I have had many potential customers bring in their 6-284 for rebarreling because the barrels were shot out, Supposedly. These were not rifles I built but they did exactly what your rifle is doing now.
The cure was the SMK in most cases.
Problem with down loading the 6-284 is that yes you can get velocities down to where the A-Max will survive the launch but this posses another problem, carbon fouling. As the chamber pressure decreased, carbon fouling will increase and this is a minor reason why the bullets come apart the more you shoot them.
I have also recommended to a couple of my customers that they give the 95 gr Ballistic Tip a try. Now before all you long range 6mm guys jump on me because this is not a long range bullet, remember this bullet will handle any velocity you can out to it in a 1-8 twist barrel with any rifling design. Because of the velocity advantage, This bullet may suprise you.
To test my theory before recommending it to my customers, I tested this bullet in my rifle. In my 30" Lilja 3groove 1-8 twist I was able to push 3700 fps with top end loads. THis was a load that would allow 4-5 firings per case which I consider my criteria for top end pressures. If you compare the 95 gr Ballistic Tip to the 105 gr A-Max out to 1000 yards it suprised even me. Here are some numbers:
These numbers are using a BC of .38 for the 95 gr BT and .5 for the 105 gr A-Max. Both zeroed at 100 yards.
Muzzle energy
95 gr...........2887 ft/lbs
105 gr..........2462
500 yard energy
95 gr...........1203
105 gr..........1235
750 yard energy
95 gr...........733
105 gr..........847
1000 yard energy
95 gr...........436
105 gr..........571
Now certainly much past 500 yards, the A-Max has an edge in kenetic energy but not much. Even at a full 1000 yards it has less then 140 ft/lbs more energy. For hunting deer, I like at least 1000 ft/lbs and an expanding bullet. Using that limit, the 95 gr will have that level of energy out to around 590 yards. The 105 gr will carry that energy out to 640 yards so there is really only a 50 yard different. Energy is not the only criteria however.
For smaller game, both have plenty of energy for shooting out to well past 1000 yards so energy is not a concern with varmint hunting and both are tipped bullets so they will expand as well as any bullet will at long range.
Lets look at bullet drop numbers again, both with 100 yard zeros. I will list the bullet drop in moas so you can see what you would need to dial into your scope.
500 yards
95...........5.75 moa
105..........7.15 moa
750 yards
95...........12.17 moa
105..........14.18 moa
1000 yards
95...........21.5 moa
105..........23.5 moa
So as far as bullet drop is concerned, the 95 gr BT with the velocity advantage has less drop even out to 1000 yards, a full 2 moa less drop or roughly 20" less.
Certainly the higher BC bullet will have an edge as far as wind drift but not by a great deal. At 500 yards, the 95 gr pill is blown only 2" more by the wind then the 105 gr. At 1000 yards, it has about 16 more inches of windage in a 10 mph wind or roughly 1.5 moa.
My point is that yes the 105 is a better long range pill but there are other options and the 95 gr bullet will offer very good performance and out to the 600 yard range, it is hand down a better game bullet for deer size game.
Also to be fair and to those just coming into the conversation, yes, if the 105 gr A-Max were loaded in a rifle that would allow it to be driven to 3400 fps which is totally practical in the 6-284, this would not be much of a comparision, but in some rifles this is simply not the case so we look for alternatives that give good performance with good terminal results as well.
The 95 gr Ballistic Tip and Ballistic Silvertip are not bad choices in rifles like these. They are worth a try at least as they will allow the 6-284 to run at full pressure and at least they will shoot cleaner then a low pressure load with the A-Max.
Just another idea.
Kirby Allen(50)
