms of my overall experiences with the M97D E. Brown rifle and the 6mm BRM
cartridge, I award the highest scores. For it's intended purposes, the M97D E.
Brown rifle is effective, accurate and fun to shoot.
While the cartridge that E. Brown pushes the hardest is 6.5mm BRM, I see no
benefit of using the bigger bullet, unless one wants to go for larger game or
shoot at greater ranges than can be attained by using the 6mm bullet.
I will endeavor to answer questions that someone may have regarding this rig.
Steven
strictly on a lark. I had no intentions of using the falling block, single shot
rifle for hunting, but only as a firing range toy. I chose the 6mm BRM
chambering because the maximum range at which I would be firing, is 200 yds. In
my retirement, I do not deny myself those toys that I want and can afford. When
a comparison is made, range shooting falls into the ranks of one of the least
expensive of ourdoor hobbies, well below the fees that I hear are laid out in
order to take part in golf!
E.Brown Co. approaches arrogance when questions are submitted, regarding loads
for the 6mm BRM cartridge and in fact, they only list one hand load to use.
While I enjoy working up my own loads, the fact that E. Brown list on one load
for the 6mm BRM is not one of the positive aspects of their company.
After some judicious experimentation with bullet and propellent, I have hit on a
number of loads that turn in respectable groups. The rifle is a joy to shoot,
with little perceived recoil. Some of my brass has now been loaded four times,
and shows no signs of being overworked. Because of using relatively light loads,
the near absence of recoil and useful life of brass comes as no surprise.
The rifle is handsome and well put together. I do not set up at the range
without at least one other shooter wanting to know the story behind my single
shot rifle.
One has to enjoy work at the loading bench to like the process of creating the
hand loads. The parent brass is 30-30. The ammo that E. Brown sells all has
"30-30" headstamp, as all that they have done, is to resize 30-30 brass. I am
able to retrieve more once fired 30-30 brass at my county range, than I will
ever use. First off the 30-30 brass has to be resized through a 7-30Waters die.
Then, again resized through the 6mm BRM die. The brass will then have two steps
behind the case's mouth, which needs to be pushed out into one step, by fire
forming, after trimming if necessary. We then have 6mm BRM brass.
Claims are made by E. Brown, regarding all of his BRM cartridges, relating to
the killing efficiency of all their cartridges. I have no doubt that the 6mm BRM
falls just below the 243Win, in terms of killing power. The 243Win will, of
course, out perform the 6mm BRM on longer shots, due to the ability of the
243Win to attain higher MV.
In terms of my overall experiences with the M97D E. Brown rifle and the 6mm BRM
cartridge, I award the highest scores. For it's intended purposes, the M97D E.
Brown rifle is effective, accurate and fun to shoot.
While the cartridge that E. Brown pushes the hardest is 6.5mm BRM, I see no
benefit of using the bigger bullet, unless one wants to go for larger game or
shoot at greater ranges than can be attained by using the 6mm bullet.
I will endeavor to answer questions that someone may have regarding this rig.
Steven
