6.5/284 Norma or 264 win - Long range hunter

O

opper

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I am in the process of gathering parts for a long range hunter for Deer. Just wondering which caliber you have experience with and what you would recommend and why? I want to shoot the long high bc 6.5 bullets - what barrel twist rate would you recommend as well. Barrel life an issue?
Thanks for the info,
Jason
 
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140grain bullets - 1:8 twist

Barre life will depens on which of the 6.5 chamberings you choose.

6.5-284 will burn barrels faster than the .264 Win.

.260 Rem will get you between 2000 and 2500 rounds. If only for hunting you would probably get more than that out of it.
 
264 win.... do you mean the Winchester Magnum?

Either will work perfectly fine for hunting. Barrel life is grim for both (win mag being worse) but as a hunting rifle, your barrel will outlive you anyway. As to twist, 8 or 9 will work fine for hunting bullets.
 
choices

Yes - I do mean the 264 in mag. Can you recommend anything else with better barrel life? I really want to use the high BC bullets with some decent speed. Why for example would are these so much harder on barrels that the 270 winchester and 25/06 rem?
Thanks for any input,
Jason
 
Lots of powder burned in a small bore wears out throats faster than less powder in a larger bore. I don't get the concern about barrel life with a hunting rifle. After about 100 rounds of load development, I shoot a max of 20 rounds a year. At that rate I figure even the most notorious barrel burner is good for 50+ years. Are people looking for a 500 year barrel?
 
You don't buy a Hemi to get good gas mileage.

With either choice you are looking at 1000rds of peak performance and up to 1500rds of excellent min of dinner accuracy.

The best wildcat I have used for hunting has been the 6.5-06. More speed then the 284 without any feeding issues and you get at least one more in the mag compared to the 264WM.

In hunting length barrels, you just aren't going to see any advantage from the 264WM as far as speed goes. The 6.5-06 will go as fast as the 24" to 26" barrel will allow and still be accurate.

Jerry
 
opper said:
Yes - I do mean the 264 in mag. Can you recommend anything else with better barrel life? I really want to use the high BC bullets with some decent speed. Why for example would are these so much harder on barrels that the 270 winchester and 25/06 rem?
Thanks for any input,
Jason
Click to expand...

What makes them bad is the ratio of case capacity to case opening area. Case

case capacity in gr. H20 = overbore index. High OBI = low barrel life
case mouth area (Pi*R squared)

The 6.5X284 is an excellent long range cartridge and I know many long distance sheep hunters that use them. For hunting, this will last you well beyond 1500 rounds.

If you want a truly good long range hunter that uses high BC bullets,

7 WSM, 7 SAUM, 280 AI, and even the 284 is impressive with new powders out there. SO many choices, calibers and such. No one right answer.
 
I had a 6.5 284 biult by ATRS a about 3 years ago.Scewed on a 25 inch Lilja 1to 8 inch twist tube on a Rem 700 action.Had it built on a long action,so no worries about cartridge OAL.It's a pleasure to shoot.It.s my hunting rifle and shoots tiny groups.The six five is just plain fun,recoil is minimal and a wide variety of bullets to choose from.Will drop a deer or smoke a coyote no problem.As a hunting rifle a good barrel should last a long time.
 
264 Win
LONG LIVE THE BELTED MAGNUMS

Just kidding, I went through the same thing as you still not sure which is better, I think I will go with 6.5 x 47 Lapua, and keep my 7 Rem mag for the big stuff.
 
.330Dakota said:
6.5x55 in a modern chamber(hand load) will nip at the heels of the 6.5x284 and easier on barrels.
8 twist
Click to expand...

A buddy of mine shot many deer and antelope with a 6.5 Ackley Improved built on a very standard Swedish Mauser. All he did was to cut the shoulder in the chamber of the surplus barrel for a little more capacity. I forget the improvement but it was something like 400-500 more fps with bullet choice becoming more important than a standard 6.5x55 in the tables.
 
Thanks

Thanks for the input fella's. I think I am going to give a 6.5/284 a try. Just need to locate a barrel and a smith to put her together.
Thanks again,
Jason
 
Many many years and a lot less grey hairs ago, I used a custom built P-14 Enfield in the then new 264 Win Mag. A big heavy rifle ( over 10 lbs. ) with a 26" Petersen barrel and a K-10 Weaver scope, it amazed me with its ability to reach way out. Over several years I took a lot of coyotes, a nice Pronghorn, and a few Whitetail with. The barrel stood up very well in spite of rumors to the contrary and I've always regretted the day I parted with it.
So, hit by the nostalgia bug, I picked up a new Hawkeye from Clay @ Prophet River, dug out my old dies and brass, and started working with different loads.
Starting with a couple of my pet loads I was pleasantly surprised to see the rifle hovering near the inch @ 100 yds.
Thats not bad for a new rifle....as for short barrel life, I guess we'll see because its a keeper. :)
 
plans

I am planning a build in 7mm as well. This will be my deer rifle and varmints for now and then become my son's gun when he is old enough to shoot. I will be getting a break and cap for it for when he moves up from his 243.
 
If you go with the 264 WM, it can be a love/hate relationship :) But once you find the sweet spot they are a very accurate round with a 140gr. Unless you have a stock pile of H870, you can expect to be in the 3100 FPS range with a 26" barrel. H870 will put you over 3200 FPS & so far I have not found another powder that will duplicate that without getting pressure :(
I ended up dropping 2gr with my load down to 72gr, & cut the barrel down to 24.5". I am now in the 3100 FPS range with H870 & it is very accurate.
US869 works well, but you are in the 3050FPS range with that powder.
Out of the more modren extruded slow burning powders I have found RL25 to work well. Many 264 WM shooters recommend Ramshot & Retumbo. My rifle didn't like Retumbo & I never tried Ramshot.
50BMG may work well too, but I have never tried that either. Lyman lists a max load @ 70gr with a 140gr & 50BMG.
After all the headache I went through & am still going through (somewhat) with my 264 WM, if I had to do it again, I think I'd have built a 7mm Rem Mag for myself too. Or gave Dad the 264 WM & kept the 7mm I built for him myself :D
 
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