6mm Remington

The 6mm Remington was introduced by Remington Arms Company in 1955 as the .244 Remington. It is based on necking down the .257 Roberts. Originally intended as a Varmint and predator cartridge, the .244 was never factory loaded with bullets over 90 grains. Rifles marked .244 Remington have a 1 in 12 in twist that may not stabilize the heavier 100 and 105 grain bullets. Originally Remington offered factory ammunition with 75 grain bullets for varmints and 90 grain for deer. In 1963 Remington renamed the cartridge, calling it the 6mm Remington. Rifles marked 6mm Remington have a 1 in 9 in twist and can stabilize all commercially available 6 mm bullets.

The 6mm Remington has a slight ballistic advantage over the much more popular .243 Winchester due to a slightly larger case capacity. The longer case neck of the 6mm Remington is considered desirable by handloaders. Noted Alabama deer hunter and marksman Creath Davis is a proponent of this caliber.

It was discovered soon after its release as .244 Remington that in the Remington Model 722 rifles the rate of twist used in the barrels would not stabilize heavier bullets weighing more than 90 grains. This led to a poor reputation for the cartridge as being "inaccurate." Remington soon increased the rate of twist in its Model 722 rifles, but the marketability damage was already done as far as the cartridge was concerned. Therefore the name was changed to 6 mm Remington. The .244 Remington and the 6 mm Remington are identical - only the name changed.