rebarrel 30-06 to 6.5-284, feed issues???

[cowboy924]

I am thinking of rebarreling my blind magazine 30-06 to 6.5-284 and am wondering if there will be any feeding issues due to the slightly larger case diameter of the 284. I hope to hear from anyone who may have done this switch themselves.

If there are any issues can they be easily resolved by modifying the feed lips, or changing the follower, or ??

Anything else I am not thinking of before I take the plunge?

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions,
Luke

[BobT]

I re-barreled an older 110 in .308 to 6.5 -.284 and the only problem I have is with the longer 140 grain bullets like the Berger VLD. When I seat them where they need to be then they are too long to fit in the magazine. Not a feeding issue, but an OAL problem. I would think the .30/06 magazine would work fine and I intend to open the magazine cut out in mine to take the longer .30/06 magazine box.

Bob

[cowboy924]

Bob, thanks for the reply. I am glad to hear that it should feed from my '06 magazine. Did you have to do any tweaking with the magazine feed lips or did it work as is?

This is going to be a hunting rig, so I just want to make sure it will feed and extract reliably. I don't want to have a repeat of my 6br issues.

Anyone else have any experience with this switch?

It's about time to call Northlander :D

Thanks again,
Luke

[BobT]

Hey Luke,

I didn't need to do any tweaking, and I can load the lighter/shorter bullets to fit the magazine and they feed fine, they just don't shoot nearly as well. I used a Broughton 8 twist barrel and the accuracy is very good with the 140 Bergers when I do my part. I barreled this one without a nut but when I take it apart to open the magazine cutout I'm going to chase the threads on out to use a nut. This was a project I did a couple of years ago to use for mid-range deer hunting (out to 600 yards) and the accuracy is there but not at top velocity. In all honesty I have not tried too many different loads yet but eventually I will find one that can get the velocity up and maintain accuracy as well. I figured when the throat is gone on this one I will re-chamber it to .264 Winchester Magnum. Just as an aside my current project is a .270/08 AI that will give similar or slightly better ballistics (I hope) and from the looks of things the accuracy will be just as good if not better, I shot a 3 shot .238" group with it yesterday with a fire forming load so the 6.5 -.284 may sit a while before I get back to it!

Bob

[22 Mag]

Luke

I have done that with my own rifle. It works just fine. I do not even notice any feeding differences between the 06 or the 6.5 barrel.
It is nice to have the long action for the 140 gr bullets, you can set them out as far as you want and they will still fit in the mag.

P.S. the deer do not like the 6.5 any better than the 06.

22 Mag

[outlawkyote]

My 6mmX284 fed just fine from my long action blind magazine. No worries

[cowboy924]

Thank you everyone for your replies. That is what I was hoping to hear!

Bob, congrats on the 270/08AI, sounds like you've got a good one going there!
I seriously considered the .264WM (among several others) but I don't see it on any of the benchrest winners lists ;) I decided accuracy was more important to me than speed. Not that a 264WM couldn't be accurate, but there must be a reason the 6.5-284 is so popular with the long range BR guys. And this way I don't have to change bolt heads. I too want to go fast, someday I will have a 264WM (and a 257WBY), but for this project I want to know it's me and not the gun if I get poor groups.

Thanks again everyone,
Luke

[okie2]

cowboy before you jump on the 257 wby check out the 25-06AI it will be a lot cheaper and get you same thing.
87 grainers at 3920 FPS ain't bad for 25-06AI and look how much less powder it takes along with the price of WBY brass too. Mine lasted over 3500 shots at this speed before the throat went bad. your WBY will not last this long.

[cowboy924]

okie, I have considered the 25-06AI also. I took too long and missed one northlander had a year or so ago.
It seems like the AI owners say they are just as fast as the WBY and the 257wby owners say you wont get close. I would like to have the cheaper brass, but fireforming is a hassle so...?
Either way it will be quite a while before I have to worry about it because I have the 6.5-284 barrel on the way from northlander. That should keep me occupied for a while ;D