6mm Arc for deer

[Turpentine21]

First, I have not seen enough kills with the ARC to know if it is as effective as its larger brother on deer and hog sized game. I've seen hundreds of kills with the Grendel in gas gun. But for Coyotes, they are both more than capable.
I would post some tables of the ballistic data between the ARC and the Grendel but they would take up quite a bit of space. I have run the numbers over and over between the 2 in equal barrel lengths at gas gun pressures. At hunting distances or to let's say 600 yards, the differences between comparable bullets 103 vs 123 and even the 108 are insignificant. At 1000 yards the ARC 108 does have a slight edge. 25" less drop, 7" less wind drift, and .08 second difference in flight time. But has 40 ft/lbs less energy. So you may perceive a difference on really long range varmints but there are better options in 6mm and 6.5 if that is the goal. Either will do a lot of damage to a Coyote pretty much as far as you would care to shoot one.
Recoil difference is very slight but the ARC does have less.
The biggest difference in the 2 would be the Hornady Red Koolaid. If I had 1 of these calibers, I would not trade it for the other. Which I do. I have 2 Grendel's as they are my main deer and hog depredation guns. Right now there are more factory ammo options for the Grendel. The ARC may or may not see that in the future.
For a bolt gun there may be some advantages. I don't know as I will never go that route. But if I were going for Coyote at really long range with a bolt gun, I would likely go for one of the 6mm options used in BR competition.

 

[wilkup]

…
For a bolt gun there may be some advantages. I don't know as I will never go that route. But if I were going for Coyote at really long range with a bolt gun, I would likely go for one of the 6mm options used in BR competition.

I love the ARC as a way to get super light and use in a mini boltgun. This has gotten my wheels spinning the past couple of weeks and I did a bit of digging.
There are guys in the BR community shooting the PPC class that have started turning down the rim on Dasher brass to work in PPC class. A rebated rim similar to the 284 Win or 300 WSM cases.
So, in theory, I could buy a new fast twist 6mm barrel, chamber it in 6 Dasher and spin it onto my Howa Mini and have an even more powerful pocket rocket with a massively proven track record for accuracy with a bit more gas in the tank…
If this factory Howa barrel won't shoot to my standards, I'll have a new barrel shortly

 

[BALLISTICJESUS]

In a bolt gun. I would do a Dasher, way before I would do a 6 ARC. The ARC was designed for a gas gun. I shoot several Dashers. Crazy accurate, easy to load for and more horsepower.

 

[wilkup]

In a bolt gun. I would do a Dasher, way before I would do a 6 ARC. The ARC was designed for a gas gun. I shoot several Dashers. Crazy accurate, easy to load for and more horsepower.

Howa Mini comes chambered for ARC. I'd have to rebate the Dasher rim (requiring a bit more work for reloading) but I'm sure it'd be worth it in the long run. I'll just have to see how the ARC shoots before I head down that trail…

 

[pavementends]

Probably be easier to open the bolt head rather than modifying a bunch of brass.

 

[sdakotaguy]

I like to operate more in the realm of KISS. Nothing wrong with 6mm ARC for what I do with a CZ 527 6mm ARC.

 

[wilkup]

Probably be easier to open the bolt head rather than modifying a bunch of brass.

TECH TIP: Rebate Larger Case Rims to Shoot with PPC Actions « Daily Bulletin

Many short-range Benchresters have thought about converting their 6 PPC to shoot a 30BR for score matches, or a Dasher for mid-range (or even 1000-yard) games. That way you have a rifle that does double duty, giving you the most bang for your buck.

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

 

[FireFlyFishing]

In a bolt gun. I would do a Dasher, way before I would do a 6 ARC. The ARC was designed for a gas gun. I shoot several Dashers. Crazy accurate, easy to load for and more horsepower.

Hmm. I don't own either. I'm looking to get a 6mm something. The ARC's numbers don't impress me despite everyone's excitement. If I were to get one, I'd be looking at a bolt gun as you can run the cartridge at much higher pressure. Which makes it more interesting…to me anyway. I believe brass may be easier to find for the ARC as it keeps picking up steam in popularity.

 

[Wilderness Blacktail]

Hmm. I don't own either. I'm looking to get a 6mm something. The ARC's numbers don't impress me despite everyone's excitement. If I were to get one, I'd be looking at a bolt gun as you can run the cartridge at much higher pressure. Which makes it more interesting…to me anyway. I believe brass may be easier to find for the ARC as it keeps picking up steam in popularity.

I agree on brass. I run Starline for instance. Ive always had good accuracy with em and they last plenty long in the cartridges Ive used em in.

My take is the ARC in a bolt gun is very impressive when u consider its like 30 grains of powder to equal lots of 243 100gr factory loads. My 243 handloads at ran a 95grainer only 100fps faster than i could get in the 20" ARC.

I wanted a gun I could shoot a ton for cheap and therefor have lots of confidence in, i wanted it to be short and handy and be able to reach out a good ways with the right bullet on deer. It does all that.

But if we actually need or want a bigger level of performance its gunna fall short for sure.

 

[Turpentine21]

If it is anything like the Grendel the ARC should be accurate and easy to load for as long as it's a good barrel and the twist rate is correct for the bullet you want to shoot. My brother gets great accuracy out of his with factory 103s. Not so much with 108s. It's a Bear Creek Arsenal upper with 20" barrel he bought for a truck gun. We both prefer 20s. Kills out to 450 yards with my Grendel's have been no problem. That's as far as I will shoot at night with thermal and I'll only shoot that if I am 100% certain I have the correct range.
One thing we all tend to do though is buy a cartridge like the Grendel, ARC, 6.5 CM, 308, the list goes on and on, based on the numbers we see at max or near max velocity. Then we may have to actually hot rod and push the boundaries to get these numbers. Or use ball powder which I'm not very fond of due to the large temp swings and high temps here. At this time last week here it was 17 degrees with 29 for a high. Thursday it's supposed to be 76. Anyhoo, Then we find out the barrel just isn't accurate enough for us at these higher velocities so we have to settle for mid or even low velocity to get usable accuracy. I know this all to well because it's happened to me on more than one occasion. I have grown to like cartridges that will easily exceed or basically loaf and meet my velocity requirements. This allows me to run a mid range load that meets my requirements and helps a lot in the brass life department. And likely help with barrel life as well. If it happens to like the higher nodes I consider that a plus.

I just bought a 6.5 CM gas gun with 20" barrel for reasons along these same lines. The purpose was to extend my point blank range out farther than is capable with the Grendel. Many of my shots have gotten longer due to the fields I am being asked to cover and getting the correct range at night can be difficult. So far it has worked quite well though not as pleasant to shoot as the Grendel.

 

[wilkup]

If it is anything like the Grendel the ARC should be accurate and easy to load for as long as it's a good barrel and the twist rate is correct for the bullet you want to shoot…
One thing we all tend to do though is buy a cartridge like the Grendel, ARC, 6.5 CM, 308, the list goes on and on, based on the numbers we see at max or near max velocity. Then we may have to actually hot rod and push the boundaries to get these numbers...

I am definitely guilty of this. I always find myself pushing the limits of whatever new round I've got unless it's not one I load for yet.
I'm hoping to land somewhere between 2800-2950' with my Howa using the 89gr Apex Afterburner, 95gr Sierra TGK, or 103gr Hornady ELDX.