ORIGINAL: Yoter
I killed my first two deer and first two antelope with a Remington 6mm, not to mention it was the gun I really learned to shoot with after graduating from the .22. My dad still has the 6mm and is saving it for the grandkids (my kids) so I won't be getting my hands on it any time soon.
My next gun will either be a 243 or 6mm. I can see the advantages of the 6 mm over the .243 although slight. My heart wants the 6mm for sentimental reasons, but my head is having a hard time justifying not getting the .243.
My questions is, how difficult would it be to get a 243 and then have a gunsmith rechamber it for the 6mm? Would the rate of twist in the barrel be an issue? Will the magazine have to be replaced? How much would it cost?
The only factory new rifle I am aware of still made in 6mm is the Remington VLS, and I'm not sure I want this to be a heavy varmint rifle. I plan to use it for coyotes, antelope, and wolves.
It could be done, but the .243 barrel would probably have to be set back several threads, and shortened. The reason is that though shorter, the .243 case is larger in diameter at the shoulder than the 6mm Rem. case, so if you merely ran a 6mm reamer into the .243 chamber, you'd get an enlarged "hump" in the 6mm casejust behind the shoulder when you fired the gun, at the spot where the .243 shoulder is.
However, a 6mm Remington IMPROVED reamer (such as the Ackley, at .457" at the shoulder,or the Page Super-Pooper) might have a big enough shoulder diameter to clean up the .243 chamber without having to set the barrel back. I don't really know....