Thread: 6x45 Rem barrel

Do these offer any real world advantage over a 223 running heavies? I have mountains of 223 brass and am considering buying some more guns to make use of it and my 223 loading gear again.

Originally Posted by Beavis

Do these offer any real world advantage over a 223 running heavies? I have mountains of 223 brass and am considering buying some more guns to make use of it and my 223 loading gear again.

The main advantage the 6x45 offers over .223 is the availability of heavier and more suitable deer bullets. The .223 is still a great multi purpose cheap caetridge but the bullets on offer without going to the pricey mono's are generally very light jacketed varmint suited bullets.

6x45 broadens the usefulness of the rifle making it a great allrounder as you can still load 55gr-70gr bullets for the varmints but you can alternatively load a wide range of .243 75-100gr bullets for bigger animals.
It a great little cartridge that almost matches the humble .308 win for variation of bullets available and very suited to woman and kids alike with its lack of recoil, although still carries enough energy to drop a decent red with a shoulder shot out to about 300m.

I have not shot my .223 rem in a long time, since I built the .22 TCM in fact. For me personally I just feel the .223 is a little too much for the varminting I do which is generally inside 300m and have been using the .22TCM and .17 Mach IV for that now.
In my eyes the .223 is more suited to the open country varminting of wallabies, hares and rabbits to 500-600m goats to about 300m and the occasional closer range head or neck shot on bigger deer.
.223 is also a great range cartridge with its cheap bulk ammo availability you can plink away all day with it without breaking the bank.
So in summery the 6x45 will do all of the above but arguably adds a bit more confidence of smack down and range on deer.

Originally Posted by Beavis

Do these offer any real world advantage over a 223 running heavies? I have mountains of 223 brass and am considering buying some more guns to make use of it and my 223 loading gear again.

You definitely should build one! There's quite a few of us who really want to have a 6*45 but can't afford to just yet. Give it a go so we can live vicariously through your experiences. Cheers

PS Once the 223 version of the flush floorplate magazines for the Howa Mini make their way down here to NZ we'll have a brilliant action to build these on - happy days!

Originally Posted by Steelisreal

Once the 223 version of the flush floorplate magazines for the Howa Mini make their way down here to NZ we'll have a brilliant action to build these on - happy days!

Absolutely correct, that rifle & flush mag combo screams make me a 6x45