Krieger SS barrel finished @ 29.5", 13" twist, fluted w/brake, and .266 neck.  Viper action, right bolt left port.
Elkridge Target thumbhole laminated stock in blue/black.  Full aluminum bedding block pillar bedded and glued in.
Scope: Nightforce NXS 5.5 x 22 with NP-1RR reticle in Viper rings.
Trigger is a Jewell set at 8 oz.
All brass used to date is Norma 7x57.  Fireformed once.  Most still had rounded shoulders when load work began.

Some notes & observations Mike sent along with his loads.

A few things learned and discovered

When I first decided to build a custom gun I knew I wanted two. One to shoot light bullets real fast and one to try the thousand-yard stuff with. One fact I didn’t catch while doing my research was that the VLD style bullets used in 1000 yard shooting shoot best around 2800-3100 fps. After contemplating many wildcats I decided on the 6mm Ackley.
My thought at the time was to go with a slow twist for light bullets at max velocity and later build a 6/284 with a 1/8 or 1/7 twist for the 1000-yard stuff. I now know this isn’t the smartest decision I’ve ever made.  What I wish I did now is build the 6mm Ackley with the fast twist and the future 6/284 with a slow twist. The reasoning is the 6 Ackley will push the VLD’s at the required velocity but it is a little short on what I excepted to push the 65-75 bullets. I can push them to 4000 fps but at the expense of ruining my brass. (Loose primer pockets) The 6/284 will push these bullet weights at this velocity without trashing your brass. It should be noted the gunsmith offered advice to this effect but I didn’t listen. My advice: Listen to your gunsmith!! he’s been there and done that.  An other thing to consider is what bullets do you want to shoot. The thought of pushing 55-60 grain bullets over 4000 fps. is and was real appealing to me. But run these in a ballistic program and you will find they die real quick after 300 yards,and I built this gun to go out to 600-700 yards.

If you plan on shooting the real light stuff have your gun throated accordingly.  I can’t load the 55,58 or 60 grain bullets into the lands, which will usually give you better accuracy. Also don’t buy a bunch of powder based on what someone else told you was “THE” powder to use in a 6 Ackley either, I did and now I have a bunch of powder I’m wondering what to do with. H414 is my best powder for every bullet weight tired. It meters great, is readily available and many other Ackley shooters have found the same.

You might want to start your load development with it,but then again your gun may hate it. When fireforming use a max load of a medium burning powder for a 6mm Remington. I did a middle of the road load and ended up with rounded shoulders. Brass OAL will also be of concern, do not trim to length until they are fully fireformed . I just finally measured mine and I had enough cases at 1.990 to trim to that length. If you trim to length before fireforming you will end up with real short brass.  I used Norma 7x57. I squared the case heads, fired them twice them trimmed to the shortest length. I ran them though a .257 die then a 6mm Remington die with the expanders removed.  I then ran them in a Sinclair neck expander die and trimmed the necks.

These are just a few things I found out while doing my first Wildcat. I hope this helps someone else make the right decision. I’m pretty happy over all with the out come. It’s just there are a few things I would do different now that I’ve been there.   I am lucky in the fact I went with a long barrel. I have put over a thousand rounds though it just in load development, so in theory half of the barrel accuracy life is gone already and I haven’t even started to have fun with it yet. Because it is so long (29.5”) I can cut it back at least twice and have it rechambered, recrowned and still have a barrel 26” long. Something to think about.  The stock you choose is very important also. I really like mine but it doesn’t ride the bags  very well. It’s slightly rounded on the bottom and tends to twist when fired. The gunsmith just put a piece of Derlin on the forearm 3” wide to shoot off a benchrest with. What a difference it made in my groups!! If you do most of your shooting off a rest I would defiantly recommend a benchrest style stock with a good rest and bag. Don’t try to save a penny in this department it will cost you in group sizes. Hope this helps, email me if you have any questions I might be able to help you with. I’m no expert but have been reloading for over 20 years and have many diplomas from the school of hard knocks.

Mike Westerlund
 
 

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