So I built a rifle in 6arc and it’s basically a watered down 243. And I wanna work up some handloads since there aren’t any varmint loads commercially available. Lookin at Vmax’s I can run 55gr at ~3300fps up to 87gr at ~2800fps. I’m not worried about fur. What’s more important for putting down coyotes speed or just bullet construction? I’m not worried about fur at these prices, just wanna knock em down with my new rig.

On varmints…..speed kills

Speed + bullet construction is the magic formula. In my 243’s, I’ve found the Nosler ballistic tip varmints to be an excellent bullet for fur and immediate termination. Accuracy is some of the best I’ve found with this bullet also. If I remember right, they have a purple tip. My .02

if you are not concerned about the fur, anything that shoots accurate will do. I shoot 55 grain Sierra game kings in the 223 at just over 3000 and 50 grain v max in the 223 WSSM at just over 4000 ft/sec.. Either one does the job in hand just fine.
I have used everything from a 223 55 grain FMJ to a 30-06 with 150 grain Barnes TSX and 458 SOCOM with Sierra Pro hunter in 350 grains ..... none of the ones I hit with the above learned any new tricks after that.

60 gr sierra hp and Varget

will depend more on your twist rate and what you can stabilize, then decide on bullet construction.

If you can hit vitals it doesn’t matter what you shoot or the caliber. I’ve never seen anything survive a head, heart, or double lung shot.

What is the barrel twist rate? If it is fast......like 7.5 or so......there may be a lower limit you can go. It may be something along the lines of Hornady 95 grain SST.......which if cranked up fast enough ought to ruin a coyotes day.

Out of my .243 55gr ballistic tip boat tails are an instant stopper at around 3800 fps.

Out of my new .223 the Hornady Superperformane 53gr ballistic tips running up near 4K are unleashed lightening and awfully good at anchoring.

Osky

Bullet construction, then speed.

Just because it can be pushed super fast, doesn’t mean it should.

For example, some of the worst coyote anchoring bullets out there are the extremely thin jacketed “varmint” type bullets pushed extremely fast, varmint grenades, blitzkings, v-max, etc. The prairie dog vaporizing bullets.

On the flip side, extremely heavy jacketed stuff, FMJs, match style hollow points, controlled expansion big game bullets, etc, don’t often fare so well either typically.

It’s a 7.5 twist. Trying glean what I can from the internet. Not much out there yet. I hunt western MN mostly so wind is a factor. I’d like to shoot heavier 70-80gr bulllets to fight the wind. Just wasn’t sure if 2800fps at the muzzle would translate well in the field, since it seems speed is the name of the game with varmints.. When I look at 243 and 6CM they have substantially more speed.

7.5 twist is going to put you in the 95 grain and up range. Lots of good info on longrangehunting.com

what ranges? have ran my arc out to 1100 yards, for typical 200 yards can't help ya, that 7.5 twist has a purpose.

Not what I would have thought........but here it is from a reliable source........7.5 twist and all. This for a bolt gun. Similar data for gas operated guns.

https://static.hornady.media/site/hornady/files/load-data/6mm-arc-bolt.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_1CS8P7_BI
this guy is shooting thee 108 ELDM

I like that guy’s videos. He’s got a lot of 6arc hunting on there. From what I’ve read in his comments he’s running the same Wilson combat barrel that I have and he’s shooting 62gr controlled chaos bullets.

seems folks forget the first and most important part of any shooting
BULLET PLACEMENT

I’ve killed a pile now with the 108s in my 6 Creedmoor and am just tickled pink with the performance!

Have only had four “issues”, one of which was just a poor hit.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/L8rF4ZVz7dE?si=Xj4rdEW22mZ09RBG[/video]
Thanks all the input. This guy claims to have a lot of experience hunting with 6ARC. About halfway through he says with the standard 18” 7.5 twist barrel a guy can run down to 75gr vmax. Thinking I’ll start hunting with the factory eld’s and starting working with some lighter loads in the meantime.

I have no 6 arc experience but I personally would be looking for a bullet that could do more with one zero

I would want to be able to shoot targets , deer , coyote , wood chucks , basically anything short of an elk or moose.

fast and light makes holes in

moderate and heavier makes holes in and out as long as your not worrying about sewing holes , 2 holes is the direction I would lean.

I try and find one bullet that I can do multiple things with so that I have one set of data to keep.

some people have a bullet for this and a bullet for that but sighting in all the time seems like a better way to make a mistake which I have done switching bullets I made a correction for the heavier bullet , the scope didn't apparently track all the way, I didn't confirm it with enough rounds because I was running short on them.
and I was shooting low come opening day , I got deer but I lost deer , the ones I got had to be shot again I don't want to repeat so now I make sure to confirm with more than one group any correction to zero I made
I had fired 3 rounds to save ammo and they looked good , but it was not.