I was shooting my 6mm ARC rifle at the range today, and I wondered what is the effective range of this cartridge for hunting and long-range precision shooting?
The Hornady 6mm ARC has a max effective range of 500-yards for deer hunting, 900 yards for coyote hunting, 1,000 yards for military use, and 1,300-yards for target shooting. Past 500-yards, hunting bullets will no longer expand enough for deer-sized game. At 1,000-yards the bullet lacks deep penetration. Past 1,200-yards, the bullet goes subsonic and loses stability.
History of the 6 ARC
Before we go deeper into specific uses, let’s cover some quick history of the 6 ARC. The 6mm ARC was born when a Department of Defense “entity,” as Hornady puts it, came to them asking for a cartridge that would defeat barriers better than 5.56 NATO, have the long-range performance of a 7.62 NATO and be capable of fitting in an AR15 platform rifle to cut weapon and ammo loadout weight. The 6mm ARC’s parent case is the 6.5 Grendel, which takes its lineage from the .220 Russian and 7.62mm Soviet. Since Hornady was the first ammo maker to get behind the 6.5 Grendel in a big way, it was an easy transition to the new round. As an offspring of the Soviet 7.62×39, the 6mm ARC get some of the shared battlefield cred, too. It uses the same design method as the 6.5 Creedmoor; this results in excellent and consistent accuracy from one gun to another and load to load.
6mm ARC Effective Range for Deer Hunting
An AR-15-style rifle chambered in 6mm ARC is one of my favorite choices for hunting whitetails. The 6mm ARC was designed for hunters to use on deer-sized animals out to 300-500 yards, beyond the effective range of .223 Remington for most hunters. Make no mistake, 6 ARC still packs a wallop. At 400 yards it has almost double the kinetic energy of a .223 hunting load. Because the bullet weighs more, it doesn’t rely on velocity for its terminal effect on animals, so you don’t lose much effectiveness by choosing 16- or 18-inch barrels. These shorter barrel lengths are perfect for modern sporting rifles, and for using suppressors. 6 ARC makes for a lightweight AR-15 hunting rifle that can be carried all day long and fired standing or from a quick supported position.
Effective Range of 6mm ARC for Hog Hunting
The 6mm ARC can be used effectively on hogs out to 300-500 yards as well. The ability to make quick follow-up shots with the AR-15 platform really shines in hog hunting. Many times, hogs travel in large groups, and time is of the essence to take down multiple hogs before they scatter. The lighter recoil of the Grendel paired with the AR-15 platform further enhance the speed of follow-up shots and precise shot placement.
6mm ARC Effective Range for Coyote & Varmint Hunting
The ARC’s flat trajectory and retained energy at longer ranges makes it ideal for hunting coyotes and other varmints as well. The effective range for coyotes is up to 900 yards and even further for smaller varmints. Less penetration and expansion is needed to put down yotes’ than deer-sized game, which allows you to double the effective hunting range of this caliber. Having the ability to take quick and accurate follow-up shots pays off when hunting song dogs as well when they are traveling in pairs. The increased range capabilities is also a distinct advantage for follow-up shots over a .223.
Effective Range for Precision Shooting
The 6mm ARC is a long-range capable cartridge out to 1,300 yards. At 600 yards, tennis ball size targets are no match for this flat-shooting round. The ARC firing a 108-grain ELD-Match bullet with a .356 G1 ballistic coefficient at 2,750 fps muzzle velocity stays supersonic to 1,150 yards at standard atmosphere. While 6.5 Creedmoor has been all the rage for the last 10 years or so, the advantages of low recoil and faster shooting apply to long-range precision shooting or competition as well. In fact, the 6 ARC is the lightest recoiling 1,000-yard capable 6mm rifle. Don’t underestimate the impact that recoil has on the ability of a person to shoot accurately either. Some people do handle recoil better than others, but all other things being equal, most will absolutely shoot more accurately with a milder recoiling cartridge. Faster follow up shots from the low recoil and the AR-15 platform provide a significant speed advantage over a bolt action rifle to boot. Last, keep in mind that the ARC is the only 6mm caliber that will work in an AR-15 platform rather than an AR-10 platform, which is a tremendous difference in weight. The lower recoil aids in the stability needed in the lighter package.
6mm ARC vs. 6.5 Grendel
The 6mm ARC delivers comparable performance from a wider assortment of bullets, making it a more versatile choice than 6.5 Grendel. Handloaders can choose from a multitude of 6mm bullets for applications from small game to deer hunting to match shooting. The heavy, high B/C bullets in the 6 ARC have better ballistics than in the 6.5 Grendel, and adds about 100-150 yards of effective range for deer-sized game and steel/paper targets. The 6 ARC also has slightly less felt recoil than 6.5 Grendel, making it easier for you to self-spot impacts on or off target to make rapid adjustments.
6mm ARC Factory Loads
The 6mm ARC gives hunters the ability to successfully hunt varmints and deer due to the wide variety of 6mm bullet options. The ideal long-range bullet weights for the 6 ARC is 103-107 grains, according to all the testing Hornady conducted when perfecting factory loads. Hornady currently offers three loads for the 6mm ARC – 105-grain boat-tail hollow-point, 103-grain ELDX and a 108-grain ELD Match. The 108-grain ELD Match is a dandy, accurate long-range shooting load. Many shooters are using the 6 ARC past 1,000 yards with this ammo, especially with bolt action rifles. With many AR-15 rifles, the Hornady 105-grain boat-tail hollow-point actually produces the best groups. The Hornady 103-grain ELDX is the recommended long-range hunting load. The 6 ARC starts to drop sharply past 500-yards and has on average, near 30-feet of drop at 1,000-yards. A good bullet, like Hornady’s match loads, still has enough accuracy at that distance for target shooting on a still target. The ballistic chart below is from Hornady.com for the 108-grain ELD Match.
6mm ARC Ballistics
| Velocity (FPS) | Energy (FT/LB) | Trajectory (Inches) | |
| Muzzle | 2750 | 1813 | -1.5 |
| 100 Yards | 2582 | 1599 | 1.9 |
| 200 Yards | 2421 | 1405 | 0 |
| 300 Yards | 2265 | 1230 | 7.8 |
| 400 Yards | 2115 | 1072 | 22.4 |
| 500 Yards | 1971 | 931 | 44.8 |
Bolt Action Rifle Options
While the 6mm ARC was designed for use in the AR-15 platform, it performs really well in bolt-action rifles as well. Several manufacturers are offering rifles in this caliber now, and the feedback has been positive from both hunters and shooters. These bolt guns are light weight and low recoiling, and that is a great combination. Barrel life is also longer than many of the other 6mm calibers such as 6mm Creedmoor. Custom bolt guns in 6 ARC are showing up more often in PRS and other competitions, and that trend will likely increase.
Wrap-Up
The 6mm ARC provides an extreme range of capability for hunting, competition and tactical applications. It has the flexibility to move from lightweight varmint bullets in the 55-grain class, which offer superb accuracy for competition and small game shooting, to mid-weight, 80- to 90-grain competition bullets, and then on to 100- and 107-grain bullets, ideal for longer range, tactical shooting. These ranges are beyond those previously achievable with the AR-15 style weapon.
Check 6mm ARC rifle prices and availability at Guns.com.
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