why ammo so expensive??

[thermaler]

My recently purchased 111 6.5 284 Norma I think will be a great gun once I'm done dialing her in--but for the life of me I can't figure out why the ammo is so astronomically expensive (even before the ban jitters)--over $3.00 each time I pull the trigger. Are sharp shoulders on brass hard to make? Ironically, the 6.5 .264 bullets seem easy to find. Gonna have to start reloading or I can't afford to shoot this gun!

PS can't figure out why Savage slapped a POS 3x 9 rifle nikon on it--like delivering a ferrari with off-road tires.

[scope eye]

The price of ammo, all thing being equal goes by volume of sales 223 - 308 - 30-06 very high demand on they other hand most folks who shoot 6.5 x 284 reload so there's a very limited market for loaded ammo in that caliber, start reloading or dump it cause it ain't gonna get any cheaper $3.00 a round is par for the course.

Tanks Dean

[thermaler]

The price of ammo, all thing being equal goes by volume of sales 223 - 308 - 30-06 very high demand on they other hand most folks who shoot 6.5 x 284 reload so there's a very limited market for loaded ammo in that caliber, start reloading or dump it cause it ain't gonna get any cheaper $3.00 a round is par for the course.

Tanks Dean

Makes sense--but even the brass is pretty stiff though a lot more reasonable than factory. I hope to get my first batch of reloads done this coming week. I think there will be a pay-off in the end though--so I'm not even remotely considering selling the gun.

[Blue Avenger]

PS can't figure out why Savage slapped a POS 3x 9 rifle nikon on it--like delivering a ferrari with off-road tires.

What you want the normal Bushnell? That Nikon is a big upgrade that did not add $1000- to the cost of the rifle.

[CJnWy]

Went through the 6.5-284 delema 12 years ago. Who in thier right mind would spend that kind of money for Lapua brass? Well I cried once and the same 100pcs of Lapua brass is still getting it done for me 12 years and 2 barrels later.
Reloading was the only option a guy had back then and still a good idea today.

[thermaler]

Went through the 6.5-284 delema 12 years ago. Who in thier right mind would spend that kind of money for Lapua brass? Well I cried once and the same 100pcs of Lapua brass is still getting it done for me 12 years and 2 barrels later.
Reloading was the only option a guy had back then and still a good idea today.

Also Hornady, Nosler and Norma today. About how many rounds were you getting through your barrels before performance loss?

Factory is out of the question, at 60 to almost 80 bucks for 20 rounds--I bought one box of Nosler Accubond just for break-in and "seed brass." Replaced my junk nikon package scope with a monarch today on my rifle and it only took 5 shots (all I had left), thank God, to get zeroed at 50 then 100. Only had 3 shots left to fire at the 100--first one dropped a bit and I had to dial up elevation--the last two went through the same hole just a tad off the bull's eye--my first glimpse of the brilliance of this caliber through my 111! : )

[CJnWy]

Dont rightly know? The first two where aquired used.......The second one very used! I can tell you the Lapua brass is on its 13th reloading with the last 50 rounds through a brand spaky new Shaw sporter barrel on an Axis setup. The new Shaw barrel is showing a little promise but has once again been put on the back burner till the 7mag and 7WSM get dialed in.

[thermaler]

Dont rightly know? The first two where aquired used.......The second one very used! I can tell you the Lapua brass is on its 13th reloading with the last 50 rounds through a brand spaky new Shaw sporter barrel on an Axis setup. The new Shaw barrel is showing a little promise but has once again been put on the back burner till the 7mag and 7WSM get dialed in.

I've seen the Lapua at the store--I may try it out but it's pretty pricey, as is the Norma. I just finished decapping, resizing and trimming the once-fired Nosler casings and they look very good--in fact the casing at the neck looks thicker than the factory-new Hornady casings I bought. I'm gonna really concentrate on working up this caliber--it seems to be the perfect performer for what I'm looking for--great hunting round for the distances I'll likely be shooting in the east, and a very efficient target punching bullet--especially at longer distances, though the hardest part of all will be finding a place where I can shoot long distances.

I've heard one of the major drawbacks of the caliber is that it tends to wear out barrels fairly fast.

[CJnWy]

The 6.5-284s reputation for wearing out barrels comes from the guys shooting them fast/hard in competitions. The first two barrels I used where old retired barrels that still had a little life in them, time will tell on the new Shaw barrel but if a guy dont shoot it hot it aught to last a while. Have found the round itself to be a lower recoiling and cheaper to reload option to the 7mms I prefer for hunting deer/goats as well as a long range varminter.
All I have used is Lapua brass in the 6.5-284 and 6-284. It has taken a beating and still does its job, for me it has been worth the extra cost. From past experience with other rounds Norma brass is good but softer than Lapua and Winchester, fine for target shooting but you can get more velocity with the others. Nosler brass is just Federal brass that has been sorted for weight and Federal brass has always had a problem keeping the primer pocket tight...Loaded light it works just fine. Have used a little Hornady brass in the 204,223 and 7mag, it has help up well but sorting for weight has been benificial.
Expensive for me has been the 338Edge. The 300 grain Bergers are twice the cost of 140/6.5, 180/7mm and its 92 grain powder habit eats up Retumbo fast. The Remington 300 altra brass is the poorest quality brass I have ever worked with!!!! Hopefully the new Bartum brass will allow the Edge to be a viable option again but just like Lapua brass it aint cheap.

[thermaler]

thanks for the useful info.

[jpdown]

After playing with the 308, 30-06 and 7mm RM over the years, I settled on the 6.5-284 as my long range hunting rifle and the 260 as my light weight hunting rifle. The ballistics and down-range performance of the 6.5mm bullets in these two calibers is hard to beat. I started with the 260 and Remington brass. But the primer pockets were done after only several firings with MAX loads. Laupa brass is more expensive, but requires little initial prep work and it holds up under multiple firings. You can purchase 50 cases by the piece with a few extra's for replacements and have plenty to use for load work-up and hunting. My 6.5-284 26" CBI LV contour barrel really shines with 140 gr Bergers (BC .612) and RL-17 (MV 3050) with H4350 a very close second. Best I can tell, the performance is comparible to the 7mm RM factory loads without the recoil. IMO, barrel life is not a issue if it's intended use is for hunting and not competition.

[thermaler]

After playing with the 308, 30-06 and 7mm RM over the years, I settled on the 6.5-284 as my long range hunting rifle and the 260 as my light weight hunting rifle. The ballistics and down-range performance of the 6.5mm bullets in these two calibers is hard to beat. I started with the 260 and Remington brass. But the primer pockets were done after only several firings with MAX loads. Laupa brass is more expensive, but requires little initial prep work and it holds up under multiple firings. You can purchase 50 cases by the piece with a few extra's for replacements and have plenty to use for load work-up and hunting. My 6.5-284 26" CBI LV contour barrel really shines with 140 gr Bergers (BC .612) and RL-17 (MV 3050) with H4350 a very close second. Best I can tell, the performance is comparible to the 7mm RM factory loads without the recoil. IMO, barrel life is not a issue if it's intended use is for hunting and not competition.

I too am very attracted by 6.5 284's performance--but am stymied by several issues. I too like Berger a lot, and my LGS has a 140 gr vld hunting round but it says on the box 1:8 twist (scratch that, apparently the barrel is 1:8, duh).


The other thing that mystifies is that despite the fact Nosler manufactures brass, bullets and factory ammo for the 6.5 284--there are no load tables for it in their reloading guide--and I really like their partition and accubond bullets. What's up with that?? Scratch that too--the open guide at the store did not have it--but a new edition 6 does--it's the Lyman manual that feels the caliber deserves no more mention than the Swede.

PS--of course, I just found it on-line here: http://www.nosler.com/reloading-data.aspx