6mm-284 Sako Forester

[PSDBowhunter]

My wife's grandmother has a Sako Forester in 6mm-284. It's a beautiful rifle. She always used it for deer hunting, but hasn't used it in several years. My wife's grandfather always told me it was a wildcat cartridge that he had to get reloads for. I had a few questions I was hoping someone on here could help me with.

1. Did Sako offer the 6mm-284 cartridge from the factory? From what I've found it looks like they didn't.
2. Are there any factory loads for 6mm-284? It looks like it is reload only from what I've found. I don't reload, but wouldn't mind getting into it.
3. Would it be possible to change this to a different, more common cartridge like .243 or 6mm creedmore?

 

[Bluumoon]

6-284 checks a whole lotta boxes in my book, except being popular. If you can reload for it I’d leave as is. Other wise yes you can easily ruin it, I mean rebarrel it.

 

[PSDBowhunter]

6-284 checks a whole lotta boxes in my book, except being popular. If you can reload for it I’d leave as is. Other wise yes you can easily ruin it, I mean rebarrel it.

Haha! Maybe this will be the nudge I need to get into reloading...

I'd really like to get a 6mm.

 

[Bluumoon]

Basically a 6PRC, but holds more in the magazine. Who knows how that thing is chambered though, someone around here could figure it out for you.

 

[wind gypsy]

1. Did Sako offer the 6mm-284 cartridge from the factory? From what I've found it looks like they didn't.

REALLY doubt it

2. Are there any factory loads for 6mm-284?

No. it's not a SAAMI or CIP cartridge. I'm sure a boutique custom loading shop could do it for you at a hefty price

3. Would it be possible to change this to a different, more common cartridge like .243 or 6mm creedmore?

With a whole new barrel absolutely. To rechamber the existing barrel in creed or 243 you'd have to cut at least 1.77" off the breech end of the barrel and many factory sporter barrel contours wont support that.

 

[TaperPin]

You can always get ammo through a custom reloader, but it would be expensive. If you are interested in reloading it’s the perfect time to start. Neat cartridge.

 

[6mm Remington]

Friends helping friends! Currently out of stock at Midsouth, but they are out there.

 

[6mm Remington]

Looks like Midway USA expects to have Redding 6mm-284 Winchester dies in stock on 5/15/25.

Redding Deluxe 6mm-284 Winchester Full Length Sizing, Bullet Seating,

Redding 3-Die Sets are available for rifle and pistol cartridges. The pistol sets contain a full length sizing die, expander die, and bullet seating...

www.midwayusa.com

Graf & Sons appears to have some in stock.

6mm/284 Winchester - Bushing Dies & Sets - Rifle Dies - Metallic Reloading - Graf & Sons

www.grafs.com

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Cool cartridge! Haven't seen one of those in YEARS.

Bench rest and varmint shooters loved it back in the day. If I remember correctly they were shooting 80-90 grain bullets well over 3,500 FPS.

I don't recall any factory ammo for it, maybe Winchester made something at some point?

 

[PSDBowhunter]

Admittedly, I don't know much about reloading or rechambering. I would definitely be interested in trying the reloading. What would I need to figure out to see if I could load some of the new Hornady 108 or 109 gr bullets? I'm assuming I would need to make sure there is enough room for the bigger bullets to fit without pushing down further into the casing.

If this wasn't a factory option, I wonder what it was originally? I'm guessing .244/6mm Remington?

 

[PSDBowhunter]

I'd also need to know the twist of the barrel to see if it would work with heavier bullets.

 

[rbaney]

If it was a rechambered factory the barrel would have the old information on it. I suspect it is a custom barrel and twist is probably what was common at the time 1:10 maybe 1:9. And you are right you would need to know those extra things to take advantage of the longer bullets. Best of luck.

 

[SDHNTR]

Sounds like a family heirloom. If the barrel twist isn’t marked on the barrel somewhere (may need to take the stock off) just use a ball bearing handled cleaning rod, mark TDC, push it thru the rifling and measure how far you have to push it to return to TDC. Theres your twist.

If it won’t do what you want it to do, figure on $350-400 for a new barrel blank, and another $350-500 for fitting and chambering.