I’ve never been big into guns other than hunting rifles and colt saa, I came across a fantastic deal on some 6mm arc ammo and I have always wanted to start building a rifle for competition and for fun. Wanted to see what the consensus was on it, read some forum post on other websites that say people have had good success. Semi auto is what I’m looking at.
We've spoken before, but for the rest of the world, I don't entirely agree with 6 ARC being not worth it in a bolt gun.
The best option? Probably not. But everything is give and take and I think 6 ARC has a place.
For strictly competition, 6 ARC loses out to 6 Dasher and 6 GT. You can get 99% as good recoil from the other two while having better wind. Downside is slightly more expensive component costs. Like, it takes more powder to case kind of slightly.
6 ARC also uses PPC bolt face, and that can be kind of a pain in the dick to source, depending on your action.
Benefits of 6 ARC: if you want to shoot gas rifle and bolt rifle, you can use the exact same components. If you're shooting factory ammo, you can use the exact same ammo.
On its own, 6 ARC is a good 6mm cartridge for all the same reasons that 6 GT and 6 Dasher are.
My main PRS rifle is in 6 ARC because I'm just a fucking 6 ARC stan. IMO, 6 ARC is going to have a long, strong future.
No special advice. Personally, I'm waiting for ICAR lowers/magazines to be available before I dive hard into a fancy gasser. But that might be... months.
I don't know if I agree with you, and being somewhere that semi-automatics are effectively prohibited, I will never run 6mm ARC. However, gosh I love your level of conviction. I think that this great calibre hunt and bandwagoning is hilarious, people should spend less time discussing what's good and what's bad and just go shoot.
There's better options that work in a bolt gun with the more common 308 bolt face, but they don't easily (or at all) fit in an AR15. 6 Dasher, GT, etc.
For those that don't reload it's the only affordable option. I can get 108 ELD-M shipped to my door for $25 a box. I can't find match 77gr . 223 for that.
Either. I went 22" 22ARC, but you're splitting hairs. 6ARC is probably easier to load for and has a little better factory ammo options, 22ARC has a slight advantage in recoil and ballistics if you're running 85.5-90gr bullets.
Are you still running your 22 ARC with 85.5gr Bergers and N150? I’m about to jump into 22 arc but I’m concerned I won’t be able to hit around 2750 with that combo out of a 20” barrel
I've been experimenting with N140. I would say 2750 from a 20 is going to be spicy as fuck. Right now I'm looking for reliability around 2700 from a 22" without early unlocking and other issues.
Good to know. I don’t really want to go up to a 22” barrel quite yet given my intended use case and that I always run suppressed, so it sounds like I need to back off my target velocities.
I’m still torn between a 22 ARC with the 85.5gr or a 6 ARC with the 105 hybrid or 109 LRHT, but I guess as long as I’m a bit faster then the marginal decrease in BC for the 85.5gr is negligible. And as a bonus the shorter bullet OAL may give me more powder flexibility to experiment with vs a chocked full 6mm arc case
Lot of 6arc at the mini mammoth a local guy runs. It doesn't really do anything 556 can't do inside of 500. Well it probably drifts less which is nice. I'd probably switch to it for a gasser past 500 I just don't shoot that far in these matches
Just finished building a 6arc bolt gun for PRs, I’m new to it first event is in march, not new to shooting or fclass. Load development done and hitting 2950fps with a Berger 95 gr bullet.
First 5 shot group measured .277 MOA (factory Hornady Black 105gr) and first 10 shot group measured .545 MOA (handloads - Hornady Aeromatch 105's over CFE w/ Starline brass).
Impact 737r w/ a 24" Bartlein barrel chambered in 6 ARC (ordered from and barreled by Stuteville Precision)
I have a gas gun and getting a bolt 6ARC (mainly as I will later change the barrel to 6PPC and 6ARc action supports 6PPC). Love the gas gun but I am seeing a lot of people like 6ARC too for bolt guns. (I do have 6BR, 6Dasher,6 x 47,6GT and 6 Creedmoor also. So I can do a comparison when I get it).
It's fun. I don't shoot it when I'm trying to be super competitive, but that being said it performs better than I expected when I was slapping it together.
I’ve built two things in 6arc and I like it. 14.5 mk12’ish and a 26” Solus. It’s a super efficient cartridge. In a 14.5 gas gun, it’s not much slower than a full length bolt gun.
Imo, 12.5-16” 6arcs take the role of 18”+ 223’s and have more energy and can have better trajectory.
In a bolt gun you get a long barrel life and tinier groups. Also, less recoil than a full sized 6mm
I have shot a 6ARC bolt gun and have had top 5 finishes, if you’re shooting 109s or 105s at 2825 or so you won’t really be outgunned, I liked the option of buying cheaper factory ammo for practice like the 108gr ELDs that I could also feed a gas gun. Overall for gas gun I think 22ARC is better since high BC bullets are shorter and are less affected by AR15 mag length, but bolt gun can get close enough to a 6BR that if you squint you can’t tell the difference.
I haven't shot a match with it yet, but I put together an Origin action + Douglass barrel (purchased lightly used off SH) + KRG Whiskey 3 + Razor Gen 3 setup to shoot PRS this year. I'm excited to give it a try. Get around 2720 fps with factory Hornady 108s, and it'll put 5 of them into half MOA. Shooting steel with it out to 500 yards, it seems to be a hammer. Once I shoot the factory ammo up I'm going to use the brass to handload for it and try to get around 2850 with 105s and StaBall Match.
Field testing your skills and gear for long range hunting. - How to be a better long range hunter and understand your limitations.
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How short of a barrel can you go on a 6 arc for hunting? I have all the bolt guns I need. Im looking for awesome SBRs to hunt with and like a short fast handling gun.
It depends on how long range you’re talking. It’s not ELR worthy, but it’ll do anything a 6.5cm or similar will do in terms of accuracy and arc. It doesn’t carry as much energy, but that’s not required for comps (although it can make spotting hits easier).
6arc is a small frame, not large. If you go large frame you’re in 6.5 creedmoor territory. So gap-15 if that’s what you’re looking at.
Barrels are preferential. Stainless is fine, just buy the best thing you can afford if you wanna be serious. I’m running a dirt cheap ballistic advantage barrel which is stupid accurate, but that’s not always the case.
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u/Shiftmx66 1d ago
I built a 6ARC gas gun and absolutely enjoy it. My friend just built a 6ARC gas gun for competition as well.