6.5-284 questions

P

PRGF

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I`m new here and need some advice on the 6.5-284 Norma.
I want to have a gun built and was wondering what the best action would be for this calibre. Would a 26 inch barrel be good for shots past 600 yards? What would be the best barrel and twist rate?

Thank You
PRGF
 
Thank you,I forgot to mention I would be pushing a 140 grain bullet at approximately 3000 fps .My end use would be for some competiton and also hunting Varmints or possibly deer, that is why the 26 inch barrel, I do not want to carry a 38 or 40 inch barrel in the mountains,
 
I have a 6.5/284 with a 28" barrel. Chronographed @ 2950. Shot a PD at 1036 yards last year. 8.5 twist and a 142 grain SMK. 2 inches would reduce this velocity some. I doubt I could get 2950 out of a 26" barrel using my best load.
 
I have a Ruger#1 with a 26" barrel. The barrel was rebored from a 243 Win and weight reduced by milling the barell octagon. The rifle has an 8.5" twist and will group
three shots into one hole at 100. Sofar I have used only 140gr Nosler but I also have
140gr Hornady and 140gr Speer hot core. All three bullets shoot really well. The Nosler shoots best. My rifle has a .295 chamber neck. Loaded neck is .292. All Lapua cases are outside neck turned. So far I have killed two deer with it with two shots.

The rifle has a 3-9 Kahles scope with a range finder reticle and a Kepplinger single set
trigger. A pretty good long range hunting rig.

IMGP0020.jpg
 
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Thank you all for your replies.
I am planning on using the Hornady 140 grain A-Max . I believe that I can push it to 2950 According to the Nosler reloading manuel. Of course nothing is set in stone, I may have to change bullet and bullet weight and/or powder charge. No matter what I like , it will depend on what the rifle likes .I like the BC of the A-Max. then again the Berger bullets look promising.
 
Thanks
I am considering a 30-06 receiver or a 270, either a Savage or Remington. If I can find one here locally, I may go with a large ring Mauser.
 
I'm using a long action (Remington - was 30/06). 26 inch barrel, 1x8 twist. I'm haviing good luck Berger 140 VLD's and H4831.
 
I have a 6.5-.284 with 1:8 twist Krieger barrel on a Nesika Action. It is very accurate. I bought it for long range varmint hunting, and I have been disappointed. Mainly because a 140grain bullet will punch a hole in a groundhog without expanding, allowing him to crawl off. If it was not a perfect shot to the vitals, the animal will suffer.

It has been a while since I looked for a varmint bullet for a 6.5 caliber, but I don’t think there is a varmint bullet on the market in the 140 grain weight range. I would advise to find a varmint bullet you want to use, and choose the best twist for that bullet.

I know if I hit a groundhog with my .243 with any of the varmint bullets I use, he will be DRT (dead right there).
 
JC Thanks for that info will try H4831.

Ron, may I suggest Nosler BT for ground hogs and other varmints. That is what I used in a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser. They all droped first shot. I was using 120 grain BT

Thanks
 
I have a hunting rifle in 6.5/284, Nesika long action (left hand), Krieger #5 taper w/8.5" twist and 26" long, McMillan stock, Jewell trigger, HS precision detachable box mag. I've been shooting 140 gr Sierra Game King for several years and have shot several deer with it. It works just fine! Unfortunately, I don't have a chrono so can't give you the velocity.
I'm working up a load with 140 gr Berger to give that a try. With H4831SC, Lapua brass, F210M primers a charge weight of 50.5 gr looks promising but need a second trip to the range to confirm.
 
PRGF said:
JC Thanks for that info will try H4831.

Ron, may I suggest Nosler BT for ground hogs and other varmints. That is what I used in a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser. They all droped first shot. I was using 120 grain BT

Thanks
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, but I think I already tried them.
Nosler120.jpg
These are the ones I tried. I didn't get any real expansion with these either. The best expansion and accuracy I have found was with the Lapua 123g. great accuracy and some expansion but still nothing to write home about.
 
Ron, I have heard others say the same as you , even though I have never had them fail me, some didn`t expand as you said and never exited the varmint , but they were still dead. Try Sierra GameKings, they usually don`t exit but do alot of damage internally, another would be Berger bullets, contact them and they will e-mail you back some loads just give them barrel length , twist and bullet weight. Once the bullet enters it sheds 40% - 85% of its weight inside fragmenting and does a job on the inside.
I use GameKings and Berger, and I still have Noslers hand loaded, which I will use on Varmints, but won`t use them in other calibers to hunt deer, I do not trust them that well.I may try Hornady that has been recommended to me but I don`t know if adding another type of bullet is worth having.
 
PRGF said:
Ron, I have heard others say the same as you , even though I have never had them fail me, some didn`t expand as you said and never exited the varmint , but they were still dead. Try Sierra GameKings, they usually don`t exit but do alot of damage internally, another would be Berger bullets, contact them and they will e-mail you back some loads just give them barrel length , twist and bullet weight. Once the bullet enters it sheds 40% - 85% of its weight inside fragmenting and does a job on the inside.
I use GameKings and Berger, and I still have Noslers hand loaded, which I will use on Varmints, but won`t use them in other calibers to hunt deer, I do not trust them that well.I may try Hornady that has been recommended to me but I don`t know if adding another type of bullet is worth having.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, but I have tried the Game Kings. The accuracy was good, but I got no expansion with them either.

I had high hopes for the Horaday 95g V Max varmint bullet. I never killed anything with it that I recall, because I couldn’t get them to group. (My Nesika is my over 300-400 yard gun. I have other guns for inside that distance.)

I have tried many different bullets, Berger included. The bottom line is varmint bullets are designed to expand in small critters, but you can’t find them in anything over 100 grain, and a 8 twist barrel, like I have, is designed for the heavy bullets. I wish I had bought a 10 twist.

When I buy bullets I sort them by base to ogive length, sometimes they are all so consistent, and they all go back in the box for testing. Sometimes they make two groups in a box. Sometimes the entire box is so inconsistent, I won’t even try them. I have not bought Berger bullets in over ten years because their inconsistency.
 
Ron
What type of expansion are you looking for? If you are using your rifle for varmints, what difference does it make if the bullet expands or fragments , as long as the varmint is dead?
I have heard good things about Hornady bullets , saying that, Sierra GameKings ( GameKings and Berger fragment ,in my opinion , instead of expanding )and Berger have done me well. The twist of your barrel should not be a problem with the 1 in 8 twist , you can not over stabilize a bullet. You may look into Speer. I personally do not like them , but that is me , no reason ,just my thing.
 
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