6x284 reloading

[Gthor1992]

I recently inherited a 6x284 that my grandad built back in the ‘80s. I know almost nothing about this rifle other than it’s never been fired and it’s built on a Mauser action. I measured my twist rate earlier today to be 1:13.

I would like this to be a deer rifle that bridges the gap between my .223 and .308, but with that slow of a twist rate, is that goal realistic or am I looking at another super hot varmint gun? What bullet weights would y’all recommend for this caliber/twist rate?

Thanks in advance.

 

[FatBoy]

That doesn’t bridge the gap, your talking sending a 60gr bullet at 3800 fps or more. 6x284s are fucking laser beams for the 600-700 rounds of accurate barrel life you’re likely to see.

If it’s that old the only brass available was Winchester and it not only has to be necked down but I would GUESS neck turned just to get ammo to load. Get a chamber casting and measure it before doing anything.

Your Grandpa sounds like he was awesome.

 

[Gthor1992]

So you think 60gr is about as heavy as I can expect to shoot out of it? I won’t lose any sleep if that’s the case, but I was hoping to get a little heavier.

And good to know. I’ve reloaded for a few different calibers, but this’ll be the first wildcat round I’ve messed with. You know of any good recipes for it?

Yessir. He was a good old guy. Wish I’d have asked him more about this rifle while he was around. He was really more of a shotgun fan so that was the majority of our gun conversations.

 

[Mike Casselton]

75s shouldn't be an issue and you might even be able to pull off 80gr.
I shoot a pair of 14t BRs and they have zero problems with 75s.

Yours will be much faster and with it being 13t (might also be 13.5t) it will stabilize them better due to the higher velocity you can achieve.

 

[Gthor1992]

75s shouldn't be an issue and you might even be able to pull off 80gr.
I shoot a pair of 14t BRs and they have zero problems with 75s.

Yours will be much faster and with it being 13t (might also be 13.5t) it will stabilize them better due to the higher velocity you can achieve.

Good to know. What powder are you loading in yours?

 

[Mike Casselton]

I don't have a 6-284.
I do however shoot the 6-BR and 6-250.
The 6-250 (14t) has zero issues with 80gr projectiles.

With the slow twists, I still prefer 65-75gr, leaning towards the 65 V-Max for most shooting.

I've shot deer and hogs with 65 V-Max and 65-66gr Benchrest bullets.
They all grenade inside when launched at 3450, so your 6-284 would probably open up even quicker.

 

[QRE23]

My 6-284 is a no turn chamber and has a 12tw Lilja barrel. I shoot 75gr Vmax using necked down Lapua 6.5-284 brass with H4350. My load is fairly moderate and shoots 3650. There's a lot of powders that'll work well for the 75gr and under bullets weights, RL26/25/22/23/16/17, 4350, 4831, N565/560/555, just to name a few. With the poor availability of different powders these days, which powder you choose will be more about what you can get your hands on at all than it will be about which powder is best.

 

[Gthor1992]

I don't have a 6-284.
I do however shoot the 6-BR and 6-250.
The 6-250 (14t) has zero issues with 80gr projectiles.

With the slow twists, I still prefer 65-75gr, leaning towards the 65 V-Max for most shooting.

I've shot deer and hogs with 65 V-Max and 65-66gr Benchrest bullets.
They all grenade inside when launched at 3450, so your 6-284 would probably open up even quicker.

Good deal. I’ll start playing with it this week then and see what it likes. Just wanted to get on here and at least get some direction before I start blowing money on bullets that y’all already know won’t work. Thanks for the info.

 

[Gthor1992]

My 6-284 is a no turn chamber and has a 12tw Lilja barrel. I shoot 75gr Vmax using necked down Lapua 6.5-284 brass with H4350. My load is fairly moderate and shoots 3650. There's a lot of powders that'll work well for the 75gr and under bullets weights, RL26/25/22/23/16/17, 4350, 4831, N565/560/555, just to name a few. With the poor availability of different powders these days, which powder you choose will be more about what you can get your hands on at all than it will be about which powder is best.

Thanks for the info. I’ve got a few powders I can play with but if you think it’ll shoot well with several different types, I may see what I can get a bunch of and make it work.