6.5-284 Range Report

Screwtop.243 · Aug 15, 2018

Hi All,

A couple months back I got my Savage from the Custom Shop and got tooled up to develop some loads. Overall, I was quite pleased with the build quality. I opted for a 26" medium profile barrel and predator stock. I was pleasantly surprised by the jeweled bolt as well. One issue was that the throat was a bit shorter than I had anticipated (I later found out that this can vary for this cartridge). This kind of precluded the use of the 143 ELD-X VLD bullet that I was planning to use but I found that the 130 Accubond could be seated .020 off the lands and was not seated too far in the case. I took a chance on Norma Brass (instead of Lapua) and have 4 to 5 load cycles out of my first 20 pieces, which still look really good. I was going to settle on a 51.4 grain charge of H4831sc, which was clocking in at around 2,830 fps, but having talked to some folks, I think I might bump it up a bit, so I got a 52.3 grain charge that's looking pretty good (have not chronoed it yet). BTW - The Scope is a Sig Sauer Tango 4 in 4X16. It's my first "First Focal Plane" scope and I really like it. Anyway, here's some pics.

E.Shell · Aug 16, 2018

Good shooting and nice rifle!

I have two 6.5-284s, a GAP tactical rifle (on its second barrel) and the other is an Obermeyer F-Class gun. Great cartridge, albeit a little hard on barrels compared to the more sedate 6.5 CM, 6.5 Lapua and .260. I use H4831SC and either Lapua 139s or Sierra 142s in mine and ended up with 53.0 for 2,975 with an SD of about 10. I should fool with it more and try to get the deviation down, but for the steel matches I usually shoot with the tactical rifle (field positions, time constraints, etc., it wouldn't matter. I was able to achieve 3,050, but velocity deviation went up and I was a little concerned about ambient temperature causing me problems, so it made sense to keep it down around 2,950-2,975.

When I fire up the F-class rifle, on standby until I toast the other one so I don't handload for two rifles of the same caliber at once, I'll really fine tune that load because even a little velocity deviation can cost points on the longer ranges. The X ring is 5", so deviation that will cause more than about 2-1/2" of impact variation at 1k will drop you out of the X.

For a hunting rifle, I would be more concerned with terminal performance of the bullet and less about absolute precision or velocity deviation.

Screwtop.243 · Aug 16, 2018

E.Shell said:
Good shooting and nice rifle!

I have two 6.5-284s, a GAP tactical rifle (on its second barrel) and the other is an Obermeyer F-Class gun. Great cartridge, albeit a little hard on barrels compared to the more sedate 6.5 CM, 6.5 Lapua and .260. I use H4831SC and either Lapua 139s or Sierra 142s in mine and ended up with 53.0 for 2,975 with an SD of about 10. I should fool with it more and try to get the deviation down, but for the steel matches I usually shoot with the tactical rifle (field positions, time constraints, etc., it wouldn't matter. I was able to achieve 3,050, but velocity deviation went up and I was a little concerned about ambient temperature causing me problems, so it made sense to keep it down around 2,950-2,975.

When I fire up the F-class rifle, on standby until I toast the other one so I don't handload for two rifles of the same caliber at once, I'll really fine tune that load because even a little velocity deviation can cost points on the longer ranges. The X ring is 5", so deviation that will cause more than about 2-1/2" of impact variation at 1k will drop you out of the X.

For a hunting rifle, I would be more concerned with terminal performance of the bullet and less about absolute precision or velocity deviation.

Thanks for the comments, Ed. I've really gotten bit by the 6.5 bug and also have a 6.5 Lapua, which is alot of fun. I won't shoot the Norma as much for the reasons you mentioned but in a hunting application I guess I can be a little less worried about barrel wear. Once I get this load totally validated I'll "set it and forget it"and don't expect to put more that 20 or 30 rounds a year through the Norma. I can only shoot at 300 at the range I go to but on my crop damage farm, I can get out to 600+, so I hope I can be confident enough to seal the deal with my 52.3 grain load and my Strelok program. A little more practice is in order but I want to wait till this hot weather breaks first.

Best,

ST.243

Augie · Aug 18, 2018

Really nice rifle and good shooting, how long did it take to get it from Savages Custom Shop, I picked up a rifle from Remingtons Custom Shop and will eventually order one from Savage or give ER Shaw a try.

Screwtop.243 · Aug 19, 2018

Augie said:
Really nice rifle and good shooting, how long did it take to get it from Savages Custom Shop, I picked up a rifle from Remingtons Custom Shop and will eventually order one from Savage or give ER Shaw a try.

It's about 8 to 10 weeks, Augie. Process is easy: Call the Savage custom shop and tell them what you want to do. They will price it out for you, create a file and put you in their system. Then go to your FFL have them call the custom shop, reference your file and place the order. The rifle I got came in a bit over $1300. Much more cost effective than some of the other options out there but admittedly, not as sexy. Just a heads up if you do want one - the Accutrigger out of the box would not adjust below 3.5 lbs., like the earlier ones. I think their layers got after them about this. Easy fix with a 7 dollar aftermarket spring purchased on line.

6.5-284 Range Report

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