CAT VB6 Testing
Took the VB6 to the range today. Also took my Noah 718 QD to compare.
I’ve been very happy with my Noah but it was recently sort of dethroned by my Inconel Tisha as the Tisha sounded just a bit better than Noah and was also a good chunk shorter.
The rifle build is a SOLGW broadsword upper and rail, with a Geissele REBC and Noveske Gen 1 bolt, 20” Proof PXT barrel (rifle +1 gas) and a superlative adjustable gas block. Standard lower with a5 buffer and h3 weight and SSAEX.
I have about 250 rounds through this upper since assembly 2 weeks ago with the new barrel.
First Impressions
I started with VB6 and a 20 round mag of hand loaded 105 Berger Hybrids. I won’t go into load data here but it’s a 62k PSI loading and average velocity was 2650 FPS.
First shot as the shooter was shockingly pleasant to my ear. It reminded me of my first time shooting with a Tisha or CACM. Performance was immediately impressive as I confirmed there was no zero shift at 100 yards. I proceeded to let another guy shoot a couple rounds of the next mag and stand back on both ejection side and opposite. VB6 sounds really good. After 40 rounds in approximately 5 minutes it was hot, but no major mirage was visible in my 3.5-21 scope at 10-21 power. The can seems to cool off very quickly. This gun was tuned for the Noah and I made no changes, but it did seem to have more back pressure than Noah but was quieter at ear and bystander.
Comparison
I then pulled VB6 and swapped to Noah, it immediately makes the rifle more unwieldy but I’m used to the extra weight. Noah is still a great performer but it did sound louder and to my ear/face had less gas to the face. We shot two 20 round mags of the same reloads back to back 10 of each mag with Noah and then VB6. Recoil is a touch more punchy, I felt like that could be due to the fact it’s noticeably lighter weight. It decreased the OAL of my rifle to 43” from 44.5”. So that’s not a huge difference, but the weight being further back had a very pleasant feeling.
Overall, VB6 is quieter with slightly more back pressure, but I still got no gas to my face. Noah is a touch louder but had lower back pressure. I think I can adjust my gas block and get the VB6 tuned even better next range trip to reduce some recoil.
Conclusion
I have 6 CAT cans currently, and have enjoyed each of them as top performers. The VB6 is no slouch. I ended the day with 120 rounds through it and hits at 1000 yards (easy with this rifle). I am looking forward to shooting it even more in the coming months and am only waiting on a BPG can cover to finish out the rifle.
Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer!