6.5-284 Norma chamber options

[wildcat33]

Planning to order a tikka prefit from Preferred barrel. Lightweight hunting gun, not Fclass or benchrest. They offer two reamers; 6.5-284 Norma SAAMI spec and 6.5-284 Norma Match. PBB provided the following comment: "typically, match reamers will have a tighter neck and some tweaks to the throat. They are also designed not to require neck turning"

Im staring at the charts and struggling to understand what this should tell me about which reamer to choose based on my brass (petersen, 284win necked down) and dies (redding norma match, non-bushing style). I would like to be able to work with 143 eldx and berger 156 EOL in a fuss free setup.

Any norma shooters out there that can school me on how to set this up correctly?

 

[Flyjunky]

Go with the SAAMI .188 and if you were going to shoot the 156 exclusively I’d say to add some freebore to load a little long if your mag allows. I know nothing about Tikka actions but I’m having a 6.5-284 built right now and through many discussions with others and my smith this is the info I received.

 

[wind gypsy]

That SAAMI print shows .300"ish freebore? A smith should provide at least freebore length and neck diameter specs on reamers and not just some lazy generic answer on what a "match" chamber is.

Agree with above that .188 should be pretty versatile. Could go a little longer if you wanted. I'd want a bigger neck as you might end up with thick necks on necked down peterson brass. Do you know how thick the necks are after necked down?

 

[wildcat33]

That SAAMI print shows .300"ish freebore? A smith should provide at least freebore length and neck diameter specs on reamers and not just some lazy generic answer on what a "match" chamber is.

Agree with above that .188 should be pretty versatile. Could go a little longer if you wanted. I'd want a bigger neck as you might end up with thick necks on necked down peterson brass. Do you know how thick the necks are after necked down?

Got some dies coming later in the week, so Ill resize, measure and do some comparison to the prints.

 

[Flyjunky]

What length and twist of barrel are you going with?

 

[wildcat33]

What length and twist of barrel are you going with?

22” 7.5twist. Have the option to go down to 7 twist if needed.

 

[Flyjunky]

Sweet, 7.5 will allow you to shoot pretty much any bullet

 

[Go West Old Man]

Im staring at the charts and struggling to understand what this should tell me about which reamer to choose based on my brass (petersen, 284win necked down) and dies (redding norma match, non-bushing style). I would like to be able to work with 143 eldx, 140 vld and (maybe) berger 156 EOL in a fuss free setup.

Just my $.02, go with SAAMI versatility. Never know what other bullet or ammo you may want to hunt with down the road. Just curious, are you starting with new 284win brass, or do you have lots of 1x fired already on hand to use in lieu of buying 6.5-284 brass? (edit: asking for my self education if there are advantages or precision gains by doing this. Thanks. )

 

[wildcat33]

Just my $.02, go with SAAMI versatility. Never know what other bullet or ammo you may want to hunt with down the road. Just curious, are you starting with new 284win brass, or do you have lots of 1x fired already on hand to use in lieu of buying 6.5-284 brass?

Thanks. I’m starting with new 284 win brass that I have laying around. I need to check those necks after resizing and see what I have.

 

[Flyjunky]

Do yourself a favor and just get lapua 6.5-284 brass.

 

[wildcat33]

Do yourself a favor and just get lapua 6.5-284 brass.

What’s the reasoning there?

 

[WeiserBucks]

What’s the reasoning there?

Ready to load, properly head stamped Lapua brass is a nice option.

 

[SouthPaw]

Do yourself a favor and just get lapua 6.5-284 brass.

Agreed, but you better grab a bunch now since lapua just announced halting brass production in that chambering.

 

[Flyjunky]

What’s the reasoning there?

Better quality, lasts longer, more consistent from case to case, and handles pressure better.

I’ve seen it said by a few people that they won’t consider a cartridge if they can’t use either Lapua or ADG brass.

 

[Flyjunky]

Agreed, but you better grab a bunch now since lapua just announced halting brass production in that chambering.

Very true, I forgot about that.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Better quality, lasts longer, more consistent from case to case, and handles pressure better.

I’ve seen it said by a few people that they won’t consider a cartridge if they can’t use either Lapua or ADG brass.

Peterson falls in this area too.

 

[sndmn11]

I have considered this cartridge for rebarreling a 6.5creed, but haven't done a deep dive into it.

What would I be gaining?

 

[wind gypsy]

I have considered this cartridge for rebarreling a 6.5creed, but haven't done a deep dive into it.

What would I be gaining?

It's basically the same capacity as a 6.5 PRC (maybe a grain smaller IIRC), just a little longer COAL and standard bolt face. Tight fit in a short action but would be great on a tikka.

 

[wind gypsy]

What’s the reasoning there?

You'll likely have pretty thick necks once necking down, may end up wanting to neck turn which is a headache.

Generalization between peterson and lapua - Lapua tends to have a little more capacity and not as thick of brass. Can't say if that is true in this particular case as I've never dealt with 284.

 

[Gila]

You'll likely have pretty thick necks once necking down, may end up wanting to neck turn which is a headache.

Generalization between peterson and lapua - Lapua tends to have a little more capacity and not as thick of brass. Can't say if that is true in this particular case as I've never dealt with 284.

Rather ironic that people were resizing Lapua 6.5x 284 brass up for the 284 win. Then Lapua finally came out with 284 win brass. Resizing a neck will require a neck turn. From what I have seen the match folks generally have their own reamers with a neck size for the brass they are using and a free bore for the bullet they fire. I don’t know about the 6.5 but some barrel makers will offer to chamber with a GAP reamer, which has a longer freebore for shooting the heavies and a loose neck size that doesn’t require a neck turn. But 300+ for a free bore on a 6.5 seems excessive to me.