Which caliber for benchrest?

GRiNGo

GRiNGo

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Hi, I am thinking of building my first target rifle as I am getting tired of trying to get target accuracy out of hunting rifles. My question is should it be 6mmBR or 6PPC? As for info our actual range is only a 200meter range however I do shoot alot on private land with no distance limitations. I will likely not compete as there are no competitions anywhere near here that I am aware. My understanding is that 6ppc is best at 100, 200 meter and 6mmbr is good to 600ish. Obviously if one gets an accurate barrel in 6br it should shoot well at shorter distances..? I guess if 6pcc has a long range limit then I will likely go with 6br as long as there is no reason it will not shoot well at shorter distances.

Thanks for your input.
Chad
 
If you want to shoot out further than 200 then go with a 1:8 twist 6BR which will shoot the lighter bullets at short range and the heavier 105-107gr bullets out to 1000yds in calmer conditions.
 
Issue is throating length. the lighter bullets are best for the shorter distances and want a shorter throat then what is ideal for the 105/107/108's

so you will need to compromise which is not ideal.

There is no reason why a light 6mm bullets can't be short a very long ways for S&G's. Of course they will get bounced around more then a heavier higher BC bullet.

Decide which is more important to you and what you will shoot most of all then build a rig to suit.

Jerry
 
Ganderite said:
6BR uses a standard 308 bolthead. 6PPC uses smaller bolt face. That might be an issue.
Click to expand...

This is true, however any boltface can be sleeved to reduce the inside diameter for the PPC cases.
I didn't know this at the time and wanted to build a 6PPC on a Remington action for my build. An ill educated gunsmith told me that it couldn't be done for that reason....the ppc is smaller in diameter and would not work.

So I unfortunately trusted the gunsmith and opted to build the closest thing to a ppc.... the 6BR. I know typically the ppcs run with a slower twist rate making them Ideal for short range with lighter bullets. So thats how I built my 6br. 1:13 twist for up to 85 grainers. 90s and 95s will not stabalize out of my barrel.

I have shot this combo out to 600 yards with 68 grain match bullets and that is beyond the practical limits when the wind kicks up. 400 yards is about the limits to where I can still keep things MOA. From 100 to 200 yards, My set up has proven itself competative against the likes of 30BRs and 6ppcs in benchrest type matches.

I have no regrets building the 6br, but it would have been an intersting comparison to have the 6ppc too.
 
If you're serious then forget about the 6PPC or 6Br's. Slow twist brl's are also bad news for the heavier slugs to get you past 400 yrd mark! I would recommend going to the 6.5x47 Lapua or the necked down version: 6x47 lapua for any longer range stuff!
Cheers,
J.K.
 
define these terms

1. BENCHREST or benchrest, i.e. casual target practice at a range or a full blown BENCHGUN capable of shooting 5 goups of 5 shots each with moving backers, to get an agregate of .250 or less

I know you are not going to shoot in competitions but is this what you are after, or just for yourself at the bench

2. define the type of stock you want,
BENCHREST with a 3 inch flat forend and a flat on the bottom of the butt for maximum accuracy from a bench with proper front and rear rest

or putting a flat plate on a roundish stock to achieve accuracy on targets from a bench with some type of fixed rest set up

then I can give an opinion

BUT just to stir the pot I have a dozen full bown benchguns and I shot a 5 shot group with moving backers at the canadians in calgary a couple of weeks ago with a target measuring .046 yes 46 thou for this group.

YET I RECOMMEND A 6 M M BR

that will give you the longer range ie over 200 or 300 yards when you want to play,

if you choose a custom action or a switch barrel you can do both with the proper boltface,

the 6mmbr is better for almost all shooters except those few that are really anal, or old and shoot exclusively from a bench with very expensive equipment,

either way you will enjoy yourself,

I just got cooper 6br and soon a barnard 6br in about a month it will be ready

Jefferson
 
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I would too recommend a fast twist (1:8) 6mmBR if you wanna play in ranges beyond 300 meters. Mind you if you really want to own the 100-200 yard ranges a slow twist (1:12) 6PPC is what all benchrest shooters use. A 6mmBR will have a hard time at short range keeping up to the 6PPC.
 
Even if I can shoot .2's all day I will own my range and friends! We all shoot hunting rifles. I plan on buying a stevens/savage and adding a trigger stock and barrel.
 
If you're thinking becnhrest as in competitive shooting, DEFINITELY go and see for yourself what the guys use and recommend. There are different classes and different types of shooting (score vs group) .

If you are talking about an accurate gun you can enjoy shooting off a bench, perhaps participate in a club level or provincial level match (such as F-Class) and have FUN with, then a 6BR is pretty hard to beat.

6PPC will generally work in a .308 (.473") bolt face without sleeving or bushing.

6BR is a phenominally accurate round. Unbeatable in 300M issf competition, hard to touch in 600M F-Class, and in the right hands is more than capable of winning at 1000 yards. It is ALL about technique and about loading when you reach out to those distances.
Issue is throating length. the lighter bullets are best for the shorter distances and want a shorter throat then what is ideal for the 105/107/108's
Click to expand...

105 bullets in a 6BR can be made as accurate as a 6PPC. It is not simply the cartridge, but PPC shooters are the ultimate in managing consistency. From my experience too, a FB 68 grain bullet can work extremely well in a 6BR throated for 105's. It just needs to be slowed down a bit and they will bug-hole. They are generally not as seating depth sensitive as a VLD.
 
As Ian

Obtunded said:
If you're thinking becnhrest as in competitive shooting, DEFINITELY go and see for yourself what the guys use and recommend. There are different classes and different types of shooting (score vs group) .
QUOTE]

just said.

It will blow your mind away how tuff it can be at times and much easier for others. I know. It is not just a bunch of old guys sitting at tables it is having your rifle in tune and being able to rewad conditions as well.

I saw it first hand this past weekend at our Provincials in Selkirk in the wind and rain. I could not get my rifle to group all day Saturday until i realized Sunday AM after the first target. I had nothing to loose so I started to adjust powder and after 1/2 grain up I could get bullets to touch at 200. Brought a smile to my face but I still got eaten alive by the conditions at 200.

On the other hand Ted Gaillard who has decided to shoot BR again with a bit of coaxing had a .15XX agg going into his last target at 100 Saturday. On his last target he had 1 SHOT go out of the group. It would have been a VERY LOW .1 or possibly a .0XX. That .15XX was 4 targets 5 shots each on record. If he would have put that last shot into the group on his last target which was a PRETTY little round hole, he would have SHATTERED the current Canadian BRSC record. Regardless his targets are in the hands of the record committee to see if he has a new Canadian HV 100 Aggregate record.

He had it all working for him that afternoon.

Just a little tid bit of info.

CBY
Click to expand...
 
The 2 ppc's I built work just fine out of the standard 308 size remington bolt head. I removed the ejector buttons out of them so they don't fling my beautiful .269 brass onto the ground.

I had a GF from Meadow lake with a family name of Shultz, brother's name was Heini. That area has the largest swarms of mosquito's I have ever seen.
 
I would like to compete some day, but for now this would be an entry level gun for just practice and fun. I do hand load for all my firearms so this would be just another step for accuracy, I believe I can out shoot my factor rifles so a custom gun for me is the next step so I can learn more about technique, wind,....and so on. I know there is much to learn but you can only do so much on a hunting rifle.

Thanks again for the input
Chad
 
What the hunting rifle will let you learn, is how to dope the wind.

This is the never ending journey and all of us, need more learning.

Want to shoot 1/4 min groups all day long? Learn to dope with 1/4 min accuracy.

Accurate guns we can easily get, accurate shooters....that's a whole lotta work.

If the rig will shoot say 1/2 min at 200yds, then put all your shots into 1" at 200yds regardless of the day.

When you find that trivial, move to 300, then 400, the 500yds/m.

Don't get me wrong. We compete with rifles with excellent mechanical (competitive) accuracy so we can shoot as well as possible but I have yet to find a competitive rifle that was not limited by its shooter :)

Jerry
 
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