6.5/284 Brass

[Guest]

I talked to Ray Romain today( Thank you Darryl ) and he talked me into a 6.5/284. I was thinking 6.5/06 or one of the variants of it. The gun will be for target shooting mostly but might go LR hunting. It will be built on a REM 700 SA with a 27" barrel. Basically used as a single shot so I will have it throated for 140gr bullets. Does any body have a preference of brass between Lapua and Norma ? Is there a difference in the dimensions of the two? Does the reamer have to be specific to the type of brass used ? I should have asked Ray but didn't think about it at the time. Any and all comments/ info is greatly appreciated as I know nothing about the cartridge or 6.5 caliber. Thank you,
Wayne

 

[FatBoy...]

Wayne,

I have and have used both Norma and Lapua in one of my fagmags. The external dims are almost identical. The main difference between the two was Norma was softer and I lost pockets much faster. The lapua looks better and has tighter pockets.

I think the Norma MAY have shot just a tic better, but not enough for me to spend the extra money for brass that lasted half as long.

As far as a chamber,, I had one with SAMMI MAX. and got 7 firing out of Lapua before loosing any to neck splits. That's with a .301" throat. A loaded round will measure about .293". I had that one rechambered and my new throats are .298", and I hope to get 10 per case. I don't anneal my cases either, and with the Lapua being heavily annealed from the factory, I think that may help with the case life.

Standard match reamers or 6.5x284WIN are built off necked down 284win brass and have throats in the .300 to .301" range, with bodies at .501". The 6.5x284 Norma match reamers usually have throats in the .297 to .298" range and bodies ranging from .498" to .501" depending on the manufacturer. My latest chamber has a .498" body and a .298" throat and it chambers virgin brass smooth as silk. It has a 2.5 degree leade which may not work out well,, but I'm willing to give it a try

I'd ask him who's reamer he plans on using and get a drawing. To tight for the field is no good, but for target shooting, you'll get better brass life and possibly better MV with less powder and stress on the case.

FatBoy...

[ 01-21-2003: Message edited by: FatBoy... ]

 

[mbianchini]

Lapua in my book is the only way to go.
I think Norma 6.5x284 is a little to soft.

 

[ewallace]

I use Lapua in my 6.5/284 it is as good as it gets.
Crow Mag

 

[BountyHunter]

Go with the Lapua brass.

One word of warning. When you say throated for 140 gr bullets you need to be specific. For example I have a 6.5-06AI that was originally set up for Sierra 142s. I have recently been using JLK 140s but they have a bearing surface that is shorter by .112 that means I am seating the boattail way up in the neck. Not the best condition. Look at the sierra 142, Clinch river 147 and JLK 140 (b model) and measure differences before you throat. Your gunsmith needs to throat based on what bullet you think you are using or leave it in the middle.

Good luck

BH

 

[Guest]

I want to thank all you guys for your info.
I ordered 100rds of Lapua brass from Sinclairs today. Fat Boy and Bounty Hunter, thank you for the technical insight on things that I never even thought of. I really appreciate everybody on this board, your info and guidance helps so much.
Thanks again,
Wayne