Good bullet for 6MM Rem. ( for deer )

[str8shooter48]

First time hunting for deer with a centerfire rifle. NY finally opened most of its Southern Tier area to allow rifles this year. :grin:

I figured I'd use my 6MM Rem this year. Can anybody give me any advice on what would be a good bullet to load up for whitetails. I'll most likely be pushing it with IMR 4064 powder.

Thanks.

[ricciardelli]

Sierra 85 grain HPBT

[Val]

A 100 grain Nosler Partition would work just fine.

[John R.]

The 100 gr. Nosler Partition or 100 gr. Barnes Triple Shok would be a much better choice than the 85 gr. HPBT. They will stay together on angle shots where the HPBT will probably come unglued, especially at close range. :grin:

[jhalcott]

I tried the 100's on deer in Md. with less than spectacular results! Lots of pass thru's with minimal internal damage.Long trailing jobs after the shot were normal. I switched to the Sierra 85HPBT and got MUCH better results and shorter trailing jobs (if any),most under 30 FEET. Exit holes were not a lot bigger than the 100 grainers,but internal destruction was impressive. Many shots were under 50 yards, the longest was right at 300 yards across a field. That buck,a 6 pointer, went about 35 yards down hill and died.

[Lloyd Smale]

killed quite a few deer with a sierra 100 grain flat base spitzer and never found it lacking. Heavy enough to give good penetration and the jacket is thin enough to give good expansion and its a very accurate bullet. Another good one is the speer 100 fb spitzer. I culled deer on a farm for 3 years with a 6mm classic and shot quite a few and tried quite a few bullets. I may get flamed for this but I found that the standard 100 grain bullets did much better then the partitions or the barns coppers. I found the bt noslers did pretty good but damaged to much meat and the 85 grain bullets lacked in penetration though when hit through the ribs did give quick kills. Seemed like all the tracking we did was when we tried the barns bullets and the partitions. I gave the gun to my dad with a good supply of speers loaded up so i guess if i had to pick one that would be it.

[Jerry Lester]

killed quite a few deer with a sierra 100 grain flat base spitzer and never found it lacking. Heavy enough to give good penetration and the jacket is thin enough to give good expansion and its a very accurate bullet. Another good one is the speer 100 fb spitzer. I culled deer on a farm for 3 years with a 6mm classic and shot quite a few and tried quite a few bullets. I may get flamed for this but I found that the standard 100 grain bullets did much better then the partitions or the barns coppers. I found the bt noslers did pretty good but damaged to much meat and the 85 grain bullets lacked in penetration though when hit through the ribs did give quick kills. Seemed like all the tracking we did was when we tried the barns bullets and the partitions. I gave the gun to my dad with a good supply of speers loaded up so i guess if i had to pick one that would be it.

I also can attest to the Sierra 100g .243" bullets. I personally prefer the boat tail version, but both are so close in performance that it really doesn't matter which you choose.

[Lone Star]

I tried the 100's on deer in Md. with less than spectacular results! Lots of pass thru's with minimal internal damage.Long trailing jobs after the shot were normal.

This was common in the early days of the 6mms, before bullet makers learned how to make the bullets correctly.  For awhile they went the other way and made them too soft.  But today most 100s work great in the .243/6mms as long as velocity is near factory levels.  In 6mm handguns with their lower velocities, the Nosler 85-grain Partition is the deer bullet of choice.  It also works in rifles and doesn't come apart like the 85 Sierras I used did.

[cwlongshot]

Sierra 85 grain HPBT

 This is NOT considered a big game bullet. It is too fragile at 6mm Rem velocities for use on big game. On perfect broadside shots at longer ranges it may work fine, but that is a SPECALIZED senerio, not the norm. Hit a major bone with that bullet at under 100 yrds and you will loose that animal. Of course it may kill the critter, but so would a ball peen hammer between the eyes....neither is practical.

 If you gun is older with the slower twist barrel, you need to stick with shorter bullets, trouble is most short bullets are to light as the afore mentioned 85gr HP. If you MUST use such a light weight at least use a partition and get as close to 100 grs as possible. 90 gr Partition is a good one.
 90 is the cross over for the 6mm diameter, lighter is for varmints heavier is for deer. Its not just the weight is the way the bullet is constructed, the little bit of extra weight comes from its stouter construction.

CW

[Lone Star]

...If you MUST use such a light weight at least use a partition and get as close to 100 grs as possible. 90 gr Partition is a good one.
 90 is the cross over for the 6mm diameter, lighter is for varmints heavier is for deer.

Unfortunately this simply isn't true.  There is no 90-grain Partition bullet - the 85-grain Partition was introduced in answer to calls for a deer bullet for specialty handguns.   The 100-grain  Partition was too heavy to drive at high enough velocities in short barrels.

While my experience with the Sierra 85 HPBT was not good, many others have used it with success.   Sierra has this to say: "This bullet has also proven to be highly effective on medium game, such as deer and antelope, as long as the shots are carefully placed."  4th Edition, page 83.  Hornady recommends their 87-grain bullet for medium game too.

 Still, I prefer a bullet constructed for game, not a varmint bullet which just happens to work.

[cwlongshot]

...If you MUST use such a light weight at least use a partition and get as close to 100 grs as possible. 90 gr Partition is a good one.
 90 is the cross over for the 6mm diameter, lighter is for varmints heavier is for deer.

Unfortunately this simply isn't true.  There is no 90-grain Partition bullet - the 85-grain Partition was introduced in answer to calls for a deer bullet for specialty handguns.   The 100-grain  Partition was too heavy to drive at high enough velocities in short barrels.

While my experience with the Sierra 85 HPBT was not good, many others have used it with success.   Sierra has this to say: "This bullet has also proven to be highly effective on medium game, such as deer and antelope, as long as the shots are carefully placed."  4th Edition, page 83.  Hornady recommends their 87-grain bullet for medium game too.

 Still, I prefer a bullet constructed for game, not a varmint bullet which just happens to work.

I stand corrected,  I miss spoke the weights of the partitions when I said 90 grn partition. But partitions ARE avalible in 95 grs and this is the partition I spoke of. Substitute 95 for 90 and my statements above are still true.
  The question was conserning the recent addition of rifles in the southern tier. The 85 partition would be fine in a 6X47 in a rifle, but the velocities atainable for that cartridge are much lower than the 6MM rem.
 In production calibers, 90grs still stands as the threshhold for big game bullets in this caliber. Here is a pic of what I have used with success in the 243, the 6MM is a tad faster.


 
I quote my self here:

...On perfect broadside shots at longer ranges it may work fine, but that is a SPECALIZED senerio, not the norm.

 
 I COMPLETELY agree with your last statement. It is the point, I thought I made. :-)

 CW

[Redhawk1]

I like the 85 gr. Barnes TSX. Great bullet  

[Slamfire]

I started out with a .244. Remington loaded a 90 grain corelokt that was just about perfect on our whitetail in PA. The 100 grain Winchester bullet as loaded in the .243 was too hard, way back then Before Camelot. When the .244 became the 6mm the 90 grain corelokt was dropped. I settled on an 87 grain Hornady, and my Dad chose the 85 grain Sierra. Neither of us had any complaints. A 95 grain Partition, works perfectly every time, but I consider it better suited to a Weatherby Mag. I don't think you need something with that much velocity, but different folks like different strokes. Winchester corrected the too hard bullet, and just about every 100 grain bullet will perform well. I did have an issue with the 90 grain Speer, it didn't expand as much, and believe it or not didn't penetrate as well either. Maybe they've fixed that, I'm into 6.5s now and hardly ever shoot a 6 mm.  

[superhornet]

Hornady 100 grain Round Nose.......venison steak, grits and gravy on time every time............

[High Brass]

100 gr. Remington PSP Core-Lokt

[Lloyd Smale]

corelocks are another great bullet that i left out of my post. Ive shot quite a few deer with factory corelock ammo and it allways worked great and was very accurate

[Zeak]

I use Hornaday 87gr. sp and 100gr.sp in 243win. Never had to ever track a wounded one down. Zeak

[Dave in WV]

Like High Brass said, 100gr Core-Lokt.

[rockbilly]

:wink: I recently purchased a used Sako in .244.  I loaded up several different loads in lots of 20, different powders and bullets.  The only standard was all the bullets were 100gr.  I used nosler, remington, and speer.  I was really amazed at the accuracy of the bullets.  Now if they will just work on deer.

I plan to load some lighter loads to experiment with when I receive the brass I ordered.  Something to shoot coyotes with.

[rickt300]

The 85 grain BTHP from Sierra is fine deer bullet when used corectly. I used it a lot in Wyoming on Mule deer and Antelope. I never hit either animal directly on the shoulder bone on entry but had the bullet break the far shoulder several times and end up under the hide.  It always exited on neckshots involving the spine but it always delivered quick kills. It also generally exited on behind the shoulder shots that I usually placed half way up from the bottom of the chest.  When I moved to Washongton state and had to hunt in the thick I started using the 105 grain Speer spitzer because I couldn't always get good angles on those blacktails. In fact I found the 30-30 far superior for shot requiring deep penetration in the brush so I put the 6MM back where it needed to be in more open country.

[robin-hood-90]

THEORETICALLY the 85 gr. HPBT is not a good deer bullet. But if you try them, you'll never use anything else. IF you put it in the right spot there is no blood trail necessary. The deer will drop in its tracks. That is very seldom the case with partitions, or core-lokts. Since I switched to BTHPs in the 6mms, and BTs in the .30s & .270, I have not had to track an animal once. These bullets do massive internal damage.

[cal sibley]

I started using the Hornady 95gr. SST last year and have been very satisfied with its accuracy and killing power as well.  Just one mans opinion, but it works for me.  Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[cwlongshot]

THEORETICALLY the 85 gr. HPBT is not a good deer bullet. But if you try them, you'll never use anything else. IF you put it in the right spot there is no blood trail necessary. The deer will drop in its tracks. That is very seldom the case with partitions, or core-lokts. Since I switched to BTHPs in the 6mms, and BTs in the .30s & .270, I have not had to track an animal once. These bullets do massive internal damage.

I dont mean to come off as a smart arse here, but a BFH to the topor side of the head will drop the biggest whitetail in his tracks, but I wouldn't recomend its use either. :eek:  :roll: (Humor intended)
 My whole thing is, I feel we owe it to the game we hunt to use approprate calibers and bullets for the most humaine kills possible. Light bullets in barely legal calibers are great wounders. They CAN produce lightning strike type kills, but NOT all the time on all whitetails.
 The 85 gr bullets, in 243 dia, will not give complete, consistant results at all angles. Heck, if the yardage is pushed, the 243 dia. 100's grainers from a 6mm or 243 have difficulty doing that!!

IMHO
 CW

[Slamfire]

Ah but that's the point, the 6mms aren't for shooting at any angle, they are for a cool, deliberate shooter. The kind of guy who comes through in the homecoming game when things look bleak, or makes the money putt.

[cwlongshot]

You and I know that. You strike me as a guy thats been around the block and would know when not to drop the hammer. Everyone is not like us.

It just kind a gets to me when I hear some yahoo in deer camp or a gun shope talk about this ripsnortin' bullet goin' 3500 fps, that acts like thors hammer....You know the senero. Remember the 264win mag.....yea at first it was a first rate wounder!!  The 6.5 is a awesome caliber...with the right bullets for the job.

Not everyone knows the limitations the sub caliber guns shooting the lightest bullets have. Sectional densities, bullet weights and bullet energies all play a much larger roll than velocity alone. I just want people to be aware of that.
 As I said, we owe it the the game we hunt.
 
CW

[dakotashooter2]

The 85 gr HPs are a mixed blessing. The up side is, yes they do massive internal damage and kill quickly. The down side is,  they do massive internal damageand potentially ruin massive amounts of meat if your shot is just a bit off. I want my game to die quickly but also to be more than coyote fodder.