6.5x284 vs 300WM???

[Broz]

I love a good 6.5 have built and owned many just like my 300 win mags. This article is just another case of " Lets Handicap the larger rifle with lighter lower BC bullets and even use a low velocity to make the smaller caliber look good"
With todays choices why use a 190 in a 300 when you use the 140 in the 6.5?

I have tested the 6.5 with 140's and many 300 wins with 215's. The 300 will spank the 6.5 all day long. I happen to love them both, but I live in a real and honest world. I have never gotten anywhere by tricking myself to get the results I wanted.lightbulb

Jeff

 

[SteveO]

Jeff--thanks for actually reading the article and answering my question.

For all around use and confidence long range I am almost now 100% sold on the 300 Win.

I've always been a .270 guy but I am impressed by all the 6.5 information I've read lately. May have to pick up a 6.5-284. That will probably lead to a 264WM or 26 Nosler.

Thanks all.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I love a good 6.5 have built and owned many just like my 300 win mags. This article is just another case of " Lets Handicap the larger rifle with lighter lower BC bullets and even use a low velocity to make the smaller caliber look good"
With todays choices why use a 190 in a 300 when you use the 140 in the 6.5?

I have tested the 6.5 with 140's and many 300 wins with 215's. The 300 will spank the 6.5 all day long. I happen to love them both, but I live in a real and honest world. I have never gotten anywhere by tricking myself to get the results I wanted.lightbulb

Jeff

Yes exactly.

This is more of a bullet choice than a caliber choice. Jeff you and I have talked about this before. You know I have real fondness for the 6.5. Probably my most favorite caliber. But there is no replacement for displacement.

Steve

 

[roninflag]

Steve- I have two 6.5-284s. my brother has a .264wm. they all have Krieger barrels. while there is a difference in muzzle velocity, they are all great. he shot a coues at 624 yards this year. his original sendero with a factory barrel was a little finicky to find a load for . his current one with a Krieger is not all, shoots as good as my 6.5-284s or better. his 100 yard groups I saw were in the .2s . I saw him shoot the buck great shot. ron

 

[378Canuck]

Good posts. I have a 6.5 x284 also and many other large rifles. The 300 mag will spank, for sure. I can always get better groups with the 6.5 than any other larger rifles. But for killing big animals take the 300.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Steve- I have two 6.5-284s. my brother has a .264wm. they all have Krieger barrels. while there is a difference in muzzle velocity, they are all great. he shot a coues at 624 yards this year. his original sendero with a factory barrel was a little finicky to find a load for . his current one with a Krieger is not all, shoots as good as my 6.5-284s or better. his 100 yard groups I saw were in the .2s . I saw him shoot the buck great shot. ron

There is no doubt in my mind that the 6.5's are great. They have a 'magic' quality to them. I think they perform better than what they show on paper. I would rather hunt with a 6.5mm than a 7mm. I think they kill better. That is logically, on paper, not true. But that is my experience. Now I don't want the 7mm guys to yell at me, it is just an opinion, and everybody has one.

Steve

 

[johnnyk]

No doubt both are great rounds. I have both and they originally were in the same platform; Savage 112BVSS. I shoot the 208gn AMax and ELD-M in the .300 WM and the 140gn AMax and ELD-M in the 6.5-284 Norma. Both of these rifles are capable of sub MOA as far as I have shot them; 1500yds.
I can't say I've noticied a huge difference in their trajectories cause I use a Mil-Dot (Millett)on the .300 and MOA (Nightforce) on the 6.5.
I shot them both on Sunday at 500yds and 1000yds. My target was a 10"X12" gong and it took one round to get the Norma on at 500 and two rounds to get the .300 on at that distance. Both were windage corrections as the winds was projected to be 12-16mph. I don't have a wind meter yet so I was going off the forecast. The .300 should have been only one round also as I initially dialed the wrong way.
When I backed up to 1K, both bullets were on target after two "feelers". I am thoroughly impressed with both rifles/calibers/bullets and I'm sending both at 3000+fps.

But as impressed as I am, and as flat shooting as both are, there is no confusion in my mind which of the two is the "hammer". The .300 WinMag gives up nothing to a 6.5-284 and carries the mail.

Neither of these rifles/cartridges have been finicky and load development has been pretty straight forward for both. The worse bullet was the 140gn Remington AccuTip and it hovered right at 1MOA. Guess our mileage does vary. JohnnyK.

 

[Brewer]

Its been a while since I posted. I have a 300wm and a 6.5-06 AI. They are different tools for different jobs. I love them both. I shoot the Ackley much more now because its more comfortable to shoot and its more accurate. I have not done any LRH with the Ackley but If I were going hunting say Elk at 1000 yards I would take the 6.5 because I am more comfortable with it, the glass is better and I just like it better. of course if I had a 338 and I was most comfortable with that, Id take it instead.

Funny story. last December I was with a buddy in my blind and he was shooting my 300wm and I had taken my 5.56 AR with for fun. well we saw a herd of deer so we decided to fill a few tags. I shot a running doe at 200 yards with a 55gr full metal jacket in the hind quarter. It ran 30 yards more. While butchering I found the bullet under the hide of the front quarter after going through gut, liver, and lung. not a fun gutting job. But the point im trying to make is that when I shoot something with my 300wm, they fall down and die (usually) but the .223 got the job done too.

 

[FEENIX]

Its been a while since I posted. I have a 300wm and a 6.5-06 AI. They are different tools for different jobs. I love them both. I shoot the Ackley much more now because its more comfortable to shoot and its more accurate. I have not done any LRH with the Ackley but If I were going hunting say Elk at 1000 yards I would take the 6.5 because I am more comfortable with it, the glass is better and I just like it better. of course if I had a 338 and I was most comfortable with that, Id take it instead.

Funny story. last December I was with a buddy in my blind and he was shooting my 300wm and I had taken my 5.56 AR with for fun. well we saw a herd of deer so we decided to fill a few tags. I shot a running doe at 200 yards with a 55gr full metal jacket in the hind quarter. It ran 30 yards more. While butchering I found the bullet under the hide of the front quarter after going through gut, liver, and lung. not a fun gutting job. But the point im trying to make is that when I shoot something with my 300wm, they fall down and die (usually) but the .223 got the job done too.

Sorry but I have never been in situation of desperation or fun to fill any of my tags.

 

[Brewer]

Sorry but I have never been in situation of desperation or fun to fill any of my tags.

I suppose then that you would never use a 5.56 to hunt whitetail. They are commonly used in Kansas.

 

[FEENIX]

Sorry but I have never been in situation of desperation or fun to fill any of my tags.

I suppose then that you would never use a 5.56 to hunt whitetail. They are commonly used in Kansas.

Not my preference but I have, also on a whitetail, except not as wantonly as you described it.

 

[Brewer]

Not my preference but I have, also on a whitetail, except not as wantonly as you described it.

Oh. I see, its an insult. I got it now.

 

[FEENIX]

Oh. I see, its an insult. I got it now.

No Sir, just being honest ..................................... I admire your honesty as well.

 

[Longtooth32]

Please take no offense but the game we are after does not care about recoil and the economics of the ammo (that's the end user's problem; give your shoulder a break and install a muzzle brake ) or any cost associated to the hunt, or know what velocity or trajectory is but we owe it to the game to harvest them humanely with the best shot placement and KE at POI, etc ...

I fully understand that it boils down to personal preference in chambering and bullet choice for the intended purpose. I also understand that muzzle brakes are not for everyone but today's muzzle brakes are awesome ... they not only reduce felt recoil but also muzzle rise ... being able to spot your bullet on impact is priceless.

Most of my rifles have muzzle brakes now; all of my three .300 WM has a felt recoil to that of .243s. By the way, I harvested a MT bull elk in 2013 at 931 yards with 190 Berger, almost identical load on the article, except my MV is 3043 FPS.

Just for the heck of it, I tried Hornady's HITS >>> HITS calculator - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc using the numbers provided in the article.

... and yielded:

NOTE: The velocity used above is MV, not impact velocitym

Happy safe shooting/hunting.

Cheers!

Is this calculator right?

My 270 Wby (28" Benchmark) pushing the 170gr Bergers scored 1738 at the muzzle and 1660 at 100 yards...