Why do people think the 6.5 -.284 is any better than the regular .284 Win.?

[Rich_S]

Subject says it all. I have a Winchester Model 88 in .284 that, while not a tack driver is one of the most accurate rifles I've owned. It can be loaded to within 1-2 hundred fps of a 7 mm Rem. Mag. I imagine if it was a heavy barreled, bolt action that was accurized, it would make a great bench-rest caliber for long range target shooting.

Why go to the trouble of turning it into a wildcat? Regular .284 ammunition is hard to come by as it is.

[fastdam]

The bullet diameter has nothing to do with accuracy. I'm guessing the reason to go 6.5 would be to take advantage of speed gains and a better BC.

[Bill W]

Years ago in the early years of the Williamsport 1000 yard benchrest people were necking down the .300 Wea Mag to take advantage of the 6.5 diameter bullets.  It may be the mystique of that.

I know that at one time I owned 2 Model 70 .264 Mag Westerners and one Remington 700 Classic limited edition.  Now I only have the Model 70's.

Bill

[Biggerhammer]

Because a 6.5 142gr Sierra MK or a 140 Berger VLD from a 6.5-284 will walk all over anything you can stuff in a .284 Winchester. For hunting purposes and your average range. It isn't going to matter on game, for hunting you do have a larger, heavier bullet selection in .284 than you do in 6.5.

[jjhunter]

Quite a few guys running .284 win the 180s.  Pretty solid combo could probably edge a 6.5/140 combo.

[Rich_S]

Because a 6.5 142gr Sierra MK or a 140 Berger VLD from a 6.5-284 will walk all over anything you can stuff in a .284 Winchester. . .

What do you mean by "walk all over . . ."?

[timberfaller]

Same reason there is Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry ice cream!!

Different strokes for different folks. 

[Biggerhammer]

Quite a few guys running .284 win the 180s.  Pretty solid combo could probably edge a 6.5/140 combo.

Check the speed on a 180gr out of a .284 Win. Do the math and let me know.

[whacker1]

Let me guess 2600 fps 180 out of 284

and maybe 3000fps 140 out of 6.5x284


Probably faster depending on the load?

[Rich_S]

Quite a few guys running .284 win the 180s.  Pretty solid combo could probably edge a 6.5/140 combo.

Check the speed on a 180gr out of a .284 Win. Do the math and let me know.

Are you saying that the faster a bullet goes, the "better" it is? I still have no idea what "walk all over" means in English. Please elaborate.

[Biggerhammer]

I'm confident you will figure it out.

[whacker1]

Quite a few guys running .284 win the 180s.  Pretty solid combo could probably edge a 6.5/140 combo.

Check the speed on a 180gr out of a .284 Win. Do the math and let me know.

Are you saying that the faster a bullet goes, the "better" it is? I still have no idea what "walk all over" means in English. Please elaborate.

For me, yes faster is better.  140 is light recoil and at 2900-3100 fps plenty fast.  decent, b.c. in 6.5, so it bucks the wind pretty well.  It is a pretty popular wildcat for a reason.

[Jolten]

The .284 Winchester

By Chuck Hawks


Winchester introduced the .284 in 1963. Their intention was to duplicate .270 Winchester ballistics in a cartridge short enough to function through Winchester's short action Model 88 lever and Model 100 semi-automatic rifles. The .284 was a commercial flop from the outset. Today it is almost obsolete, replaced in most hunter's affections by the later 7mm-08 Remington.

Oddly, the greatest interest in the .284 case has come from wildcatters, who have gleefully necked it up and down. Today, the most popular and useful .284-case based cartridge is not the original, but rather the 6.5mm-284 Norma. This former wildcat rules F-Class long range competition.

As I write this the only remaining Winchester factory load drives a 150 grain Power Point bullet at a MV of 2860 fps and ME of 2724 ft. lbs. from a 24" test barrel. At 200 yards the figures are 2344 fps and 1830 ft. lbs. The Winchester trajectory figures look like this: +2.1" at 100 yards, 0 at 200 yards, -3.4" at 250 yards, and -8.5" at 300 yards.

These ballistics make it clear that the .284 is still every bit as good as the .280 Remington with the same weight bullet. Of course the short, handy mountain rifles for which the .284 seems best suited seldom come with 24" barrels. As far as I know, aside from Winchester, no other major company has ever loaded factory ammunition for the .284.

According to the second edition of the Sierra Reloading Manual their sleek 140 grain boat-tail spitzer bullet can be driven to a MV of 2400 fps by 46.3 grains of IMR 4350 powder, and 2900 fps by 54.9 grains of IMR 4350. At a MV of 2900 fps this bullet has ME of 2614 ft. lbs. At 200 yards the figures are 2524 fps and 1981 ft. lbs. The trajectory of that load looks like this: +3" at 100 yards, +2.7" at 200 yards, +0.6" at 250 yards, -2.9" at 300 yards, and -8" at 350 yards. Clearly, with this bullet the .284 Winchester is a good 300 yard deer, antelope, sheep, and goat cartridge.

[whacker1]

6.5 x284
one source:
142 smk with a .595 BC at 3050 according to some data, so it should buck the wind pretty well
Nosler lists 6.5x284 Norma
140 accubond at .509 BC at 2769-2953 fps.

284
Nosler lists a 175 grain at .519 BC at 2511-2641 fps depending on powder

So a better balistic coefficient moving at 500 fps faster....It seems like a pretty good deal to me.  I don't own one, but i have explored options in a build for one, and always intrigued by the concept.

[Jolten]

Only time will tell whether the .300 WSM, 7mm’s (multiple case options) or straight .284’s will ultimately supplant the 6.5mm-284. The 2013 F-Class World Championships at the NRA’s Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico should be very interesting and provide some indication as to whether the 6.5mm-284 will remain the cartridge of choice in F-Open competition. It won’t surprise these writers if the 7mm (.284) “wins” out, as there are a half dozen superior bullets for it, including the superb Berger 180 grain VLD with an amazing 0.684 BC.

The 6.5mm-284 (a wildcat) when loaded with an appropriate bullet is a good hunting cartridge, but presents no advantage over more readily available cartridges. As Chuck Hawks has pointed out: “With the SAAMI standardized .260 Remington, 6.5mm Rem. Mag. and immensely popular .270 Winchester all being factory loaded in the U.S., it is a little hard to see just where the 6.5mm-284 . . . fits into the modern scheme of things (for hunting) in North America.” If you are looking for a magnum caliber for hunting, the .257 Weatherby and .270 Weatherby are hard to beat in the Vanguard rifle.


Seems Chuck hawk prefers the standard 284