Six-millimeter cartridges are very popular for various shooting activities. Their low recoil and high velocity mingled with great ballistic performance make them optimal for many purposes. Today I intend to take a walk through a selection of popular six-millimeter cartridges and why you might want one over the others. Whether you find yourself considering a six-millimeter for your next purchase, or trying to diversify your 6mm collection I hope we might be of help.
Hornady is a big supporter of the six millimeter family
Old School
If you grew up in the 60’s and 70’s you were likely to run into a .243 Winchester on a typical deer hunt. A derivative of the always popular 308 Winchester; the .243 has always been a popular low recoiling hunting cartridge. Launched about the same time from a competitor, the 6mm Remington was a less popular but comparable option. Both of these cartridges have stood the test of time, pushing their typical 70-100 grain bullet quite fast. Making them great for varmint hunting and smaller big game animals.
The characteristics of these cartridges often led to them being relegated to either a “ladies caliber” or something for new shooters. There is surely nothing wrong with that, but they certainly shouldn’t be looked at as a lesser cartridge. I would happily take a .243 on a deer hunt or something comparable, the lightning speed and flat trajectory would come in very handy.
Way back then, you could have purchased a Model 70 chambered in .243. These days there are rifles from nearly every manufacturer chambered in the cartridge. Whether you want a bolt-action rifle from Savage or Sako, or even a lever-action .243 from manufacturers like Henry.
Modern Performers
If the .243 Winchester was such a good thing, and is still a popular chambering in todays modern firearms, you might ask why fix what isn’t broken? Hornady released the 6mm Creedmoor nearly ten years ago, much to the horror of the Creedmoor haters it took off. With a supply of high quality components it made sense. But what did the 6 Creedmoor have that the .243 didn’t already cover you might ask? Modern performance is the answer, Creedmoor’s came with aggressive twist rates like 1:8 and 1:7.5. The .243 has a slower twist rate which limits its ability to stabilize many modern bullets larger than 100 grains. The faster twist allowed the 6 Creedmoor to push bigger bullets like 108’s and 115’s at fantastic speeds, giving it a huge ballistic advantage.
One of my favorite 6mm cartridges is the 6mm GT. After the success of cartridges like the 6mm Creedmoor and competition cartridges like the 6 Dasher and 6 XC, the 6mm GT was released by GA precision and produced by Hornady. Finding a happy medium of performance and longevity, the 6GT fits easily into AICS magazines like the others I just mentioned. It does this while giving excellent ballistic performance and better barrel life than larger cartridges.
All of these modern performers are shorter cartridges than the older .243 Winchester, which allows them to load longer higher ballistic coefficient bullets and feed from magazines. And the smaller powder charges allow longer durability before the chamber throat is eroded causing degraded accuracy.
Modern Sporting Rifles
Any of the cartridges mentioned today could be and frequently are chambered for semi-automatic rifles like the popular AR pattern. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the very popular 6mm ARC, as it is the most likely to fit into this category. For a variety of reasons, but mainly because it fits in a 5.56 sized action and magazine. The 6 ARC offers 6mm attributes like ballistic performance and heavier bullets while still fitting into the average AR15 rifle.
Additionally due to its smaller size, it burns far less powder extending the accuracy life of the barrel. This makes even more sense in a semi-auto as they tend to shoot much higher round counts than typical bolt-action rifles. There are a great variety of 6 ARC autoloading rifles available like the CMMG Resolute series of rifles.
the Howa Mini has been a fantastic little hunting rifle for the whole family
The 6 ARC can obviously be used in bolt-action rifles as well, where it does an excellent job. Additionally the 6 ARC is also typically given a 1:7.5 twist which helps it handle modern bullet selections. I am a bit partial to the Howa Mini, a rifle we have used with great success. But there are also great bolt-action options from Ruger and Savage Arms. With the cartridge gaining in popularity every day, you are likely to find six of one, and half a dozen of another.
The Howa Mini Action rifleoffers a compact rifle for hunting or sporting purposes, the very short action is designed to run only the shortest center-fire rifle cartridges. With the extra short action, the Mini is designed for cartridges like the .223 Remington and 300 Blackout. As well as newer cartridges like the 6mm ARC model we are looking at today. The Model 1500 Mini is a push-feed two-lug bolt action, it is fed from a detachable box-fed magazine.
2025 update, the Howa Mini 6 ARC continues to perform. My wife took this handsome little buck with a single shot, read all about it in A Stalk to Die for
Howa has long been known as a very affordable and reliable rifle manufacturer. Their products have typically been marketed toward the hunting public. But in recent years they have also moved into the precision shooting competitive world as well.
My purpose for the Mini was along the same lines, I bought the rifle for my wife who is also quite petite. She needed a good rifle that shot well for all of our shooting adventures, and the Mini fit that niche quite well.
Its lightweight and soft recoil made it the perfect choice for someone like my wife. And since I already was quite familiar with the 6mm ARC, and had a great deal of components to load it. I figured it would be a great choice. I’m excited for this fall to see just how well it functions for her on the deer and pronghorn antelope hunts that we plan to do. After having spent a short time with the rifle, I expect we are going to enjoy it very much.
Howa Mini 6mm ARC Review
When I purchased the Howa Mini, it came with the option of an included riflescope from Howa’s sister company Nikko Stirling. I figured I’d give it a try, and see how the package performed.
As I lifted the package from the box I was immediately pleased with the weight, sure it would have been even better had it weighed less. But it was certainly not heavy at 7.4 lbs for the whole package. I lifted the bolt and ran it back and forth a few times, followed by pulling the trigger. I love two-stage triggers, and to be honest I’d forgotten the Mini came with one. It felt great, though I think I might lighten up the pull weight in the future.
The synthetic stock was another surprise to me. Typically the inexpensive polymer blend stocks that come with economy grade firearms are pretty flimsy. They flex far more than you’d want them to. I was genuinely surprised by the Mini’s stock, it actually felt quite rigid. Far better than most every other comparably priced rifle stock I’ve played with in the recent past. This would hopefully translate into better accuracy for us in the field.
I looked through the little 4-12×40 scope. To my surprise it had a milling type reticle and an exposed target turret with MOA markings. It looked pretty good, and made me even more anxious to get it in the field.
The Howa Mini looks to be a perfect little rifle for someone looking for a compact and inexpensive rifle in a small caliber, but one they could use in the deer woods.
Compatible with Remington 700 two-piece scope bases
Cons
Detachable box magazine is a little weak.
First Impressions of the Howa Mini 6ARC
My first trip to the range with the Howa Mini was pretty easy going. I had a great selection of ammo from Hornady. Consisting of the match 108 ELDM, the Black 105 BTHP, and Precision Hunter 103 ELDX. I was sure one of these would shoot well in the rifle.
Upon arriving at the range I sat down with the little Howa at my bench and started stuffing cartridges into the magazine. That’s when I noticed more about the magazine design, it was a bit flimsy. I mean it works fine, and I’ve shot quite a few rounds through it without issue, but it’s awfully thin. And I feel like if I was to smack it hard into a tree-trunk or rock it would surely split apart and send my ammo all over. I also wish they made a flush magazine option that didn’t hang down out of the stock. Neither of these things are deal breakers for me, just something I’d point out.
I’d boresighted the rifle prior to arriving, so I immediately set to zeroing the rifle at the hundred yard target. In just a few shots I had a solid zero, so I fired a five shot group using the 103 ELDX load. The group measured just barely over 1 MOA, which isn’t bad but not as good as I’d hoped. Later shots would prove to group much better.
The Mini shot even better when suppressed by the Yankee Hill Machine Nitro N2.0
We then tried shooting the other two ammunition types I’d brought along. They averaged slightly smaller but not enough to matter much. Then I spent the afternoon shooting a few more targets and feeling out the rifle. I was actually quite liking the feel of the little Howa. The trigger felt great, the bolt was smooth and easy to run quickly. And despite my complaints about the magazine, it ran flawlessly. My next trip was a shooting hike into the snowy springtime Rocky Mountains. I’d brought my daughter along for company and to get her out of the house. And of course to try shooting the little Mini 6 ARC. I’d
Range Trip round Two
I’d taken the liberty of swapping out to a different scope and mounting system mainly because it was so easy to do so. After removing the Nikko Stirling scope and mounts, I dropped a two-piece Remington 700 base on the action, followed by some Warne steel rings to hold my US Optics TS25X. I felt a little bit more confident with this setup, even though it did add a little bit more weight. I felt it was a good trade up.
Again I had the rifle zeroed in just a few shots, and in no time we were smacking targets all over the mountain. For suppression I was running my Yankee Hill Machine Nitro N20 Titanium suppressor on the rifle, which made it even more pleasant to shoot.Both my daughter and I had a great deal of fun shooting the Mini. Picking out little specks of snow on the opposing side of the canyon for targets.
A typical group made from my 105 BTHP handloads
It was a great confidence builder everytime the snow would splatter leaving a dark spot in the moist mountain soil. I stretched the little rifle out as far as six-hundred and twenty yards, and it was still hammering with acceptable accuracy to hit a deer. After a few hours playing in the mountains I was very satisfied with the rifle. Knowing that we could have easily taken a deer in these same hills where we hunt every fall.
Everything about the Howa Mini fit well into my activities. The size of the rifle is perfect for doing lots of hiking. Everything worked great on the rifle, and it was very effective at putting hits on target. I feel like adding the better scope and mounting system surely helped the rifle shoot better. Though I’m quite happy with it, I may do some additional tinkering yet to see if I can squeeze any more accuracy out of it.
Reliability
The Howa Mini functioned flawlessly during my testing, no malfunctions or issues.
Accuracy
Accuracy from factory ammo wasn’t bad, whereas my handloads turned out to shoot excellent. Typical groups with handloads were 1/2 MOA. For what it is and what it costs, I am quite happy with the Howa Mini.
Overall Feel
The Mini feels better than its price point in my opinion. I’ve spent more money on rifles that didn’t feel this good. It’s comfortable to handle and functions great.
Features
Disassembled you can see the two-stage trigger
Mini Action-
The ultra-short Mini action is lighter and smaller than most rifle actions. It looks like a Model 70 that someone put in the dryer too long. This smaller action shortens the bolt-stroke, allowing you to repeat faster. The icing on the cake is the ability to use Remington 700 scope bases on the rifle.
Two-stage Trigger
I love the two-stage trigger of the Mini. After lightening up the pull weight a little bit it felt even better. It’s not a Jewel or Trigger Tech, but it feels great for a factory rifle two-stage. The safety is a three position that locks the bolt closed in the 3rd position.
Threaded barrel
Though I wasn’t a huge fan of the magazine, it wasn’t a deal breaker
Thank goodness the folks at Howa live in this century, and provide most rifles from the factory with threaded barrels. Suppressors are more popular than ever so this should be the norm. I ran my suppressor as well as a good muzzle brake on the rifle. And was quite happy with either option. Both greatly reduced recoil making it possible to spot my own impacts.
Detachable Magazine
This is the one weak spot for me on this rifle, but I’ll admit I may be looking a bit hard at it. I wasn’t surprised to see a plastic magazine and floor-plate based on the price of the rifle but I was hoping for a little bit better one. Regardless, I will happily run this mag until it falls apart, and thenbuy another for the $30 or so that they cost.
The glass filled nylon stock of the Mini felt great. Not because I like nylon stocks but because it is one of the better ones I’ve ever used. And the fact that Howa included a pillar bedding system gives them extra points. The stock was very rigid and tough.
How We Tested
With intentions of keeping this rifle, I gave it a good wringing out to ensure there was nothing I couldn’t live with. I spent a great deal of time tinkering with the rifle, even taking it apart on to see what makes it tick. I ran the bolt just like every other rifle I own, only to find out that I didn’t need to. The smooth bolt fed and extracted cartridges with ease. It has a good strong ejection pattern to get spent cases out of the way. Shooting the Howa Mini from every different position, loading and reloading it all the while was great. Shooting supported from a bipod was where it shot best but that is pretty standard. It shot all the different types of ammo I brought just fine, including my 6 ARC reloads.
As I write this I just ordered some additional varmint bullets for it. We’ll see how they shoot for varmints here this spring. With either scope and mounting system the rifle functioned great, I may end up shooting this thing myself come hunting season, provided my wife will let me.
Ammo Used
I used all ammunition from Hornady, all three of Hornady’s lines of ammunition worked great in the rifle and only made me love the ARC even more.
Score Card
Reliability (10/10) The Howa Mini worked perfectly during my testing. I see no reason to anticipate that to change.
Ergonomics (8/10) I would like a more vertical grip. But I get that this is a pretty entry level rifle so I cant expect too much.
Customization (7/10) The Mini is a bit of an anomaly so there aren’t many things that will work with it. Most unfortunately a different magazine system. It’s great that it works with Remington 700 scope bases though. There are a few aftermarket stocks and such for it, which is great.
Appearance (7/10) It’s a generally good looking little rifle, I wish there was a flush mounted magazine option. There are other camo pattern finishes available, I think I’ll end up doing a custom Cerakote job on mine.
Value (9/10) I absolutely think this is an excellent value, for the few flaws I’ve mentioned I would 100% buy this rifle again. I’m already considering another in perhaps a 6.5 Grendel, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. The scope that comes with it is nothing fancy, but to get a rifle and scope like this for the street price as little as 550 dollars is a good deal in my opinion.
I have greatly enjoyed my time with the Howa Mini in 6 ARC. I think it fits perfectly into the niche spot I wanted it for.
It’s small and light enough for the more petite shooters in my house but still carries the accuracy needed to hunt the big game animals we hunt every fall. And I am pleased with the level of quality from the little Howa, as are both my wife and daughter.
The Howa Mini’s extra short action reduces weight and length and makes the rifle extremely easy to haul around and shoot. Whether that be for deer hunting, varmint, or predator hunting, I think the Howa Mini is a great option.
If you find yourself needing something smaller than the average rifle of the gun store rack, you should look into the Howa Mini in whatever caliber fits your fancy.
-CBM
2023 Update
We have hunted with the Howa Mini for a whole year now. Using it for hunting varmints, and mule deer. My opinion of the rifle has only improved with time, it has been very reliable and maintained its great accuracy.
My wife managed to smack a little mule deer buck with it from about 200 yards.
Some of you may have already read about my experience with the 6.5 Cayuga from a year or two ago. That may or may not have led you to this subject, but if you are seriously looking into the Cayuga solid copper bullets as a hunting option then I’d recommend reading both articles.
The Cayuga
All Patriot Valley Arms Cayugas are solid copper monolithic bullets, lathe turned to perfection from the same alloy as traditional copper cup bullets. This allows them to be extremely consistent from bullet to bullet, and the CNC turning process also allows their profile to be controlled meticulously. The Cayuga solids boast much higher ballistic coefficients than comparably weighted bullets, but due to their lighter weight from lacking a lead core they can be shot at higher velocities. So to sum it up; higher bc’s and lighter weight make them better for distance shooting and the lot consistency and gentile ogive make them accurate and easy loading.
A typical group from the Cayuga, with zero load workup
Earlier this year, I started my second six millimeter project, a 6mm GT for my Desert Tech SRS M2. It took only a few minutes to fall completely in love with the Tiger, so when given the opportunity to test these new Cayuga bullets in it, I wasted no time. The 6mm GT easily pushes hundred grain bullets to the 3,000 fps mark, and the high BC of the Cayuga meant that it would hold onto that velocity and energy for quite a ways.
The Numbers
The 100 grain Cayuga didn’t exactly come with an owners manual, PVA gave me some suggested data to work with which seemed to be spot on. I used a G7 BC of .270 which is very similar to the extremely popular Berger 105gr. I tested the Cayuga to beyond 1400 yards and as far as I shot with it, that .270 lined up perfectly.
Once I had the Cayugas in hand, I sat down at the loading bench to get busy. The go to powder for the GT is Hodgdon Varget, and for good reason. But if your reading this in the same era it was written, then you know how hard its been to get certain loading components. Varget was hard to come by, but I had eight pounds of Reloader 17 that I could make work. And boy did it!
The very first load I tried with the Cayugas was a modest charge of RL-17 that produced around 2960 fps from my twenty-four inch barrel. The first five bullets I tested went through nearly the same hole, I shit thee nay. Groups in the .2’s and .3’s were immediately achieved with ZERO load workup or seating depth fiddling. While I do consider myself to be both lucky and handsome, I think the generous curve of the bullets ogive likely bears more credit for the accurate shooting than any luck of my own.
I added a touch more powder to break the big three-o, and left the rest alone. From there I spent the rest of my test shooting validating drop and such to confirm the bc. The end goal here was the same for nearly every project of mine; what can I kill with it?
Hunting Season
the exit hole of the 100gr Cayuga from 680 yards
The GT had accompanied me on a bear hunt to Montana, no kills were made there so the next opportunity would be the Mule deer hunt in my state of Utah. The Rocky Mountains that I call home are quite spacious, and the steep and deep canyons where we hunt our deer can often stretch for miles. Shots can be anywhere from one hundred yards, out to two or three ridges away. To put it simply, a five, six or seven hundred yard shot on a mule deer buck is about as common as anything. The Gay Tiger loaded with Cayugas had become such a predictably accurate shooter that anything in that realm felt like a chip shot as far as hitting my point of aim. So when opening day arrived, the GT road right next to me, and never left my side. We ended up using it for two separate shots on deer, both of which hang quietly in the shed in my backyard.
The first deer was shot at six-hundred and eighty yards, it was a perfect broadside shot that passed through leaving an inch and a half hole on its way out. The deer staggered about twenty yards before he tipped over.
The second deer was taken a few days later, at a distance just over a thousand yards. He too took a single shot and dropped straight to the ground where he expired. While the second shot may have had less energy than recommended by many, it certainly did the trick just fine.
Broken rib bones, shredded lungs, and bright blood stains against the dry yellow grass are exactly the kind of indicators that good hunters like to judge a bullet’s performance.
Antelope
Since the initial posting of this article, I have also use the 100gr Cayuga on other animals. I was lucky enough to draw a buck Pronghorn Antelope tag in Utah, and the GT loaded with Cayuga’s would be just the ticket.
The shot would end up being taken at 480 yards, and would penetrate almost fully from a quartering shot. Entering the front left shoulder, and exiting just in front of the right hip. The buck went straight down, as a result of the impressive damage from the Cayuga. You can read more about the hunt here. I also went into some deeper detail and analysis about this an other shots in this article about tumbling bullets.
Conclusion
Just as I had expected, the 6mm Cayugas are everything I had hoped for. Accurate and flat shooting bullets that make an impressive wound cavity through animals. We often joke that Im going to have to shoot an elk with a 6mm Cayuga if ever I want to find a fired one. But after seeing what I have, it’d have to be really far away, or else I’d have to shoot him length-wise. We killed seven deer last week, just in my group. And the 6mm GT shooting Cayugas killed every bit as well as the larger cartridges used (6.5CM, 260, 308). If you are in need of a solid copper hunting bullet, or if your stuck in California for example, the Cayugas are just the ticket for six-millimeter big game hunting.
New cartridges are not so novel these days, it seems as though a new one comes out every few months. But how can devoted marksmen discern between a keeper, and something that is all hype? First thing, let’s be honest with ourselves, most everything is hyped up to some degree or another. As consumers we’ve learned to wade through the hype, and find where metal meets the meat. Much of new cartridge marketing these days is just rebranding an older idea with a new twist, see what I did there Westerner? In this article I’d like to discuss a relatively new cartridge, and separate the sales pitch from the hard facts. The cartridge is the 6mm GT in a custom barrel for my Desert Tech SRS M2.
Enter the Tiger
It would be a disservice to discuss the GT without mentioning one of if not the most entrenched parodies of the shooting world today. When the GT was initially released, many were inquisitive as to its ancestry. The GT being its own genesis led many to question what the G and the T stood for, and the internet took over from there. In typical fashion with our community, several actors on social media dug deep into the shadows of their closet for a comical answer to the question. The Gay Tiger was born of an internet meme, and its same-sex partner. The novelty only increased when embraced by the entire community, and even head-stamped brass reading 6mm Gay Tiger was produced by Alpha Munitions. There is no doubt that the satirical gag helped drive notoriety of the GT, and it spread like fire.
The 6mm GT, or 6 GT as it is often called, was a collaborative effort between two gentlemen with legendary experience in the realm of precision rifle shooting. George Gardner of GA Precision and Tom Jacobs of Vapor Trail Bullets combined their collective knowledge to dream up the perfect cartridge for competitive rifle shooting.
The new round offers shooters some of the best attributes possible for precision shooting. Velocity is not always everything, but the 6mm GT provides ample speed for its size. Bullets of the typical 105- to 115-grain match weight easily attain 3,000 fps and more. These speeds are achieved with modest charges of Varget powder. Between 34 and 35 grains is all it takes due to the very efficient case design.
The 35-degree shoulder of the 6mm GT helps it feed flawlessly and without modification from most common magazine options like the AICS-pattern mags. The GT also uses a small primer pocket, which many believe creates a stronger, more rigid case head. This translates into durability and strength, allowing you to reload the cases with additional life expectancy. Loaded ammunition is available from Hornady and a few custom shops.
WHY ANOTHER 6MM?
There are already so many great cartridges, including many 6mm/.243-caliber rounds, so why the GT? The 6mm Creedmoor and it’s smaller siblings like the 6mm Dasher, BR, and BRX offer all kinds of options to shooters. That’s not to mention the older ones like the 6mm Remington or the hugely popular .243 Winchester. But the GT offers more powder capacity than the smaller cases and more velocity.
It does this very efficiently without increasing recoil like you would see shooting similar loads in the Creedmoor and larger cases. This brings added value by increasing barrel life and shooting performance. With top-quality components available for the GT, extremely consistent velocities make the cartridge a shoo-in for precision rifle competition.
DIVING INTO THE 6MM GT
I decided that I needed to dig into the GT. So after doing some research, I started ordering the parts. First, I got a reamer from Alpha Munitions that was designed for the additional freebore needed for those slender and long match bullets that are 107 or more grains. I planned on shooting the GT from my Desert Tech SRS M2, so I ordered a K&P blank barrel from my gunsmith. It was a 1:7 twist barrel that would end up being 24 inches long, helically fluted, and threaded. Yes, I was absolutely going to run muzzle attachments.
The GT uses a standard .473 bolt face. So I already had a bolt to use ,and a few dummy rounds cycled flawlessly through the SRS’s short-action magazines. Once finished, I installed the barrel extension on the breach of the barrel and fitted a Patriot Valley Arms Jet Blast muzzle brake to the front. One of the main reasons competitors shoot 6mm cartridges is the low recoil. When you add a big brake like I did, the recoil all but disappears.
RANGE TIME
I was so excited to start shooting the GT rifle. I had a pile of test ammo already loaded and ready to hit the range when I brought it home. I’d heard the GT likes a few hundred rounds for break-in, so I went with something cheap and easy.
Some Hornady 75-grain V-Max bullets loaded to a mild 3,050 fps would be my first test batch to get the rifle zeroed and see the initial results. I quickly stumbled into a sub-half-MOA group with that first load. I wasted no time taking the rifle into my mountain haunts to search out one of my favorite opponents, the high-country marmots. The 6mm GT did an incredible number on dozens of chucks, and the accuracy and predictable recoil impulse made shooting them seem almost too easy. I was completely hooked, but I was just getting started.
SCHOOLED
As soon as I returned home from my varmint hunting, I found out I was offered a spot in an advanced law enforcement precision rifle course from Bruiser Industries. I leapt at the chance and hastily loaded 300 rounds of a new pet load of Hornady 105-grain BTHPs. Again, with little to no load development, the 105s shot half MOA or better groups. For four days in the southern California heat, we trained on advanced shooting techniques, position building, and everything else that LE snipers would want to know.
Shooting at ranges from 100 yards all the way out to 1,400 yards was part of the curriculum, and the 6mm GT went the distance for all of it. The accuracy was everything I needed to make good hits when I did my part. Plus, when compared to the .308 rifles most of the other attendees were shooting, my gun barely moved when firing. With sweat-stained clothes and a dust-covered rifle, I had built complete confidence in both the cartridge and the rifle.
Not long after I got home, I was also offered a position in the Hornady Precision Rifle Challenge, one of the greatest precision rifle shooting matches in the country. Despite my confidence, I knew it would be humbling to shoot alongside some of the best shooters in the country. Nevertheless, I stayed up until midnight loading another 300 rounds of ammo. At 4 a.m. the next morning, I headed up the road towards the match.
There I was, meeting both George and Tom, not to mention hundreds of other great people. I’ll spare you the shame of my performance, but I will tell you how the rifle performed. Other than a few dust-induced magazine issues, the SRS M2 and 6mm GT worked like a perfectly tuned machine. I can say with every confidence that when I missed, it was because I miscalled the wind or wasn’t solid enough. But when I was on target, boy did we sing a beautiful melody together.
The GT did excellent in the strong winds, blowing across the range and smacking the targets with great authority. The recoil was easily managed, allowing me to spot my own hits and misses and making corrections easy. The match was a great experience, and I relearned a bunch of things I’d forgotten long ago.
WHAT’S LEFT TO SAY?
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am absolutely enamored with this setup. I don’t think I’m able to come up with a downside to the 6mm GT. It is easy to load. It’s very accurate, soft shooting, and an excellent performer. Plus, it has nothing but the best support and components available for it.
It’s no wonder this cartridge enjoys such a cult following in the precision rifle community. I love a good shooting match, but I am a hunter at heart. So you can bet I will be taking this rifle hunting this fall. All the same things that make this an excellent match gun also make it great for other shooting practices. In my part of the country, the deer have to worry about coyotes, cougars, and me. But come this fall, they’ll also have to hide from the 6mm GT.
It seems all too frequent nowadays for a new cartridge to jump to the front of every blog, magazine, and ad campaign. Ammunition manufacturers are always looking for the next best thing to sell. I cant blame them, and I’d much prefer they spend all the money on R&D so the rest of us don’t have to. At the top of the ammunition game is the big red H that we have all come to know quite well. Hornady has brought some extremely popular cartridges to market in the recent past, the PRC family comes to mind, as does the revered 6.5 Creedmoor. Today we taking a look at one of Hornady’s newer cartridges, and how it fits into one of my favorite rifles. The Hornady 6ARc and the Desert Tech MDRX.
Hornady brought another impressive project to the shooting public in 2020 with the introduction of the 6mm Advanced Rifle Cartridge. Introduced in June, the 6mm ARC stands to become a popular red-tipped option. Having seen many of these new cartridges come and go, I was cautiously optimistic for several reasons. Let’s take a look at this round and see what makes it special.
WHAT IS THE 6MM ARC
Based on the6.5 Grendel, the 6mm ARC shares basic dimensions with the Grendel but is necked down to .243/6mm. It shoots heavy for caliber bullets in the 90- to 110-grain range from a 1-to-7.5 twist barrel.
Hornady currently offers three loads of ARC — a 103-grain ELD-X in the Precision Hunter line, a 105-boat tail hollow point in the Black ammunition line, and a 108-grain ELD Match in their match ammunition line. Additionally, Hornady also released loading dies and components for reloading the ARC.
Small frame autoloading rifles already have untold options when it comes to caliber, so what makes the ARC different? According to Hornady the ARC produces a similar if not superior ballistic curve than .308 Winchester. It maintains velocity and drop further than the .308 Win. It does this while also being efficient. The ARC uses smaller, lighter cartridges with lighter powder charges while maintaining a higher level of energy on target than its small-frame competitors. This reduction in weight and powder charge also reduces felt recoil, allowing for rapid hit/miss confirmation and quick follow-up shots.
SHOOTING THE 6MM ARC
Of course, specs only matter if the ARC can shoot accurately. The very first time I shot the 6mm ARC at an actual range, I put three shots onto an IPSC target at 200-yards. I was impressed with the results and I knew I wanted one of my own. I grabbed my Desert Tech MDRX to use as a 6mm ARC platform as it offers a multi-caliber design that is easily adapted to large or small-frame cartridges. My good friend and talented gunsmith Eric at ES-Tactical got a quality 6mm barrel blank and we set to work.
The Desert Tech MDRX is a multi-caliber platform that allowed me to test
out the 6mm ARC
The 20-inch 7.5 twist barrel came from K&P, and was drilled, chambered, fluted, and threaded. With the appropriate barrel extension and gas block installed, all I needed was a bolt. The ARC uses a slightly larger bolt face than the .223 Rem, which took steady machining but worked perfectly. The ARC runs at similar pressures to its peers, so I used the same gas settings as a .308 Win. In a matter of a few minutes, the 6mm ARC roared to life.
The MDRX had been zeroed for my .223 barrel, but despite that, the point of impact from the 6mm ARC was very close. So close, in fact, I shot out to 200-, 450-, and 550-yards without zeroing the scope. Shooting standard-size IPSC steel targets isn’t an indicator of record-breaking accuracy or anything, but it felt good right out of the gate. Both factory Hornady match ammunition, as well as handloads, performed well, producing groups that averaged around 0.5 to 0.75 MOA.
Using a US Optics TS8X riflescope calibrated for 5.56 NATO, I reached out to 300-yards across a canyon on a rock that was about 10-inches wide. After hitting it over and over, I figured it was worth trying something further, but the only other target-sized rock I could find was at 960-yards. Without a drop chart, I did a little guesstimating on holdover. I was close but shot over it with an 8 MRAD hold, so I dropped to 7 MRAD, made a better wind call, and sent a second shot. This one found my point of aim with nearly perfect precision. I was more than dazzled, as I continued to place shots on targets all over the mountain. The accuracy of the ARC is superb.
Five-shot group of hand-loaded 105 BTHP Hornady bullets
It’s fairly well known that the Grendel has trouble feeding on occasion and won’t feed from 5.56 NATO magazines. The ARC, unfortunately, shares that family trait. I temporarily tried some P-Mags until I got proper magazines for the ARC. I found that .300 Blackout mags worked better than 5.56 NATO, but only I loaded a few rounds at a time. Ultimately, I used a few different magazines from Dura-Mag to avoid feeding issues and load to capacity.
It’s worth mentioning that recoil on the ARC is, as Hornady suggested, minimal. Seeing your own hits on steel targets is easy at medium range, and even easier at long range.
LOADING THE ARC
I’ve been handloading for many years, so loading the 6mm ARC was as simple as switching out some dies. The powder charges were pleasantly light, I used both CFE556 and BLC-2 for the ARC. Both loads performed well and provided good accuracy and consistency over CCI BR4 primers.
I used Hornady brass, as well as some resized Grendel cases from Starline. I followed the load data Hornady offers on its website — around 28-grains of powder was where I settled. The Hornady 105-grain BTHP was the bulk of my loading fodder. It’s not too expensive and performs well. No doubt that the ARC will have a deadly encounter in a few months with some Wyoming antelope.
CONCLUSION
I’m usually slow to jump on new trends — it took me some time to even pick up the 6.5 Creedmoor but this little cartridge definitely piqued my interest. So much so, in fact, I haven’t used any other barrels in my MDRX since I got this one. Its accurate, smooth shooting makes it easy to spot hits and misses. It also pings targets pretty hard even at significant distances. Aside from the mag issue, the only other drawback is brass as it is a little harder to come by than the average case.
This awesome little cartridge is staying close to me and I’ll be taking it hunting this fall for sure. New loads aren’t always better, but in the case of the6mm ARC, I think Hornady has a hit. -CBM
