Loading the 6 TCU

[sixshot]

Although we've been hammered with over 2 feet of snow in the last few days I have seen a few Rock Chucks that were brave enough to stick their noses out to check on the weather. On our way over to Boise 2 weeks ago to watch the girls state basketball tournaments we spotted several in the Twin Falls area but they are usually a few weeks ahead of us.

Because they are such a difficult target for a six gun I do keep 2 single shots on hand to hunt them with because several farmers want me to keep them under control when their barley & Alfalfa starts coming up. Rock Chucks will eat other crops like dry land wheat, etc but hay & barley is like a Huckleberry milk shake & they will go long distances to get it.

Anyway, today I was loading more 223 ammo for my XP100 Custom Shop gun that has a 3X12 Burris on top & the other is a 6 TCU Contender that I bought at our shooting club banquet back in December from an old friend. The 6 TCU is a very good caliber & brass is easily made from 223 brass & I've owned 3-4 of them over the years. Getting this one & the 2 1/2 X 8 Leupold was a real Christmas present because it had been sitting in my buddies safe for over 20 years along with a set of Redding dies.

There's several ways of forming cases, the most common way is to run a 223 case into the 6 TCU sizer after putting a bit of graphite on the case neck & then loading with a reduced load of powder to blow out the case body & form the 40 degree shoulder designed by Wes Ugade of Fallon, Nevada.

I do it a bit different, I run it through the 6 TCU die, load 10 grs of Unique & then add a pinch of toilet paper (new!!) to hold the powder down & pull the trigger. This blows out the case & gives me a nice formed case without the use of a bullet, works great!

I formed several more new one's today just by driving down by the range & shooting out the window. Then I placed a card board box on a pallet at 50 yds & it shot great, first 3 shots were a bit high & left but a great group, then a slight adjustment & the next 3 were centered & ready to go for Chucks. I'll fine tune when the snow melts & the groups will tighten when I get it on the sand bags but these 70 gr Ballastic Tips are nasty on Chucks & I've also taken 3 Antelope with them.

The first case is a once fired military 223 case, #2 is a formed case using 10 grs of Unique & a pinch of toilet paper & the 3rd is a loaded round.





Dick

[magnumwheelman]

I also have a Contender barrel in 6 TCU... always found cases easy to form... but I've not tried your dirty little trick of using "clean" TP

always found I got acceptable accuracy on my forming loads, but it did cost me bullets at reduced velocities... so I may have to try your trick... thanks for posting it...

a little off topic... but I was happy when Hornady standardized the 17 Hornet, as I also have a 17 K Hornet barrel, & forming those cases always seemed to be more work... not sure why??? size of the case, or the thin fragile nature??? but Hornady's 17 Hornet fits in my chamber & fireforms to the K hornet without me having to assemble a fire form load, & gives me perfect K Hornet cases nearly every time

[Ken O'Neill]

Conservation only goes so far. Glad you're not using recycled toilet paper. Great way to save bullet expense, Dick!

[AxeHandle]

Dang! And just when I was busy doing other stuff this comes up. I too have a 6mm TCU barrel. Mine is a 15 inch from one of the custom barrel makers. Guess this means I need to pull it out and get busy... First.... pictures!

Quick comment... You guys notice a case capacity difference in the 556 and 223 cases?

[magnumwheelman]

I've not used the 5.56 for forming... I notice a capacity difference between military cases & something like R-P cases

[squigz]

I want to get other barrels to complete the TCU(6mm, 25, 6.5mm) family some day. I have a 7mmTCU in a super 14 barrel and the gun is lights out. I've always just sized the brass and loaded it and let it fire form from normal shooting, but I might have to give this trick a try!

[AxeHandle]

The 25 barrel with a die set can be hard to find... I've got 6, 6.5, and 7 TCU barrels... Easy to load for. Easy to shoot.

[squigz]

Mar 7, 2018 9:11:40 GMT -5 AxeHandle said:

The 25 barrel with a die set can be hard to find... I've got 6, 6.5, and 7 TCU barrels... Easy to load for. Easy to shoot.

That's what I'm finding as well. If i ever come across the 25 barrel I'll buy it then in person, but otherwise I'm not pulling the trigger on the others till I have that 25 in hand. 

[sixshot]

I had a 25 TCU barrel at one time & made my longest ever deer kill with it, I've mentioned this before but won't give this distance. You'll have to show up to Soda Springs & I'll hand you the range finder!! The 85 gr. Nosler BT is an amazing bullet in the 25 TCU & the 250 Savage, trust me.

For those of you who think that military brass is thicker, don't believe that old wives tale, it belongs in the same drawer as "45 Colt brass is weak" Some 223 military is not heavier, it's lighter, you need to weigh it & see the results for yourself. Just make sure & use the same brass, just like you would any other brass, 44 mag, 45 Colt, etc.

When you fire form to 6 TCU the brass will shorten to about 1.635" from about 1.750", measure before & after. My first 6 TCU was a 15" stainless Bullberry & it was scary accurate.

Ken, I always told Callshot to use new toilet tissue but he's a real Conservative, had to stay up wind of him most times!!!

Dick

[potatojudge]

Dick, killer package. Your prior posts on the 6 TCU gave me an "a-ha" moment regarding bullet weights in the TCU line. I've loaded my 6.5 TCU with 120-130 grain bullets but ordered some 100 grain BTs for it on your recommendations. The idea of a lighter bullet expanding properly on medium game because of more moderate velocities seems to have worked well for you and makes sense. Match the bullet weight/construction to the velocity you can achieve for the game you've chosen.

I see these barrels available from 10-16 inches typically. In that range, it seems like a "shoot the longest barrel you're willing to carry" family of cartridges.

For a 25 TCU I wouldn't call you a liar at 400+ yards, though I suspect you shot was longer than that!

[magman]

Got a custom 6tcu barrel. Never did tp forming. I use Federal GM match brass. Have a 6.5tcu also. Had a 7tcu, but lost interest in that caliber. The 25tcu does interest me.

[sixshot]

potatojudge, yes the shot was longer than that & I had a witness, plus there's no way to change the distance by more than 5-10 yds even today because the fence I was laying by hasn't moved & neither has the clearing above the field where the buck was standing. Of all the TCU cartridges I think the 25 TCU is the best just because of that 85 gr Nosler Ballastic Tip, it's a game killing son of a gun even up through the 257 Roberts, I used it a lot. Fred at Bullberry made my barrel, someone out there has it.

A little back ground on the above shot. The buck & 4-5 doe's were milling around in the snow & I could see him really good but he kept moving so I would have to put my gun down & sort him out with my Swarvoski binoculars because they were 10X & my pistol scope was a 2X7 & I couldn't make out the horns. I had to do this about 3-4 times before he finally stopped moving around among the doe's & I was able to make the shot.

After the shot all I could see were deer running up through the trees, I didn't know if I had even hit him. I had to walk across the field to see & by that time one of my son's had got there too, he had watched the whole show from another ridge half mile away. When we got there, he was laying dead in the snow & I had hit him through both lungs. It was actually too far to be shooting with that caliber but standing on that pure white snow I had a great look at him & knew my gun pretty well plus I got lucky shooting off my backpack. Every single shot handgun I've ever owned I've always zeroed dead on at 200 yds, no matter the caliber. Then I practice off of that zero.

Dick

[rjm52]

Back in the 1980s I traded a XP100 for a friend's TC Contender in 6mm TCU...what a great round. I used it for Jacks in Texas but after moving back to New England in the 1990s to find that all the woodchucks had been eaten by coyote I ended up selling it...

As a side note...if anyone is looking for I believe a G2 Contender I just saw a mint one at Indian Village Firearms in Barrington, NH 603-664-9972. Three barrels: 14" .223 with a scope, .357 Magnum and .45 Colt/.410 VR with the adjustable for elevation, not bead, front sight that I think were 10". He had just taken it into the shop Tuesday when I was there and didn't have a price on it yet...he is a small shop and usually pretty reasonable...

Bob

[squigz]

Dick,

Your stories don't make not buying things easier, especially for that rare 25TCU!. You're almost tempting me with your own jubilation of the 6mmTCU to search one of those out since they're easier to obtain.. On the note of Nosler Ballistic tips, I've shot them since I can first remember sitting down to the reloading bench with my father, I've never been able to ask for a better bullet.

Thanks so much for sharing, I always look forward to your stories and wisdom.

-Bill

[sixshot]

Bill, thank you & those that have a 6 TCU will echo my comments about how accurate they are & how easy they are to shoot. For deer or Antelope that 70 gr. Ballistic Tip is 100% lethal with proper hits, I've taken several. The 25 TCU tops it because of that amazing 85 gr. Ballistic Tip, it's built a bit different than other bullets in that weight range because it kills out side of it's weight.

Bullberry can make anyone a 25 TCU, 223 brass is everywhere & using the above method to fire form is simple & cheap. Fred also has Redding dies, so if I were in the market I would go with the 25 TCU first & then the 6 TCU second but both are very good on medium size game. I still have some 25 TCU brass, wish I still have that Hummer of a barrel!!
Brass lasts forever as long as you don't bump the shoulder when resizing.

Dick