Long-range build caliber .284 Win (7mm)

Ruthless

Ruthless

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Well here I am

Now trying to get into the big-boyz toyz category with a long-range rifle build. from some of the guys here I got few cartridges recommended: 6br, 6.5-47, 6.5-284 were at the top of everyone's list :)

I've been rigorously reading and searching for all the data and info on long-range capable rifles, and here are my resolts.

I'm wondering if .284 Win (7mm) would be an interesting rifle to compete in F-class :wave: or based on my current capabilities, participate :D

Brass is available, dies as well, for pills to mainly use 180VLD's (pills from 160-180gr) 1-8 twist with 30" finished barrel

How does that sound? :runaway:

I still haven't decided on a budget, but it will all depend whether I can use Savage/Stevens or 700 Remmy action to push my pills downrange

I'm guessing the action used has to be Long Action with a .473" bolt-face (.308)
am I on the right track? any tips, suggestions will be appreciated.... ;)
 
Out to 600m you can't beat the 6BR...if your going farther then you will definitely want something that handles heavier bullets.

One of our local shooters is building a 7-300 WSM for F-Class if that's worth anything....but I would check the DCRA rules though as I think Mag rounds were a no-no in comps. :shrug:

Check out my thread asking about the "Best 6.5mm Cartridge" there is some good info on the more popular 6.5 cart's in there.

Unless you can afford to replace your barrel every 900-1000 rounds, I would stay away from the 6.5X284....it's your choice though.
 
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The 284 has become VERY popular with F class shooters going out to 1200yds shooting very heavy for cal VLD's. BUT....

You better be willing to deal with the recoil. There have been a number of shooters who have just as quickly given up on the 284 because they were getting their skulls/shoulders rattled too much.

The US F class nationals was just won by such a set up so it is formidable and offers a tangible reduction in wind drift at LR over the 6 and 6.5's.

Is it the Scottish National team that shoot the 284? South Africans? Anyway, it most certainly has a growing following.

Barrel life would also be better then the 6.5-284 so that is a plus.

If the higher recoil and running costs don't bother you, go for it.

Otherwise, the 6.5 is a wonderful place to be....

Jerry
 
the 284 is a wicked cartridge and is making a comeback that is mind-blowing. 180's with the mythological RL-17 is a panacea to many. The problem has been to push 180's at speeds that were only available with magnum cartridges. RL17 and the 284 are making that happen (or so I have read!!!)

I believe that if you can tame the recoil of that big and long case, it will be a REAL serious F-class contender with better barrel life than the short mags.
 
I'm in the same boat. I'm going to be trying out some longer range shooting. I have a wildcat rifle in 7WSSM (not 7WSM). It's designed to shoot the 180 grain VLD bullet. I appears to be one hell of a rifle. I should be shooting it for ammo testing in the next few weeks since I just got it scoped. Then off to Crown land with the laser rangefinder :D and work my way out to 1000.

Mystic Player how did your testing with the H4831SC powder and the 180 VLD work out? Is it accurate and fast?

Also what's the score with reloader 17?

I have a base load of H4350 47 grains producing 2750 FPS from the previous owner of the rifle. I'm looking for 2800 fps with accuracy in mind as well. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.
 
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Epoxy7 said:
Mystic Player how did your testing with the H4831SC powder and the 180 VLD work out? Is it accurate and fast?

Also what's the score with reloader 17?

I have a base load of H4350 47 grains producing 2750 FPS from the previous owner of the rifle. I'm looking for 2800 fps with accuracy in mind as well. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

My 7mm was a modified version of the 280AI - shoulder pushed forward to use 7RM dies. It worked really well and had a similar case volume to the RSAUM (anyone listening??? F class legal, magnum case capacity). Can you guess what I called it?

H4831SC did perform well. I was pushing 180gr Bergers (molied) out of a 24" Shilen 9 twist at 2850fps. Out of a 30" pipe, 3000fps should be possible. This without crazy high pressures but certainly magnum levels.

Not surprising as 7WSM shooters are doing exactly this with a case a few grains bigger.

I was going to try H1000, and RE25 but I pooched the pipe. Then I got on a 6.5 bandwagon and haven't jumped off yet. In time, I would like to try a 30" rig.

The 7WSSM is really a 7-08AI. I think 2700ish is near the top of accurate velocity. Not sure how much case capacity you have but 47grs is sounding pretty full. Each set up is different so you got to test.

How long is the barrel?

Big one is test for vertical dispersion at 200 to 300yds. Close range loads can look real tight then fall apart a few soccer fields away. More often then not, the fastest loads don't shoot the best.

Re17 continues to be this enigma. I will eventually get some powder to see if the fuss is justified. Maybe by the end of the year....???????

When you get those 180gr Bergers singing, WOW they fly nice.

1000m was just spooky simple even in a breeze.

Jerry
 
Thanx guys, from the links posted I've studied more info on .284, seems that most report the barrel life to be north of 2000 rds :D, the recoil was never my problem, mind I'm not 150lbs or anything :cool:

Jerry I did look into your 6.5 Mystic round, it does look interesting and very capable

I should decide by 21st Nov. ;)

Will Savage Long or Short action be compatable with 7mm loaded with 180 pills????
 
Well sort of. It was originally designed for short actions, but if you are using long for length VLDs, a long action makes it a lot easier. I've used a 284 as a hunting rifle for 20 years or so, it is a good cartridge. There can be some feeding issues if you plan on using the magazine. - dan
 
mysticplayer said:
My 7mm was a modified version of the 280AI - shoulder pushed forward to use 7RM dies. It worked really well and had a similar case volume to the RSAUM (anyone listening??? F class legal, magnum case capacity). Can you guess what I called it?

H4831SC did perform well. I was pushing 180gr Bergers (molied) out of a 24" Shilen 9 twist at 2850fps. Out of a 30" pipe, 3000fps should be possible. This without crazy high pressures but certainly magnum levels.

Not surprising as 7WSM shooters are doing exactly this with a case a few grains bigger.

I was going to try H1000, and RE25 but I pooched the pipe. Then I got on a 6.5 bandwagon and haven't jumped off yet. In time, I would like to try a 30" rig.

The 7WSSM is really a 7-08AI. I think 2700ish is near the top of accurate velocity. Not sure how much case capacity you have but 47grs is sounding pretty full. Each set up is different so you got to test.

How long is the barrel?

Big one is test for vertical dispersion at 200 to 300yds. Close range loads can look real tight then fall apart a few soccer fields away. More often then not, the fastest loads don't shoot the best.

Re17 continues to be this enigma. I will eventually get some powder to see if the fuss is justified. Maybe by the end of the year....???????

When you get those 180gr Bergers singing, WOW they fly nice.

1000m was just spooky simple even in a breeze.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Mysticplayer,
I'm going to guess you called it the 7mm Mystic :rolleyes::p
The rifle was a wildcat that Ardent had made. The round is a 7mm bullet in a 25WSSM case. Basically a 7mmBR. The rifle is a 700 SPS action trued with a Pac-nor 27" #8 contour polygonal rifled barrel 1:8 twist. The work was done by Dennis Sorenson. Also it has a Timney's trigger and is in a HS PVS74 stock (same as the 5R, VSSF II etc).

I currently have 3 boxes of 180 Berger VLD bullets and 1 box of 162 A-Max. Ardent said he started with 7-08 loads and worked up from there.

Looking at his past load data the case capacity seems to be 50 grains with Retumble. However some of the other powders were too hot before the max load.

Here's one of the results:

47.0 H4350 2750fps (room for work up slightly) I thought I'd use this as a baseline/fallback load for accuracy and test other powders by working up from the 7-08 loads.
 
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I shot this last year with a 7mmWSM, uses H1000, and Berger 180gn VLD bullets.

This is a round that easily fits in a short action, and I am very happy with the performance, using easily available powder. I can get 3000 fps easily, but my best velocity node is at 2950fps. In an F-class rifle with a wt of 21 pounds the recoil is not worth mentioning, and I do not have a brake.

Can anyone tell me what the specific attraction is for a 284 case? I am not sure why you would use this as opposed to a short WSM case
 
roberti11 said:
Can anyone tell me what the specific attraction is for a 284 case? I am not sure why you would use this as opposed to a short WSM case
Click to expand...

Mostly the magnum designation. Not allowed in many PRA level F-Class matches, Also it has a higher overbore index that the 284 and will go through barrels faster and it is in the family of cartridges with the "Delta-L" dimensional problem.
 
Check this out.

http://accurateshooter.com/bulletin.html

The hottest chamberings for 1000 yard shooting.

Granted I would not enjoy shooting a 300 ackley in a Light gun but build it around 13-16 lbs with a brake.

I personally would stick with a 30 cal myself. It has the GREATEST selection of bullets available on the market.

300 Ackley would be my choice.
 
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HI Roberti11

One thing that I am aware of is internal volume the 284 vs. the WSM The higher load density in the 284 has proven to produce lower ES/SD.

I am aware that Alan Waner experimented with the 7WSM for F class his was a necked up 270 WSM see it here
http://www.6mmbr.com/fclass06.html

The other reason for the 284 is simple the bullet 3 years ago the 284 didn't have the bullets it had today outside the 175 Sierra's now with the 180 from Berger and JLK these "needles" really have brought the 284 back into its own
 
There is an ongoing trend to use the smallest case to do the work. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

There is no doubt of the performance potential of the 180gr Berger over 2900fps. For F class, it is a smoking combo.

Some will find that the 284 not able to deliver the velocity due to pressure issues. Other rifles will produce great numbers and accuracy. Right on the edge.

I prefer to use a larger case and the 280AI is just that. Mine has the shoulder moved forward a bit more to use 7RM dies. Now you have plenty of case capacity and don't need to run super high pressures.

You can dial vertical right out with this case and I have shot it to 1000m with excellent accuracy/consistency.

It also gets around the magnum restriction at some matches even though the case capacity is the same. 180gr at 2950fps in a 30" pipe should be no issue at all.

If you don't mind the recoil, hard to complain about the performance.

For those thinking about this, remember, one shot recoil is no biggie. 22rds in 10mins might start to cause a flinch. Then you have to do this as many as 5 times over the course of a weekend.

Drop one shot due to a flinch...YOU LOOSE.

Jerry
 
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