Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles anyone shoot a 6.5-284?

looking at it for antelope and deer rifle- up to and including red stag

would i be better served with a 25/06, 7x57, or 280?

thanks for your thoughts

Take the path of least resistance and buy a 270.

Great cartridge, on par with 280, 270, 30-06, 6.5-06. Take your pick

Great cartridge! I shot a 700 build in 6.5x284 for years and racked up my three longest kills with it.

I took my largest Mule Deer ever at 390 yards and my largest Pronghorn ever at 400 yards, both with the 120gr NBT. I took my largest game animal ever....a MASSIVE 6x6 bull elk that was nearing 1,000 lbs on the hoof....at 435 yards with a 125gr NP.

All three were bang/flop. Very, very impressive on game!

Pick the right bullet and the 6.5-284 will work just fine.

Brian - this round is getting to be a little long in the tooth.... It was the darling of the long range crowd due to the BC's of the 6.5mm projectiles
about 20 years (possibly more) ago. Still a good round but newer 6.5's have stolen a lot of its thunder. Homesteader

I have hunted with one for about 20 years. I had a Ruger 77 tanger originally barreled in 284 Win re-barreled by PacNor with the original Ruger 77 sporter weight barrel contour. The original 284 barrel key holed everything it shot at 100 yards. The new PN barrel shoots extremely well.

With 140 grain and lesser weight bullets, it has been a great flat shooting deer/antelope cartridge, and it has also killed a few coyotes. What's not to like about it as a cartridge?

284 brass is not always readily available, but it is findable.

I bought one a couple years ago when savage had a run in lefty. The predator model with fluted barrel. Hunted with it a season and it shoots very goods.

Fast forward, it sits in the safe and now added 3 creedmoors. Unless handloading, ammo is more abundant in the Creed. Wally world even stocks it now. And the factory ammo shoots very well.

It will probably kill everything it's fired at immensely deader, farther and faster than any other 6.5 extant....except the Creedmoor which is the latest, greatest, bestest, most improved 6.5 flavor of the week....or any of about 641 other cartridges introduced since 1888.

I have two 6.5-284s both are very accurate. they have Krieger barrels. faster, flatter and more power than the creedmore. my brother has two .264 win mags, Krieger barrels. faster , flatter and more power than the 6.5-284.

Had one for several years fussy, sold it much happier with the 6.5 Cr Moor

Like kk above, had one and sold it. It's fussy to load for. Now in possession of a fluted, match barrel for my R8 but will likely sell it. The 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x55 Swede and the 260 Rem occupy my 6.5 time now.

In what ways was it fussy? Do you attribute that to the rifle or the cartridge?

I've been shooting the 6.5-284 since the early 90's when I had my first 1000 yard BR gun built, plus a handful of hunting/LR plinking guns, including an XP-100 chambered in one. I never found it fussy, in fact my go to 1KBR load ended up being the same in most of the others.

Currently down to one, but it is my dedicated long range deer gun, running 130 VLD's at 3150.

Scary accurate, and money to 1K plus.




Some of the others.....

Al, every rifle you own is money to 1K plus.

Ha ha....lotta truth to that Deano......

Invariably, most people recommend a 6.5-06 cause the 6.5-284 has feeding problems.....bullshit.

Same as they parrot that a 6.4-284 is a barrel burner. They all are.....some just more than others......

The fussiness I experienced could well be on me and not so much on the caliber. I may not have been doing all I could to make it work and I didn't stay with it long enough to give it a full test.

I've been using one the last few years. I have used both the 140 AMAX and 140 hunting berger.

3 bull elk from ~100-528 yards
2 buck mule deer from ~80-100 yards
1 buck and 2 doe antelope from ~100-150 yards
several coyotes from ~80-300 yards

No issues with any critter FWIW.

Opted for a 6.5-06AI instead.

I have an FN Police Special Mauser custom in that caliber. It is a wonderful shooter, but I don't hunt with it. It is extremely accurate.

donsm70