284 Winchester

[Uncle Richard]

What is special about the 284 Winchester cartridge? I was reading in an old lyman manual that the cartridge was almost dead; however, Ultra Light Arms manufactures rifles in this caliber in my hometown. I'm curious what is so significant about the 284 over the classic 270?

 

[conrad427]

nothing i like it cause i am a loonie.

 

[dubbleA]

It was ahead of it's time. The 284 Win was brought out to give 270 and 280 ballistics in a shorter cartridge. It does this with a rebated rim and bigger diameter body and the results are that the 284 W in case has basically the same powder capacity as the longer 06 based rounds.

This rounds suffers a bit with heavier bullet weights in short action magazine constraints. These days there are more than a few running the 284 in a long actions. Seating the bullets further out helps a great deal and it's quietly being used in precision and tactical guns with success.

The parent 284 case has be necked up and down since it's inception. I have both 6mmx284 and 6.5mmx284's and they are fine performers. The later round being used alot in F class and 1000yd matches.

Dont know much about Forbe's Ultra Light rifle but I suppose the 284 Win is a popular round in their rifles due to it's high performance in a shorter and lighter package than say a 270 Win. Every ounce counts to some folks.

 

[Kachok]

The 284 is a bit more advanced then the 270. Nearly identical external ballistics in a short action package with a better brass design with a sharper shoulder which reduces brass stretching and seems to slightly improve accuracy. If performance alone determined if a cartrage was a success the 284 would have surpassed the 270 and 280 long ago, alas now it lives on only as a wildcat cartrage (6.5-284) that has for twenty years held the record tightest 10 shot group at 1,000yd.

 

[BoilerUP]

284 is increasing popular in tactical/precision rifle circles.

Even from a short action, it provides a good pump in performance from a 7-08 (100-150fps) using indentical barrel lengths.

Lots o' folks report slinging 180gr Bergers @ 2800-2900fps from long-action 284s...that's awesome performance for less powder than the "gold standard" 270 Win/130gr bullet/60.0gr H4831SC.

 

[Speedogomer]

I killed my first deer with my late grandfather's m77 in .284, its a beautiful gun.

Its a good round, it just never really caught on. In my opinion it was just too close to a .270 in practice.

 

[T.R.]

284 has faded away despite its many outstanding qualities. Unfair but true.

Ammo is sky high if you can even find any for sale.

TR

 

[cacoltguy]

.284 Winchester is a very common caliber in the long range F-Class world and more than a few records have been taken with rifles shooting it. F-Class is one of the fastest growing shooting competitions going now, so I would imagine this has something to do with the caliber making a comeback.

 

[NCsmitty]

It's a wonderful caliber, and a dynamite case for wildcats. I have a 6mm-284 reamer waiting for me to make a decision on the barrel to use.
Like anything, if the sales are not there, even good products disappear.


NCsmitty

 

[tahoe2]

I liken it to a 7mm short mag without the recoil, ballistically it's just ahead of my 280 Remington.
My neighbor has a Winchester "Model 70" Featherweight, that was originally chambered in 7x57 Mauser and rechambered to .284 Win.
That rifle will print 3/4" groups with 4 rounds. It kills like any other high power rifle round, it is as accurate as any quality round, and to get the best of it,
you need to reload it yourself, or you'll be spending $50 bucks for 20 rounds.
I am very partial to 7mm bullets, they fly straight, hit hard, and penetrate deeply. I shoot a 280 Remington and two 7x57 mausers (all very accurate),
I can't handle the recoil of the 7mm Remington magnum, which is another reason I like the 284 Winny. But I like oddballs.

 

[Uncle Richard]

Interesting.....

I compared the trajectory of the 284 and 270 on Winchesters online calculator. There was not much difference between the two at the same conditions using the same bullet and weight. The 284 was a little faster and hit a little harder. It had less bullet drop than the 270 at 300yds, less than 1 inch. However, not much separated the two.

Also, compared the cases and the 270 is larger and shoulder angle (~17deg) is less than the 284 (35deg). Which cartridge would require more trimming of the neck?

It seems like the 284 has a little better performance with less powder, an improved 270 so to speak.

 

[Picher]

The .270 Ackly Imp. is probably a better compromise, considering the availability and cost of new .270 brass, plus the ability to shoot cheaper factory .270s in a pinch.

 

[VTmtn.man]

I have an AR-10 upper and lower waiting for my next build. I have been thinking about the .284, just don't know if it will be distinct enough from the .260 & .308. I don't know how many fewer rounds will fit in the mag or what fead issues there might be. What gives me pause, however, is the prospect of finding quality brass w/o paying through the nose for it.

 

[Uncle Richard]

thanks guys....

 

[56hawk]

It's also the basis of the 475 Wildey Magnum.

 

[CraigC]

I don't know why everybody's comparing it to the .270, for it is a ballistic dead ringer for the .280Remington and either can sling a heavier, higher sectional density bullet than the .270. IMHO, it's probably one of the best ideas that never caught on. The performance of the .280 in a short action rifle. If it had caught on, we probably would've never seen the 7mm08. It's sad, there are a lot of good ideas that never sold very well, for one reason or another. One can never say that a rifle or cartridge was a bad idea, just because it didn't sell. Shooters are a fickle lot.

 

[d2wing]

I saw a buddy kill a deer at 400 yards offhand with one. This cartridge is making a big comeback in bench rest competition. Check on benchrest sites. It is a very accurate round and with new powders can launch high B.C. Match bullets at optimum velocity.

 

[crazyponie]

I still own my very first big game rifle that I got when I was 14. It's a model100 winchester in .284. I took my very first bull elk with it at 150 yds. He took about 3 steps and it was all over. The rifle was almost 25 yrs old when I got it from the original owner. He even gave me 6 boxes of factory ammo with it (still got 4 of those also). Although, it's been in my fathers gun cabinet for over twenty years I still have fond memories of it.

Sorry, back to the thread now

 

[ds7br]

All 3 of my F Open rifles are 284Win. My last 6.5x284 gave up the ghost at 936 rounds( unexplained fliers at 1000yrds) I pulled my one 284 barrel at 2011 rounds last week; unexplained fliers(2 out of 15 rounds). The 270 may work for hunting but is useless for competition due to lack of appropriate bullets. Yes the 284 does need a long action if you want to eject a loaded round without removing the bolt (in match use anyway). It does perform way past what one would expect for our long range use. I trim mine after about 6-7 reloads; using both Win and sized up 6.5x284 Lapua brass.
Dennis