HI guys, I'm building my father and I matching 6.5x284 hunting rifles on savage 110 actions. Where do you guys draw the line on to thin of a barrel? My 6-06 has a med palma from pac-nor and as much as I love the rifle it's a little heavy for a pack around deer rifle. I don't mind the weight to much, but my father might. I called nss and they said a 28" varmint barrel will measure .720 and a 26" is .815. Should I go down to a magnum contour or will I be giving up to much steel?
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6.5x284 hunting barrel taper
- Thread starter 6mm06guy
- Start date
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I would go with the varmint barrel, I like that style contour. I have two Remington 700s with varmint contour barrels, they are both 26" long and measure around .830 at the muzzle. With a light synthetic stock, my .243 is easy to carry around and the heavier barrel keeps the barrel heat down and helps the muzzle from jumping so much. It all comes down to personal preference. My .270 has a standard weight barrel and I have made shots out to 700+ yards with it and had no problems other than a little muzzle jump.
A shooting buddy of mine has a 6.5x284 with a 26" barrel shooting 140s at 3022fps and my cousin has one with a 28" barrel pushing 140s at 3050fps. Both are shooting 58.0gr of RETUMBO as well. The key to the 6.5x284 in my opinion is a slow powder that fills up the case. A lot of guys burn H4350 and H4831 but they only get 2900-2950fps with a 140 and these powders seem to diminish barrel life faster than the slower burning propellants. I think all you need is the 26" barrel and it will be plenty for shooting out to 800 yards or farther.
Predator 22
Well-Known Member
Something that finishes around .700"-.750" should be a good comprise weight wise between a varmint/sendero and a standard sporter contour.
