6BR Bullet Performance at 600 Yards

6BR Bullet Performance at 600 Yards through a 1:8 Twist Barrel

The goal of this study was to identify 6mm target bullets in the 103 to 108 grain weight that would provide excellent accuracy at 600 yards through my 1:8 twist 6BR barrel. My barreled action was built with the goal to shoot Berger 105 grain Hybrid Target Bullets loaded from an Eliseo R5 magazine. However, their availability has been limited in recent months at the time of this report. I needed to identify other bullets that would perform well in 600 yard matches.
My bullet choices were assisted by input from shooters on an Accurate Shooter Forum.
My rifle is a Competition Machine Eliseo R5 set up to shoot off a sling. It has a 28 inch 1:8 twist medium Palma Bartlein 5R barrel with a 11 degree target crown. The barrel chamber has been cut to shoot Lapua brass with unturned necks, and the freebore is 0.088 inches. The barreled action was built by David McGrath, Precision Shooting Services, Daytona Beach, FL. The barrel had approximately 1875 rounds through it at the start of the tests and 2472 rounds through it in the last of the tests. A Vortex Viper 6-24X50 scope was used in the tests at 16 to 18 power.

The 6mm bullets used in this study were:

Berger 105 gr Hybrid Target (Lot# P02358)
Berger 105 gr VLD Target (Lot# P003211)
Berger 108 gr BT Target (Lot# P03126)
Sierra 107 gr MatchKing (Lot# 014384058)
Hornady 108 gr ELD Match (Lot# 2212536)
Lapua 105 gr Scenar L (Lot# LPT00805)
Vapor Trail 103 gr V-TAC (Lot# 3728)

Methods
Bullets loads were worked up for accuracy at 200 yards using methods described HERE.
The 600 yard tests were run on two days. Day 1 temperature varied from 48 to 65 F with no appreciable wind. Day 2 temperature varied from 53 to 59 F with 0 to 2 mph headwind.

Load Information and 200 Yard Accuracy Data

200 yard data

600 Yard Bullet Performance

Summary of Findings

The following bullets provided 600 yard performance comparable to or better than that of Berger 105 grain hybrid target bullets in my rifle:

Berger 105 gr VLD Target
Berger 108 gr BT Target
Sierra 107 gr MatchKing
Lapua 105 gr Scenar L

Berger 108 gr BT Target bullets provided the best 600 yard performance in my rifle. Groups were significantly smaller (p < 0.01) than those produced by Hornady 108 gr ELD-M and Vapor Trail 103 gr V-TAC bullets.