.284 on a short action?

[VAspeedgoat]

I've done a fair amount of research and am about 95% sure I'm going to pull the trigger on a rebarrel job. I am planning on doing a box extension so that I can get COAL to 2.95 or a bit better. I have also read that there can be feeding issues but am assuming the same gunsmith can fix that as well.

I'm hoping there are some guys on here with experience with this set up to give me some real world advice. I am not going for a long range gun so 140/150 grain bullets will be what I'm staying with so I don't think I will need the long action to accommodate heavy vld style bulet's.

Any thoughts or experiences with this set up?

 

[brockel]

Not a 284 but I’ve built a 25-284 on a short action. Never had any feeding problems. Run the wsm wyatts mag box and you should be fine

 

[HandgunHunter]

I do it all the time in SA single shots.
The 284 really shines with 160 grain and above bullets. I think you would have issues in most of the repeaters.
I know Jim Borden offered his custom actions with a longer mag cut and I’m sure others do.

 

[MTTW]

I had one that was built on a 600 Rem. It worked and fed fine with 140 gr bullets. Heavy bullets ate up some powder capacity.

 

[std7mag]

While the COAL should be ok, the issue you may run into is ejecting a loaded round.

 

[Gunner46]

Not tryin' to piss on anyone's Cherio's.....but, Why go through all the bother? From 'Yotes to Moose none will die any faster if you just use a 7/08. The money savings can be used to import some 'Lope to VA !!

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Good hearing from you!

Yes, you are 150% right. There is no logical reason to do that and you will absolutely die when I tell you it is in fact currently a 7-08.

But........I just really want a .284. Also I am hoping to just reame it out rather than re barrel.

So I have ignored all reason and logic which is unusual because I'm also a cheap skate and this is gonna cost me unnecessary cash.

 

[std7mag]

I fully understand.
Bought a perfectly good Whitworth Mark X in 270 Win and promptly ordered another barrel for it in 284 Win.
While the rifle is heavier than i like for hunting (10 lbs scoped) it's accurate out to 600 yards.
By accurate i mean minute of coyote accurate.

Now i'm waiting on a barrel to show up that i bought from another forum. E.R. Shaw 24" Savage small shank in 257 Roberts. To be reamed to 257 Roberts AI.
And i bought a new Savage 111 in 270 Win for the donor action.
Barrel & stock to be sold off, unshot as soon as i get them apart.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

I fully understand.
Bought a perfectly good Whitworth Mark X in 270 Win and promptly ordered another barrel for it in 284 Win.
While the rifle is heavier than i like for hunting (10 lbs scoped) it's accurate out to 600 yards.
By accurate i mean minute of coyote accurate.

Now i'm waiting on a barrel to show up that i bought from another forum. E.R. Shaw 24" Savage small shank in 257 Roberts. To be reamed to 257 Roberts AI.
And i bought a new Savage 111 in 270 Win for the donor action.
Barrel & stock to be sold off, unshot as soon as i get them apart.

The Mauser case is by far the best to do an improved version in my opinion. That 257ai should be screaming!!

If I was a long range guy I would've done a long action version of this 284 so I could run those super long bullets. But if I get this and can get moa accuracy or better with 140-150 grain bullets I'm completely satisfied. Though bc gunworks has me wondering about 160s. A lot of good reload data out there but not sure if I will have the length necessary.

 

[antelopedundee]

Not a 284 but I’ve built a 25-284 on a short action. Never had any feeding problems. Run the wsm wyatts mag box and you should be fine

I have a .25-.284 on a short action as well. For a long time I had a competition type follower in it. I set it up to use lighter bullets so COAL was not an issue.

 

[antelopedundee]

I'm a portsider, but iffn I was gonna do a .284 I'd find me an action/rifle that was originally chambered for it.

 

[HandgunHunter]

The Mauser case is by far the best to do an improved version in my opinion. That 257ai should be screaming!!

If I was a long range guy I would've done a long action version of this 284 so I could run those super long bullets. But if I get this and can get moa accuracy or better with 140-150 grain bullets I'm completely satisfied. Though bc gunworks has me wondering about 160s. A lot of good reload data out there but not sure if I will have the length necessary.

I’d just find a mid length or a long action and do the 284 as intended.

it will do the long range and be a stomper at normal hunting ranges with the 160 class bullets.

I also would not waste my time with a rechamber....don’t let a 200-300 barrel stand in your way of perfection.

 

[ImBillT]

What will fit in the magazine should be no mystery. A SAAMI throat for a .284Win is .016”. Making the boltface to end of throat/beginning of lead dimension 2.196”. Your magazine is 2.95” that means the nose of the bullet can be a maximum of .754” long if you’re touching the ogive to the lands. With a .016” throat, .010” longer chamber than maximum case, and .020” shorter minimum case(all clearly shown in the SAAMI chamber and cartridge drawings) that leaves a maximum nose length of .800”. I did not account for lead angle, so those lengths aren’t perfect, they’ll come out a little shorter, but you should look up the SAAMI specs and do the work yourself anyway to double check.

Looking at a Berger quick reference chart, the only two hunting bullets you can’t fit in the magazine are the 175gr Elite Hunter and the 195gr Elite Hunter. You’re within .001” on the 175gr, so you could easily just trim your brass to somewhere around 2.145”-2.149”. To reach the lands you’re limited to using the 140 VLD, 150 Classic Hunter or 168 Classic Hunter.

I don’t shoot other brands very often, so I don’t know they publish things like nose length, base to ogive, bearing surface, OAL etc. but you can usually get that info with an email to tech support. I wouldn’t assume that all other brands are shorter. You’d be surprised how much length a polymer tip adds to a bullet.

Your primary issue is going to be extracting a loaded round. Measure the length of your port. You’ll probably have to remove the bolt to remove a loaded round with almost any bullet.

Don’t fear a rechamber, but the barrel needs to be set back a little. A 7-08 won’t erode a ton of throat, and the 284Win is longer, but setting back .5”-1” would give you some piece of mind.

I get my machine work free of charge, and although I almost always get excellent results from rechambering a barrel, if it cost me $200-$300 to rechamber, I would be more likely to consider having that work done on a Krieger blank instead of used factory barrel. Most custom brands make excellent barrels, but I do have a strong preference for Krieger when I can afford to pay full price. As someone who is usually buying a used custom, or a blank from someone else’s abandoned project, I frequently just buy whatever custom brand I get a good deal on, and have even had good luck with rechambering Remington take-offs. The number one thing to be concerned with on factory barrels is fouling. If the bore doesn’t look very smooth, it’s not worth your trouble. A lot of Remingtons are rough or rippled, and although they’ll usually shoot well after being rechambered, it will only last a handful of shots between cleanings before it fouls too much and goes to crap.

 

[std7mag]

My experience with the SAAMI reamed chambers are that the throat is quite long.
160gr Sierra HPBT GameKing seated out to the lands is barely held by the neck.

Concentricity is the name of the game.

 

[antelopedundee]

Why do many folks who build 6.5/284s use a long action?

 

[p_ham]

Why do many folks who build 6.5/284s use a long action?

The heavier 6.5 bullets with the best BC are loooong.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Why do many folks who build 6.5/284s use a long action?

During my research they do the same for the .284 as well. And a great argument can be made for it too. In my opinion it's not much different than what Hornady did with the creedmore. Shorten the case to allow for longer bullets. With the .284 family they just put in a long action to accomplish the same thing.

I just happen to have a short action and am only want a hunting rifle.

 

[antelopedundee]

During my research they do the same for the .284 as well. And a great argument can be made for it too. In my opinion it's not much different than what Hornady did with the creedmore. Shorten the case to allow for longer bullets. With the .284 family they just put in a long action to accomplish the same thing.

I just happen to have a short action and am only want a hunting rifle.

If the rifle not being a repeater doesn't other you then by all means proceed!

 

[VAspeedgoat]

If the rifle not being a repeater doesn't other you then by all means proceed!

Curious what you mean by that?

I am assuming you mean COAL in a short action. The mag extension will be more than enough but ejection of a loaded cartridge appears to be the hurdle. It may be I have to shorten some but initial measurements looks like it should be able to eject a loaded cartridge to 2.9" not sure if I'll be able to get longer than that. Worst case is staying at 2.8. I don't really want to deal with removing the bolt.

The smith doing the job says 2.9 works. I guess we'll see. I may load some dummy cartridges to make sure.

 

[MTTW]

I was thinking about this, thinking what is the big deal, so I measured the port in the 600 and 700 action. The 600 action which is considerably shorter than the 700 short action actually has a cartridge port .200 in. longer than the 700 short action. My experience on the 600 probably isn't relevant. Like you say, best to load up some dummy rounds and see for yourself what you have.