Short or Long Action build

[muleyman]

Hey guys, I'm looking to put together a rifle for longer range (600-800 yds) mule deer hunting. I have both a long and short action Rem. 700. The short action is a 7-08, nice gun just has a short barrel and the long was a 338 Win, no barrel. I was thinking of either building a 284 or even a 6.5-284 on the short and maybe the 7mm mag on the long. I wasn't sure but I think I even heard of some building the 6.5 on the long action. If so, that could be a possibility as well. Any information would be helpful. Thanks...........

 

[gamedog]

That 7mm would be a great 600-800 yard deer rifle.
You can also get some great bullets in the .308 caliber range. You'd be able to shoot a heavier bullet with higher bc rating with the 30's as well.
Check out the old 300 Win Mag.

 

[bailey1474]

If your LA was a 338 win it will have a mag bolt face. You can't build a 6.5-284 w/that bolt face.

You may also have problems ejecting a loaded round out of the SA if you go 6.5-284. I just consider leaving it a 7-08. The 168 Berger, 160 Accubond or 162 Amax would have good ballistics out of that case and have a little more knockdown that the 6.5 bullets @ extended ranges.

 

[Derek M.]

As mentioned above, the bolt face on your LA won't work on the 6.5x284. But, it is my opinion that if you intend to build a 6.5x284, then you should go with a LA.

I just made the mistake of building a 6.5x284 on a Sako M591 short action. This mag allows for COAL at 2.80. The 6.5x284 is a 3.10 COAL caliber. The 130 AB bullets have to seat very deep into the case, so I'm going to be changing this asap. I will convert my Sako to a 308 Win using an Obermeyer 11 twist D-3 SS 5R bbl that I should receive by Tuesday next week at the latest.

I have a Stiller Predator action that will be mailed to my FFL by November. I'm taking the LW bbl off the Sako and having the current threads cut off and have the bbl rethreaded for the Stiller action. There is plenty of length at the breech to do this.

Moral: don't build a 6.5x284 on a short action unless the mag can hold a loaded round at 3.10 or a little longer. Make sure your bolt faces match the intended calibers.

I own a 7mag and highly recommend the caliber.

 

[BountyHunter]

Forget the short action with a 284 or 6.5-284. Too short for the loaded rounds that you want to shoot out of a mag.

Nothing wrong with the 7mm mag.

Buy a bolt from Pacific Tool and Guage in mag bolt face and build 300 WSM ($160) on the short action and sell your bolt as another option.

BH

 

[muleyman]

Yeah I forgot about the bolt face. I do really like the 7-08 but wanted something with a little more energy and speed. Dumb question but if the bolt face is the same, can any short action case be made on a long action frame, ie 6.5 rem mag or similar. If so does it affect the reliability during reloading another round into the chamber. Again thanks for the response.

 

[ol mike]

Yes you can use a short magnum in a long action -no problem.

A 300 or 7mm wsm on a long action would make a great longrange rifle ,you could shoot the 210 berger or 208amax out of the 300 wsm or the 180 berger out of a 7mm wsm.
By seating the bullets out long =you will not be taking up any powder capacity ,and the long bullet will slide right up the ramp and into the chamber just fine.