Any .284 Winchester shooters?
- Thread starter Matt234
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Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
Yes a Winchester 100 semi auto (banned in UK I know) but still legal here in Germany it is very accurate. But I have somehow lost the magazine and getting another one is a PITA out of the USA embargo heinies.
jon2
Well-Known Member
Yes I’ve got one on a Stiller action in a McM Sako 75 style stock and a Sassen Rem sporter profile barrel finished at 24”.
It’s my go to stalking rifle and I specd it so that it is as light weight as possible. I’ve got a Schmidt 3-12 x50 PH in Talley lightweights and am using a CMM4 inorder to keep the weight to a minimum.
It’s a good cartridge but no better than a .280 Rem or 7 x 64 which if I had my time again I think I would go for as it gives you an extra round in the mag.
It’s my go to stalking rifle and I specd it so that it is as light weight as possible. I’ve got a Schmidt 3-12 x50 PH in Talley lightweights and am using a CMM4 inorder to keep the weight to a minimum.
It’s a good cartridge but no better than a .280 Rem or 7 x 64 which if I had my time again I think I would go for as it gives you an extra round in the mag.
Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
I picked mine up for 400 euros as it is seen here in Germany as an obsolete cartridge, seems to be getting reborn worldwide though but it has the performance of a .270 win and that was my reason to buy it just as a driven boar tool.
Back in the day I begged my father to buy a 284 Model 100 b3ecause of the performance. Instead he bought the 308 and used it happily all hie life. I have shot several but the most contact I've had with the 284 Winchester cartridge has been reforming the brass to 7.5x55 Swiss back when it was unavailable in the US. A simple neck up and shoot.~Muir
alberta boy
Well-Known Member
One I've never owned . I've shot exactly two , a Winchester 88 and a Savage 99C . As jon2 says , a good round , but basically the same as the 280 or 7x64 . When you think about it , it could qualify as one of the original short mags . The owner of the above mentioned Savage 99 has had his for about 30 years ands has taken a lot of game with it . He even managed to find a spare mag for it somewhere . For use in short actions , a really good concept .
AB
AB
I’m follow mag this as I have a slot for one....
currently on a Russel Gall custom left handed BAT action .25-06 but I have hankering for the 7mm and as said it’s undergoing a fashion comeback .
I’m more interested in it as a sporting rifle with odd plinking rather than a heavy target range rifle.
I’d like to fire one see how it feels... if my .25-06 gets shot out I may rebarrel in this .
I did start a thread asking if anyone in my area or close had a sporting variant I could have a shot of to try but little response.... I’m probably wrong but think most .284 are more range tools than sporting / stalking rifles at moment
Paul
currently on a Russel Gall custom left handed BAT action .25-06 but I have hankering for the 7mm and as said it’s undergoing a fashion comeback .
I’m more interested in it as a sporting rifle with odd plinking rather than a heavy target range rifle.
I’d like to fire one see how it feels... if my .25-06 gets shot out I may rebarrel in this .
I did start a thread asking if anyone in my area or close had a sporting variant I could have a shot of to try but little response.... I’m probably wrong but think most .284 are more range tools than sporting / stalking rifles at moment
Paul
The original 284 (introduced by Winchester in 1963) was intended to give 30-06 performance with a 150gn bullet in rifles with short actions, specifically pump and lever types. (It wasn't chambered in Winchester's model 70 on its launch.) As such it was rather limited by its COAL of 2.800" which sees most bullets that weigh above 140/150gn seated too deeply in the case. To get the case capacity / charges for the needed performance, Winchester made it a rebated rim design (0.473" as per the 308/30-06 etc to fit standard rifle bolts, but with a fatter body and - very unusually in '63 - 35-degree case shoulders which must have made it an expensive case to manufacture back then.
In 1963, it was a complete and utter commercial flop, especially as Winchester was caught flat-footed by Remington who'd introduced the 7mm Rem Magnum the previous year giving higher performance and much better suited to 160-175gn bullets. It seems that US elk etc hunters who wanted good 7mm performance were prepared to live with long-action bolt guns after all. Wildcatters loved the 284 case though and there was a continuous demand for its brass which Winchester made on an occasional basis for many years, probably still do, even though factory ammunition was dropped many years ago. AFAIK, nobody else ever produced any 284 ammo. After a very few years, Winchester dropped its two 284 Win rifles too.
Around the end of the last century, two developments moved the 284 on and stopped its slow but inevitable demise - the 6.5-284 Winchester wildcat became an increasingly popular long-range hunting and match cartridge in custom built rifles in the USA. Norma picked this up and introduced the 6.5-284 Norma cartridge in 1999 in a long action (over 3-inch COAL form). Around the same time, US magazines started to write about custom long-range 284 Win rifles whose chambers had been throated to allow sensible seating of heavy bullets. To differentiate such from the factory version, it was often unofficially renamed the 284 LT, or 284 Win LT (long throat). Allied to new slower burning powders, it proved to be an excellent performer.
Finally, match shooters especially in F-Class picked it up using (mostly) Lapua 6.5-284 Norma brass necked up, also in some slightly 'improved' versions such as the 7mm Shehane. It is an excellent 1,000 yard match cartridge in widespread use in the UK, USA, and British Commonwealth countries.
So, as a UK deer cartridge, it is a candidate for a custom rifle / rebarrelling job in any short-action rifle with a standard 0.473" bolt face if the user is willing to be restricted to 2.8 overall lengths and 140-150gn bullets (less for all-copper types), or in a standard long action for longer COALs and heavier bullets. In short-action form, it'll substantially outperform the 7mm-08 Remington, and should be a nice cartridge to shoot. As others have said though, in a long-action rifle it doesn't offer any advantage over 280 Rem and 7X64mm, in fact will have a bit less performance.
If anybody is contemplating a 284 custom job, one point to watch is that whilst most gunsmiths who build rifles have 284 chamber reamers, they are more often than not tight-neck jobs designed for match rifles and therefore need the case-necks turning down. They often have long freebore front-ends too that will cut an over-long throat for anybody wanting to use the cartridge in a short action.
The 284 is a fine cartridge and whilst Winchester brass is rarely seen, Norma or Lapua 6.5-284 Norma brass is widely available and very strong / good quality and easily enough expanded by 20 thou' to turn it into 284. Dies are readily available too.
In 1963, it was a complete and utter commercial flop, especially as Winchester was caught flat-footed by Remington who'd introduced the 7mm Rem Magnum the previous year giving higher performance and much better suited to 160-175gn bullets. It seems that US elk etc hunters who wanted good 7mm performance were prepared to live with long-action bolt guns after all. Wildcatters loved the 284 case though and there was a continuous demand for its brass which Winchester made on an occasional basis for many years, probably still do, even though factory ammunition was dropped many years ago. AFAIK, nobody else ever produced any 284 ammo. After a very few years, Winchester dropped its two 284 Win rifles too.
Around the end of the last century, two developments moved the 284 on and stopped its slow but inevitable demise - the 6.5-284 Winchester wildcat became an increasingly popular long-range hunting and match cartridge in custom built rifles in the USA. Norma picked this up and introduced the 6.5-284 Norma cartridge in 1999 in a long action (over 3-inch COAL form). Around the same time, US magazines started to write about custom long-range 284 Win rifles whose chambers had been throated to allow sensible seating of heavy bullets. To differentiate such from the factory version, it was often unofficially renamed the 284 LT, or 284 Win LT (long throat). Allied to new slower burning powders, it proved to be an excellent performer.
Finally, match shooters especially in F-Class picked it up using (mostly) Lapua 6.5-284 Norma brass necked up, also in some slightly 'improved' versions such as the 7mm Shehane. It is an excellent 1,000 yard match cartridge in widespread use in the UK, USA, and British Commonwealth countries.
So, as a UK deer cartridge, it is a candidate for a custom rifle / rebarrelling job in any short-action rifle with a standard 0.473" bolt face if the user is willing to be restricted to 2.8 overall lengths and 140-150gn bullets (less for all-copper types), or in a standard long action for longer COALs and heavier bullets. In short-action form, it'll substantially outperform the 7mm-08 Remington, and should be a nice cartridge to shoot. As others have said though, in a long-action rifle it doesn't offer any advantage over 280 Rem and 7X64mm, in fact will have a bit less performance.
If anybody is contemplating a 284 custom job, one point to watch is that whilst most gunsmiths who build rifles have 284 chamber reamers, they are more often than not tight-neck jobs designed for match rifles and therefore need the case-necks turning down. They often have long freebore front-ends too that will cut an over-long throat for anybody wanting to use the cartridge in a short action.
The 284 is a fine cartridge and whilst Winchester brass is rarely seen, Norma or Lapua 6.5-284 Norma brass is widely available and very strong / good quality and easily enough expanded by 20 thou' to turn it into 284. Dies are readily available too.
I don't think you're wrong at all, at least not here. Very common on the ranges though.
I should add another caveat on rebarreling to the 284. I'm not sure how well the cartridge will feed from most rifles' magazines given that the rebated-rim form 284 has a considerably fatter body than 22-250, 308, .30-06 etc cartridges and a lot less taper making it even fatter than those designs just below the shoulder.
(Anybody who has rebarreled a 30-06 or similar to 6.5-284 would be able to answer this as they have the same case below the neck.)
(Anybody who has rebarreled a 30-06 or similar to 6.5-284 would be able to answer this as they have the same case below the neck.)
As someone who owns and hunts with 7x57, 7x57R, 7mm-08, .7x64, and .280 Rem, and loads 7mm RM for others, I think that if I were wanting .284 power in a short action, I would go 7mm SAUM on a Rem Model 7 action with 22 inch barrel, open sights, and light scope in QR rings.
Norma 284W brass is available but you will have to turn the necks down if your chamber has been made for the necked up 6.5-284 cases.
The 7mm SAUM may be a good choice for the new rifle buyer (albeit in the UK you'd likely struggle to find any such factory rifles on the shelf), but the 284 offers the existing 243, 308, 30-06, etc etc rifle owner the opportunity for a simple rebarrel plus magnum magazine follower (thank you jon2).
[The SAUMs and WSMs use a larger magnum cartridge size case-head, not the 'standard' 0.473" so a suitably dimensioned bolt is also needed.]
[The SAUMs and WSMs use a larger magnum cartridge size case-head, not the 'standard' 0.473" so a suitably dimensioned bolt is also needed.]
Absolutely right, Laurie: the .284 Win makes perfect sense as a rebarrel of a .308 Win family rifle.Since, in the UK, you would be loading your own ammo, might as well consider the 7 SAUM.The rifles are uncommon everywhere. The Model 7 I handled seemed to be a practical big game tool, especially for sheep, hats, elk, red deer. It fed very smoothly. A BLR in .284W would be sweet, too.
I have a 6.5-284 rem700 which was a 25-06 with a floor plate, it feeds without any problem but instead of 5 rounds it will only take 4
I also had a straight 284 and the plan was to make it a clone of the 6.5 as above. However the donner action was a rem 700 DM. I could NOT get this to feed from the rem DM's. It would feed from an AI mag, so I put it into a AI stock. The problem then was it increased the weight quite too much for my liking.
Both were LA so there was no seating depth issues.
Its really a candidate for getting the max out of a modified short action (Wyatt 3") or an intermediate (MRC 3.125") Montana Rifle Company SHORT ACTIONS
without a magnum bolt face. I've seen some negative feedback on Wyatt modifications
without a magnum bolt face. I've seen some negative feedback on Wyatt modifications
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