6.5x284 as a hunting round????

B

big bear

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
270   0   1
Ran into a well heeled fellow at the range who was shooting a rifle in 6.5x284 . I discovered this after we were chatting about sheep hunting.He explained all the great ballistic benefits of the round and the ready availabiliity of Lapua brass for his custom rifle. He felt it was superior to my beloved 300WinMag do most everything I need hunting rifle. After a bit of reading I cannot convince myself of the greatness of this round for mountain hunting. (Long range match shooting is NOT a area of use in consideration, I'm thinking of a rifle for moose,elk, sheep, goats in country where grizzly bears are plentiful I limit my shots at game to 500yds max for my personal ethical reasons (shots in the mountains beyond that range seem reasonable in competition or war, but not hunting, my personal opinion, to each his own).

Anyhoot, out to 500yds I could not convince my self of any advantage of a rifle in that calibre as a hunting round over a plain vanilla 300 Win Mag.His rifle was sweet, that round was cool to look at and pushing a 140gr Accubond at 3,000fps sounded cool, but I'm getting 2960fps with a Nosler 180gr Partition bullet with my 300WM.

I would love to hear thoughts from mountain hunters about this caliber.

Cheers🍻
 
I shoot one in my lightweight rifle, but I’d probably build a 6.5prc if I were to do it again. I’ve been hitting milk jugs out at 600 yards or more with it shooting the berger 156 eol and I can spot my own hits/misses in prone. It would be nice if there was a better bonded bullet in that weight range with the same bc as the berger. I’ve tried the long range accubond and it just doesn’t shoot like the berger.

I have another rifle almost together and I decided on 7saum. The options for 7mm bullets is way better than 6.5.
 
its going to be hard to beat in 300wm inside of 500m really, but its probably better then the 303 British i take goat hunting each trip.

ive wanted a 6.5x284 ever since i built my 284 and use 6.5 lapua brass and necked it up.

I'd use on sheep hunt in a heart beat.
 
Last edited:
I have a 6.5-284, great cartridge. Shoot it out to 1100 yards and can get some pretty good groups. Now that the 6.5 PrC is available, I like it even better. Slightly better velocity and easy to load for.
 
A thirty caliber 180 grain partition at close to 3000fps is going to be lights out for anything it touches.

At 500 yards it is going to be on the bottom end of where that bullet is getting it's best performance. Probably a impact velocity of around 2100fps. So still doing great, because those partitions are pretty soft on the front section.

Are you giving up some ballistic coefficient running that compared to the 6.5x284. Sure. But you are also going to punch a larger hole through as well. And it will be right through with that partition.

If you want to compare ballisticly with that cartridge out to 500 yards. It sure can be done, but then you would be giving up weight, and penetration, to gain less bullet drop and less drift.

With the 300 win mag. You can run a very large variety of bullet weights. 100-250 grain. Depending on your twist rate and bullet profile. You want a laser beam with almost very little drop to to compare for to 500 yards. Run a 120 grain Barnes tac-tx at 3700+fps. It starts to run out of steam after 500 yards, but at 500 it's still above 1500ft/lbs. And has zero compensation for elevation to 350 yards.

Just an example how the big 300's are very versatile. So are the 6.5's, don't they me wrong there, I pick my 6.5 nine times out of ten for hunting, just cause I shoot it better, and confident in it. But it doesn't quite have the range of versatility of a big 30 cal. My 300 RUM hunting loads are, 220+ grain bullets, or 110 vmax and 120 Barnes tac-tx. One extreme to the next.
 
Thank you gentlemen. As a self verified senior Fudd it is reassuring to find I'm not too far off point. I find interesting the last poster's use of different bullet weights in his 300 RUM. I tend to find a bullet/load I like and stick to it, get a supply of that bullet/powder and shoot alot with that combo, finding I build confidence in that set up. If I want to go heavier I use my 338WinMag ,250gr Swift A Frame. Sadly given the closure of grizzly hunting in my province , the big boomer lives in the safe. If I'm sitting in my blind ,reading a book/napping I have my 6.5 Creedmoor on a rest with good view of 800yds, waiting for something to wander within 500yds.
 
Swedes have been using the 6.5X55 for everything from Capercaillie to Elk ( Moose) and even dropped more than a few Polar bears . The 6.5X.284 has a fair bit more horsepower yet doesn’t seem to be as bad of a barrel burner than some of the zipper rounds
 
big bear said:
Thank you gentlemen. As a self verified senior Fudd it is reassuring to find I'm not too far off point. I find interesting the last poster's use of different bullet weights in his 300 RUM. I tend to find a bullet/load I like and stick to it, get a supply of that bullet/powder and shoot alot with that combo, finding I build confidence in that set up. If I want to go heavier I use my 338WinMag ,250gr Swift A Frame.
Click to expand...
I usually stick to my 2 or 3 go to heavier rounds. 220 partitions, 220 RN Interlock, 220 eld-x, and 225 eld-m's. All shoot to within a 1/4" point of impact. And I have all with the same powder charge weight. Just a great deal different on load length.

As for the lighter rounds, it's a 0-400yard no drop compensated 4070fps, 120 grain tac-tx. Insane round at those velocities, and since I'm not your normal reloader, I also run the 110 grain vmax at 4000, for varmints. Yes I have piles of varmint rifles, but with that load combo it's like a bomb going off when you hit a varmint.

If I am in the mood for something heavy and deep penetrating, if need be. I use my 375 Ruger, with my 350 grain woodleigh load.
 
big bear said:
Ran into a well heeled fellow at the range who was shooting a rifle in 6.5x284 . I discovered this after we were chatting about sheep hunting.He explained all the great ballistic benefits of the round and the ready availabiliity of Lapua brass for his custom rifle. He felt it was superior to my beloved 300WinMag do most everything I need hunting rifle. After a bit of reading I cannot convince myself of the greatness of this round for mountain hunting. (Long range match shooting is NOT a area of use in consideration, I'm thinking of a rifle for moose,elk, sheep, goats in country where grizzly bears are plentiful I limit my shots at game to 500yds max for my personal ethical reasons (shots in the mountains beyond that range seem reasonable in competition or war, but not hunting, my personal opinion, to each his own).

Anyhoot, out to 500yds I could not convince my self of any advantage of a rifle in that calibre as a hunting round over a plain vanilla 300 Win Mag.His rifle was sweet, that round was cool to look at and pushing a 140gr Accubond at 3,000fps sounded cool, but I'm getting 2960fps with a Nosler 180gr Partition bullet with my 300WM.

I would love to hear thoughts from mountain hunters about this caliber.

Cheers🍻
Click to expand...
Here we go again...
Next week a thread on how you have to have 30 cal to hunt deer.
😵‍💫
 
A nice caliber I would definitely consider for all around hunting here in Ontario, in grizzly country tho, season open or not I would prefer to have the win mag on my side just in case
 
big bear said:
Ran into a well heeled fellow at the range who was shooting a rifle in 6.5x284 . I discovered this after we were chatting about sheep hunting.He explained all the great ballistic benefits of the round and the ready availabiliity of Lapua brass for his custom rifle. He felt it was superior to my beloved 300WinMag do most everything I need hunting rifle. After a bit of reading I cannot convince myself of the greatness of this round for mountain hunting. (Long range match shooting is NOT a area of use in consideration, I'm thinking of a rifle for moose,elk, sheep, goats in country where grizzly bears are plentiful I limit my shots at game to 500yds max for my personal ethical reasons (shots in the mountains beyond that range seem reasonable in competition or war, but not hunting, my personal opinion, to each his own).

Anyhoot, out to 500yds I could not convince my self of any advantage of a rifle in that calibre as a hunting round over a plain vanilla 300 Win Mag.His rifle was sweet, that round was cool to look at and pushing a 140gr Accubond at 3,000fps sounded cool, but I'm getting 2960fps with a Nosler 180gr Partition bullet with my 300WM.

I would love to hear thoughts from mountain hunters about this caliber.

Cheers🍻
Click to expand...
Just stay with your 300 Winny as you have already convinced yourself ! 🤪 RJ
 
Its not all about teh BC's when it comes to a hunting round, Sectional Densities SD's are more important to many hunters, whether they realize it or not. BCs have nothing to do with performance on game. The correct number for each is a balancing act and the choice is up to individual needs or wants.
A good SD can be very reassuring when trouble is a concern
 
Personally I'd rather a regular 284 over a 6.5-284, but I just prefer 7mm for no particular reason.

6.5cm is getting very popular for deer size game, no reason a 6.5-284 pushing the same bullets faster wouldn't do the job at least as well.
 
boxhitch said:
Its not all about teh BC's when it comes to a hunting round, Sectional Densities SD's are more important to many hunters, whether they realize it or not. BCs have nothing to do with performance on game. The correct number for each is a balancing act and the choice is up to individual needs or wants.
A good SD can be very reassuring when trouble is a concern
Click to expand...

SD is less relevant these days with the availability of premium bullets - instead of going up in weight you can go to a bonded bullet for example, and still get more penetration without losing velocity.
 
A late-great good friend of mine hunted with a Weatherby Mark V, chambered in the 300 Wby. Mag. He reloaded 180 grain Nosler Partitions religiously. He killed countless elk with it in the mountains, south of the Crowsnest Pass. Not that he kill this many elk, (probably 30) but had 68 pairs of elk tusks. Today, my son owns that rifle.
 
track said:
A late-great good friend of mine hunted with a Weatherby Mark V, chambered in the 300 Wby. Mag. He reloaded 180 grain Nosler Partitions religiously. He killed countless elk with it in the mountains, south of the Crowsnest Pass. Not that he kill this many elk, (probably 30) but had 68 pairs of elk tusks. Today, my son owns that rifle. You're 300 Win. mag. is a reliable cartridge for the longer shots.
Click to expand...
 
Suther said:
Personally I'd rather a regular 284 over a 6.5-284, but I just prefer 7mm for no particular reason.

6.5cm is getting very popular for deer size game, no reason a 6.5-284 pushing the same bullets faster wouldn't do the job at least as well.
Click to expand...
They do -. I have 2 of them ! Great Cartridge ! But the 6.5 PRC has taken over - RJ
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom