Given the history we have with the various 6mm cartridges there's no doubt a 6 ARC will be effective on deer. My question is, why would one choose it over, say, the 6 Creed or .243?
One answer might be action length/design. If I want to use the AR chassis or a mini-length bolt action, the ARC is the answer. If I'm using a short action bolt (.308) then why not choose something better suited, for the action and the application?
Given the same bullets what separates the various 6mms is mostly velocity... some cartridges may be slightly more inherently accurate but for 99% of deer hunting it doesn't matter. With 50% more case capacity the .243 will have higher muzzle velocities and flatter trajectories, and will have sufficient energy out to longer range. Within 300 yards it won't matter, past that it increasingly matters.
I have friends who go on their yearly whitetail hunt to a 160 acre property that is well-established with blinds and food plots. Typical ranges are known (under 200 yards) and max opportunities are not much further. A less powerful cartridge that is yet fully adequate makes a fine choice. I hunt deer and hopefully elk on public property in the mountain PNW, in the mid-South and Southeast hardwood forests, and across fields in the Deep South. I like bolt actions for big game hunting. For my purposes I want something more than the ARC. My 6mm hunting cartridge of choice is the .243.
