.284 Winchester for F-Open - Still Viable?

[WindSurgeon]

Considering moving up to a 7mm from my 6mm in F-class and building a new rifle. I am hesitant to go the magnum rout and wondering if .284 Winchester is still a competitive round in F-open. Much of what is on the site is older. Anyone's thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[280man]

My thoughts are yes it is still a good option. If you can get one of the big 300 mag boomers to shoot well and if you can stand the punishing recoil they are better in the wind period but those are two really big ifs

 

[Erik Cortina]

284 Winchester is a great round. I would advise that you consider the 284 Shehane as it is just a little better.

 

[KT]

YES!

The .284 is very relevant. It is a round you can shoot at any distance. That is my go caliber! Extremely accurate.

If it were me. I would take your 6mm have it rebarreled to .284.

Then build yourself a magnumn for the new build. Using it for the extremely windy days.

KT

 

[Steve Blair]

Either a .284 Win or .284 Shehane is a viable choice. As Rick noted, a .300 WSM is better in the wind but is not easy to shoot well. When shooting my Shehane, I do not think about the rifle. It just shoots. When shooting my .300, I must be very careful about body position, shoulder pressure, rear rest position, etc. If not, the handling goes to hell.

 

[AR Shooter]

Can the .284Win chamber be taken out to the .284 Shehane by simply running the .284 Shehane reamer through the existing chamber or does the barrel have to be set back?

 

[Steve Blair]

Can the .284Win chamber be taken out to the .284 Shehane by simply running the .284 Shehane reamer through the existing chamber or does the barrel have to be set back?

[br]
Theoretically, yes. As a practical matter, the chance of mismatch is too high. If you already have a .284 Win barrel, I wouldn't bother. If you have a new barrel blank, consider chambering in .284 Shehane.

 

[Lapua40X]

IMO, the revival of the .284 for long range competition has been slow over the past few years but it's obvious that its virtues are being rediscovered. I believe it has been ignored in favor of some of the other creative calibers for far too long. I'm currently building a .284 (I avoided the Shehane only because I don't see enough advantage to it over the .284 Winchester to compensate for the trouble of special handling of ammo) and expect great things from it.

 

[AR Shooter]

Lapua40X - What "special handling" of ammo are you talking about with the .284 Shehane?

 

[lrgoodger]

IMO, the revival of the .284 for long range competition has been slow over the past few years but it's obvious that its virtues are being rediscovered. I believe it has been ignored in favor of some of the other creative calibers for far too long. I'm currently building a .284 (I avoided the Shehane only because I don't see enough advantage to it over the .284 Winchester to compensate for the trouble of special handling of ammo) and expect great things from it.

Wise choice. I went with the Shehane version and although I finally have a tack driver (after getting a second barrel), If I had it to do all over again, I would go straight .284 and use Winchester brass or else get my reamer made with about .280 freebore. I don't think all that neck is necessary (a practice others here have espoused for other calibers as well). My 30 BR uses only a fraction of the neck and shoots killer groups, the 6BR uses only about half the neck and the 30 Wolf Pup barely uses enough neck to keep the bullet in and they all shoot great. I think I need to be a lot further out with the 180 hybrids to stay plenty far from that donut from necking up Lapua brass. Even ahead of the donut, there is a swell. I can tell because when seating a bullet, it will seat with uniform pressure until just before it is fully seated. The pressure ring on the bullet goes into the swell just above (and caused by) the donut and the pressure drops way off. It's not consistent from case to case and I think that could be why I'm having trouble getting the ES average below 20. Some are inside boring necks to get around this, but I think that's a PITA.

 

[ThunderDownUnder]

I have a 284 Shehane and it shoots really well in F-Open. I am considering the 280AI (SAAMI spec) with the Nosler/Norma brass as a better option with longer case life than the necked up Lapua cases.

The Achilles heel of the Lapua 284 brass is case head expansion if you want to run the loads to provide velocities over 2900 fps with the 180gr Bergers. The 280AI fits a 308 bolt head and can run loads that run a little more velocity than the Shehane without destroying the cases. Its another option to consider!

Ian

 

[WindSurgeon]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like it is still viable for sure. You all did make me think of two more suggestions. .280 AI and .284 Shehane. I like the AI idea in that I don't have to modify cases or fire form. Any direct experience comparing .280 AI to the Shehane or .284 Winchester? I think I can get to 2900 fps with the Winchester, but what about the AI?

 

[Steve Blair]

I can think of an example where David Bailey beat all the .284 Win, Shehane and 7mm Mag shooters with a straight .280 Remington (using Remington brass) and won the National Championship last year.

 

[Lapua40X]

Lapua40X - What "special handling" of ammo are you talking about with the .284 Shehane?

I prefer to keep it simple and fire forming, IMO, amounts to special handling that I'd just rather not fool with. I don't expect to ever become a national or world champion and if I can achieve a competitive standard that let's me shoot inside the top 10 of the group I'm in competition with I'm happy as a clam.

 

[ThunderDownUnder]

The 284 Shehane requires fire forming as the front case taper needs to be blown out. The 280AI (SAAMI spec) if using Nosler brass does not require fire forming as Nosler make the cases with the 40 degree shoulder. I know F-Open shooters using the 280AI getting 3000fps with 180gr bullets and not having the primers fall out like with the Lapua brass if pushed.

I shoot my Shehane in a 32" barrel at 2920-2940fps and get 5 firings at that load and the primers end up very loose. Thats why I have ordered a 280AI match reamer from JGS and look forward to trying it out!

Ian

 

[WindSurgeon]

I think I will join you in trying that .280 AI. Less fuss and muss and it sounds like I can get more speed. I am waiting for my action and barrel on order so have some time for thoughtful contemplation.

TDU, when are you going to have your .280 AI in action?

If there is anyone using a .280 AI F-class open and can post a range report that would be great.

 

[ThunderDownUnder]

TDU, when are you going to have your .280 AI in action?

I'm not sure how long it will take JGS to ship the reamer to me but once I get it I will put it to good use! The scarey thing about ordering reamers is that it can take upto 6 months delivery time if its a special order and not on the shelf.

The other thing to remember is the 7mm Berger, 195gr Hybrid is still probably 6 months off production as well and that bullet will change what case we use for F-Open. Being a heavier bullet a stronger case is good insurance. The new bullet has an incredible BC of just below the 230gr 30 cal Hybrid which is 0.380 (G7). We dont know if the new bullet will be an advantage in the accuracy stakes as nobody is giving away any test results yet.

Ian

 

[Steve Blair]

The other thing to remember is the 7mm Berger, 195gr Hybrid is still probably 6 months off production as well and that bullet will change what case we use for F-Open. Being a heavier bullet a stronger case is good insurance. The new bullet has an incredible BC of just below the 230gr 30 cal Hybrid which is 0.380 (G7). We dont know if the new bullet will be an advantage in the accuracy stakes as nobody is giving away any test results yet.

Ian

[br]
Eric Stecker stated that the estimated B.C. was G7 .406, a bit ahead of the 230 Hybrid and with less recoil. It could indeed be a game changer. [br]
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/berger-introduce-7mm-195-gr-eol-hybrid-hunting-bullet-85792/ [br]
Attached is a drawing that Bryan released.

 

[WindSurgeon]

Would you still put this new bullet on a .280 AI or move up to a magnum for more speed? If you get 2900-3000 from a 180 in AI, might need that extra speed. The barrel I ordered is a 1:9, so I don't think that will work. Need 1:8?

By the way, will the short Panda F-class action work with .284 or .280 AI? Just thought of that. Crud.

 

[Steve Blair]

There is no universally accurate velocity range for a given bullet, as long as it is stabilized. If the 195 proves to be accurate, it will work well in a .280 Rem, .280 AI or 7mm magnum. Berger is recommending an 8.5 twist. According to Miller's calculator, that will be good down to ~2600 fps. An 8" twist should not be necessary but would likely work fine. [br]
Your short Panda will do the job. Extracting a loaded cartridge will require bolt removal, but I must do that with a long 3-lug BAT and either .284 Shehane or .300 WSM.