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6.5x284 Norma Load Questions

Hello. This is my first post and I just got my first F class rifle in 6.5x284 Norma. I used a lot of the information I found on these forums to help me make the decisions on my setup so thank you.

I loaded 33 rounds to start off with. 3 rounds each going from 45 grns to 50 grns in .5 grn increments H4831. I'm shooting a 140 grn Speer spitzer hot-cor.

My problems come from not being able to find H4831 data for this caliber except in the shortcut form (h4831sc). From what I could find the data for these should be interchangeable with negligible differences in burn rate. Is that truly the case?

My Nosler reloading data says min-max of h4831sc is 45/50 grns. They also list a COAL of 2.980. I like to go a little further than what is generally listed so I went for 3.020. I was fine until i started reading posts on forums and I didn't see anyone seating further than an OAL of 3.1. I was worried then that i was seating too far and might be causing excess pressure. I became even more paranoid with the h4831/h4831sc discrepancy.

So in short, I guess i am asking if the below load load is a safe starting point for load development since data is limited.

Bullet: 140 grain Speer spitzer hot-cor
Powder: H4831 45-50 grain
COAL: 3.020"
CCI 200 primers

Thanks in advance
 
No issues with H4831 45.4 in my 6.5x284 over 142 smk's. Other 6.5x284 shot great with 142 and RL 22. The 6.5x284 is usually a pretty easy cartridge to load for.
 
No issues with H4831 45.4 in my 6.5x284 over 142 smk's. Other 6.5x284 shot great with 142 and RL 22. The 6.5x284 is usually a pretty easy cartridge to load for.
thank you. My OAL is also good to go? I assume the longer ones i see posted are for accuracy but I know what happens when you assume. I'm trying to nail down a charge first then I'll start opening up the OAL
 
Retumbo with 57gr will give very good barrel life. Start at 55 and work up in .5 increments. At 57 you should find a really good node. Barrel life is in the 1600rds area.
thanks! ill check that out since barrel life is definitely a concern
 
Ive been shooting a 6.5-284 for years and have never used up the 8lb jug of 4831 I started with as most of my loads now are with VV165. Ive only used the original long cut H4831, but my loads look the same as I see others post that are using short cut. The upper limit you are using seems too low to me. My best groups are all about 53 grains with H4831 and close to that with the VV165. I see that Grimstod is predicting your barrel life also. I don't see how this is possible. You have not listed a barrel maker, length, stated if it is cut rifled, button rifled, hammer forged, mellonited. Or if you will be shooting rapid fire strings. Shooting a node close to max or a lower node (the start point you listed may suggest a lower node). What the climate is like where you shoot, and any number of factors that will influence barrel life. He must be clairvoyant. One of the shooters that encouraged me to build a 6.5 -284 is a poster at the old snipers hide, J Husky. He is the owner of the 1000yd range in Alabama they call hard rock, and the police chief of the town the range is in. He stated he had 2 260AIs, 2 6.5-284s and 2 6.5-06s and all but one of the 260AIs had at that time over 2000 rounds through them and were still shooting as good as the day they were put together. Enjoy your gun when you get to 50 grains watch for pressure signs but be prepared to go higher. A lot of people are claiming H1000 has a low burn temp and will prolong barrel life. I could never get enough in the case to get 6.5-284 performance but VV165 is right next to H1000 on the burn temp chart. You may want to look at VV165 and see if it is right for you. You will know when the barrel is done and I am sure no internet expert can tell you ahead of time.
 
Have you measured a bullet to the lands? If not, do you know what chamber you have? Freebore? What length barrel, twist rate? Is it a tight bore?
 
Ive been shooting a 6.5-284 for years and have never used up the 8lb jug of 4831 I started with as most of my loads now are with VV165. Ive only used the original long cut H4831, but my loads look the same as I see others post that are using short cut. The upper limit you are using seems too low to me. My best groups are all about 53 grains with H4831 and close to that with the VV165. I see that Grimstod is predicting your barrel life also. I don't see how this is possible. You have not listed a barrel maker, length, stated if it is cut rifled, button rifled, hammer forged, mellonited. Or if you will be shooting rapid fire strings. Shooting a node close to max or a lower node (the start point you listed may suggest a lower node). What the climate is like where you shoot, and any number of factors that will influence barrel life. He must be clairvoyant. One of the shooters that encouraged me to build a 6.5 -284 is a poster at the old snipers hide, J Husky. He is the owner of the 1000yd range in Alabama they call hard rock, and the police chief of the town the range is in. He stated he had 2 260AIs, 2 6.5-284s and 2 6.5-06s and all but one of the 260AIs had at that time over 2000 rounds through them and were still shooting as good as the day they were put together. Enjoy your gun when you get to 50 grains watch for pressure signs but be prepared to go higher. A lot of people are claiming H1000 has a low burn temp and will prolong barrel life. I could never get enough in the case to get 6.5-284 performance but VV165 is right next to H1000 on the burn temp chart. You may want to look at VV165 and see if it is right for you. You will know when the barrel is done and I am sure no internet expert can tell you ahead of time.
Thank you very much for your detailed response. I just chose H4831 based on the 6.5x284 article on the accurateshooter.com page and seeing how often it's used when I googled around for this caliber. The article I mentioned recommended loads at around 50 grains and starting 10% less. That jived with my Nosler reloading data and what I found for H4831SC on the Hodgdon website. So I started there. But OAL seems to be all over the place with the manuals and official load data having an OAL around 3" but articles/forums recommending an OAL starting at 3.125" or more. A difference that big gave me pause.

I'm definitely open to other powders, but in the limited data I could find on the internet there seemed to be relatively more for H4831. I only bought a pound so I'll be through it relatively quickly and see what it gets me. I also leaned towards it since it's available locally and I could get a pound without hazmat fees to experiment. Whatever I settle one will probably be bought in bulk. But if H4831 doesn't do the trick I'll likely have to bite the hazmat fees and try something else.

There are some other powders I've seen recommended and I'm sure I'll be experimenting some. If I can get prolonged barrel life out of one powder that's definitely a plus.

Have you measured a bullet to the lands? If not, do you know what chamber you have? Freebore? What length barrel, twist rate? Is it a tight bore?
I haven't measured from bullet to the lands nor freebore. It's a 30" barrel, 1:8 twist on Savage Model 12F in 6.5x284 Norma. No clue if it's considered a tight bore honestly. I assume I won't know until I do the freebore and other measurements, correct? This is my first jump into real precision shooting so I'm doing a lot of learning here. I've been reloading for about 5 years but prior to this it was .223, 45 ACP, 308 and 45/70 so this is definitely the most technical I've gotten with my reloading setup as well. Any tips in general would be greatly appreciated. My main concern has been that compared to my other cartridges there is much less data for this one so I am continuously second guessing myself.
 
I would bet it's not a tight bore and has a decent freebore. Someone here will have or have had one of these so hopefully they chime in. I ask because a short throat or tight bore will cause pressure much quicker, but I don't know of any factory 6.5x284s that are like this.

With that, you're loads seem to be on the light side. I think you'll find the best load somewhere around 52gr, but you're doing it right working up.

As to barrel life, I've gone through 11or 12 in this caliber. my shortest barrel life was 850 rounds in a tight bore Rock Creek at 26". Shot amazing with H4831sc and Remington 9 1/2Ms. In retrospect, I may have gotten some more life out of it if I knew about carbon glazing then. All my others have started throwing flyers at 1k between 900-1000 rounds. Also, all my others have run H4350 exclusively. These are all 1k Highpower Any Rifles, so they see relatively long strings of fire with little cooling, depending on the pit rotation. Bore scope generally shows fire cracking about 1/3 up the 30" barrels. I will say though, a barrel that is opening up at 1k may well easily clean 600, so you may rotate that rifle from a LR to a MR at that point.

As A rule of thumb, expect 1000 or so rounds from the hot powders if you string shoot. You might be able to extend that with a cooler flame temp powder. Ben (Shoot Dots) has excellent results with H1000. I, unfortunately, haven't. N160 is supposed to be very cool burning as well.

I have been shooting these since 2002-2003. I love them and as long as you pay attention to pressure signs and have a good cleaning regimen I think you'll like it too.

Another word of advice, don't burn out the barrel load testing.
 
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Thanks! I was hoping that if H4831 works out well then I can have my load developed in 100 rounds (or less maybe!).

Since I'm kind of new to these types of rifles/rounds I'm not sure what counts as rapid strings. I will be starting out in F class and I tend to be more of a patient shooter. However, if cooler powders will help preserve my barrel then that is definitely a reason to try to switch. So I'll take a look at H1000 and N160.

I'll probably be shooting at 600 yards for a while so maybe I can get a bit more time and tolerance out of the barrels that way.

What is your suggestion for cleaning? On my other rifles I generally do a cleaning with hoppes, clp and bronze brushes.
 
Cleaning will depend on the barrel. I have found H4350 to be hard on them, so I end up using JB every few hundred rounds to help keep the carbon ring away. I'm sure there are other ways, but I expect 1k rounds so I'm not looking to preserve it forever, just keep it shooting to 1000-1100 rounds. You'll just have to see what it likes, but if you start seeing pressure all of the sudden, or you get several uncalled flyers in a string with a low~ish round count don't be afraid to JB or Flitz the throat.
 
thank you. I went out and shot. Groups were closing up by the time i got to the 50 grains but did not start to spread so i assume more powder will get me better accuracy. But the primers seem a bit flattened. the rest of the case looks good, but are these primers still at an acceptable level?

https://1drv.ms/f/s!ArDnwteZC_dLgaoBcGJkWsyHuYtJKg

The 1st picture shows an unfired round and a couple of primers from loads in between and the far right is the 50 grain load. The 2nd picture is the primer from a 50 grain load.

Thanks again
 
starting to see some pressure. Any idea of the MV you are getting?

I almost always use Lapua brass. I wonder if the Nosler is heavier/Thicker? I'm curious how tight the primer pockets are on those last two.
 
unfortunately i don't know the MV. The primer pockets are fairly tight. almost like forcing through a crimp. My first primer I loaded I backed out thinking i had done something wrong. i don't have any other brass to compare it to since this is my first go around with this caliber.

I didn't have any issues with a stiff bolt. They all ejected smoothly. Would recommend pulling the rest i have at 50 grains?
 
I wouldn't pull them. Are these virgin cases or resized with .002" or so headspace? If these are new cases and have quite a bit of HS, that could be part of the flattening.
 
ill do that next then and post some pictures. I'll fire the remaining loaded cartridges with 50grn of of h4831 tomorrow and then the next batch I'll FL resize again, load and fire.

Based on searches on google and this forum it looks like 51-53 seems to be where most people settle for h4831 but i assume with longer OAL.
 
Be careful with your headspace. Keep it as tight as you feel comfortable with. I like to run .002" HS on my x284s with a FL sized case.
 

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