Remington's Model 700™ CDL™ SF Limited Edition

Every year, Remington produces a Limited Edition rifle, chambered for a cartridge with a unique quality and/or history. The gun for 2011 is a Model 700 CDL SF chambered for the 6mm Remington, and that is pretty special.

This limited edition Model  has very clean stainless steel hardware – action, fluted barrel, fasteners, magazine box and follower. The trigger guard and floorplate, made of textured aluminum, is consistent with the top metal’s finish. The  CDL stock is one of the most attractive Remington has produced and its geometry is excellent for scoped use by an adult.

I started writing the colorful history of the .244 Remington and it’s segue into the name 6mm Remington and it’s life in the shadow of the .243 Winchester, but I became so bored my head tilted forward until my nose hit the “h” key. I think the force behind the ascension of the 243 Winchester and the niche destiny of the 6mm Remington was each company’s deliberate product positioning on introduction in 1955, rather than the genius of gun writers of the day or even slow rifling twists. Rifling twist rates would explain slow factory rifle sales to deer hunters, but it wouldn’t explain why tens of thousands of sporterized military surplus rifles, that could have been rebarreled to any twist rate, ended up chambered for the .243 Winchester rather than the .244 Remington.

I sifted through a ton of Remington ads from that introduction era, through the early 60’s, that combined in image the Remington Model 722, the .244 Remington cartridge, piles of shot woodchucks and celebrity varmint hunters. The .244 Remington was repeatedly and consistently referred to as a high velocity varmint cartridge by Remington. In several of Peter’s ammunition ads, a celebrity told a story of using a Peter’s 300 Magnum to make a 450 yard shot at a deer while his companion 244 Remington was used for long range shots at woodchucks. Meanwhile, Winchester was out beating the marketing drum for their newly introduced high velocity, long range deer rifle. So in the mid and late 1960’s when a hunter was asked which deer cartridge was best, .244 Remington or .243 Winchester, the knee jerk, ad conditioned opinion expressed was, “The .244 Remington is for Varmints. The .243 Winchester is for deer”.

There were other factors. My $75, sporterized Model 98 military Mauser was chambered for the .243 Winchester. Not because of performance, but because of the low cost of ammunition. The 244 Remington’s parent cartridge is the 7x57mm Mauser. The parent for the .243 Winchester is the 308 Winchester. Back in ancient times, when government 308 Winchester brass was nearly free, it could easily be resized to make .243 Winchester ammunition at a cost of less than a dollar a box.

So no, I don’t believe Remington blundered and applied the wrong twist rate, which caused a less than successful outcome for the 6mm Remington. I believe they assesses the market opportunities differently than Winchester and didn’t see the acceptance of the smallish .243 as a widely accepted deer caliber and opted to pursue a waning varmint hunting segment that was already over saturated with .224″ cartridges more suited to high volume, low cost shooting. Retro marketing is such a wonderful thing.

Handloading & shooting observations

Factory ammunition of the same type and bullet weight shows the 6mm Remington as typically having a 140 fps advantage over the .243 Winchester with 100 grain bullets, the result of two contributing factors. The bulk of the velocity difference comes from the 6mm Remington’s higher pressure specification, 65,000 PSI versus the 243 Winchester at 60,000 PSI. A more minor velocity contribution to the 6mm Remington edge comes from the Remington cartridge’s larger case volume, which is not always so easy to nail down. There is volume calculation based on nominal dimensions, then there is the manufacturer’s production and lot differences, then there is the capacity of cases fire formed to a specific firearm’s chamber. Once fired .243 Winchester and 6mm Remington brass wet checked at 55.6 grains and 57.1 grains respectively, or 1.5 grains in favor of the .244 Remington. At a common pressure, that difference is worth less than 20 fps.

The chamber headspace measurement for the 6mm Remington is 1.7767″ to 1.7867″, measured from the breech face to a point in the chamber’s shoulder cut where the diameter is 0.375″. New brass went in at 1.771″ headspace length, 0.427″ major shoulder diameter and 0.464″ diameter above the extractor groove and came out uniformly 1.773″, 0.433″ and 0.467″ respectively. Lee Precision full length dies sized to 1.771″, 0.429″ and 0.466″ when installed to shellholder contact.

There are so many bullets available in 0.243″, generally in the weight range of 55 – 105 grains. There are 107 and 108 weights for competitive shooting and even a 115 grain Berger, but it requires a 1:7″ twist for stabilization.

The bullet selected for this project are representative of bullet weight and construction that cover hunting from varmints to antelope and deer and were drawn from stock. There are many other excellent bullets from Barnes, Berger, Hornady, Remington, Sierra,  Speer, and Winchester that apply to the same type of applications.

There were no problems experienced with the listed handloads. No bolt sticking, to pancaked primers and no velocity anomalies. All had adequate clearance from rifling and none were compressed loads even with new brass.

Warning: Bullet selections are specific, and loads are not valid with substitutions of different bullets of the same weight. Variations in bullet material and length will alter net case capacity,  pressure and velocity results. Primer selection is specific and primer types are not interchangeable. These data represents maximum loads in our firearms and test equipment and may easily be excessive in other applications. All loads should be reduced by 3%,  and developed following safe handloading practices as represented in established reloading manuals produced by component manufacturers. Presentation of these loads does not constitute a solicitation for their use, nor a recommendation.   Cartridge: 6mm Remington   Firearm: Remington Model 700   Max COL: 2.825″   Bullet Diameter: 0.243″   Primer: CCI 200   Barrel: 24″   Reloading Dies: Lee Precision   Max case length: 2.233″   Group distance: 3 Shot 100 yards

COL and Capacity   Load Data & Performance Bullet Type Bullet Weight C.O.L. Inches Case Grains Water   Powder Charge Grains Muzzle Velocity FPS Muzzle Energy Ft/Lbs Group Size Inches Sierra BlitzKing 55 2.770 54.4   PP Varmint 46.0 3981 1936 0.9 Sierra BlitzKing 55 2.770 54.4   Re 17 51.0 4037 1991 1.1 Sierra BlitzKing 55 2.770 54.4   Varget 48.0 4095 2048 1.2 Hornady V-Max 65 2.780 51.2   Re 17 49.0 3749 2029 1.0 Hornady V-Max 65 2.780 51.2   Varget 46.0 3808 2093 0.7 Hornady V-Max 65 2.780 51.2   IMR 4895 46.0 3891 2186 1.2 Remington AccuTip V 75 2.815 50.5   Re 17 47.5 3555 2105 0.9 Remington AccuTip V 75 2.815 50.5   Varget 44.0 3422 1951 1.0 Remington AccuTip V 75 2.815 50.5   H414 49.0 3696 2276 0.6 Nosler CT SilverTip 95 2.825 48.5   Re 17 44.0 3161 2108 0.8 Nosler CT SilverTip 95 2.825 48.5   H414 45.5 3291 2285 0.7 Nosler CT SilverTip 95 2.825 48.5   IMR 4350 45.5 3210 2174 1.2 Hornady BTSP 100 2.810 49.1   Re 19 47.0 3152 2207 1.1 Hornady BTSP 100 2.810 49.1   H414 45.0 3219 2301 0.9 Hornady BTSP 100 2.810 49.1   IMR 7828 SSC 49.0 3136 2184 0.7 Speer BTSP 100 2.800 49.0   Re 19 47.0 3214 2294 0.8 Speer BTSP 100 2.800 49.0   H414 45.0 3225 2310 0.8 Speer BTSP 100 2.800 49.0   IMR 7828 SSC 49.0 3139 2188 0.6   One last word before I put this gun up… Remington is really hitting their stride in a very competitive marketplace. The quality of design as well as manufacture are excellent and it shows in accurate and consistent shooting performance. The 6mm Remington has lots of deer hunting power, but it is also very easy to shoot. Recoil is mild, the long barrel provides optimal 6mm Remington ballistic performance and accuracy is exceptional. The CDL satin finish look… classy and understated, the materials used are durable and resistant to the effects of a harsh environment. The X-Mark Pro trigger is one of the best recent changes to Remington firearms. Movement is slick, release is crisp, overtravel is minimal, and being able to personalize pull is ideal. Overall, excellent execution of an interesting combination.