6.5-284 Norma chamber options

[Trogon]

Dies came today. Resized a piece of brass. Neck measures 0.2955". Of my two reamer options, the PTG "match" reamer gives me and extra two thousandths (0.2975) at the neck, so that's what I will need to order. I dont have any 6.5 bullets so Im not sure how much the neck will stretch after a bullet is seated. I suspect I will need to neck turn for that reamer to have some working room.

 

[Go West Old Man]

Agreed, but you better grab a bunch now since lapua just announced halting brass production in that chambering.

Done. Yes, this ^. Still available now from various online retailers, but give it a few months and I imagine it’ll all get gone.

 

[wind gypsy]

Dies came today. Resized a piece of brass. Neck measures 0.2955". Of my two reamer options, the PTG "match" reamer gives me and extra two thousandths (0.2975) at the neck, so that's what I will need to order. I dont have any 6.5 bullets so Im not sure how much the neck will stretch after a bullet is seated. I suspect I will need to neck turn for that reamer to have some working room.

Assume that’s the outside diameter after an expander button or mandrel has been through the mouth? If so I think you’d probably be too tight with a .2975 neck once a bullet is stuffed in there unless you neck turn.

If I were you I’d jump on lapua head stamped brass while it’s still available and sell the .284 Peterson. A couple hundred pieces might get you through the life of the barrel.

 

[Trogon]

I did a bit more research on neck turning last night, so I’m hearing the good sense in the comments above to avoid this.

I’m back on the fence about using what I already have and running straight 284. But the 156 Berger is the temptation to start over with new brass. What would you guys do?

 

[shtrbc]

I am by no means an expert but have been running this caliber in multiple rifles over a 25 year period. First gun I had built was long before the SAAMI chambering came out so there was a wide variety of reamers being used. That being said, I ended up with a "tight neck" chamber that required every piece of brass to be neck turned. Ok, guess I now need to learn how to neck turn. At the time, old Winchester Western head stamped brass was the go to brass for bench rest shooters. I rounded up a couple hundred of these cases and went to town. A learning experience, but a complete PIA. I was younger then, so I put up with it. Other issue with that chamber was the fact that the throat was also short so was never able to seat the bullets out further to utilize case capacity.

Next rifle corrected the throat issue but stayed with the same neck dimension based on the fact that I was already used to dealing with the brass. Also in the mean time, scrounged some of the first
Norma factory brass I had come across. Required very little prep and primer pockets stayed tight for a couple more firings than the old Winchester brass.

Fast forward to a couple years ago. I came across a smoking deal on a new factory rifle chambered in 6.5-.284 Norma. SAAMI chamber. I have to say between the neck and throat changes from earlier rifles, seemed to be a much easier set up to deal with. The other major benefit on new rifle was the OAL of the magazine which allowed bullets to be seated as far out as you wanted. BONUS! Extra case capacity gained that I never had prior. Depending on the powder, I gained between 80-200 fps. Also during this period I came across 2 boxes of new Lapua brass. Nice stuff. Other than a light chamfer on the neck ID, I did nothing else to the cases. The runout on the neck ID was .002" or less on all 200 cases. The neck thickness didn't vary more than a couple tenths. And...the primer pockets were super tight and have remained so. I loaded 10 cases over a dozen times and have never had a primer pocket issue with this brass. I am sold.

So for the long dissertation but my point is, been there, done that. I would vote for a SAAMI chambered rifle and either Lapua or Peterson brass as mentioned by others. I am by no means saying other combinations don't work. But my point is, the SAMMI chamber and high quality brass works and works very well, right out of the gate with no extra work. If we were specifically talking bench rest or some type of competitive shooting, you may want to make brass fit a chamber with tighter dimensions.

Enjoy the new rifle.

 

[Trogon]

I am by no means an expert but have been running this caliber in multiple rifles over a 25 year period. First gun I had built was long before the SAAMI chambering came out so there was a wide variety of reamers being used. That being said, I ended up with a "tight neck" chamber that required every piece of brass to be neck turned. Ok, guess I now need to learn how to neck turn. At the time, old Winchester Western head stamped brass was the go to brass for bench rest shooters. I rounded up a couple hundred of these cases and went to town. A learning experience, but a complete PIA. I was younger then, so I put up with it. Other issue with that chamber was the fact that the throat was also short so was never able to seat the bullets out further to utilize case capacity.

Next rifle corrected the throat issue but stayed with the same neck dimension based on the fact that I was already used to dealing with the brass. Also in the mean time, scrounged some of the first
Norma factory brass I had come across. Required very little prep and primer pockets stayed tight for a couple more firings than the old Winchester brass.

Fast forward to a couple years ago. I came across a smoking deal on a new factory rifle chambered in 6.5-.284 Norma. SAAMI chamber. I have to say between the neck and throat changes from earlier rifles, seemed to be a much easier set up to deal with. The other major benefit on new rifle was the OAL of the magazine which allowed bullets to be seated as far out as you wanted. BONUS! Extra case capacity gained that I never had prior. Depending on the powder, I gained between 80-200 fps. Also during this period I came across 2 boxes of new Lapua brass. Nice stuff. Other than a light chamfer on the neck ID, I did nothing else to the cases. The runout on the neck ID was .002" or less on all 200 cases. The neck thickness didn't vary more than a couple tenths. And...the primer pockets were super tight and have remained so. I loaded 10 cases over a dozen times and have never had a primer pocket issue with this brass. I am sold.

So for the long dissertation but my point is, been there, done that. I would vote for a SAAMI chambered rifle and either Lapua or Peterson brass as mentioned by others. I am by no means saying other combinations don't work. But my point is, the SAMMI chamber and high quality brass works and works very well, right out of the gate with no extra work. If we were specifically talking bench rest or some type of competitive shooting, you may want to make brass fit a chamber with tighter dimensions.

Enjoy the new rifle.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, thats very helpful (and encouraging). Im going to pick up either Lapua or petersen 6.5-284 headstamped brass.

One thing that is still tripping me up is which reamer to use. The SAAMI vs MATCH reamers.... The "SAAMI" reamer appears to have both a tighter neck (0.2972") and a very long freebore (0.2994"). The MATCH reamer has a slightly larger neck dimension (0.2975") and a shorter throat (0.188"). Up to this point, previous posters have all steered me towards the MATCH reamer. I would like to run the berger 156, if I can ever find any in stock. Using a tikka LA mag, so max mag COAL is ~3.37, should be plenty of room to set that bullet at the optimum length. Would you still recommend the SAAMI reamer in this case?

 

[shtrbc]

You are only talking .0003" difference in diameter, .00015" in radius between those 2 dimensions. Using a caliper of any kind, you will have more variance between multiple measurements than .0003" I believe either neck dimension would work fine without neck turning brass. I would opt for the SAMMI with the longer freebore for sure, as long as you have enough room in the magazine for the long cartridge. Forgive me, I have no idea what a Tikka magazine looks like. You will be able to run the 156's, no problem.

Verify the clearance between the neck area of the brass and chamber by seating a bullet in a case and measuring the neck OD. I personally wouldn't run less than .002" clearance.

 

[wyosam]

Better quality, lasts longer, more consistent from case to case, and handles pressure better.

I’ve seen it said by a few people that they won’t consider a cartridge if they can’t use either Lapua or ADG brass.

Lapua is nice brass, but he’s got Peterson. He’s not giving up a thing in quality. Plus if he needs more, he can just buy the 6.5-284 brass from Peterson and not worry about the fact Lapua is no longer supporting that cartridge.


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[Trogon]

Took the good advice of multiple folks here to avoid neck turning and buy the 6.5 brass. 284 win stuff up for sale in classifieds if there are any 7mm shooters here.

 

[Trogon]

Lapua is nice brass, but he’s got Peterson. He’s not giving up a thing in quality. Plus if he needs more, he can just buy the 6.5-284 brass from Peterson and not worry about the fact Lapua is no longer supporting that cartridge.


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I have lapua and Peterson brass, I like them both. The Peterson is really good and I’ll keep using it for this project. The fact that lapua is pausing mfg of 6.5-284 makes that decision easier.

 

[khuber84]

Run the match. Lapua brass needed neck turned in saami chamber Christensen 65x284 as the necks were tight. 156s are 40k off lands and well above neck shoulder junction. But shoot great at 2950 with rl26. The freebore is way too long for anything but 156s or the heaviest eld bullets with their long bearing surface.

 

[Go West Old Man]

Thanks for sharing your experiences, thats very helpful (and encouraging). Im going to pick up either Lapua or petersen 6.5-284 headstamped brass.

Unfortunately you might now be challenged to find the Lapua. In an earlier post I guessed it’d be scarce to find sometime within a few months, but just within less than a week receiving a box from Natchez that I purchased it’s no longer available.

 

[Flyjunky]

Unfortunately you might now be challenged to find the Lapua. In an earlier post I guessed it’d be scarce to find sometime within a few months, but just within less than a week receiving a box from Natchez that I purchased it’s no longer available.

There’s quite a few places that still have them in stock. I ordered another 200 and as of yesterday I found them available at 5 well known retailers and I’m sure there are more but I just stopped looking.

 

[wind gypsy]

Saw 6.5x284 brass in scheels in MN this past weekend.

 

[sndmn11]

@wildcat33 what did you pick?

I was going to order a 6.5 creed barrel for my son's vanguard, but since I am using 3-5x fired Hornady brass I then thought I'd buy some fancy stuff.

...so then I figured if I'm buying brass and a barrel, this looked cool.

To confirm, the match reamer has the shorter throat/freebore? I'd plan to use 85hammers so the shorter the better.

 

[Ucsdryder]

@wildcat33 what did you pick?

I was going to order a 6.5 creed barrel for my son's vanguard, but since I am using 3-5x fired Hornady brass I then thought I'd buy some fancy stuff.

...so then I figured if I'm buying brass and a barrel, this looked cool.

To confirm, the match reamer has the shorter throat/freebore? I'd plan to use 85hammers so the shorter the better.

What about a 6cm? Might be the ultimate kids guns and if you’re set on shooting monos it should send them down range at a ridiculous speed. Even though I think the 108 eldm would be great deer and antelope medicine.

 

[sndmn11]

What about a 6cm? Might be the ultimate kids guns and if you’re set on shooting monos it should send them down range at a ridiculous speed. Even though I think the 108 eldm would be great deer and antelope medicine.

I have 700ish of those 85gr hammers, and another several hundred 6.5 bullets in using 500 Berger 140vld hunt.

I think if I did a barrel nut, I could use that barrel in my 30-06, Row's 6.5creed, and Cindy's 7-08 since they are all vanguards.

There's some long barrel load data from a 6.5-06 for that 85 bullet at 4kfps, I'd imagine 3700 might be attainable from a shorter barrel since they are the same capacity.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I have 700ish of those 85gr hammers, and another several hundred 6.5 bullets in using 500 Berger 140vld hunt.

I think if I did a barrel nut, I could use that barrel in my 30-06, Row's 6.5creed, and Cindy's 7-08 since they are all vanguards.

There's some long barrel load data from a 6.5-06 for that 85 bullet at 4kfps, I'd imagine 3700 might be attainable from a shorter barrel since they are the same capacity.

My 11 year old can shoot her 6.5cm a couple times before she’s had enough. Something to think about. I bet you could sell those bullets for close to what you have in them. Or trade them.

 

[sndmn11]

My 11 year old can shoot my 6.5cm a couple times before she’s had enough. Something to think about. I bet you could sell those bullets for close to what you have in them. Or trade them.

I like those hammers! I'd like to get her behind this load to see if there's any difference in perceived recoil compared to your 140+ bullet. I think I feel a noticeable difference when shooting the berger vs the hammer even though they are both near max.

My other option is to just get a creed barrel and put it away until the current barrel is gone.

 

[Trogon]

@wildcat33 what did you pick?

I was going to order a 6.5 creed barrel for my son's vanguard, but since I am using 3-5x fired Hornady brass I then thought I'd buy some fancy stuff.

...so then I figured if I'm buying brass and a barrel, this looked cool.

To confirm, the match reamer has the shorter throat/freebore? I'd plan to use 85hammers so the shorter the better.

I just ordered a preferred barrels prefit. 750 straight taper, 24”. 1:7 tw. Ended up going with the “match” reamer. Now need to find some 156 Bergers….