Thread: 6mm ARC

Does anyone here have a 6mm ARC ?

If so what are your thoughts / observations / results ?
What projectiles are you throwing and what velocities are you getting ?

I had one. Criterion 22" barrel in a Savage SA. Normal load was a 103 ELDX at 2740 but with Leverevolution I had a "hunting" load or the same projectile at 2860. It shot very well but after a bit of its poor feeding habit from AICS magazines (proper x39 ones) and a comment from a gunsmith about "usually its better to run a big motor at low revs than a little one screaming" and then "how long does your brass last" I decided I was pushing shit uphill and reameecit to 6mm CM.

Vortex nation podcast have done a fair bit on it on their YouTube channel

Gota keep our much needed Gunsmiths in business. I’ll go Arc if I can afford another build. I had 6.5grendel, still have the barrel, have a 7.62x39 for subsonic testing, if that turns out too much of a gimic I’d try 6Arc next

Started looking at it. Daydreaming really. 6Dasher is what I’ve got in mind. 30ish grains of powder, 18-20” barrel with no or mini suppressor, ultra light chassis/stock.

All theoretical for now…

Would be keen to learn if the ARC offers anything over the dasher other than being available from factory mini action.

I got a 17 inch hardys barrel on a ruger. Have shot probably 12 deer with it, all reds bar one. 50 yards to 500.
Using factory 108 eldm.
Would sell or trade for a 22 or 223 as all I'm using it for is shooting possums with the thermal. Bit of an overkill hahaha

US special forces have adopted the round, so that says something about it

Originally Posted by Fat ninja

US special forces have adopted the round, so that says something about it

Yup, it says it will work in a gas system rifle

Or perhaps 6MAX?

6MAX uses the existing 223 bolt face and delivers similar performance than a 6ARC.

Been looking at getting one too.

H&F have Ruger Ranch Gen II 6mm ARC, 16.1", threaded, $1499.

Howa also make a 6mm ARC, but haven't seen it on the shelves in NZ yet.

The Howas are in NZ. I can confirm that.

Talk to @Deon Kruger on here, hes got some already I build him, there are several other but I did not ask permission to post their names

Got one built on a howa 1500.
Jaco goosen built it. Liking it alot. Fired 100 rounds of factory hornady black 105gr accounting for more than a few fallow and goats. Just working up a 100gr sierra gameking load.
My 223 is going to be retired after I get it sorted

The is no doubt that the x39s (Grendel, ARC etc) and x43s (6.8SPC, 224 Valkyrie etc) produce ballistics that are ideal for nearly all NZ game to as far as you like although they are no match for a magnum at the longer ranges. For many many shooters they are ideal in terms of recoil and overall rifle weight in "mini" actions as well as SAs. They are very hard to beat as a target rifle cartridge at reasonable ranges. I've had very enjoyable runs with 7.62x39, 6.5 Grendel, 6mm ARC, 6.8 SPC and 224 Valkyrie in various hunting and target rifle configurations.

For me the "Achilles heel" of this cartridge class is feeding in bolt guns. Every one of mine has had a cock-up of some sort in feeding at some stage. I've tried lots of things in term of magazines etc but eventually (in 50-100s of rounds) something has gone awry. Compared with a 223 or 308 class one will go for literally 1000s of rounds without a failure. I don't know why this is but it is a thing and is common to a heck of a lot of these shorter cartridges e.g. the BRs, Dasher etc.

The final point is that like just about all cartridges we tend to see "the bright side" and with these small guys there is heaps of "my Grendel produces xxxx fps with xx" and we go "oh goody, that'll do me" only to find that my barrel simply won't go that fast, or people push the limits unknowingly putting themselves at risk (to achieve what other people have claimed). I've run 4-5 barrels with these cartidges and only one has produced "internet " velocities, and that with reduced brass life indicating that my pressures were "right up there".

I've had a lot of fun and learnt a lot from the x39s and x43s but I've only got one left and it's survived by being a particularly exceptional shooter in target rifle mode. It's given me the shits with occasional missfeeds in PRS matches so it doesn't go there much but it's fine for non pressure shooting from mounds.

Watch Eric Corina's blackjack challenge series on YouTube and you will see lots of feeding issues.

Originally Posted by Tentman

The final point is that like just about all cartridges we tend to see "the bright side" and with these small guys there is heaps of "my Grendel produces xxxx fps with xx" and we go "oh goody, that'll do me" only to find that my barrel simply won't go that fast, or people push the limits unknowingly putting themselves at risk (to achieve what other people have claimed). I've run 4-5 barrels with these cartidges and only one has produced "internet " velocities, and that with reduced brass life indicating that my pressures were "right up there".

It's much more sensible to
1 - be really realistic about what velocity is actually required and what benefit there is from more (not much)
2 - base velocity estimates for selecting a cartridge on a pretty conservative basis from book max data and not anecdote online


especially if you just take the sensible route and use more modern cartridges where book load data is of much more relevance and better quality than older data.