Somebody please school me on the 244 / 6MM Remington

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

While I was having our old minivan's transmission serviced, I got into a discussion with the mechanic. Turns out he owns a 244 Remington rifle in what he thinks is 1:9 twist, but according to him, it's marked 244 Remington.

My own research shows Tom Turpin and Chuck Hawk articles with conflicting information. One said they renamed the cartridge to 6MM and changed the barrel twist rate at the same time. The other said they changed the twist rate to 1:9 first for a couple years, then changed the name to 6MM Remington.

I'm here seeking what the facts are, as my mechanic friend has no ammunition for his rifle, but has 80 cases. He asked me if I could possibly help him load up some cartridges. I agreed, but if at all possible, I'd like to provide him with a box or so of varmint loads and a box or so of deer loads, as the area we're in has coyotes, small whitetail deer and apparently some wild boar hogs as well now.

So can somebody please help get me righteous on this rifle/cartridge?

Thank you,

Dave In GA

[kens]

Here, try this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6mm_Remington

[Iron Whittler]

The 244/6mm Remington are the same case wise. Winchester came out with the 243 and rem came out with the 244. The 243 had a 1-10 twist rate and the rem 244 a 1-12 twist rate. The 243 would stabilize the 100/ 105 grn. bullets. The 244rem would not do well with the heavier bullets. So the 243 became the leader of the two as a varmint / deer cartridge. Sales of 244 fell off shapely. Rem changed twist rate, but the damage was already done. Rem dropped the 244 and came back with the 6mm rem cal. with 1-9 twist rate. The cases are the same other than 244-6mm stamp. Check twist rate of your friend's rifle to confirm twist. If newer 1-9 twist, use load data for 6mm Rem. The 6mm Rem is a fine varmint / deer round and is usually easy to load for. I hope this is of help. Iron Whittler:castmine:

[Iron Whittler]

As a follow up, for varmints, coyotes, and wild dogs, the 60 - 75 grain noseler B.T. bullets are wicked. For deer, the 100 grn. bonded core type bullets will get the job done nicely. Hogs will require noseler partition are something like it. Hogs are tough critters and you need a bullet that will stay together on impact with a hogs tough anatomy. Good luck and Good hunting Iron Whittler:Fire:

[Artful]

Have you asked him what the ammo he was using? Did he buy 100 grain or 80 grain or what? And was the rifle accurate with that store bought ammo?

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

He did not have any details, some friend had reloaded his cartridges for him previously.

[OnHoPr]

I knew a few people that used the 243 and 6mm and they liked the 85 gr BT. With its shorter bearing surface and being shorter than the 100 and 105 gr bullets you or he might get decent acceptable results if the target is the heavier game animals with the 244.

[wv109323]

I have never heard that the rate of twist change occurred prior to the name change but never say never.
I have a 6MM in a Rem. 700 BDL. The 100 grain bullet is accurate and adequate for whitetail deer.
The 85gn. Sierra is accurate in my rifle. I never did try a lighter bullet.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Another tidbit in this conversation.

the .243 is a 6MM -.308

The .244/6MM Remington is a 7X57 case necked to 6mm.

All the above info on the twist change and the subsequent name change is accurate. They changed the name of the cartridge when they changed the twist rate on the barrels.

It was a well publicized miscalculation on Remington's part to class the gun as a Varmint Rifle.

I remember when it happened.

They never got back the ground they lost to Winchester on that one.

The .243 continues to be a great seller and nobody even knows the 6MM Rem exists.

Randy

[Larry Gibson]

The 244 Rem with the 12" twist is an excellent long range Varint cartridge and when loaded to the same psi as the .243W it is the superior cartridge. I used it a lot in a M98 with a 26" heaviy sporter barrel and a M700V years ago for long range rock chuck and coyote shooting. With the 85 gr Sierra HPBT pushed at 3450 fps it was very accurate and deadly at long range. Back then 244 and 6mm Rem cases were hard to come by so I used W-W 7x57 +P cases and H414 or BR760 powders. If I was to build another long range varmint rifle it would be the 244/6mm with a minimum 26" barrel with a 12" twist.

Larry Gibson

[Mk42gunner]

Something tells me an 85 grain Barnes X bullet will kill any deer the rifle is accurately aimed at, no matter which twist it has.

Robert

[Rick Hodges]

I have a 22" bbl. 788 Remington in 6mm. I use 100gr. Hornady interlocks at 3010 fps and it is a lights out Antelope and Deer cartridge. The antelope in my avatar was stoned by that load and rifle at 265 yards.

Remington used to load a 90gr. semi pointed (almost round nose) for use on medium game in the .244. If his rifle likes the 85 gr. Barnes that could be the ticket. I have had trouble getting Barnes to shoot well in my rifles.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Gentlemen,

Based on the above comments, I'm thinking a neck-sized case (all his cases were fireformed in his rifle), trimmed to the proper length, primed and loaded with IMR 4350 and an 85 Grain Barnes X or a Sierra GameKing 85 Grain HPBT should get the job done here in Georgia for everything he wants to do, as the deer are small and most shots are less than 100 yards in the brush. I'm guessing a large rifle primer based on the parent case. The only thing I don't own is a set of neck loading dies and possibly a bushing for my hand trimmer, in case one did not come with it.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup as far as I know all the 244s were 1 in 12 and the change to 1 in 9 came with the introduction of the 6mm. Ive got both and my 244 will shoot 100s as long as there snorty loads and are plain based bullets. If yours wont don't fret. The 85s will kill deer.

[runfiverun]

the 244 marked barrel is the one you want for shooting cast.
it has the slower twist and this makes the rifle a varmint rifle.
it was also what made the 243 Winchester famous.[too bad too the 6mm rem is a shoo-in walk over on the 243]
Remington remembering their earlier screw up done the same thing to the 260 Remington killing it right out the gate.
great cartridge designers work there....... gun designers? eh not so much.

[OnHoPr]

Remington remembering their earlier screw up done the same thing to the 260 Remington killing it right out the gate.
great cartridge designers work there....... gun designers? eh not so much.

I think it was back in the late 70s or mid '80s maybe the early '90s that the development of the cartridge was a Jim Carmichael creation ,so said his Outdoor Life column, for silhouette shooting because the bullet with 140 grains and flat base still a great BC to knock over the 550 rams. It was suppose to help with the recoil factor and multiple shots even for the ecksperienced. In the same article he designed a cartridge with the 6.5 bullet and the 22-250 case as well. I think he called them the bobcat and the cheetah. Well, I guess one of them got to market. I have always considered the cartridge, not for silhouette, but in the Rem 742, Win 100, BAR, or maybe the I can't squeeze it out of the noodle, husqvarna or finnbear, something like that from scandinavia for woods deer hunting in MI. In the semi auto with 140 grainers or the 160 RN it still would of got lower recoil than the 280s and 06 for repeat shots at moving game the first few days of season. With the 140s it still would of been able to do a decent job on a whitetail to 300 yds when you popped out of the woods and hit a clear cut.

[Houndog]

I killed my first Deer with a 244 and have used a 244/6mm for that ever since. I actually prefer the 1/12 twist of the 244. I only use 2 loads for everything. For varmints it's an 80 grain Sierra Blitz over a stiff charge of H4350. For Deer and smaller game it's a 100 grain Sierra flat base spitzer over a max charge of the same H4350. If you really want that round to shine use a throating reamer to change the leade angle in the barrell from the standard 3 degrees to a 1.5 degrees. It will make the round much less fussy to reload while cutting group sizes at least by 1/3.

[Motor]

I got my model 788 new in 1976. I specifically remember reading the specifications. My 6mm Remington had a 1in9 1/8 twist rate. I thought this was in the owners manual but it's not.
By the late 80s I had the throat worn out. Those last couple hundred top end 60gr hollow point loads did it in. They were actually kind of a waist too because the rifle hits a lot harder down range with a 75 or 87gr bullet.
My rifle now sports a 24" #3 varmint barrel which its had since about 1990. I'm pretty sure it's a 1in10 twist. I shoot 75gr V-Max at 3500f/s. Just this week I tried some 100gr Sierra both flat base and boat tail and easily got 5 shot groups less than 1" at 100 yards.
I also worked up a load with 85gr Nosler Partition and it shot less than an inch also.
I think the 85gr Nosler Partition would be an excellent bullet for a 244 with the slower twist.
As a side note for you 788 owners that rifles are no longer in collectable condition. The Remington 541T trigger is VERY similar to the 788's but the 541T's is adjustable. You can use the 541T's trigger as a guide to drill and tap the 788's for the adjustment screw. I guess by now you could probably just by a drop in trigger. When I did mine there wasn't any available.

Motor

[Lloyd Smale]

motor gave you a good recommendation with the 85 partition. It would be THE bullet for that gun. Ive also killed quite a few deer with the 6mm and 240 wby using the 85 ballistic tip. It allways did well but avoid shoulder shots (but then you should with any high velocity rifle or bullet)
I got my model 788 new in 1976. I specifically remember reading the specifications. My 6mm Remington had a 1in9 1/8 twist rate. I thought this was in the owners manual but it's not.
By the late 80s I had the throat worn out. Those last couple hundred top end 60gr hollow point loads did it in. They were actually kind of a waist too because the rifle hits a lot harder down range with a 75 or 87gr bullet.
My rifle now sports a 24" #3 varmint barrel which its had since about 1990. I'm pretty sure it's a 1in10 twist. I shoot 75gr V-Max at 3500f/s. Just this week I tried some 100gr Sierra both flat base and boat tail and easily got 5 shot groups less than 1" at 100 yards.
I also worked up a load with 85gr Nosler Partition and it shot less than an inch also.
I think the 85gr Nosler Partition would be an excellent bullet for a 244 with the slower twist.
As a side note for you 788 owners that rifles are no longer in collectable condition. The Remington 541T trigger is VERY similar to the 788's but the 541T's is adjustable. You can use the 541T's trigger as a guide to drill and tap the 788's for the adjustment screw. I guess by now you could probably just by a drop in trigger. When I did mine there wasn't any available.

Motor

[OnHoPr]

I'll third the recommendation of the Partitions just from a physics standpoint that makes good sense. It's a short enough bullet for the 1 in 12 and won't blow up at the speeds the 244 will push it. For deer and hogs. If you happen to hit a smaller deers shoulder with something lighter @ 3100 to 3400 fps it could get a little nasty.

[Greg S]

I have a Rem 700V in 6mm Rem which is a shooter. In my research before I purchased it in 86, Remington had to change the rifling because they couldn't give them away because the word was out on the 244 Remington and they couldn't give them away so they changed the name too and reintroduced the cartridge.

[GabbyM]

Speer 85 grain BTSP #1213 will take care of the deer, hogs and coyote. B.C. is advertised at .404.
The one here in my hand has a length of .941".
I shot a lot of the Sierra 85gr HPBT from the original 1:12" twist barrel on my 243 Win Ruger VT. They shot great but the B.C. is very low so quarter mile work on varmints suffers. I've never had Speer bullets that would shoot as accurate as Sierra or even Hornady. But this 85gr spritzer boat tail is the right weight with a high BC. In my current 10" twist barrel the Hornady 87gr V-Max will shoot groups half the size of the 85gr Speer. But I know my old 12" twist would not stabilize the much longer V-Max bullet. Plus it's not a heavy game bullet.

I shoot my Speer 85gr load from a ten pound 26" barrel rifle with a 6x24X scope while setting in a bench rest. From a typical hunting rifle shot from a car roof top and wadded up top coat for a rest I'd be surprised if many could tell any accuracy advantage to a match bullet.

[EDG]

Both me and my youngest brother have had 6mms about 40 years.

For deer hunting the old RN 100 grn Hornady works well in the 12 twist barrels. You will have a hard time finding those bullets since they have been discontinued about 20 or 25 years.

for larger varmits like coyotes the 85 Sierra HPBT or the Hornady 87 works ok but I would not use either on deer. If you shoot a crow in a 20 MPH breeze most of the crow will blow away in the wind.

If you want to shoot small varmits like jack rabbits or prairie dogs any accurate bullet works. I like the 70 Nosler Ballistic tip and the various 75 grain HPs.
The 70 gr Hornady has been discontinued I think but I shot a boat load of them in the 6x47 benchrest cartridge and they are very explosive.

I don't think there are any really inaccurate 6mm bullets. The only time you should worry about performance is long range shooting at deer.
At about 350 yards the bullets don't seem to open very well.

Loading it is simple. For heavy bullets use a middle to max load of IMR 4350. You can use even more IMR4831 but it is really loud.

for the lighter bullets use 4064 or 4350.

[Lloyd Smale]

this got me going. I took out the old rem classic and hadn't used it since a lot of the newer bullets came up. I had a box of 95 sst hornadys that didn't do to great in my 240 so loaded some up with some 4831 and low and behold two 1/2 groups and one just under 3/4s. New go to load in that gun. Im going to take it out this week and see how it does on deer.

[Rick Hodges]

this got me going. I took out the old rem classic and hadn't used it since a lot of the newer bullets came up. I had a box of 95 sst hornadys that didn't do to great in my 240 so loaded some up with some 4831 and low and behold two 1/2 groups and one just under 3/4s. New go to load in that gun. Im going to take it out this week and see how it does on deer.

Lloyd
You hit upon my go too load for my 6mm....95 or 100 gr. Hornady BT's on top of a caseful of H4831. I think you will be very pleased with those.

[Lloyd Smale]

Actually goofed up rick. I was working up loads with 5 different bullets and set the seating die on the first one and and left it for all of them. I found out when I was about to go hunting that the rounds are to long for the magazine. So what I did was seat half of them to the correct length and kept half long and single feed the first one in. I don't have time right now to see if seating them deaper changed the point of aim or accuracy so for this years crop damage shooting this is how ill roll. No big deal as I could just leave all the ammo out of the mag and single load the gun. Usually have plenty of time to load when the deer are out at 300 yards.

[quilbilly]

I have had a Rem model 600 6mm since I was in high school 50 years ago. That rifle still shoots well below MOA with 100 gr jacketed bullets of any brand whether a full house load or a load reduced by 20%. I have yet to find an 87 gr. cast boolit load that it has liked however with any powder or velocity. That same cast boolit in my wife's 243 is a tack driver, so I guess my old 600 just doesn't like cast. That is OK since I have many hundreds of 100 gr jacketed since I keep finding boxes of them cheap at garage sales. I think the 100's are the most versatile of the projectiles for the 6mm since they work great on deer and coyotes. In my young and foolish years I loaded full house loads which resulted in lots of deer and lots of ruined meat. Now that I older (not necessarily wiser) I load them to a muzzle velocity of about 2400 fps. which still gives a deer hunting range of 250 yards and more edible meat on the table. At that lower velocity it is still fine on coyotes out to beyond 400 yards if the dog will sit still long enough for me to do the ballistics calculations. The powder I have always used is 4895 for either the hot or subdued load.

[FergusonTO35]

Seems like a surefire way to kill the shooting public's appetite cartridge is to give it too slow of a twist. The 6mm's daddy, the .257 Roberts, could really benefit from a 1:9 or 1:8 but the gunmakers keep with 1:10 or even 1:12. I know the slower twist is better for the light varmint bullets, but every factory .257 I've seen has a 20 or 22" sporter weight barrel, which would suggest a medium game rifle. The .22 centerfires have pretty much displaced the larger bores for varmints anyhow. And so a fine low recoil rifle round will languish in semi-obscurity, enjoyed only by weirdos like me.