6mm-284 Shooters
If anyone out there is shooting this wildcat. I'm a novice with this target type rifle and enjoy long range shooting since I don't hunt that much any longer. I'd like to get some information on what your experiences have been with it and what loads work best for you. I'm trying to save some time experimenting with loads and trying to get a little closer to zero with out wasting so much effort. Also, any other tips/tricks for the brass etc would be apprecitated. And if you have any information on how to get into long range competition shooting that would be appreciated also.
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Hey John, you might want to check out the book written by Glenn Newick
titled ''The ultimate in rifle accuracy''.It partains to the 6 mm ppc
mostly but has alot of info for the beginer. Hope this helps0 -
Supposed to pick up my recently converted Eddystone 1917 in 6mm-284 this morning - can't hardly wait 'til I get there!
Ordered some Lapua 6.5-284 brass from Midway at their recent special price of $54 for 100 rounds and used the Hornady 6mm-284 dies to neck down to 6mm. Found Graf & Sons had the regular 284 Win brass at the regular price of $34 per 100, so ordered those, also. Necked them down in stages using 6.5, .25 and 6mm neck sizing dies. Had to break the sharp edges of the 6.5 and .25 dies on the inside portion where the neck starts with a Dremel pencil grinding stone - collapsed several case shoulders before figuring out the problem. After tapering the lead-in for the neck bodies, had no further problems.
Will probably fire lap the bore to get initial smoothness (bore scope shows lots of chatter marks on last barrel the same 'smith made for me) and barrel "break-in", then start concentrating on load development. Hope to use the heavier 100 and 105 grain bullets and ordered the 1:10 twist rate for this purpose.
This cartridge is 'way "overbore" for caliber, so don't look for extended barrel life. Probably have severe throat erosion after several thousand rounds. That should last me, though. Not much different than all the super short magnums being trotted out by the various manufacturers today, I'd imagine.
Keep off the Ridgeline0 -
Don't have a 6.5-284 yet my next project [:D] Here is a link that might be of help. http://www.benchrest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12
http://www.reloadersnest.com/frontpage.asp?CaliberID=1190 -
Thank you 39Ford and Kdub. I just got back a minutes ago from the range and was less than happy than the first 50 rounds. Of course these cases have never been fired before. I don't know how much difference that makes since the cases were not fire formed at the time. I did get a few in same hole but I never got any to group very close consistently. I think it could just be me or is that normal when your breaking in a new barrel and fire forming cases at the same time. I loaded 100 Gr Hornady BTSP with 43 grs 4831SC win brass. Federal LR primers.
[img]c:\file0004.jpg[/img]0 -
Don't sweat it, John -
When fireforming cases with a new rifle and at the moderate range of the listed powder, don't be anxious if the rifle doesn't group at first. This is pretty normal.
According to what I've seen, the 6-284 likes to operate at the upper end of the powder charge. If H4831SC doesn't work out too well, might try a mag primer (back off a grain or two to compensate) or switch to another slow burner, such as Alliant RL-22, IMR 7828, or maybe VihtaVuori N160. Keep juggling the bullet style and weight, powder type and weight and primer until you get what you want.
That's the fun of reloading and shooting wildcats - the road may have been travelled before, but it's not a paved super highway!
Keep off the Ridgeline0 -
Thanks Kdub. Sounds like you have done this before. I'll check out the Hodgdon web site. They have reload info online so I'll compare it to what I have in the Hornady manual and Lee manual. I did get an email from another 6-284 shooter that told me Hornady is way to conservative on their listed loads. He said his min loads are higher than their max loads. But I think I 'll just work up to some max loads and see what happens like you suggest. From the jist of some of the chatrooms I gather this partuicular round is at least as fast a 243 WSSM and can be very accurate to 1000 yards. I just want to shoot a 8-6 inch group at 1000 yards. That's my goal. 0 -
John,
There's a couple of things to cover that I thought would be helpful.
- Is your barrel a measured 1:8 twist? Heavy VLD/ULD bullets usually require an 8" twist in order to remain stable throughout the 1000 yd. range.
- A rifle's accuracy can't be determined from the type of load and with a bullet type such as you loaded to use for break in when your goal is 1000 yd. target shooting. The volume of powder is way too low to generate the required velocity to make it to your target. The volume of powder in the case is not high enough to give consistancy in the burn. While the powder choice might work, the bullet certainly won't.
- How is your barrel throated? Can you seat a VLD bullet out far enough to get all of the shank into the neck without intruding into the powder space? The boattail can be in the shoulder to start but usually the shank is fully contained in the neck.
- How long is your barrel? Normally, 28" is considered to be nominal.
- The 6-284 holds 66.5 grains of water to the top of the neck while the 243 WSSM holds only 56.4 grains. Not only is the 6-284 faster than the 243 WSSM, it is significantly faster with 10 more grains of powder and a barrel length suitable to use it. Don't handicap a thoroughbred with a short barrel especially if you want to compete at 1000 yds.
- Brass prep should follow standard quality guidelines that you can find anywhere.
- You need to start shooting some Clinch River VLD's or some of the Cauterucio bullets and maybe some of Jimmy Knox's JLK's if you want to compete.
- V V N-165 is one of the best powders for this cartridge/VLD combination. You can also try Ramshot Magnum or Re-22 although I prefer Re-25 in most cases.
- This is a site you need to join and read on the forum:
http://www.long-range.com/
Keep us informed and best of luck!0 -
Thank you for such great info. Now that's what I'm talking about! Information I can use. The barrel may not be long enough. My gunsmith made it 26 inches. I told him I wanted to shoot long range target and varments. It is a 1:8 twist Douglas premium airguaged target contour #7. How far do you think it should shoot accurately provided other things are equal?
As far as the bullets and powder go I'll have to try your recommendations. O.K. so it looks like I won't be competing at 1000 yds but surely lesser than 1k but more than 300 should not be out of the question. right? Don't our military snipers shoot long ranges with less than 28" barrels? This barrel is bound to be better than what they use. Then again maybe they don't have to be as accurate as a benchrest shooter. I've never asked what their accuracy quotient is or what ranges they normally shoot to their target.
Throated? mmm I'm not sure. I didn't cover that aspect with the GS. I'll have to find out or can you tell me how I can check that measurement?
Am I correct to think that the bullet should just be touching the lands and groves or should there be a small amount of freebore to prevent undue pressure build up?
Should I take the firing pin out of the bolt and chamber an unfilled case and bullet to test the bullet to groves relationship? I read that somewhere but not sure why the writer suggested doing that. I'll have to buy some VLD bullets and try what you said then I'll some thing better to tell you.
Till then, let me know of anything else I should be aware of. I really like this type of shooting and learning about it is great!0 -
John,
The 26" barrel won't prevent you from shooting at 1000 yds. The extra inches yield a little more velocity at the same pressure and increase the chance of the powder burning completely. My 260 is in a 26" barrel and I shoot it at 1000 yds. but the cartridge capacity is less.
Sinclair lists a couple of devices for checking OAL of chambers and they also have devices to measure from the ogive instead of the bullet tip. I have, in the past, just slit the neck of a piece of brass and barely seated a bullet, then let the bolt finish the seating in the chamber. Extract it carefully and run some Super Glue in around the neck. Degrease the bullet and brass first, of course. This dummy stays in the box with the dies that are set up to load for that rifle. If the bolt has a Remington style plunger ejector, I remove it before checking any seating depths. Removing the firing pin takes the springs and sear out of the equation much like when checking headspace.
The bullet touching the lands or not and set for a specific distance is determined when working up your loads. Pressure will be higher when the bullet is seated into the lands as opposed to off of the lands with the same load. Each bullet and load is different and needs to be tested.
Let us know how it goes!0 -
Thank you for the tip. That's sounds like a good idea. I'll let you know how it works and I'll check the Sinclair website. 0
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