Is the 6.5-284 dead?

[Wapiti1]

It kind of started this whole 6.5 is awesome thing since it seems like no one could remember that the 6.5 Swede existed, which is sad.

Has it gone by the wayside in your opinion? Why do you think that is?

It has a lot to recommend it, IMO.

Just don't see much on it.

Jeremy

 

[ianpadron]

I'm a firm believer that the 6.5x284 is the best of the 6.5s, absolute hammer with 140 VLDs. Thought long and hard about one before settling on a 270 WSM.

Creedmoor...sweet but not enough sauce. PRC...has the sauce, a sweet case, but everyone and their cousin has one. Doesn't do a dang thing that a properly throated 6.5x284 won't.

6.5x284 is just one of the cartridges that is criminally underrated, especially since it has been doing the same thing that the PRC is doing, for a whole lot longer.

I think if more rifles were offered with proper twist rates as factory options when it was first released, the round would be a heck of a lot more popular. The ready to rip Creedmoor and PRC come out the box designed and twisted to fling the heavies.

My 2 cents.

 

[B23]

I'm a big 6.5-284 fan in fact I like just about everything 284 but where the short mags like the 6.5 PRC, WSM and SAUM out shine the 6.5-284 is when they are all put in a short action. The 6.5-284 and the 6.5PRC have virtually identical case capacity. You put both in a long action they will run neck and neck with one another. The WSM and SAUM have more case capacity so it's not exactly a fair fight to compare those two because they should run a little faster.

Also, when it comes to shooting factory ammo they are making some pretty damn good shooting 6.5PRC factory ammo so for many that's another big plus for the PRC.

 

[wyosam]

The 6.5 x 284 is far from dead. It is a fantastic cartridge. It’s been doing what the 6.5 PRC does for a loooong time. Does one thing the PRC has really struggled with. Quality brass has been readily available throughout this component crunch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ianpadron]

Pretty sure every single shot in this old BOTW video is a 6.5x284 running 143 ELDXs....good stuff starts at the 1:20 mark...several bulls DRT in the 900 yard range, just insane.

 

[Flyjunky]

Definitely not dead, I'm building one right now. Brass is easily available and throw in some 140 and 156 Bergers, done deal!

I'm researching what I want to do regarding the throat, any suggestions? I'm planning on running both the 140 and 156 Bergers.

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

Still looking for a factory Tikka in said caliber. Saw one a year ago and can’t find any at all.

 

[452b264]

I m going to re-barrel one of my rifles this year and the 6.5 x 284 Norma was my first and second choice.

 

[shtrbc]

Been shooting this cartridge for 20 + years. Has been and still is VERY relivent. The beauty of the current 6.5-.284 Norma chamber is the fact that the bullet is able to be seated out far enough to take full advantage of case capacity. The first rifle I had built years ago was chambered with a much shallower throat and thus the speed was never impressive. Still shot "lights out" and was a blast to shoot. In my opinion, another reason this 6.5 cartridge and all the new "super 6.5's" are so impressive is the quality and great BC numbers on the bullets currently available. Both hunting and target styles. As stated earlier also, the brass currently available is very good. When I first started shooting this cartridge, our main goal was to find NOS Winchester/Western .284 Winchester brass that we could run through a forming die and then fire form prior to neck turning etc... Talk about a Easter egg hunt! The last lot of Lapua brass I purchased and loaded, shot as good or better than any of the stuff we spent HOURS fiddling with in the past. And that was loaded straight out of the box after running a expander through it! Another added bonus of the Lapua brass is that the primer pockets are perfect and stay tight after many loadings. Anything "good enough" for 1000 yard benchrest shooters is good enough for me... I highly recommend this cartridge based on years of experience. If someone is starting from scratch, the PRC is also a excellent design but due to internet popularity, everything seems to be hard to find. My 2 cents..

 

[Wrench]

I have them and the 260ai. I have no need for more. Mine have made a lot of meat with a few bullets.

 

[Wapiti1]

I've always thought it was a very nice cartridge design, but seemed to get less and less attention as the years went on. People would say it was a barrel burner, or didn't feed, or needed a long action, or whatever. To me, mostly arguments that are made up just to have something to complain about.

It's a cartridge that I've always liked, but just haven't built a rifle around yet. Was wondering if it was out of favor.

Jeremy

 

[WeiserBucks]

I really like the 6.5x284. It's funny how folks used to bash it as a barrel burner and those same guys jumped at the chance to get a 6.5 PRC, 26 Nosler, 6.5x300 WBY ect.

If a .264 bullet works for the game you hunt, 6.5x284 is one the finest available.

 

[wind gypsy]

It got it's reputation as a barrel burner by F-Class and benchrest shooters shooting long strings with warm loads. It burns barrels same as any other overbore cartridge at high pressures with longer strings of fire.

 

[WeiserBucks]

It got it's reputation as a barrel burner by F-Class and benchrest shooters shooting long strings with warm loads. It burns barrels same as any other overbore cartridge at high pressures with longer strings of fire.

I know exactly what you mean. Competition is hard on things and not relevant to those who don't compete.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

It kind of started this whole 6.5 is awesome thing since it seems like no one could remember that the 6.5 Swede existed, which is sad.

Has it gone by the wayside in your opinion? Why do you think that is?

It has a lot to recommend it, IMO.

Just don't see much on it.

Jeremy

It'll never go by the wayside with Lapua making brass.
I also think its pretty hilarious that everyone is losing there frigging minds over the 6.5 prc, which has nearly identical case capacity/velocity but is plagued with clickers and is in my opinion an inferior case design.

That's marketing for you, Hornady had the benefit of releasing it at a time where LR shooting has exploded in popularity, plus factory ammo is about $20/box less than the Norma.

It's all good though
The competition crowd is moving back to the 284 over the 6.5s so we'll be saying the same thing about the prc in 15 years..

 

[tdhanses]

If my Howa action had been a long i’d of gone this route, instead i had to go the man bun route, still happy i’m slinging 156’s out of the man bun at 2700.

 

[Wapiti1]

If my Howa action had been a long i’d of gone this route, instead i had to go the man bun route, still happy i’m slinging 156’s out of the man bun at 2700.

How long is the barrel on that? I don't have any time with a Creedmoor, but that seems like a high velocity for that bullet/case combo.

You do bring up a interesting point of contention with the 6.5-284. Is it a long or short action cartridge? It will fit in either, even with long bullets. Would you be pushing the 6.5-284 less than you are with the Creedmoor to get 2700fps with a 156 even if you load it short? What are the negatives to that setup? Not a knock on your choice, just throwing it out for discussion.

Sure a long action would show all of the potential of the cartridge. Lots of cartridges put a lot of bullet below the shoulder, but they do fine. .300 Win Mag is a good example at 3.4" COAL.

Jeremy

 

[tdhanses]

How long is the barrel on that? I don't have any time with a Creedmoor, but that seems like a high velocity for that bullet/case combo.

You do bring up a interesting point of contention with the 6.5-284. Is it a long or short action cartridge? It will fit in either, even with long bullets. Would you be pushing the 6.5-284 less than you are with the Creedmoor to get 2700fps with a 156 even if you load it short? What are the negatives to that setup? Not a knock on your choice, just throwing it out for discussion.

Sure a long action would show all of the potential of the cartridge. Lots of cartridges put a lot of bullet below the shoulder, but they do fine. .300 Win Mag is a good example at 3.4" COAL.

Jeremy

20” barrel and it is a hot load.

Not sure on the rest, I’ve always considered the 6.5-284 to be a long action only option so didn't even look at it for a short but if I had known it’ll work in a short I would of gone that route.

 

[ID_Matt]

I'm a firm believer that the 6.5x284 is the best of the 6.5s, absolute hammer with 140 VLDs. Thought long and hard about one before settling on a 270 WSM.

Creedmoor...sweet but not enough sauce. PRC...has the sauce, a sweet case, but everyone and their cousin has one. Doesn't do a dang thing that a properly throated 6.5x284 won't.

6.5x284 is just one of the cartridges that is criminally underrated, especially since it has been doing the same thing that the PRC is doing, for a whole lot longer.

I think if more rifles were offered with proper twist rates as factory options when it was first released, the round would be a heck of a lot more popular. The ready to rip Creedmoor and PRC come out the box designed and twisted to fling the heavies.

My 2 cents.

I agree with all of this and will add that part of the reason for being underrated was it was spec'd as a short action cartridge which completely handicaps it. A long throat with a medium or long action really is how it should have been to begin with.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

I agree with all of this and will add that part of the reason for being underrated was it was spec'd as a short action cartridge which completely handicaps it. A long throat with a medium or long action really is how it should have been to begin with.

Actually when Norma standardized the 6.5x284 the saami spec is 3.228"
I bought a savage years ago with an 8 twist chambered in that round and it definitely had the long saami throat.
I loved the round but hated the savage