Hornady's 6mm ARC. Who's all in?

[Tokarev]

As most of you have probably seen, Hornady is making what it calls the 6mm Advanced Rifle Cartridge. This is, in essence, the 6.5 Grendel necked down to .243.

The cartridge has been on the market since last year and seems to be doing okay given the current madness. Barrels and other components are relatively easy to come by as are reloading dies. Really the only parts not easily available are primers, powder or cases. As soon as Federal makes a Fusion load and someone like Starline starts making brass we should be all set.

One obvious source for brass is resized 6.5 Grendel although G brass isn't in abundance right now. Both Whidden and Hornady offer hydraulic form dies for the ARC for reshaping 7.62x39 although that brass isn't really super common either. Plus most AK brass is large primer which may or may not be ideal here.

I like the idea of the 6 ARC as it appears, on paper anyway, to offer a good deal of flexibility to the AR platform. It should be legal (and lethal) as a hunting cartridge and is doing fairly well in competition circles. Hornady is even making a TAP load for law enforcement although I doubt there's much interest in that realm yet. Anyway, it looks like the ARC has a bright future ahead.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/con...rnady-6mm-arc/

I recently bought a 16" Faxon barrel and have an upper put together although that's about all I've done to this point. I have a few boxes of Hornady Black but haven't shot any of it yet.

What does the hive mind think? Is the ARC the cartridge that keeps the AR viable well into the 21st Century or is it just another AR Wildcat in a market awash with oddball chamberings?


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[littlejerry]

I'm still on the sidelines.

The 6 ARC looks like the best choice for getting out to 1000 yards in an AR. Flatter and less drift than the Grendel with more down range energy than 224 Valk. Also seems to be a good hunting option.

At the end of the day it's just another wildcat, but may have a bit more staying power due to its popularity in the long range crowd. There are a bunch of 6mm wildcats for competition and I've seen a few bolt guns over on SH being chambered in the ARC. It's an efficient cartridge with good barrel life and allegedly easy to reload for.

When the ammo market comes back I'll bite. For now though I'm not ready to spend $2 per round on a short 6mm.

[Tokarev]

The 6 ARC looks like the best choice for getting out to 1000 yards in an AR. It's an efficient cartridge...easy to reload...

I wonder where these folks are getting their brass. Probably from shooting $2.00 factory ammo first...

Other options for brass should include fire forming .220 Russian and possibly 6mm PPC although these aren't super common and/or cheap.

[littlejerry]

I wonder where these folks are getting their brass. Probably from shooting $2.00 factory ammo first...

Other options for brass should include fire forming .220 Russian and possibly 6mm PPC although these aren't super common and/or cheap.

Following the threads at SH it seems like most people posting range reports got into it early before the shortage, but there are also people forming Grendel brass which they probably already had a stockpile of.

ETA: I'm also very interested to see what people can do with lighter monolithic and bonded hunting rounds. Federal sells a 95gr .243 Fusion and Barnes has an 80 gr TTSX along with and 85gr TSX. I'd bet the 80/85s would have a respectable muzzle velocity even from a 16" barrel and do nicely on medium game.

[Tokarev]

Federal sells a 95gr .243 Fusion and Barnes has an 80 gr TTSX along with and 85gr TSX. I'd bet the 80/85s would have a respectable muzzle velocity even from a 16" barrel and do nicely on medium game.

Agreed. Aside from cost, something like a Nosler 95gr Ballistic Silvertip or 80gr TTSX BT would likely be a great "all around" bullet.

[Borderland]

For most hunters and target shooters it comes down to cost and availability of ammo or components. What the industry is going through right now is going to kill a lot of new cartridges, no matter how good they are. Until military and LE move away from 5.56 I don't think a 6 or 6.5 mm cartridge has much of a chance in the civilian AR market.

My opinion is the firearms and ammo industry will downsize to a few of the most popular cartridges because of the demand. People already own millions of 5.56 rifles and many have stopped shooting because of the price of ammo. 0.60/rd is no joke.

[SecondsCount]

6ARC is going to stay around. There are already several cartridges on the market that are very similar- 6mmLBC, 6mmAR, but Hornady knows how to get these new cartridges to fly off the shelves. I believe it will displace the 224 Valkyrie and eat into the 6.5 Grendel market.

I'm a huge 6mm fan and always wanted to take a 22 Nosler and do something similar because with the rebated rim, you wouldn't need to change the bolt. There are guys doing it and getting decent velocities out of their bolt action setups.

[Wondering Beard]

I think you will all find this article interesting: Review: Hornady 6mm ARC

It covers a bit of history, a lot of numbers and a bit of hunting.

This new cartridge looks real good.

[Tokarev]

For most hunters and target shooters it comes down to cost and availability of ammo or components. What the industry is going through right now is going to kill a lot of new cartridges, no matter how good they are. Until military and LE move away from 5.56 I don't think a 6 or 6.5 mm cartridge has much of a chance in the civilian AR market.

My opinion is the firearms and ammo industry will downsize to a few of the most popular cartridges because of the demand. People already own millions of 5.56 rifles and many have stopped shooting because of the price of ammo. 0.60/rd is no joke.

It'll be a hard sell to get LE, as a whole, to move to the 6 ARC. Most LE rifle engagements are relatively close. This includes LE snipers. With that said, the ARC may appeal to a game warden who may have to dispatch animals and/or a rural officer who might need a bit more "reach" than .223 Rem. The ARC also may work okay against car bodies and windshields so it may have a place with state troopers, etc.

For the civilian side, I guess LE too, cheap practice ammo is pretty much a must. PPU and/or S&B will need to get on board. Steel cased stuff will also pretty much guarantee the 6 ARC's success.

6ARC is going to stay around. There are already several cartridges on the market that are very similar- 6mmLBC, 6mmAR, but Hornady knows how to get these new cartridges to fly off the shelves. I believe it will displace the 224 Valkyrie and eat into the 6.5 Grendel market.

I'm a huge 6mm fan and always wanted to take a 22 Nosler and do something similar because with the rebated rim, you wouldn't need to change the bolt. There are guys doing it and getting decent velocities out of their bolt action setups.

I always liked the idea of the 6mm Hagar. I actually kind of wonder why Hornady didn't go this route for the ARC especially since they already make dies and brass for the Hagar.

I think you will all find this article interesting: Review: Hornady 6mm ARC

It covers a bit of history, a lot of numbers and a bit of hunting.

This new cartridge looks real good.

Yep. I linked that article in my first post. Good stuff!

[Bergeron]

There's a lot that I find attractive about the cartridge; bullet weight, muzzle velocity, exterior ballistics, use of an existing bolt face- but I'm not sure if I favor it in an AR-15. Those x39 bolt faces are thin, and while I'm not concerned about catastrophic failure, I am suspicious of long term bolt face durability in the small frame bolt face. I'd also prefer to be able to get 30 round polymer mags.

I think this round would be perfect for an "AR-12", mid-sized between our traditional large and small frame guns. It also seems like it would be fun on one of those quick-change barrel, belt fed HK roller locks that costs like a decent used car.