284 selection

[375 Ruger Fan]

I have the sweetest shooting .284 Winchester and still one of my most favorite guns. I do not reload as I have so many friends who do, but if anyone has a good line on an ammo supplier, custom or other, with cartridges for a .284 Winchester, pls let me know. They are as scarce as hens teeth.

Hendershots
https://hendershots.net/product/284-winchester-extreme-custom-ammo/

Gunbroker has several boxes listed
http://www.gunbroker.com/Rifle-Ammunition/BI.aspx?Keywords=284+winchester&Sort=13&ca=5000047

 

[Nosler guy]

And for me, there's never been enough difference between the .270 and the 7mm mag to justify the extra $10 a box for ammo and the 20% more recoil.

Every one is entitled to their opinions - I notice that you are from North Carolina, and probably mostly hunt deer, hogs and bear. For that kind of hunting I would kind of agree with you. But if you come out west and hunt rutting bull elk in the thick stuff, then you would quickly change your opinion, a 7mm Mag loaded up with 175 gr Nosler partions or Swift A-frames is a heck of a lot more rifle than a .270 with any load, often your elk is down whereas the 270 guys are just starting their follow up, hoping he hasn't gone too far and they can get another shot into that bull

I would be very confident taking a 7mm Mag on an African Plains game hunt - wouldn't even consider taking a .270 over - just my opinion...

 

[JakeH]

Every one is entitled to their opinions - I notice that you are from North Carolina, and probably mostly hunt deer, hogs and bear. For that kind of hunting I would kind of agree with you. But if you come out west and hunt rutting bull elk in the thick stuff, then you would quickly change your opinion, a 7mm Mag loaded up with 175 gr Nosler partions or Swift A-frames is a heck of a lot more rifle than a .270 with any load, often your elk is down whereas the 270 guys are just starting their follow up, hoping he hasn't gone too far and they can get another shot into that bull

I would be very confident taking a 7mm Mag on an African Plains game hunt - wouldn't even consider taking a .270 over - just my opinion...

I won't disagree that the 7mm mag offers more than the .270 with the heavier loads but I would be more than comfortable going after larger game with Doubletap's 160gr partitions or 180gr Woodleighs with my .270 and honestly I wouldn't think twice about it.

 

[lcq]

And for me, there's never been enough difference between the .270 and the 7mm mag to justify the extra $10 a box for ammo and the 20% more recoil. And the availability is way better than that of the .280.

Honestly, any upgrade in power over a .270 is minimal until you go to a .300WM or a medium bore. For me, the .270 is damn near perfect.

the 7mm mag is just a loud 270 if you shoot one with a 24" barrel. There is a reason the big 7 was made for 26" tubes. a 3006 with 180gr is a big step up on the 270 but suffers on the long shots. I found there to be less difference between the 3006 and 300wm than the 270 and a big 7 with a 26" barrel and 160gr is the sweet spot for a 7

 

[Hogpatrol]

I have the sweetest shooting .284 Winchester and still one of my most favorite guns. I do not reload as I have so many friends who do, but if anyone has a good line on an ammo supplier, custom or other, with cartridges for a .284 Winchester, pls let me know. They are as scarce as hens teeth.

https://hendershots.net/product/284-winchester-extreme-custom-ammo/

 

[Firebird]

Here's my 14 year old and her first deer-7mm-08 and 120 grain factory federal fusion and 300 yards, one shot broke both front shoulders and dead in its tracks. I prefer heavier bullets and the Remington 700 shoots everything I handload for it really well. I bought my 12 year old daughter a marlin youth model 7mm-08 and she does well with it and the 120's as well. No need to handload for it-

 

[lcq]

Here's my 14 year old and her first deer-7mm-08 and 120 grain factory federal fusion and 300 yards, one shot broke both front shoulders and dead in its tracks. I prefer heavier bullets and the Remington 700 shoots everything I handload for it really well. I bought my 12 year old daughter a marlin youth model 7mm-08 and she does well with it and the 120's as well. No need to handload for it-

nice deer glad to see you teaching your daughter to hunt. women hunters will ensure our future

 

[Mort Hill]

Hendershots
https://hendershots.net/product/284-winchester-extreme-custom-ammo/

Gunbroker has several boxes listed
http://www.gunbroker.com/Rifle-Ammunition/BI.aspx?Keywords=284+winchester&Sort=13&ca=5000047

Thank you for the links. Just ordered four boxes from Hendershots. Really appreaciate the information as I was afraid I would never shoot my .284 in the near future.

 

[Mort Hill]

https://hendershots.net/product/284-winchester-extreme-custom-ammo/

View attachment 200386

And thank you too Hogpatrol for the Hendershots plug. I ordered before I even got to your reply, but duly noted and appreciated!

 

[8x68]

Still think the 7x57 is the best option, followed by the 7x64. The 7x57 is just an outstanding well balanced calibre. Sectional bullet density is excellent. As I have read it will out penetrate a 308 any day of the week with heavier bullets..

 

[7x57Joe]

Still think the 7x57 is the best option, followed by the 7x64. The 7x57 is just an outstanding well balanced calibre. Sectional bullet density is excellent. As I have read it will out penetrate a 308 any day of the week with heavier bullets..

My thoughts exactly! I can think of no instance where the 7x57 will not perform to perfection. It may not be my first choice for dangerous game but, then it has been used successfully on those as well.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

"Smaller" being a relative term. She's smaller than I am, but so is everybody (6'6" and 240#). She's a skosh under 6' and maybe 155. She just hasn't shot much besides a 22LR, and I want to introduce her to centerfire gently. Might even go down to 257 Roberts.

I only own 2 rifles with barrels shorter than 22" - 1895G and an AR-15.

@Sgt Zim
I know the feeling being 6'6" and 250 lbs small is relative. My missus is 4' 113/4 ". She won't let you get away with 4 11 you have to add the three quarters.
She would love the Roberts.
Bob

 

[1dirthawker]

sgt,

buy a 280 and don't look back. slick feeding, ballistically very close to a 7mm mag. just like a 7x64 which did a great job in africa when i was there observing animals shot with it. it is MORE than a 7mm/08. it will shoot great, heck if you get bored, rebarrel it to a 30-06

 

[bruce moulds]

sgt,

buy a 280 and don't look back. slick feeding, ballistically very close to a 7mm mag. just like a 7x64 which did a great job in africa when i was there observing animals shot with it. it is MORE than a 7mm/08. it will shoot great, heck if you get bored, rebarrel it to a 30-06

a good, wise, intelligent, handsome ,astute man.
bruce.

 

[rookhawk]

sgt,

buy a 280 and don't look back. slick feeding, ballistically very close to a 7mm mag. just like a 7x64 which did a great job in africa when i was there observing animals shot with it. it is MORE than a 7mm/08. it will shoot great, heck if you get bored, rebarrel it to a 30-06

@1dirthawker has a lot of wisdom here.

I've always trusted the 7x57 (275 rigby) and used it all over the world. My 8 year old wanted a big game rifle and a very nice 7x64 became available. I ran the math and found out that this 7x64 is pushing out about 17lbs of felt recoil. While that's a fair amount of recoil for a 80lb kid, I thought for such a nice rifle that it might be doable and it has that "sweet spot recoil" versus killing power. It seemed in the same camp as the 7x57, 7-08, 6.5x55, 260, 264, 284, and 280.

What I learned through experience was really surprising to me. The 7x64 Brenneke shooting a 140gr barnes is using a "lead equivalent" of about a 175gr bullet. However, it's moving at 2800-2900FPS. The results are devastating. I had anticipated a perfect shot to cause the animal to move briefly and expire from loss of blood pressure within 10-100 yards. To the contrary, instant death from a heart/lung shot indicates to me that the gas bubble (hydro shock) from the higher velocity was causing pressure back on the arteries causing an instant stroke. (the only way I can explain why a heart shot makes the animal react like a brain/spine shot)

My middle kid shot a record book oryx with this rifle last year and a record book pronghorn with it two weeks ago. The 7x64 Brenneke REALLY works and does so with significantly more efficacy than a 30-06 but with considerably less recoil. The 7x64 is a considerable upgrade over my long favored 7x57.

Regards,

Troy

 

[Rick Cox]

@sgt_zim I could be wrong, but didn't Jack O'Conner's wife use a 257 Roberts to kill a lot of game in Africa? Good bullets and good shooting will kill most anything.

 

[rookhawk]

@sgt_zim I could be wrong, but didn't Jack O'Conner's wife use a 257 Roberts to kill a lot of game in Africa? Good bullets and good shooting will kill most anything.

They were quite popular in the "Jack O'Connor Era" in the USA because exceptional high-quality surplus mausers were practically free and chambered in 7x57. The bolt face was compatible with the necked down 257 Roberts. In short, it was an easy caliber to create from a high quality, low cost action with minimal gunsmithing.

For whatever flaws there were about 257 roberts, the +P version coupled with modern bullets would make it an awesome rifle for many applications with minimal recoil.

 

[rookhawk]

I won't disagree that the 7mm mag offers more than the .270 with the heavier loads but I would be more than comfortable going after larger game with Doubletap's 160gr partitions or 180gr Woodleighs with my .270 and honestly I wouldn't think twice about it.

@JakeH I think you're miscalculating to derive your opinion. Lets take the .270 Win versus 7mm Rem Mag comparison out of the picture.

The .270s (and 6.8s) were designed around a particular chamber and twist rate. Throat length was also standardized a fair amount. So the .277" bullets have a "common weight range" that works well in most guns. The grain weight, volume, and and BCs of the .277" bullets find a sweet spot between 130gr and 140gr with lead bullets whether we are talking about 270 Wby or 270 Win or any of the one-offs.

The 7mm bullet (.284") has inherently better BCs and were built for a different prototype caliber, the 7x57 Mauser aka the .275 Rigby. Because of their military origins the basic bullet was a FMJ of 180gr with an awesome BC. That translated out to the 175gr lead core soft bullet that sort of standardized the loading. The inherent superiority of that bullet versus the bullet of the .270s is significant. Today, we now have copper bullets of the 175gr volume with its great BCs in a weight of 140gr, giving the expansion and wound channel of a 175gr lead core bullet yet with the flat shooting benefits of a 140gr bullet. The throats and twist rates of the 7mm family of guns was designed to facilitate this.

The 7mm bullet size finds itself in a mathematical sweet spot where its natural BCs and Sectional Densities allow it to do things for which smaller bullet sizes like the .277 and larger bullet sizes like the .308 can't achieve quite as easily. This in part explains why people like WDM Bell were able to kill nearly 1000 elephants with a 7mm over 100 years ago...the penetration and precision are native to the bullet for a number of reasons of physics.


I won't dismiss your opinion of the .270 Win being better than the 7mm Rem (I own several of the former) but it is indeed an opinion. I would not be so quick to diminish the 7mm as I believe as a caliber there is no better ever made, regardless if you wish it to be cartridged as a 7x57, 7x64, 7mmSTW, 7S&L, 7mm Rem Mag, 284 win, 275HH, or some other cartridge not listed.

 

[sestoppelman]

@sgt_zim I could be wrong, but didn't Jack O'Conner's wife use a 257 Roberts to kill a lot of game in Africa? Good bullets and good shooting will kill most anything.

Eleanor O'Connor used a 7x57 for much of her shooting, it was a favorite of theirs.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

They were quite popular in the "Jack O'Connor Era" in the USA because exceptional high-quality surplus mausers were practically free and chambered in 7x57. The bolt face was compatible with the necked down 257 Roberts. In short, it was an easy caliber to create from a high quality, low cost action with minimal gunsmithing.

For whatever flaws there were about 257 roberts, the +P version coupled with modern bullets would make it an awesome rifle for many applications with minimal recoil.

@rookhawk
I load my son's 25 Epps Newton improved to Roberts improved velocity and it is devastating on fallow deer and pigs with either the 100grain core lokt or 80 grain Barnes TTSX. If he wants to go bigger there's nothing wrong with 117grain SSTs at 3,000fps either. Recoil is like a kittens caress .
Bob