6mm ARC: Has Hornady Struck Gold?

[Hammer_Man]

I'll continue the conversation here. I'm liking this round. My 9 year old son took his first dear with the 6 ARC (103 ELD-X) at 110 yds. We were not able to recover the bullet as it went through both lungs and exited. The bullet caused significant damage to the vitals as the doe took two steps and dropped. We have also shot the 6 ARC (108 ELD-Ms) out to 1200 yards. My 18" MSR gets 2540 fps, which at 6000' elevation where I live, this round does well.

Not totally a fair comparison, but the 6 ARC is neck and neck with the 140 grain Underwood ammo I shoot in my 6.5 CM Sig Cross. This factory load is loaded with Nosler bullets. Both rifles (Cross & MSR) way about the same with similar accuracy. The 6 ARC beats this configuration of 6.5 CM in drop all the way out to 1200 and doesn't lack too far behind in energy. My son can also ping steel at 1200 fairly easy (14.2 mils at 6000' elevation) where we shoot at Cheyenne Mountain shooting complex. The Cross, 18" 6.5CM takes 15.1 mils to get to the same distance. Additionally, at 1200, the 6.5 CM only as around 70 foot pound more energy. At 600, the 6.5CM only has 160 more foot pound of energy. If someone is looking to build, haul and hunt with a compact rifle, the 6 ARC is a good option for white tail and recreation shooting, etc.

Lastly, I've been trying to get my son familiar with the MSR since the collapsible stock allows us to shoot the same rifle easily. Plus, he is learning to handload, and I'm saving a few cents in reloading the 6 ARC vs 6.5 CM. The reduced recoil, ergonomics, accuracy and lightweight makes for a good option for a hunting rifle for a youth.

Living at 6000' helps with some of the velocity woes others have expressed, but for an MSR, this is a great round.

BC

Thanks for the update! What magazines are you using, and have you experienced any feeding issues with them?

[B Cart]

I'll continue the conversation here. I'm liking this round. My 9 year old son took his first dear with the 6 ARC (103 ELD-X) at 110 yds. We were not able to recover the bullet as it went through both lungs and exited. The bullet caused significant damage to the vitals as the doe took two steps and dropped. We have also shot the 6 ARC (108 ELD-Ms) out to 1200 yards. My 18" MSR gets 2540 fps, which at 6000' elevation where I live, this round does well.

Not totally a fair comparison, but the 6 ARC is neck and neck with the 140 grain Underwood ammo I shoot in my 6.5 CM Sig Cross. This factory load is loaded with Nosler bullets. Both rifles (Cross & MSR) way about the same with similar accuracy. The 6 ARC beats this configuration of 6.5 CM in drop all the way out to 1200 and doesn't lack too far behind in energy. My son can also ping steel at 1200 fairly easy (14.2 mils at 6000' elevation) where we shoot at Cheyenne Mountain shooting complex. The Cross, 18" 6.5CM takes 15.1 mils to get to the same distance. Additionally, at 1200, the 6.5 CM only as around 70 foot pound more energy. At 600, the 6.5CM only has 160 more foot pound of energy. If someone is looking to build, haul and hunt with a compact rifle, the 6 ARC is a good option for white tail and recreation shooting, etc.

Lastly, I've been trying to get my son familiar with the MSR since the collapsible stock allows us to shoot the same rifle easily. Plus, he is learning to handload, and I'm saving a few cents in reloading the 6 ARC vs 6.5 CM. The reduced recoil, ergonomics, accuracy and lightweight makes for a good option for a hunting rifle for a youth.

Living at 6000' helps with some of the velocity woes others have expressed, but for an MSR, this is a great round.

BC

Good info. When the 6ARC came out, i already had really accurate gas guns in .224 Valkyrie, 6.5 Grendel, and 6.5Creed, so I haven't jumped on the 6ARC bandwagon yet. I do love 6mm though, and have multiple competition bolt guns in 6Creed and other 6mm calibers, and now that the ARC has been out for a bit, i'm debating getting a 6ARC gas gun.

I don't own any Savage rifles (minus a .22), but the MSR looks nice. How do you like yours?

[SBRSarge]

I'll continue the conversation here. I'm liking this round. My 9 year old son took his first dear with the 6 ARC (103 ELD-X) at 110 yds. We were not able to recover the bullet as it went through both lungs and exited. The bullet caused significant damage to the vitals as the doe took two steps and dropped. We have also shot the 6 ARC (108 ELD-Ms) out to 1200 yards. My 18" MSR gets 2540 fps, which at 6000' elevation where I live, this round does well.

Not totally a fair comparison, but the 6 ARC is neck and neck with the 140 grain Underwood ammo I shoot in my 6.5 CM Sig Cross. This factory load is loaded with Nosler bullets. Both rifles (Cross & MSR) way about the same with similar accuracy. The 6 ARC beats this configuration of 6.5 CM in drop all the way out to 1200 and doesn't lack too far behind in energy. My son can also ping steel at 1200 fairly easy (14.2 mils at 6000' elevation) where we shoot at Cheyenne Mountain shooting complex. The Cross, 18" 6.5CM takes 15.1 mils to get to the same distance. Additionally, at 1200, the 6.5 CM only as around 70 foot pound more energy. At 600, the 6.5CM only has 160 more foot pound of energy. If someone is looking to build, haul and hunt with a compact rifle, the 6 ARC is a good option for white tail and recreation shooting, etc.

Lastly, I've been trying to get my son familiar with the MSR since the collapsible stock allows us to shoot the same rifle easily. Plus, he is learning to handload, and I'm saving a few cents in reloading the 6 ARC vs 6.5 CM. The reduced recoil, ergonomics, accuracy and lightweight makes for a good option for a hunting rifle for a youth.

Living at 6000' helps with some of the velocity woes others have expressed, but for an MSR, this is a great round.

BC

And good job getting the kid shooting. Parents like you shape the future of our sport.

[maximus83]

6mm ARC: Has Hornady Struck Gold?

No. A good idea, but like many 'good idea' cartridges, there are other variables that influence a cartridge's long-term success besides being a good idea and having good ballistics.

Some factors that will slow adoption:
* .Mil chose another cartridge for new "overmatch" rifles. So there's no built-in big gov contract option to drive manufacturing capacity and mass production of ammo.
* 6.5 Grendel, .300 Blk, and similar options that complement plain old 5.56 for different uses (short barrel suppressed, hunting, extended range shooting, etc), already exist. These work well, 6.5G already has very similar ballistics, and both calibers have wider adoption. There are more rifles/uppers/barrels/parts/factory loads to choose from.

I'm interested in 6mm ARC and think it was a good idea. If it starts to get wider adoption and surpasses say, 6.5G, I'll check it out. But due to the above, doubt it'll ever get much traction in the market.

[Bellycrawl]

@ Hammer Man

I have only used E-Lander (4 and 10 rounders). No issues with them feeding. They have fed 103s, 105s & 108s without any issues. Once I was able to get the gas tuned properly, I've had zero issues.

[Bellycrawl]

Good info. When the 6ARC came out, i already had really accurate gas guns in .224 Valkyrie, 6.5 Grendel, and 6.5Creed, so I haven't jumped on the 6ARC bandwagon yet. I do love 6mm though, and have multiple competition bolt guns in 6Creed and other 6mm calibers, and now that the ARC has been out for a bit, i'm debating getting a 6ARC gas gun.

I don't own any Savage rifles (minus a .22), but the MSR looks nice. How do you like yours?

I don't actually have the Savage. Out of habit, I use Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) in place of other terms for the AR pattern rifle. I'm starting to see ARC ammo on shelves and off shelves quickly. Small sample size, but with this and talking to others, its seems the caliber is finally becoming more popular. Everybody I talk to is using it in an AR pattern rifle. Lots of great caliber options for sure. I regret selling my 6.8s years ago, but the 6 ARC has eased that pain.

[Bellycrawl]

6mm ARC: Has Hornady Struck Gold?

No. A good idea, but like many 'good idea' cartridges, there are other variables that influence a cartridge's long-term success besides being a good idea and having good ballistics.

Some factors that will slow adoption:
* .Mil chose another cartridge for new "overmatch" rifles. So there's no built-in big gov contract option to drive manufacturing capacity and mass production of ammo.
* 6.5 Grendel, .300 Blk, and similar options that complement plain old 5.56 for different uses (short barrel suppressed, hunting, extended range shooting, etc), already exist. These work well, 6.5G already has very similar ballistics, and both calibers have wider adoption. There are more rifles/uppers/barrels/parts/factory loads to choose from.

I'm interested in 6mm ARC and think it was a good idea. If it starts to get wider adoption and surpasses say, 6.5G, I'll check it out. But due to the above, doubt it'll ever get much traction in the market.

This is so true. I was a huge 6.8 SPC fan back in 2009. It was a hammer on white tail especially with a short barrel. The 6.8 was a great round but the only ammo was really from SSA. The AR has a lot of great rounds, which you listed. Are any of them more magic than the other...probably depend on use. Is the 6 ARC "gold?" No, but the support from Hornaday probably does more for it than others experienced. Maybe if there was some amazing "gas gun" competition it would due better. Seems like that was a contributor to the 6.5 CM back in the day.

I was looking primarily for a hunting round with extended range capes for a MSR. The 300BA, Grendel, Valkyrie and others were considered. I ultimately chose Hornaday support and I like 6mm bullets.

[Todd.K]

I was looking primarily for a hunting round with extended range capes for a MSR.

A hunting round that is also an extended range target round? Because I don’t see a long range hunting round here.

[Bellycrawl]

A hunting round that is also an extended range target round? Because I don’t see a long range hunting round here.

Too easy. I've hunted (103 ELD-X) with this rifle and I can easily hand it to a youth with a collapsible stock. I also shoot at 1200 yds (ELD-M) at our local gun range for fun. So, I was looking for a hunting round, which we hunt with, and I also use it for shooting extended ranges, which for me is 1200 yds.

[mig1nc]

A hunting round that is also an extended range target round? Because I don’t see a long range hunting round here.

I guess it depends what you're hunting.


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