The 244 Remington had a twist rate of 1 in 12. It was introduced about the same time as the 243 Win which had a 1 in 10 twist. Remington didn't anticipate shooters would want to shoot heavier bullets for bigger game than varmints, so the 243 Win took over the market because it's faster twist would stabilize 100 grain bullets. Remington then introduced the 6mm Remington, which is the exact same case as the 244 Remington, but the rifles stamped as 6mm Remington had barrels with a 1 in 9 twist to stabilize the heavier bullets. It's NOT about the ammo it's about what your barrel twist is, as the 6mm Rem ammo is exactly the same as 244 Rem ammo. If your rifle is stamped 6mm Rem it has a 1 in 9 twist and will stabilize any ammo you can buy for it. If you find some 244 Rem ammo it will shoot just fine in your 6mm Rem chambered rifle, as well. Your 6mm Rem rifle will be just fine for deer or antelope.

 

Thanks a ton for this!!!

This will give you the history and when changes were made: An Official Journal Of The NRA | Head to Head: .243 Winchester vs. 6mm Remington

Thank you for this...super helpful!

 

This will give you the history and when changes were made: An Official Journal Of The NRA | Head to Head: .243 Winchester vs. 6mm Remington

 

I happen to have both. My Dad built my Mom a .244 in ~1959. He bought me a Ruger M77 in 1970 in 6mm. I still have the old RCBS 244 Dies. I just use my newer 6mm dies these days.

To answer the OP question. Your 6 mm Remington has a 1-9 twist rate.

Try Ammo Seek to find ammo.

Ammo is tough to find for many calibers at the moment. Good luck and all the best.

 

Run a cleaning rod with a tight-fitting patch down the bore, and mark the rod or make some 'flags' with tape where you can get the distance of one full rotation.... that's the way to know for sure. Yes, it "should" be one or the other as above, but.... sometimes a surprise is in store.

Anyway, if you can find it, the ordinary Remington 100gr Core-Lokt load seems to work just dandy, at least it has accounted for numerous deer and hogs with mine. Good luck.....

 

JWSmith is correct about the 1:9 twist. I had a 6mm Remington back in 1969 and it would shoot Nosler 105g Partition bullets very well. I only shot one deer with that rifle, but my father shot several. It shot well and performed well on whitetail deer.

 

I did have this site bookmarked from awhile back. It does show that they custom load 6mm Remington. They are only taking orders by phone. Maybe give them a call. Good luck.

6mm Remington Extreme Custom Ammo

6mm Remington Extreme Custom Ammo Ammunition

hendershots.net

EDITED: Gun Broker has ammo for sale or auction. You won't like the prices though.

 

A factory barrel marked 6mm Remington will have a 1-9 twist. MikeG method of measuring the twist will confirm that.

 

Some first year Model 700 6mm have 9 1/2 twist. I have one. Lacy describes them in his book.
According to factory records, twist rate is +/- 1/2 inch on all Remington barrels, 6mm diam. especially. I measured a 6mm M600 several times at 8 3/4" and a Model 740 .244 at 1-13".
Some Winchester .243 barrels are 1-9", too.
Measure twice and experiment with what you want to shoot. Sometimes it works great. Bullet length is not the only parameter that makes a big difference.

 

Ya know what? Hornady told me my 6.5x06 would not handle their 140gr bullet because of the twist. Tried Sierra and they said it would handle their 140gr bullet with that twist but not their 142gr. Decided to simply try different bullet's and see what my rifle had to say about it. So the rifle shoot's 140gr Hornadys and Sierra's very very well!

Forget all this garbage guy's like to write about. Pick a bullet you think you'd like and try it. The manufacturer may tell you it won't work and your rifle may have a different opinion! On top of that you might find that the difference in group size caused by twist is not enough to throw out the bullet you like! Buy a single box of bullet's to try and if they work, you win if the don't, you loose $30. Makes me wonder how these mono bullet's can possibly work. A 150gr bullet in mono has to be longer than the same weight in lead but seems both use the same twist rate. How's that work?

 

Ya know what? Hornady told me my 6.5x06 would not handle their 140gr bullet because of the twist. Tried Sierra and they said it would handle their 140gr bullet with that twist but not their 142gr.

A 150gr bullet in mono has to be longer than the same weight in lead but seems both use the same twist rate. How's that work?

Think of the phrasing that commonly occurs, and the wording of the answers:
Q: Hey fellas will this bullet work in my XYZ?
A: Sure, don't worry about it.

A question that doesn't have enough details to be complete, and an assumptive answer that would make for a rather small bumper sticker; Doesn't address the matter well.

Stabilization of a bullet is mostly concerned with the projectiles length, yes there are some other considerations(weight, etc); but really the length is all that matters practically speaking. Saying a "140gr bullet" doesn't help. Take the Hornady and Sierra you talked about. You didn't say, but if we assume you meant the A-max Vs matchKing; the Hornady is significantly longer.
Twist and velocity gives you rotation needed for stability. But where are you shooting? Mt Everest, or the bayou in Louisiana? It makes a big difference on whether or not it "will stabilize".

Similarly, what are your real velocities and distances being shot? A guy who only shoots max loads in one single atmospheric set of conditions, may be fine on the mountain but not the bayou. So as we learned long long ago at camp Perry, when things change; so do the outcomes.
So it's really best to use a calculator and run it at minimum velocities first, that will help inform you if there is even a prayer at stabilizing things.

The monos, is a slightly different kettle of fish. A lot of them are shaped more like a semi wadcutter, so they don't need as much OAL to get to the same weight as an A-max does. For things like a standard X bullet of the same general form factor, yes you would need a much higher rotation speed to properly stabilize them. That, and the fact that most of them have a higher velocity requirement for bullet operation; is precisely why they suggest you go a couple steps lighter in bullet weight than traditional hunting bullets.

The distance also matters.
If a bullet is in the marginal stability zone upon firing, there are a few things to consider. First is you will not get all of your possible BC, which may make your shooting solution not match reality.
Next is how nasty are the groups at what distances. At 100 yards they may be less than acceptable to you as the bullet isn't properly stabilized. As it travels down range, it will lose a bunch of forward speed rather quickly(drag). However the rotational velocity decay happens extremely slowly. Because it's forward speed slows quickly and it's rotational speed does not, that means that relative to forward speed; it's rotational stability actually increases.

That allows a bullet that is marginally stable when leaving the muzzle, to actually gain stability father down range. Again for the example, maybe the 100 yards groups make you sad, but it may group perfectly well at 300 yards. If you're never shooting to 300+, you wouldn't know this. And that tires right in line, with your good suggestion of "gotta try it to know for sure".

Cheers

 

Very cool to see there are others who also shoot and enjoy the Remington model 788 in 6mm Rem. It's one of the reasons why I began reloading nearly a decade ago.

 

…Forget all this garbage guy's like to write about.…

…and listen to your “garbage” instead? No thanks. 🙄

I purchased my M788 (6mm Remington) in 1971, shot a lot of Nevada jackrabbits, a few feral goats and deer. Still own it but haven’t fired it in years, I’m sure the OP will enjoy his.




.

 

Like Mikeg said measure it yourself, run a patch into the rifling about 4", mark the rod with a longitudinal mark at top dead center with a magic marker near the end of the stock, if the rod is long enough put a perpendicular mark on the rod at the end of the buttstock, push it in until the first mark does a full rotation and is back at TDC. Mark the rod again with a perpendicular mark at the buttstock. Pull the rod out and measure the length between the marks with a tape measure.
I have a 700 remington with a 1-12 twist 223 barrel, it shoots 69gr. matchkings most of the time under 1 moa out to 500m, that's not supposed to be possible according to the math geniuses, just say'in.

 

Congrats to your Nephew for inheriting a great rifle in a classic cartridge it will serve him well on deer and speed goats. I have both the 788 and 700 in 6mm and for factory ammo the love federal 100gn blue box if you can find it. Take care of the 788 and pass it on some day!

 

Can anyone point us towards locating a way to determine the twist rate for our Remington 788 / 6mm Rem.

1) Put a piece of tape on a cleaning rod so it makes a 'flag' sticking out from the rod.
2) Put a patch on the rod (has to fit the bore snug) and start in the barrel.
3) Make a measurement from some reference point on the rifle to some reference point on the cleaning rod and note the position of the tape 'flag'.
4) Run the rod in the barrel until the tape 'flag' has made one full revolution.
5) Make another measurement using the reference points used in step 3.
6) Calculate the distance distance. This is your twist rate, one turn in X inches.

 

My 788 in .243 with a 1-9" twist. I had the 105 gr. Speer spitzer bullet, the heaviest available then, in mind when I ran across it. That bullet shot OK~I guess, but not as well as some other bullets in several other rifles with 1-10" barrels. It turns out my 788 had a tight neck and required seating the bullets pretty deep, below the neck to about level to the body to shoulder angle. Never got it to shoot as well as rifles with 1-10" twist. I tried a full box of bullets working up the handloads with several different powders and primers. The 788 also disappointed me with some pet loads used in other guns. Like I said, it shot OK~ I was hoping for more. Sold it to a pal and he was, and still is, happy as a lark.