.284 Build

[chadwickz71]

Having a 7mm rem being built for walk-in hunting elk. Built light as possible.

Want to get a practice gun for target and will hunt whitetail with as well. This gun will be 75% 1000yrd target for practice throughout the year and 25% hunting but not as concerned about the extreme light weight of the 7mm.

Was going back and forth on a 6.5-284 vs .284 but have pretty much decided on the .284 for barrel life and shooting the 180gr bullets. Will brake the rifle for sure.

Thinking Krieger 1-9", jewel, defiance or surgeon action, then not quite decided on stock but thinking about a McMillian a3 sporter for kind of a cross over target/hunting.

Before I throw the money down do you guys have any final thoughts on the 6.5-284 vs .284. Both will be fine for whitetail out to distance but which one would you lean on the most for target out to 1000yrd.

 

[FeMan]

Both are great choices but the 284 gets my vote. With the bullets available it will out perform the 6.5 in the wind, had more energy, and has far better barrel life. The 284s is a great round, very efficient and easy to tune.

 

[effendude]

I built a .284 Shehane on a Surgeon LA, with a A3 stock, Bartlein barrel in 1-9" twist. I planned to use my tired match brass in it. What a hoot!
It hammers the 180's and also the new 195's. I used the 195's for hunting this year, but used the 180's in the past. I have not shot it past 600 but it shoots as well as I can see and hold with a 22X at 600. All my hunting rifles have brakes now, so this rifle shoots without recoil. My wife has taken over on it because it shoots so well and allows her to see the bullets impact game.

Go with the .284!

Scott

 

[potatoe]

An Eliseo could be switched back and forth easily.

 

[Endyo]

http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/7mm/

Comparative Ballistics (Drop from 100-Yard Zero, Drift in 10 mph Crosswind)

Cartridge Bullet FPS 300yd Drop/Drift 600yd 1000yd Drop/Drift

.284 Win 180gr Berger VLD 2830 11.31″ | 4.10″ 73.27″ | 17.69″ 269.88″ | 54.26″
7mm-08 168gr Berger VLD 2670 13.32″ | 4.67″ 85.03″ | 20.39″ 317.97″ | 64.04″
6.5-284 142 Sierra MK 2950 10.42″ | 4.48″ 69.25″ | 19.52″ 263.08″ | 61.02″
.243 Win 115 DTAC 3120 8.97″ | 4.24″ 60.82″ | 18.25″ 232.3″ | 57.0″

 

[Keith Glasscock]

What barrel length are you planning on using? Most of the 1000 yard guys with 284's are running 30-32" barrels

 

[chadwickz71]

Thanks for the replies, being that I do plan to hunt with it as well. I would prefer to keep the barrel out of the 30's. The 7mm is being built with a 26" Krieger. I was thinking a 26 or 28 for this gun... Am I getting that much more out of it to go that long.

 

[effendude]

Thanks for the replies, being that I do plan to hunt with it as well. I would prefer to keep the barrel out of the 30's. The 7mm is being built with a 26" Krieger. I was thinking a 26 or 28 for this gun... Am I getting that much more out of it to go that long.

My hunting 284 Shehane described above has a 26" barrel. It shoots great, and hunts too. I wouldn't compete with it but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot targets with it out to 1000 and beyond.
Scott

 

[Endyo]

Thanks for the replies, being that I do plan to hunt with it as well. I would prefer to keep the barrel out of the 30's. The 7mm is being built with a 26" Krieger. I was thinking a 26 or 28 for this gun... Am I getting that much more out of it to go that long.

I think they say 25-35fps loss per inch of barrel as a general rule of thumb. For you that would be roughly 100-150fps as a worst case scenario. For a hunting rifle I'd take the several inches in size and weight savings personally.

 

[chadwickz71]

You guys think i'll still be comfortable working up to around 2850fps, im reading the VLD in this gun shoots nice in the 2800's

 

[Endyo]

I am shooting a 32" Bartlein straight .284Win running a moderately hot load and I'm getting 2810fps. I can get 2870 closer to max but lose accuracy and case life.

I don't know what the safe pressure range is on a 284Rem, but 2850fps in a 26-28" barrel would be fairly hot I'd imagine.

You can gain some speed with RL-17.

2800-2850fps is a known accuracy node for the 7mm platform.

 

[FeMan]

You guys think i'll still be comfortable working up to around 2850fps, im reading the VLD in this gun shoots nice in the 2800's

I am getting 2825 with H4350 out of a 26" barrel in my 284 w/180 hybrids. 2850 s doable but is MAX in my rifle and the 2825 hammers while the 2850 doesn't.

 

[284winner]

Don't rule out 168 VLD s or 162 Amax s. Both offer great ballistics and put anything down that you connect with. 180s are nice for wind but that's about it. There's no animal that you'd harvest with a 180 that you couldn't with a 162 or 168 at the same range. The 162 or 168 will give you more velocity and not give up much energy. Consider these options. I shoot a short action 284 that I just built at 2.980 coal. I'm pushing 162 Amax bullets over 3000 fps. Have not shot the 168 VLD yet but may not as I'm getting what I want from the Amax for hunting. My barrel is 24". Hope this helps.

 

[chadwickz71]

that is definitely a thought and I have contemplated that.

If I were to run 160-170gr in the .284, would I not be better off going a 140 in a 6.5-284 though. Just a question...

Or would the .284 still be a better choice because I could go 162,168, or 180 and have more flexibility to tune with...

 

[FeMan]

that is definitely a thought and I have contemplated that.

If I were to run 160-170gr in the .284, would I not be better off going a 140 in a 6.5-284 though. Just a question...

Or would the .284 still be a better choice because I could go 162,168, or 180 and have more flexibility to tune with...

At least in the Berger lineup, the 7mm 168 still has a slightly better BC than the 6.5 140. The 284 should be able to get 150 fps or more velocity with the 168 than the 6.5 shooting the 140. While the 168 loses a bit of the edge, it still should hold the wind better and enough to matter.

Since you are talking about elk hunting though, I would definitely stay with the 7mm and look at bullet terminal performance as much as anything. Minute-of-meat on elk is pretty forgiving due to their size.

 

[Sheldon N]

To clarify, he's talking 6.5-284, so the 140g would be going a fair bit faster than the straight 284 with a 168.

Ballistically, a 140g bullet at 3000fps from a 6.5-284 just barely beats out the 168g round from the straight 284. Maybe one click of wind at 1000 yards, not enough to matter. And if you run the 180's in the 284 the wind advantage goes to the straight 284 despite the lower velocity.

The main reason you want the straight 284 is better bullet selection both in weight for hunting and in ballistics, and secondly the straight 284 will have a noticeably longer accurate barrel life.

 

[yukonal]

Straight 284 shooting 168 Hunting VLD's out of a 24" barrel. I've shot big game all over the US with mine, and only had 1 animal take a step after being hit. Handy rifle to get around with. It wears an A3 Adjustable.

 

[chadwickz71]

im looking at either a 26-28" 1-9 twist. What do you guys think on contour.

Im thinking like a Krieger Sporter #5 or 6 heavy bull sporter. Wouldn't want to go any heavier than a Match/target #7 light contour at 5.5 lbs

I'd like to go middle of the road, target/hunting. And I would like it to fit the muzzle brake pretty nice and not look out of proportion. I don't like the look of the screw on Gen 2's. It looks more tactical in appearance.

I want to go a APA break. Like a Gen 1 micro, or gen 1 little B%$##.

 

[effendude]

Bartlein #4, Krieger #4-5.5 are all nice multi use contours in my opinion.

Scott

 

[furmaster]

If you want to rock a shorter/lighter barrel, then I would not do a straight 284 with the 180+'s. The speed you want may be hard to acheive. I would then shoot the 168 bergers, or 162 amax's, which I think are better hunting bullets anyway.
If you are set on the 180's then I would either shoot a longer barrel or go to a shehane chambering.
I built a straight 284 chambered for lapua brass, 30" kreiger. .313 neck .220 freebore. I built it just for shooting long range. I am not disappointed, gun makes me look good, but I would not want to carry it hunting. Mine has shot 6 late season cow elk but all of them were........take out of truck, out of case, set on ground or hood and shoot. I could always shoot the 180's better than the lighter bullets, But Im not overly impressed with the 180vld on terminal performance. They act like a super heavy partition.