6mm bullet choice

[Gavhowe]

I’m looking to build another rifle which it’s sole purpose is just for long range vermin. Currently running 77TMK’s in a 22BR which is a tac driver, but I could just do with a bit more speed to help with wind drift and the 77TMK’s just work so well, which is why I’m thinking of staying 22, and am swaying towards a 22creed or 22x47.

Before I take the plunge, am I missing anything out in the 6mm’s that will match performance with similar ballistics. High BC bullet with good expansion? 
 

Little info into the 95TMks and 103ELDx’s so I’m just curious as to what others are using? 

 

[Scooby-93]

22 creedmoor 3500+ FPS with a 24” barrel and 75gr bullets 

my friend went the opposite to you, he went from a 6x47 to the 22 creedmoor and hasn’t looked back 

[Charlts]

I’m having a 223ai built for similar duties along with a bit of informal High volume plinking thrown in for good measure. Quite fancied a 22 Creedmoor after using my buddies in the states which is a complete laser beam, I just wanted something less overbore.

[Gavhowe]

I wanted to stay away from fire-forming and Poor mag feeding which is why the 22creed and 22x47 where the route I was wanting to go. How is the accuracy on the 22 creed scooby as that’s the most important thing? 

[Scooby-93]

Literally same hole groups with 3 Different loads/bullet he has had developed. 

it’s his main gun for vermin control.

[Woodlander]

Have you looked at the ballistics of the .224 Valkyrie? that lobs heavy bullets a long way with very good barrel life.   Unless money isn’t a concern, the short barrel life of a hot .22 would be a worry. 
If you can get a 6br to feed from a magazine, that would be worth considering. 

 

[tubby10]

There are plenty of more experienced folk to comment but I have a 243 and use 108eldm bullets at 2850fp. It is great fun, performs consistently until it goes subsonic . I have got a 1/8 bartlein barrel from dolphin that shoots far better than I can hope to. 
 

with regards to expansion very difficult to say. I use 103 eld x bullets and they are also excellent but were far more expensive at time of purchase so I only use them for stalking ( 2880fps). Things I have shot have fallen over and that has been that, appreciate others may have a different experience. 

 

honestly I think the smaller the calibre you can use for the job the better. The joy of using far less powder and cheaper bullets  as the chap using the 338 next to you curses after every shot at the same target is fairly unique. 

 

appreciate the 243 isn’t fashionable but it does work. If I had a 223 or 224 valk that could do the same job then I would use that. 

 

[Chris-NZ]

Unless you're shooting sub 400yds and there's not much wind where you shoot, I'd stick with a 6mm.  A mid size 6mm with 85+ gr projectiles will do pretty well and have a reasonable barrel life.

If a hyper-vel .22 spins your wheels and you don't care about barrel life, fill your boots. A .22 CM driven at full throttle would have I'd guess at most an 800 round barrel life.

[justin credible]

21 hours ago, Woodlander said:

If you can get a 6br to feed from a magazine, that would be worth considering. 

 

Baldie does a mag conversion for a 6BR.

I have one and it feeds beautifully and reliably, well worth the money.

[farmer t]

Have a 6mmbr and love it.

Had to go AI bottom metal and Mag with conversion and it has never once failed to feed.

[pengo]

4 hours ago, justin credible said:

Baldie does a mag conversion for a 6BR.

I have one and it feeds beautifully and reliably, well worth the money.

Do you mind me asking what rifle you had this done to and how much it cost, please?

Is it an easy fix, or did you have to takeit to Baldie?

I've got a Tikka 595 in 6BR and it's an absolute joy to own and use, but the mag feed issue does bug me, I have to say.

Cheers. Paul

[Woodlander]

I sold my single shot 6br and the sale for its replacement fell through.  I hope to get another built on a T3 action, but it’s very costly, I’m saving my pocket money and it’s good to know there are ways to get it to feed 100%.  
It has to be one of the best all round chamberings.  1000yd capable, deer legal(just)low recoil, very efficient (30gr of powder) shoots a huge variety of bullets from 55-115gr and excellent barrel life.  

[Woodlander]

I know barrels are “consumables”, but with a rebarrel at around  £1k, and a hot .22, with a barrel life of 1000 rounds, that’s a quid a pop, on top of your 60p reloading cost....! 
This is not a cheap hobby we have 

[justin credible]

2 hours ago, pengo said:

Do you mind me asking what rifle you had this done to and how much it cost, please?

Is it an easy fix, or did you have to takeit to Baldie?

I've got a Tikka 595 in 6BR and it's an absolute joy to own and use, but the mag feed issue does bug me, I have to say.

Cheers. Paul

It was done on a custom action in an AI stock. All I did was send the AI mags to Baldie, I can’t remember the cost but it wasn’t much, ask him directly  

I think the conversion that he does is only for AI mags so you would have to put bottom metal on your Tikka that takes AI mags. It is certainly a worthwhile conversion, I’ve done it on a Tikka .204 that I own. 

[Gavhowe]

appreciate all the comments. 6br is a great round, I know of a few lads using them. My 22br is built on a t3 action and I’m just running standard mags and it works fine. The BR cartridge has a excellent reputation for being super accurate and at the end of the day, accuracy is key. 
 

It’s ok running these high speeds to achieve ballistics but if the accuracy isn’t there, then it’s a waste of time. 

I just have an itch that needs scratching and so I thought I’d have a go.  It’s a big investment and barrel life is something Which would normally be at the top of my priorities, but i’d settle At 1200 rounds of good accuracy as a sole vermin gun. That’s a lot of dead stuff (if I do my bit!) and it would see me a lot of use, especially running it along side other rifles sharing the work load.

I was originally tempted by 6xc/6x47 lap and there are loads of top quality high BC match bullets to choose from, but it’s finding a good bullet for vermin that will expand well. 87vmax I know works well, it’s where you go above that in 6mm, that Ballistically the 75-77’s do very well in 22. Such a shame the 105 amax is no longer. Hence why I was asking to see what experience others had had with calibre a and bullet heads in that weight range. 
 

[gunner]

Iv just received some Nosler 95 grain Btips (purple) to try in my 6br , if they shoot well this could be my go-to  new bullet . Iv put them side by side to 95 TMK and there somewhat shorter with a lesser boat tail . But this could be a advantage to seat the bullet out further / nearer the lands . I struggled to get the 95 TMK to shot so sold them . I try and post a picture of the nosler nx to TMK . Then again iv not tested the 108 eld-m iv had for some time now . My shooting has dropped off the last couple of year so its now time to re-ignite the hunting bug , spring is close and im hopefully going to eradicate many corvids. 

[Woodlander]

The 95gr TMKs are notoriously difficult to get to shoot, pity as the TMK in other calibres seem to work well.  
 

[gunner]

Here hopefully shows the difference between the two 95 grain bullets / nosler & TMK ! 

Edited February 13, 2020 by gunner
Picture added

[Alycidon]

On 12/26/2019 at 6:48 PM, Woodlander said:

Have you looked at the ballistics of the .224 Valkyrie? that lobs heavy bullets a long way with very good barrel life.   Unless money isn’t a concern, the short barrel life of a hot .22 would be a worry. 
If you can get a 6br to feed from a magazine, that would be worth considering. 

 

Why is mag feed so critical,  you miss and its gone,  no chance of a second go.   I use single shot rifles with ejectors removed as I dont want to loose hand formed brass.  I had killed 3 foxes in 30 seconds and has a miss as well.  Bloody things came piling out of a wood one night.  

No real experience of the bigger case 22 but a friend has a 22BR on a single shot action and get on well with it.  I use a 20BR and again no issues with rate of fire.

 

A