6.5x284

[ZackG]

How much does it cost you to reload a premium load that could compete in competition? The best way to figure out the true cost per round is to take the cost of the brass per cartridge, add the cost of all materials required for that cartridges expected life (if 5, then add 5 loads of gunpowder, 5 primers, 5 bullets, etc), then divide by the cartridge's expected life.

I'm in the market for a target rifle, but am afraid of not being able to fund the cost of reloading 6.5x284 compared to, say, 308 or 300wsm. Thanks for your help!

 

[lightman]

Re: 6.5x284

I've never figured the exact cost per round,but it will be a little more than a 308 and about the same or a little cheaper than a 300WSM.I buy my components in bulk,watch for sales,make group buys to save shipping,ect. Pete

 

[ZackG]

Re: 6.5x284

It's not as expensive as 300wsm?

 

[hntbambi]

Re: 6.5x284

You are looking at a buck per shot for Lapua brass. As long as you don't hot rod the hell out of the brass it will last 10 loadings. That drops the price to .10 per shot.

For powder, you are looking at ~ $.16 per shot for 50 gr of RL17 @ 22/lb.

For primers, you are looking at $.03 per shot for Fed 210M.

For bullets you can get Nosler Competition 140 gr bullets for $.25 per shot.

This works out to $0.54 per shot. If you buy in bulk, it's even cheaper.

I am current with this as I gave my local smith my action, lug, and barrel to build my own 6.5-284 just a couple weeks ago.

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: 6.5x284

You need to look at overall cost. Barrels in 6.5x284 just don't make it as long as a good 308 Win tube. I've seen fire cracking in a 6.5x284 barrel after as little as 300 rounds in competition. The 308 will last several thousand, use less powder, be easier to find good loads for and is available in most any sporting good store or Walmart in the country.
BTW, I just don't see the 300 WSM fitting in the economy class.

 

[ZackG]

Re: 6.5x284

Well, s4f, I'm looking for an affordable competition rig, and have recently become fond of the savage ftr. However, NO ONE wants to sell their ftr 308....no one. And I can't quite afford a new one (even if I could, I'd rather buy used and spend the money I saved on load development). The only rifle I could find is the f-class in 6.5x284. Hence my question here.

So it seems loading 6.5x284 isn't all that expensive (although I knew from the get-go that barrel life is atrocious).

 

[MALLARD]

Re: 6.5x284

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: shoot4fun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You need to look at overall cost. Barrels in 6.5x284 just don't make it as long as a good 308 Win tube. I've seen fire cracking in a 6.5x284 barrel after as little as 300 rounds in competition. The 308 will last several thousand, use less powder, be easier to find good loads for and is available in most any sporting good store or Walmart in the country.
BTW, I just don't see the 300 WSM fitting in the economy class. </div></div>

+ 1 , and your time

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: 6.5x284

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ZackG</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Well, s4f, I'm looking for an affordable competition rig, and have recently become fond of the savage ftr. However, NO ONE wants to sell their ftr 308....no one. And I can't quite afford a new one (even if I could, I'd rather buy used and spend the money I saved on load development). The only rifle I could find is the f-class in 6.5x284. Hence my question here.

So it seems loading 6.5x284 isn't all that expensive (although I knew from the get-go that barrel life is atrocious). </div></div>

I have to admit that a Savage F Class in 6.5-284 has handed me a piece of humble pie more than once. If you can find one at a decent price that doesn't have one of those shot out barrels you should go for it. You'll be shooting in the open class though. You can always get a Benchmark barrel in 308 for it down the road.

 

[ZackG]

Re: 6.5x284

Hmm...thanks a lot for making everything more confusing!

My options at this point is the Savage f-class 6.5 for a little over 900, and a Savage FCP .308 in a choate tactical stock with a trued action for 850. The 6.5 seems better if I'm going to shoot competition exclusively, while the .308 gives me some room for variety. I'll make up my mind here pretty soon...

 

[turbo54]

Re: 6.5x284

Tough call. 308 is a good caliber, but it just doesn't hang with the 6.5-284. There is just no comparison. The 308 is like a go-cart, and the 6.5-284 is like a formula car. There really is that much difference between the two.

As for reloading, brass is nearly the same cost for both, and you should be able to get nearly the same number of loadings out of either. Powder charge is within 5-10% of one another, so again, there is really not much cost difference. Same goes with bullets. Bottom line is that ammo cost, when you load your own, is about the same. However, as mentioned above, you've gotta factor in the cost of barrels. If you figure that a barrel costs $350, and getting it chambered and installed is another $300, that means each shot in your 308 costs about $0.16 in barrel costs ($650 for barrel installed, and 4000 shots). Whereas the 6.5-284 will be more like $0.65/shot ($650 barrel installed, and 1000 shots).

Of course, barrels can be purchased pre-chambered for the savage, and are a bit less expensive, and don't require gunsmith installation.

Also: A gunclub buddy has a Savage F class 6.5-284, and shot his first barrel out at ~750 rounds. He called savage, complained that it wasn't shooting anymore, sent it in, and they replaced the barrel for free. He's now about shot out the replacement barrel - and about to complain to savage again. We'll see how that goes.

If you're in the market for your FIRST target rifle, I think you should choose a 308.

 

[ZackG]

Re: 6.5x284

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: turbo54</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

If you're in the market for your FIRST target rifle, I think you should choose a 308. </div></div>

Yeah that was my initial thought. I'm glad to hear that reloading 6.5-284 isn't excruciatingly expensive, but given the cost to replace a match barrel after 1 or 2 seasons is a bit ridiculous for my budget. I'll probably stick with the 308.

 

[bohem]

Re: 6.5x284

The other thing you can do is grab the good deal on a 6.5-284 and buy a spare barrel in 308 right away.

When you get the chance to shoot 1200-1500 or more yards then screw the 6.5-284 on there but otherwise just run the 308 and enjoy shooting it.

 

[The Animal]

Re: 6.5x284

If you want to compete and also double your rifle as a long range hunting rig go with the 6.5-284. Yes the barrel will be toast in appx 1,000 rounds but who cares. Get a switch barrel for a 308 or 260 if you want to pump a lot of rounds down range for practice...but for competing you'll be hard pressed to find a better, more inherently accurate long range cartridge than the 6.5-284. Plus you'll be hard pressed to win or be competitive in a serious tactical match with a 308.

Now that AI makes 10 round magazines for the 300wm (which is what is needed to run the 6.5-284 length cartridges) I'm going back to my 6.5-284 in tactical matches.

 

[Tommy Two Dogs]

Re: 6.5x284

I bought a Savage single shot tatget action, sent it to Pac Nor for a 8 twist 65x284 stainless barrel. I shot this set up for over 2300 rounds. 142 Sierra MK's,49.5grs H4350. I used Nonma.Laupa, and Winchester brass at different times. I shot this rifle in a number of different types of competition. When I took the barrel off it looked like hell, but was still shooting well. I took it off because I felt it could go south on me at any time,not because it wasn't shooting. After I looked at the condiyiion of the barrel I just didn't have the confidence to put it back on. I have two friends who have Savage F Class 65x284's and one ran approx. 1500 rds and the other one ran approx. 1200 rds before they changed the barrels. All this said I think the 65x284 is a really good cartridge that tyou will really enjoy but a 308 will for sure last a lot longer and will be a lot of fun too. Get a rifle and go shoot!