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6.5 x 284 - thoughts?

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Went shooting with a friend Saturday and he had a couple of rifles he built on this round. I was really impressed with the groups we got and I'm thinking about turning a savage action I have into one. Just curious about whether others have played around with these. It's definitely a wildcat, and brass is pricey but it sure was a sweet shooting gun. For what it's worth, the bergers were all over the place but nosler accubond LR were amazing.

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It use to be a wildcat. . Now you can buy factory brass for it. Lapua is one of the makers and it might seem pricey but the quality makes up for it in the end. There are a few others that make it as well. Some will say it's a barrel burner, but if you look at where it became popular (1000 yard competitions) its no wonder it got a name like that. In competitions you are shooting several rounds very quickly, much quicker than when doing load development, practice or out hunting. It's a nice round with manageable recoil and some longer range power to boot.

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Jason, I have a factory savage in 6.5x.284. It shoots great and has great ballistics with minimal recoil. The 6.5 bullets all have great BCs, although not as good as nosler claims I'm sure. I shoot the Berger 140s and get consistent 3/4 moa with 4831sc and lapua brass.

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It use to be a wildcat. . Now you can buy factory brass for it. Lapua is one of the makers and it might seem pricey but the quality makes up for it in the end. There are a few others that make it as well. Some will say it's a barrel burner, but if you look at where it became popular (1000 yard competitions) its no wonder it got a name like that. In competitions you are shooting several rounds very quickly, much quicker than when doing load development, practice or out hunting. It's a nice round with manageable recoil and some longer range power to boot.

most modern calibers could be considered "barrel burners" that term came out when the first real fast, high performance cartridges started being produced, and yes, fast bullets=less barrel life. that term makes me cringe when i hear it. 7mm mag, 300 win, all the ultra mags, could all be considered barrel burners, but for some reason that term really stuck when people talk about a 6.5, especially the big ones like a .264, when in reality they are probably not much worse, if any than some of the others that people do not refer to as "barrel burners"

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If the Bergers were all over the place, he needs to do some more load development. The 140 HVLD & Hybrids out of my 6.5 SLR are crazy accurate, in the .1-.3 routinely. They keep sub-MOA accuracy out to 1300+.

 

The 6.5-.284 is a fantastic long range round for targets/deer/elk (if you know YOUR limits). Nosler makes 6.5-.284 Norma brass. So does Norma (of course) and Lapua. You could neck down the parent case (.284 Win) and get brass from Winchester.

 

I thought long and hard about that round when I was building mine, and if I would have had a LA, I probably would have done it.

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Lance you made a good choice on the 6.5SLR. The 6.5-284 is a great cartridge but probably one of my least favorites in 6.5, not because there is anything wrong with it but because I have found there are others out there that can do the same thing without using as much powder. I used to have a 6.5-284 and I thought it was great until I built my first .260 Ackley. Coach welcome to the 6.5 club. You have witnessed the pleasure first hand of shooting one and soon you will begin to wonder why you ever shot anything else.

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I just went out yesterday and verified/trued my velocity of the 140 Bergers HVLDs for my hunting loads at 564, 622, 772, 820, 964, 1165, & 1371 yards. Pleasantly surprised they are running at 2953 fps with no signs of pressure at all, even in 95° temps laying in the sun. The same powder charge (43.0gr. H4350) is pushing the 140 Hybrids at 2920fps. I think since I can seat them a bit longer, I have a bit more empty case space, allowing a bit less pressure. Same point of impact as the HVLDs out o 1371 yards though. Not even .1 mil difference in drop. I guess the bit less velocity=the bit better B.C. and makes it even. 11.9 mils at 1371 is pretty darn good. I don't know how much better a 6.5-.284 would do over that.

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Pictured here is a 6.5-.284 that a buddy of mine had built and it is Flat Amazing.... Tina was shooting a pop can at 535 yds with it, standing behind that tri-pod, head, and Tri-Clawps set up before the hunt. It did a Helluva number on this buck at 300+ yds. I'd like to own one as a light weight pack rifle...

post-996-0-61804400-1434409904_thumb.jpg

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Nice goat.

 

Those kind of numbers is why I got out of the 6.5-284 business. To achieve those numbers in the 6.5-284 you need ~57gr or so of Retumbo or H1000.

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Nice goat.

 

Those kind of numbers is why I got out of the 6.5-284 business. To achieve those numbers in the 6.5-284 you need ~57gr or so of Retumbo or H1000.

What's ur load on the 260ai or what's speeds u getting if u don't mind me asking.

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It's also my least favorite 6.5.

 

1st and foremost and I know everybody else hates the term barrel burner but when I loose accuracy at 500 rounds, set back and loose it again 200 later, running average loads, it's time for something else for me. I enjoy shooting to much to just get things developed, settled in, have a bit of LR fun and then have to start over....you all can have that crap.

 

The second thing is that the 2 best powders won't fill the case. Or even near it. The more air in the case, the more velocity troubles you'll have when you change altitudes. H4350 and H4831/H4831SC are phenomenal in that caliber. Low ES, good temp stability and crazy accurate.

 

I'm with C. There are other good 6.5 choices out there. 260 and 260AI. Lead the way IMHO. When you look at windage numbers down range, there's not enough difference to squawk about. Plus you get a much higher load density.

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i have two 6.5-284s currently. and my brother has a .264 wm . all three have krieger barrels and shoot real real good. i have 1250 rounds through one.

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