Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Nula chambering options

257 Weatherby

308 family brass would definitely be cheaper and easier to find than 284.

You didn't mention what you plan to hunt. I've killed about 75 big game animals with a 7-08, including hogs, whitetail, mule deer, antelope and black bear. Ranges were 3 steps (hog) to 500 yards (antelope). None of those were guided hunts - I did all the meat processing myself and I saw first hand what the wound entailed. At no point did I ever say, "Damn, I wish I'd brought a bigger gun." I've also hunted elk with a 7-08. They didn't cooperate for some reason, but I did so with total confidence.

I can't see how you'd be disappointed with a 7-08 (or the 260 or their AI cousins) but you have only yourself to please here. If you're really wanting a 6.5x284, by all means scratch that itch. The only real risk to a 7-08 (or 260) is you might like the new rifle's mild manners and efficiency so much that the .280 doesn't go out the door much.

The stubby 308 based cartridges just can't run with the big dogs.
Go big, go fast.

It'll certainly be faster, but that's not what the OP asked. If you want faster then bigger case is faster, no arguing that. My main deer rifle is a 6.5x47 lapua and I wouldn't trade it for a pile of 260's or 6.5x284's, it just depends upon what he's looking for. There's a lot to be said for smaller cases and less recoil in a light short action rifle.

That 139 scenar is also going to be seated really deep in a 6.5x284 if you have the throat cut to stay within 3.00", same with a 140 berger VLD. Most guys shooting the long 6.5 bullets are around 3.2" with that case. I like plenty of magazine length, I'm tired of trying to stuff too much case in too small a magazine. It's caused too many problems for me over the years. The 284 case was designed for a short action in the years before the long bullets we have now, to get the most out of it now it needs to be on a long action.

I've yet to know a hunter who practiced more and/or shot better with the "big dogs" in a light rifle like the NULA.

260/7-08/AI for the win.

Crow hunter,

The 139 Scenar doesn't have to be seated nearly as deeply as the 140 VLD, which is one of its advantages. But neither one would be a problem in a 6.5/.284 with a 3" magazine, and contrary to popular belief seating relatively skinny bullets a little deeper doesn't reduce case capacity enough to make any significant difference in velocity.

But I don't think RBO is considering the 6.5/.284 anyway. It was mentioned to illustrate the difference in case capacity between the .308 and .284 cases.

Thanks. I'm buying a rifle for my son who is transferring to a technology center in Eastern Europe. He'll join me for the annual hunts in Scotland that we've done each year since 1997.

I understand that 2 down is fine for some, but I spent several years in this same geography and MANY times ran a 4 down rifle dry shooting boar, so 2 down is a non-starter.

I'll probably give him a Blaser R8 in 7x64 as they are ubiquitous with the European employees there who hunt. (And, because I'm a 7mm s!ut)

Also, fwiw, my wife has hunted a pre "N" ULA in 7mm-08 for near 2 decades in 7 countries... Great rifle.

Not on your list the, 257 Roberts speaks dual purpose cartridge "deer and coyotes". All the cartridges above would obviously work but for me I'd work from the bottom up in terms of recoil. Next I'd go 6.5 Creed, 260 R.E.M. etc.ect. ect

Just re read your original post, and saw the 600 yd range. I'd go 6.5 creed or 260.

I am considering the 6.5x284, but like I said I've never had any expirience with it and when I started researching I found most guys were saying a 3" mag box was too short. As a matter of fact, my first call to Melvin on this rifle I was thinking it was going to be a 6.5x284, but then after further research I started thinking 7-08. So I figured I'd post on hear and hear from the guys who actually have, or have had a Nula in one or more of these chambering.

I've got a Forbes 25-06, too close to the Bob I think.

With that said, I'd go with something that isn't hard to reload for, easy brass, not over bore, light on recoil. Fun to shoot.

And there in lays the problem. I seem to be going in circles with this build. I want a handy little rifle that's capable of killing coyotes-moose. So I want a small gun like a 260/7-08, but then I start thinking well why not a small gun that's got some spunk in the likes of the 284win and 6.5x284 Norma. Then I start thinking how much effort do I want to put into loading for this gun, specially since I plan on using it quite often. Then I think, hey, it's a Nula, might as well make is something you don't see that often....... And around I go.

I guess I was hoping to hear get "X" cartridge because it's the best thing since sliced bread. They've all got their pro's and con's, I just want to get the most out of this Nula.

The NULA was originally built around the 284. "Up to moose"..... You have your answer.

If deer and moose were 1&2 I might be tempted to go bigger. With deer and coyote 1&2 the 6.5's with 123-140's for coyotes-deer-moose.

For me it would be an easy choice of 7mm-08 because it is plenty big, and easy to find ammo if I ever didn't want to or couldn't reload.

I haven't had experience with any of the cartridges mentioned in the original post, but I've used a Model 20 in .308 for elk hunting a couple of times during the last seven or eight years. I'm not a long-range hunter, but my rifle has worked well at ranges a little over 300 yards. Never shot a deer with the NULA, but I've used the .308 cartridge in other rifles for deer hunting.

The 3" magazine length of the Model 20 has proven to be an advantage in that my favorite load gets best accuracy by seating the bullet to an OAL too long for the magazines in most other .308-length actions.

Mule Deer,

I'm just trying to illustrate a hypothetical, I personally am not going to shoot either a 139 scenar or a 140 VLD at game. To quote our favorite troll here, "boolits ain't getting any shorter". New bullets are coming fast and furious right now and the last thing I'd want is to be limited by magazine constraints on the newest wonder bullet in my new custom rifle in a couple of years. I understand the NULA was designed years ago for the 284 case and that you can seat bullets deeper, I don't like doing that though because it gets into the donut and the gunsmith that builds my rifle advises against it. I've found better accuracy & less fussiness with rifles properly throated for the bullets I'm using. At one time 3.0" was plenty for a 6.5x284 just like 2.8" was adequate for a 260 Remington. That's not true now so we have the 6.5 creedmoor that better fits in the short action.

I'm just trying to save the OP from some of the troubles I've run into over the years with magazine constraints and let him think about his options. If that ruffles feathers then I apologize.

I'm not sure if I'm off track here, but the advantage I see with the AI's and the .284's is that like on most (not all) rifles I've loaded for it's usually a mid or upper mid range load that has produced the most accuracy. If a guy can load the 6.5mm or 7mm bullets in an AI to an accurate load that would be at the top end speed of the 260rem or regular 7mm-08 but not necessarily at max load for the AI's, or the .284's.


Another question I have is, does a model 20 with a 22" number 1 contour barrel balance as nice as a model 24 with a 24" number 2 contour barrel? The reason I want a model 20 is because I was so impressed with the fit and feel of the 24 that I wanted to see what the lighter virsion does. Maybe I'm best off just to get a 6.5x284 in a model 24 with a 24" barrel if it balances out better than the model 20?

So John, how many .284s do you own?🤔