284 Winchester?

[pablo]

My first good rifle was built for me by my dad and a friend of his. It was a 284 built on a Remington 788 action. They extended the magazine opening and hand built a longer clip, I think they also extneded the bolt stop. I could shoot the 162 gr. Hornadys with the bullets seated level with the neck and load them into the clip. However, my favorite load for this rifle used the 140 gr. Sierra's. I killed many hundred hogs, deer, wild goats, hawks, coyotes etc. with this rifle. I also shot it in NBRSA Hunter Rifle competition for a while. I think my dad was a little ahead of his time, he built this rifle in 1974. He often said that if their was a good bc 6.5 bullet around this cartridge would really shine. I currently have a 6.5/284, and am building my 11year old son a 260 Remington A/I. Too bad the old man has dimentia or I could explain this stuff to him.

 

[284shooter]

I currently shoot a 284 winchester it is a Remington 700BDL short action if I was not interested in spending a small fortune on this project I would suggest finding a 700 Remington short action in a 243 or 308 and sending it to Douglas Barrels for the work to be done. I only shoot 115 and 120 grain bullets in mine due to the short magazine.

 

[AZShooter]

Hi,

I am addressing your question as if you want a hunting rifle and not a pure target rifle.

I have had at least one 284 in my collection for over 25 yrs. All were sporter lightweight hunting rifles. The original 284 is a M77 Ruger that is on its third barrel. I bumped into this chambering by accident. That Ruger was a 6mm rem that I shot out. Harry Lawson of Harry Lawson Co told me that he could take one of the many 7 rem mag takeoffs he had and rechamber it to 284 win. For years it was my only rifle. I shot coues wt, javelina, elk and many varmints with it since then.

Over time and an increase in funds the rifle had a McMillan ultralight stock added as well as the magzine length increased to approx 3.1" Some day I'll invest in my own reamer which I'll do as soon as this barrel shows signs of deteriorating accuracy.

If I were to make a sporter 284 today I would alter the box magazine to maximize the length of a short action. Talk to Wyatt's or just have your gunsmith do it. After the magazine length is done, make a dummy round with the intended bullet and send it off with instructions to the reamer maker as to fit and bullet jump. I would recommend a no turn neck.

As for loading H4350 WAS the best until RL-17 showed up last year. The 284 works well with 120s to 160s for hunting and 168 or 180 VLDs for long range shooting. For hunting big game there are many wonderful premium bullets from 120 Barnes X style bullet to the 160 Accubond and many inbetween.

I recently worked up a load with the 150 nos E-tip for an upcoming cow elk hunt. Bullet is moly coated and maxed out in the magazine with approx a .025" jump to rifling. 56.5 gr of RL-17 has the bullet going right at 3000 fps. Shoots approx 1/2". While a 7 rem mag shooting the same bullet will be the primary rifle I may just walk around with this lighter rifle a few times for old times sake. I hasn't been on an elk hunt in well over a dozen years.

Here are my personal experiences on what velocities you can get with a 23" barrel, non moly'ed bullets and either IMR 4350 or H4350:

120 3200 fps
140 3000-3050
150 2900-2950
160 2800-2850

The old standard set by Bob Hagel was 57 or 58 gr of IMR 4350 with a 140 nosler partition for a velocity just over 3000 fps. You don't find that high a charge in any modern books but many bolt action 284 can handle it. Now that RL-17 is available this velocity is more easily obtained.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

Ross

 

[msalm]

I built a 284 Win hunting rifle this year on an FN SPR action (short). With the WSM mag box and follower available from Winchester, the magazine length is 3.050", which is fine for most any hunting bullet you will choose. Feeds real slick to boot.

I used a light contour Rock barrel, and a Bell and Carlson medalist lightweight sporter stock that is cut for the one-piece bottom metal. Put dual dovetail bases and low rings on it topped with a 2.5-8 Leupold and it makes a very handy rig.