6mm ARC
BY Herschel Smith![](https://www.captainsjournal.com/wp-content/themes/CJ2/img/time.gif)
Mike is way behind the curve on 6mm ARC. We’ve been discussing 6mm ARC for a while now, but it’s nice to see some publicity for the cartridge.
Mike is way behind the curve on 6mm ARC. We’ve been discussing 6mm ARC for a while now, but it’s nice to see some publicity for the cartridge.
I always like to see ballistics gelatin testing, but I’m not sure if this proves much of anything. You can be the judge.
The 6.5 Creedmoor is a cartridge of great debate. Mention it among different groups of shooters, grab some popcorn, and wait; someone is going to get triggered. However, mention the 6.5 PRC in a group of shooters and the response will be different. The 6.5 PRC is loved by hunters.
Well, I’m sorry if I offend any 6.5 PRC fans out there, but that’s a dumb reaction.
He goes on to give a very good breakdown of the ballistic performance of each cartridge, and then ends with this.
Things change significantly when the PRC barrel is a 20-inch although the match load is still nearly 100 fps faster. But the hunting loads take a big hit, with velocities nearly the same as the 24-inch Creedmoor barrel. This being the case, energy on target will be the same. In other words, the 20-inch PRC is no more effective than the 6.5 Creedmoor. Yes, you benefit from a shorter rifle, but you also gain more recoil.
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With four inches less barrel, the 6.5 PRC is basically a 6.5 Creedmoor with more recoil.
A 24″ barrel is front heavy anyway. I wouldn’t carry it.
So basically, you gain the ability to shorten the rifle barrel length and equal the performance of the 6.5 Creedmoor, and gain recoil.
No thanks.
Listen to the end. Concerning ballistics and muzzle velocity, ammunition manufacturers may be doing more truth telling for the precision shooters than hunters, whom they think are goobers and won’t notice.
Now to be clear, some of this would only affect long range hunting, much longer than I do.
However, I may have readers who live in the western states. You may be missing because of bad information from ammo manufacturers. And misses can lead to unethical shots. So, ammunition manufacturers may be enticing to unethical hunting with false advertising.
That’s not cool.
Know your dope. Practice those long shots before you take them on game.
I watched it all but didn’t have to. Is the 30-30 still relevant? You betcha!
Especially with the newer cartridges. In fact, Ryan’s point at the end was what I’ve known for a long time. The best 30-30 performance approaches (even if it doesn’t exactly equal) the .308.
This even occurred in Wyoming in 2010, and Dean Weingarten uses a FOIA to get the details.
So chalk another one up for the .44 Magnum.
I have never used this ammo before and have no particular comment on their procurement, except that CZ manufactures very good guns. I wish they were entirely in America.
F&S.
In 1955, Smith & Wesson and Remington teamed up to introduce the .44 Remington Magnum, and gun writer Elmer Keith was a great inspiration in the cartridge’s development. The .44 Magnum’s starring role in Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry movie gave it immediate credibility and fame. It is, however, a handful to shoot, which is why it’s common to find used .44 Magnum revolvers being sold that come with a half box of ammo. Many shooters find they’re just not quite the man Inspector Harry Callahan was. Fortunately, .44 Magnum revolvers can also safely chamber and fire .44 Special ammunition, which has much less offensive recoil. In factory ammunition, there are more than 50 .44 Magnum loads to choose from, and about half as many .44 Special loads.
The 44 Magnum does not use a 0.44-caliber bullet. The bullet diameter is actually 0.429-inch in diameter, but, 429 or 430 Magnum just does not have the same ring to it. The cartridge is loaded to a maximum average pressure of 36,000 psi, which is about twice that of the .44 Special. As powerful as that seems, the .357 SIG is actually loaded to a higher pressure. The .44 Magnum has been used to successfully take every game animal on earth, and it’s a personal protection favorite with those who like to tromp around in big bear country. Marlin and several other manufacturers currently offer lever guns chambered for the .44 Magnum.
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The .454 Casull was not approved by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI) until 1997, and their standard specifies a maximum average pressure of 65,000 psi. This is absurdly more than the .44 Magnum, and it’s where the .454 Casull finds all its power. The cartridge can push a 200-grain bullet to more than 2000 fps. By comparison, the .45 Colt is only loaded to a maximum average pressure of 14,000 psi. In a 50-ounce revolver, .454 Casull is intimidating to shoot with full-power loads, recoiling with around 36 foot-pounds of hand-numbing and wrist-twisting force. Rossi and Big Horn Armory both offer lever-action rifles chambered for the .454 Casull.
If power is your main consideration, there’s no comparison; the .454 Casull is the clear winner. With its most powerful loads, the .454 Casull can generate nearly 2,000 foot-pounds of kinetic energy at the muzzle. This puts it in the same class as some popular rifle cartridges, but with bullets weighing twice as much. However, with high performance +P+ ammunition, the .44 Magnum is not that far behind the .454. Take note, however, there is not a SAAMI standard for +P or +P+ .44 Magnum ammo. Dirty Harry’s cartridge will not shoot quite as fast or hit as hard as the .454 Casull, but like the .454 Casull, the .44 magnum is capable of handling any critter you want to tackle.
I find shooting a .44 magnum wheel gun quite enough, and after a couple of wheels of ammunition I’m ready to put it away. I shoot it enough to know what to expect. The power is great for the bush, but I don’t think I want to sport a .454 Casull handgun.
However, I would surely have a lever action rifle in 454 Casull, except that Big Horn Armory charges an arm and a leg for their rifles. I know Rossi makes a rifle, but it surely doesn’t have the looks of a quality gun. Henry doesn’t make one in that caliber either.
Ruger has several revolvers in 454 Casull but their choice is certainly limited. That the selections in 454 Casull are so limited seems to me to limit the use and popularity of the cartridge.
If you have the time for it, these are two interesting videos. There are an awful lot of devotees to the 7mm Rem Mag. For those who have a rifle chambered in this cartridge, what are your thoughts on it?
- A World War II-era AR-15 ammo factory is linked to several mass shootings, the Times found.
- The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant was built to supply the US military.
- But the plant shifted to commercial sales in the last decade.
A World War II-era ammunition factory meant to supply the US military has been linked to more than a dozen mass shootings.
The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant shifted to commercial sales in 2011 and is now one of the biggest manufacturers of commercial AR-15 ammunition in the United States. According to The New York Times, it has made “hundreds of millions” of commercial rounds every year since 2011.
The facility was built during World War II and has since been operated by US government contractors to produce ammunition, but its focus has gradually shifted to commercial production as military demand waned, The Times reported.
By 2021, commercial production in the facility was more than two times higher than the rate of production for military ammunition, The Times found.
I see. So we’re putting bullets at the beginning of articles now for idiots to read in two seconds. Alrighty then.
So, here’s another take. The U.S. military should in general avoid foreign entanglements. American citizens should be armed, and in fact, “every terrible implement of the soldier” is the birthright of the American citizen.
Moreover, rather than lay off good men working at the ammo plant, they repurposed the plant to do what they should have been doing all along rather than enabling foreign entanglements, as well as making better American riflemen.
I love a happy ending.