6.5-284

[ourway77]

I am a very new guy on the forum. I have been following a Savage action looks to be a 110 Action? I am contemplating on building a Hunting rifle on this action in 6.5-284 I see on Pac-Nor's sight they list this.
6.5-284 No Throat
6.5-284 Winchester, I have no idea what is meant by no throat? With all the expertise on this sight, can someone tell me what this means, and can a 6.5-284 be built on the #110 Savage action. I believe the Gentleman selling the action says it has a 30-06 bolt face. Any help greatly appreciated Lou

 

[Rust]

The 6.5 X 284 has a rebated rim, so the .473" standard bolt face will work fine. The longer 110 action is a bit of a plus since it allows the longer bullets to be seated out of the case and still fit the magazine, and cycle a loaded round out of the loading port.

The feed rails might require a little work since it is a fatter cartridge, about the same case diameter as a belted magnum (not measured at the belt).

Don't know what Pac-Nor means by no throat, call them and ask.

 

[therifler]

The barrel maker reams the chamber with no throat so you have the chamber . You or your gunsmith can ream with just a throating reamer the desired lenght ,minute of angle and freebore into the chamber . Which is known as the throat .I believe this is answers your question. However i have never purchased one of these barrels or consulted Pac Nor if i am wrong I will stand corrected .

 

[k80skeet]

The 6.5 X 284 is an excellent choice for long range hunting. Also for long range target shooting. The BIG down side is barrel life. 600-1000 rounds it doesn't take long too shoot these out.

 

[Laurie]

The barrel maker reams the chamber with no throat so you have the chamber . You or your gunsmith can ream with just a throating reamer the desired lenght ,minute of angle and freebore into the chamber . Which is known as the throat .I believe this is answers your question. However i have never purchased one of these barrels or consulted Pac Nor if i am wrong I will stand corrected .

I'm 99% sure Therifler is correct here. It's because there are in effect two versions of the 6.5-284 now - 6.5-284 Winchester a willdcat which retains the original parent case (.284 Win) with its maximum cartridge overall length (COAL) of 2.800" (as the parent case / cartridge was originally designed to fit short actions suitable for .308 and .243 Win cartridges), and a more modern updated version called 6.5-284 Norma that is identical apart from the barrel throating ahead of the chamber to allow heavy bullets to be seated well out giving a much greater COAL than the original 2.8".

If you look at different reloading manuals you'll see that either version may be used and there is a significant difference in maximum loads. Vihtavuori and Nosler use the Norma version, Viht with the CIP 3.228" max COAL, Nosler quoting 3.310" SAAMI max allowed COAL which is slightly different for some reason. Hornady sticks to the shorter 2.800". Other American manuals don't list the cartridge at all. The problem with the original (Winchester) version is that heavier 6.5mm bullets are lengthy brutes and with a case that is 2.270" long, that only allows a little over 0.5" of bullet sticking out the front. Heavy 6.5mm bullets are generally about twice that length - the Nosler 140gn Partition is 1.29" long, the Sierra 140gn GameKing 1.27" long, and match bullets like the 142gn Sierra MatchKing even longer, so these bullets would be seated with around three-quarters of an inch of the bullet inside the case taking up a lot of the powder capacity.

When used in a long action like the Savage 110 and with a long-throated barrel chamber, these and similar bullets don't have to be seated nearly so deeply. COALs of 3.2" are feasible. That makes the 6.5-284 a fine long-range sporting and match cartridge in this form, and it has become very popular for long-range Fullbore Rifle and F-Class as well as in custom hunting rifles.

In practice what you need to do if you go for a no-throat chambered barrel is to decide what bullet you're going to use and make up a dummy round with the bullet seated to whatever depth you intend to load your ammunition to. (Seated so the junction of the parallel bearing surface / boat-tail sections are just at the bottom of the neck or a fraction below is about right.) Give it to your gunsmith and he'll throat the barrel so the bullet is just off the rifling. Keep that inert round to set your seating die and you're a large part there too. This may be your best option if you want to use a bullet that is a little lighter - say 120gn

However, 6.5-284 Norma is now such a well-known and popular cartridge, I would have thought you could get a pre-chambered barrel in this form for a Savage without any problems, and that is probably the easiest and cheapest option as it reduces the amount of work by the gunsmith that you're paying for. This would almost certainly suit 140gn bullets to a T if they are what you plan to use.

I hope this helps.

Laurie,
York, England

 

[HawkeyeJoe]

Give Jim a call. He probably has 6.5/284 barrels in stock ready to screw on and shoot.
Contact Information for NSS:
E-mail - briggs.j-b@q.com (that is Q.com not G.com)
Phone - 763/682-4296
Fax - 763/682-6098
Mailing address:
PO Box 333
Buffalo, MN 55313

 

[Merlin]

I cannot quote Spec's, but I've been a 6.5-284 shooter since 1964. The best chamber, twist, bullet combination is very important considering the purpose of the rifle.

If you want to hunt big game, deer, et cetera and very long range target (>500yds) you want a longer chamber for 130gr to 140 gr bullets, 3.150 ( mine) - 3.310 with an 8 twist barrel.

Perhaps, on the other hand you wish to shoot Varmints (mine), target, deer and other smaller game. A chamber like mine (3.150) Total Cartridge length with 130 Berger VLD. A 9" twist barrel and then you can shoot 100gr. (125gr min recommended) to 130gr. bullets.

This information is not to be mistaken for the "last word" on the topic. Please talk to the barrel maker/Gun Smiths that know the caliber and carefully comtemplate your usage requirements.

There is a new barrel hardning process I want to try that should extend barrel life to over 2,000 rounds. Will posat here whan I know anything I can stand behind.

All the very best6.5 shooters.

 

[ourway77]

Gentleman I have copied all the information and I thank you. Laurie I am going to take your advise and get a ready to go savage barrel from Pac-nor or someone else still out on that one (Who). thanks again. I have been shooting an Encore with a Bullberry 6.5-284 for as long as I can remember but have got stung by the build craze, and besides I like a bolt action rifle better than an Encore for accuracy, but have killed numerous Deer with it at some impressive ranges. Lou