6.5x284 short action mag possibilities. Help

[jo191145]

As stated.
I know the 6.5 is usually a long action.
Just checked my 308W mag box and I have enough room for the 6.5 using tiny 85gn Bergers.
Just toying with the idea of a sporter barrel shooting the lightweights megafast using existing brass and dies.
An around the yard flat shootin cause serious damage to anything fired upon type rifle. Also known as a Zombie gun I quess.
Plenty of bench guns but no work horses.

The mag may work as is. Not entirely sure until I try loaded ammo and the correct barrel would help.
Seems the follower could be improved if it was designed for a wider/thicker cartridge.
Any short mag followers that may be better suited?
Anyone ever try this and succeed?
260 rem would be easier but theres no fun in easy.

Oh yeah, this is an older stagger feed and Yes I am insane. Thnx

[ellobo]

The 6.5x.284 is a short action cartridge. The .284 original is a 7mm designed to fit in the short action Winchester model 88 lever gun and thier model 100 semiauto. The 6.5x.284 started life as a wildcat using the .284 case necked to 6.5 mm. It should work in your short action with no problems or magazine changes.

El Lobo

[jo191145]

Thanks, I did not know that.
I know the way I load the 140's for my target barrels they'd never fit the mag.
Ordered an in stock barrel last night. when it gets here I'll begin to tinker ;D

[jo191145]

Well, I'd like to bump this to the top again in case anyone has ideas.

My standard 308W mag is not gonna work. Close but not close enough.
Its just designed for a narrower cartridge.
Maybe,just maybe if I built my own follower and could get it to float side to side without popping through after the last rd.
Just thinkin while I type ???

Would it be safe to assume the 300 WSM is built on a long action?
Sav changed thier webpage and it seems impossible to tell which action comes with with cartridge.

At this point it seems easiest to modify a 223 mag for a centerfeed option.
Might be a two round clip, maybe three if I'm lucky.

[WYcoyote]

The wildcat 6.5-.284 Win. can be a short action cartridge, with an OAL around 2.810" or so like the .308.
The more common factory 6.5-.284 Norma is a long action cartridge with an OAL of 3.310", as you mentioned.
Compare this to the .270 win. at 3.340".
Info from Nosler Reloading Guide #6.
I believe most all .300 WSMs are built with a short action by definition.
I'll bet you could use a WSM mag and follower with the 6.5-.284, but I'm guessing, maybe someone can verify this.

[jo191145]

WYcoyote

Thanks for the reply. The 300WSM has an oal of 2.860 according to wikpedia.
Not much larger than the 308 but theres not much room to spare there anyway.
Thats why I'm not sure if the 300's mag would fit my small action.
I know they used control feed with some of the mag cartridges. That allows a longer cartridge.
Some simple machining of the bolt head would accomplish that for me.

I'm wondering if they cut a larger recess for the mag box in the action (if it is indeed built upon a small action)
Fairly confident I could do that job if its feasible.

This started out as a low budget build with spare parts hanging around. Was a 204R originally and it shoots great in that cartridge.
Was'nt quite sexy enough and I wanted more available horsepower. Zombies can be tough I hear. ;D
Had 1000 of the discontinued 85gn 6.5mm Berger I bought on a whim for real cheap. Lots of 6.5x284 brass kickin around and dies.
Figured why not.


Somewhat perplexed by the lack of answers. I always thought the folks here had modified Savages every which way.
Not really looking to buy mag boxes and followers just to find out they would'nt work no matter what mods I perform. Might be cheaper to just buy a 260 barrel and be done with it.

[WYcoyote]

I really like my 6.5-.284 Norma, but you may be right.
The .260 in your case might be a pretty good way to go to utilize that stash of 85gr Bergers.
I'm considering a short action .260 build myself. Seems like a well balanced cartridge.

[handirifle]

Just an FYI. No experience with the 6.5 but having converted my 30-06 successfully to a 338Wm I can relate some of what I learned.

Mine is an older drop box mag style and I didn't want to lose that feature, but a few weeks ago I thought I had to. When shooting it for the first time, all of the cartridges were just popping out of the mag as soon as the bolt pushed the top round out. I figured I had to have a magnum follower and mag well so I ordered them. Upon arrival I swapped the parts out only to find the mag well was so tight the case had to be forced out, with a considerable amount of bolt push. More than a bit discouraged, I set about trying to figure out why. So I started tinkering with the feed lips on the new and old ones. Lo an behold, the old '06 (same design as the 308 by the way) follower and mag worked better then the magnum one, once I made my adjustments. just to check, it also fed my '06 cartridges better too.

So my point is, you may just need to open the feed lips up a bit. Pay very close attention to how it feeds 308 cases, and just adjust them to fit the same way over the 284 case. The belt doesn't affect mine at all, other than the lips need to open enough to allow the case to fit in.

You might want to order a new mag well, just so you can adjust the new one and leave the 308 one alone (or not).

Don't give up just yet.

The WSM's, to my knowledge, are all short action rounds. Some are built on the large shank receiver, and some are not, but all are short, I think.

[jo191145]

Yote

Yeppppp if Gunshack had a sporter barrel in 260 I probably would have gone that route. They did have one when I first conjured up the idea.
Some greedy sob up and bought it while I waited for the idea to fully take root. ;D
I don't mind waiting weeks/months for a comp barrel but for a fun gun I prefer buy and run.
Was actually hoping to find a factory Sav 6.5mm sporter barrel for sale. Theres a factory class sporter division competition that I've never tried simply because I've never owned a sporter.

What I really wanted was one of the new lightweight hunters. Decided my budget would be happier with spare parts

handi

Thanks for your expierience.
The situations might not be exact ( I never asked for exact ;D ) but you did get my old cobwebbed brain spinning and gave me not one but two new plausible avenues to explore.
No, I'm not giving up yet. Just seem to be finding in my old age I'd rather ask questions first than tinker all night in the basement.
I bent a few lips as a rookie to get the few repeating actions I own working properly so I expect that.
Then I got into paper and all the mags have been covered over for years with single shot followers. Got rid of the ejectors too. Then I bought nothing but single shot actions.
Now I'm starting back in my rookie years with mags I never paid attention to.
Magazines might seem like a small detail unless they don't work ;D

[jo191145]

Thanks guys for your help.
It seems if i did just a little more investigating/tweeking on my own I would have the answer.
Investigating taught me the differences between the 284 and 308 were not as horribly drastic as I imagined.
handirifle was correct. Some tweaking of the lips netted me two in the mag and one in the chamber.
I'm calling that good enough for now.
For all I know that mag might not have digested 308W. Never tried.

FWIW I can fit four in the mag but #3 is positioned drastically different than #1 (first cartridge on the follower)
Seeing as I don't really believe in Zombies I've concluded I'll never see more than three at a time. Lifes not like the movies ya know.
Thanks again for your help. Just seemed silly to go ahead with load development on a single shot sporter :D