Need a little help! 6MM Short

Carmi1103 · #1 07-21-2011, 10:53 AM

I recently bought a gun from an Estate Sale that when I purchased it I had no idea what the Caliber was! What I did know from the owners son who was obviously not into guns near as much as his father. I have always liked odd calibers that not everyone has and I knew this guy had plenty of odd Calibers. Here is all I could get out of him, It is a Mexican Mauser reciever. All stainless. Shilen Barrel, Timmney trigger. So I took it to my gunsmith and he did a cast of the chamber and he couldn't pin down exactly what it was he said it is a 6MM barrel but not sure about any thing else. So I called back to see if they could find a box of brass or dies anywhere the old man may have stashed them and he called me back and said he found some custom dies that said 6MM-Short by RCBS. How do I find out what brass he used to re-size???? Any help would be appreciated!!

unclenick · #2 07-21-2011, 11:32 AM

Welcome to the forum. The main rules are to join in, have fun, and play nicely with the rest of us kids.

More information is needed. If you could post a picture of the cast with the length of the neck, the diameter where the shoulder meets the side wall, how tall the shoulder is from the wide end to the short end, and the diameter about two tenths of an inch from where the bolt face touches, that would help. Also the diameter of the bolt face itself across a circular part of the diameter inside the lip that surrounds it. Without at least that kind of information, it we won't have a clue what sort of capacity case or head size we are looking for. Too many 6mm cartridges out there to guess without that, including several short ones developed for benchrest.

Also, you could call RCBS and ask if they have a record of making dies for something called a 6mm Short?

Carmi1103 · #3 07-21-2011, 11:51 AM

Thanks for looking I will get the cast back from my gun smith tomorrow but I will be on vaction for a week or so, so I may not have a chance to post pics or measurments for another week or so but I will as soon as I get back in town.

Carmi1103 · #4 07-21-2011, 11:52 AM

Also I did call RCBS and they said they would check with the custom shop and get back in touch with me.

unclenick · #5 07-21-2011, 01:02 PM

Sounds like you are onto it!

broom_jm · #6 07-21-2011, 01:25 PM

Whatever it is, please let us know...it's not often we hear about a truly new cartridge.

MikeG · #7 07-21-2011, 04:10 PM

See if those folks will be willing to part with the dies....

Carmi1103 · #8 07-21-2011, 07:34 PM

UPDATE: I am getting the dies tomorrow he told me that he would sell them for $20.00 I was expecting alot more! He also called someone else in the family and they have a box full of shells that they think were for this gun. I got a call back from the folks at RCBS and they could not have been more helpful they told me once I get the dies to get the number series off of them and they could send me the original specs for those dies! But if we find out the shells are for this gun I won't need them. I will still post some pics of the gun and cast with measurements. Thanks for all the help.

broom_jm · #9 07-22-2011, 03:13 AM

I'm just wondering if it's a 6mm Lee Navy - Short, or a 6mm Remington - Short (more likely?), or maybe another 6mm case that has been shortened? So many possibilities.

Davers · #10 07-22-2011, 05:17 AM

Here's a weblink that should help: http://www.chuckhawks.com/friendly_6mm.htm Sounds like your 6 mm short might be a 6mm/.223 or 6mm/.222 Magnum.

unclenick · #11 07-22-2011, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carmi1103

UPDATE: I am getting the dies tomorrow he told me that he would sell them for $20.00 . . . But if we find out the shells are for this gun I won't need them.

If it's a custom gun, these will be handloads. I don't personally trust handloads from strangers; old ones especially, since I don't know how they were stored. I would pull the bullets and work up your own loads. So, you'll need the dies. That brass will wear out eventually, anyway, and you'll need to form new cases. If you don't take to the gun and want to sell it, the next buyer will want the dies, too, so keeping them with the gun is important.

kaytod · #12 07-23-2011, 02:32 AM

If RCBS can confirm the dies and are willing to send you the specs, I would encourage you to get a copy of them too. This will allow you to confirm by measurement the brass that is fired in your gun. It will be useful by knowing the exact changes made to the parent cartridge. Although it may not be an absolute necessity, it is still quite useful information to have.

Todd

Rewinder · #13 07-23-2011, 07:10 PM

My guess would be the 6MM WALDOG or TALDOG based off the shortened 6MM REM BR case .470 rim Dia. or the 6PPC case .441 rim Dia.. RCBS or Huntington does make custom reloading dies. Randy

Carmi1103 · #14 08-05-2011, 06:55 AM

Does anyone have a diagram of what measurments are required to identify a shell? I have the cast I had made of the barrel and the dies here.
Korey

unclenick · #15 08-05-2011, 10:25 AM

Scroll down through any of the bottleneck rifle drawings here, pages 23 to 90. These have the cartridge case above and the chamber below. It is your chamber we are looking at. See how close you can come to finding their numbers?