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Reloading for 6mm, 6BR, 6PPC, 223, .308 precision rifle shooting.
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Reload load data 6mm powder bullets Hodgdon Vihtavuori Lapua
We could fill a book with 6mm BR reloading recipes, case prep secrets, accurizing tips, and miscellaneous voodoo. Or we could tell you simply take a new Lapua 6BR case, add a CCI 450 primer, drop in 30 grains of Varget, top it with a Fowler 80gr FB bullet at the lands, and shoot it.

Chances are that can give you a .30" group at 100yds in a good gun. But for those of you who won't settle for the simple answer, here's a summary of things that work...

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Preferred Powders
For the 70-90 grain bullets, Vihtavuori N-135 and H4895 are excellent choices. For the 105-108 grain projectiles, A good starting point is Varget sparked by CCI 450 primers. That's a combo proven in competition. Varget is accurate, works with all bullet weights and is relatively insensitive to temperature shift. Our recent Rail-Gun Tests, however, have shown Reloader 15 to be equally accurate, and able to deliver up to 50 fps more velocity with the heavier bullets. H4895 also proved very accurate with the heavier bullets in the 2880 fps range. Other good choices for the heavy bullets include VV N-140, N-150, N540, and Norma 203-B. Reloader 15 has produced great velocities with low ES, giving more speed than Varget at similar pressures. Norma uses 203-B in its Diamond Line 6BR ammo.

Powder Burn Rates | Recommended Powder & Primer Vendor: Powder Valley, (800) 227-4299.

Source for Name-Brand Factory Reloading Supplies: LuckyGunner.comLuckyGunner.com Ammo

Best Bullets
For short range: 80gr Fowler FB, 74gr Berger FB, or any of the good 68gr custom bullets.

For medium range or 1:10 twist barrels: Berger 88gr Low Drag FB, BIB 95gr FB, or Hornady 87-gr V-Max. The BIB is superbly accurate, having shot sub .2" groups at 200 yards.

For long range: 100gr Clinch River VLD, Berger 105gr VLD, 105gr Lapua Scenar, or 107gr Sierra MK. The value choice is Hornady's 105gr A-Max ($14/100 at MidwayUSA). For 6XCs, go with the DTAC 115gr VLD.

Primer Selection
CCI BR4s and 450s are giving the best velocities, with lowest ES, for the 100+gr bullets. For the shorter bullets, the Fed 205s work well. Federal 205s give good accuracy, but they don't handle high pressures as well as the CCIs, which have a harder cup. Stick to CCIs for hot loads.

Case Prep
Always chamfer the mouth before seating. We use a standard Forster 45-degree tool, then smooth the chamfer with a bit of green nylon scouring pad. Be sure to remove all burrs--don't leave any sharp edges on the chamfer. You may also want to try the K&M 4-degree tapered chamferer, but don't cut too deep--a slight chamfer is all you need. About flash holes--we suggest leaving them alone when using Lapua brass. Our tests suggest that ES and SD may increase with ANY modification of the Lapua Flash-holes, which run .15mm (.059") out of the box. If you do decide to debur the interior flash hole, use a K&M or Sinclair deburring tool for small primer holes--but be gentle, don't ream the hole out. To uniform the outside of the hole use the Sinclair 07-3000 outside PPC/BR flash hole reamer. This will ream the hole to fit a standard 1/16" decapping pin.

Seating Depth
When working with an untested load, we suggest starting .015" from the lands. However, our testing with multiple bullets in a 6BR rail gun shows that most 6mm match bullets bullets perform best seated to slightly jam, perhaps .010"-.015". However, this is not always true. We have observed that some of the heavier boat-tails, Sierras especially, perform best jumped by as much as .025". We've heard similar reports from the 6.5-284 shooters running 142 SMKs. But other guns perform better with bullets jammed in the lands .010" or more. You have to experiment to find out what works best.

Favorite Recipes
There is no "screamer" load that works in every rifle. Your barrel twist will also dictate the bullets you can run. Moreover, there are some great loads that exceed the powder-makers' recommended pressure levels, and we can't print those here. But still, here are some proven loads that should get you well on your way to shooting bugholes.

WARNING: ALWAYS start 10% below these loads and work up. NEVER assume pressures will be safe if you change ANY component.

Short-range (100-300yd) Load
Std Case, 80gr Fowler FB, 30.0gr VV N-135, Fed 205M, 3150 fps.
Std Case, 88gr Berger LoDrag, 31.0gr Varget, CCI BR4, 3100 fps

600yd Loads
Std Case, 90gr Lapua BT Moly, 33gr VV N-540, CCI BR4, 3050 fps
Std Case, 95gr BIB FB Match, 30.7 Varget, CCI 450 primer, 2980 fps.
Std Case, 95gr Berger VLD, 31.0gr Varget, CCI 450 primer, 3000 fps.
Std Case, 105gr Lapua Scenar, 30.0gr Varget, CCI BR4, 2870 fps
Std Case, 105 Berger VLD, 31.0 Reloader 15, CCI BR4, 2975+ fps
Std Case, 105gr Berger VLD Moly, 31.0 VV N540, CCI 450, 2900 fps.
6 BRX Case, 105gr Berger VLD Moly, 33+ VV N-150*, Rem 7.5, 3050 fps.

1000yd Loads
Std Case, 100gr Clinch River, 30+gr VV N-540*, Rem 7.5, 2880 fps.
6 BRX Case, 107gr Sierra MK, 32+gr Varget*, CCI 450, 3000 fps.
6 Dasher Case, 105gr Scenar, 32.5gr RL15, CCI 450, 3025 fps.

Varmint Load
Std Case, 75gr Hornady V-Max, 31.5gr VV N-135, Fed 205, 3200+ fps
Std Case, 87gr Hornady V-Max, 31gr Varget, Rem 7.5, 3100+ fps.

*Actual load higher than we want to print--work up to fps number.
Velocity estimates are for 28" barrel, naked bullets except Lapuas.



Accurate Reloading
MD Smith's Reloading Pages
Reloaders Nest
The Reload Bench
Varmint Al's Reloading Pages


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Here are equivalents for ADI (Australian Defense Industries) powder to Hodgdon powders. Hodgdon acquires these powders in bulk and re-packages them for the North American market. Note: When using the QuickLOAD software, we've found you normally get more accurate results using the supplied data for the ADI version.

ADI | Hodgdon Equivalent


AS30N = Clays


AP50N (no match)
AS50N = International
AP70N = Universal
AP100 (no match)
AR2205 = H4227
AR2207 = H4198
Bench Mark1 (no match)
AR2219 = H322
Bench Mark2 = BenchMark
AR2206 (no match)
AR2206H = H4895
AR2208 = Varget
AR2209 = H4350
AR2213 (discontinued)
AR2213SC = H4831sc
AR2217 = H1000
AR2225 = Retumbo
AR2218 = H50BMG



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