The advantage, if any, is that it can be used with a 'short' action. If you go to a long action, a 280 is probably the way to go. Back to the 284W; I always wanted one so I bought a 7-08 Rem 700, to rechamber to 284W. After shooting Light Mag Hornady 139s @ 2990fps, I decided not to go that route. The 7-08 is a great deer round. Stupid me, I ended up selling that gun and built a 280. A 284 is good with 150gn, or lighter bullets. If you need to use heavier bullets for larger game, I'd go with a 280. capt david