Help me build my mountain rifle, 6.5x284, 270 win, or 280 Ac

[6mm Remington]

mcseal2,
I can tell in the tone of your posts how excited you are about this build. It's neat you have your father involved with you on it, making it a team effort. My buddy I load for has killed quite a few elk with his 270 using 130gr. Partitions that I load for him and it's worked very well for him.

I worked up his load using H4831SC and Federal Large Rifle Magnum primers. His load out of his 22" barrel on his Remington 700 MTN rifle is right at 3030 fps. The load is 59.0 grs. I played just a bit with IMR4350 and it is another powder to consider. He gets 3/4" groups at 100 yards.

I can't wait to see pictures. You need to share!
David

 

[Songdog]

A partner of mine once decided the .270 WSM looked good... so he traded off his trusty 7Rem for a new Mod. 70 so chambered. He shot the 140 AccuBond exclusively, around 3250 if I recall... and everything one of those bullets touched was out for the count... out to 450 or so it was a great gun... but at the end of the day, it just couldn't come close to matching the 7Rem in long range performance. I don't blame the caliber... just the lack of quality performance bullets in .277...

Which leads me to my actual point here..... the 140 AccuBond is a game slaying little bullet... don't think a critter will take one of those in the breadbasket and walk it off.

 

[jmad_81]

Not the best pick, but the bottom two are the 280 AI in a McMillan that my wife got me for my B-day. The tube is a fluted #4 Pac-nor and shoots lights out!
I'm a bit late to the party, but I would have voted for the 280 AI. Took the elk @ 420 yards with a single 160 AB. It has taken two elk now, a buck, and a bear. ready to hunt it weighs just over 8 lbs. It is a joy to pack, and is very effective!

 

[SJB358]

Great pictures Jake!

 

[mcseal2]

Cool pictures thanks.

Songdog, you are right about the lack of bullets for the 270. If I can't make the 140gr AccuBond shoot I'll likely be cussing myself. I have had good sucess keeping my big game rifles shooting similar ballistics. The 300 win mag that I started my serious hunting and shooting with pushed a 180gr ballistic tip with a BC of .507 at 3050fps. The 264 I built off that same action pushes a 140gr AccuBond with a BC of .509 at 3000fps. I used a 7 mag with a 160gr AB at the same speed for a while. I know my wind drift and drop for this BC/velocity combo well. The 270 should be capable of pushing the 140gr AccuBond with a BC of .496 at 3000fps and fit right in. I tried hard to find a load for the 264 with the 140gr Berger and a few other bullets but it seems to be picky and it likes the AccuBond. I'm still not done playing with it but the AccuBond's terminal performance helps me ignore the BC difference. I've shot several whitetail with bergers and had zero problems and really quick kills. I just like the AccuBond's way of doing it a little better, it seems more forgiving to me. My personal limit at this time for shooting game is 500yds under great conditions. I practice further and may extend that someday, but for right now that's where I'm capable of making real high percentage shots. At that range my loads are still holding up pretty good ballistically. The ultra high BC and real quick expanding bullets start to take over pretty quick past that in my opinion.

 

[Guy Miner]

"My personal limit at this time for shooting game is 500yds under great conditions. I practice further and may extend that someday, but for right now that's where I'm capable of making real high percentage shots."

I have huge respect for that.

Guy

 

[Desert Fox]

Although there's nothing wrong with the 270, I was hoping you will go with 6.5-284 Norma. If you appreciated your 264 Win Mag, you're going to love the efficiency of the 6.5-284. I've shot 3 deer at over 600 yards with 3 rifle chambered for 3 different cartridge. I've done it with my 6.5 shooting the 140 grain Berger VLD, my 280 Remington shooting the 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip and lastly, with my 300 Winchester Magnum, shooting the 180 grain Hornady Interlock BT.

Out of the 3, the most dramatic was with the 6.5-284 followed closely by the 280. I won't hesitate to use the 6.5-284 on elk. Using a stoutly made bullet, the high sectional density of the 6.5 caliber will penetrate deep into the vitals of any big game animal, and will have enough energy to deliver the goods. At 500 yards, the 140 grain - 6.5 bullet will still be packing over 1500 ft/lbs. energy.

My 6.5-284 with it's Long Remmy Action and Williams Bottom Metal, a Laminated Richard Micro-fit stock and a 26" #3 Lothar Walther barrel weigh in at 9.0 lbs unloaded. I just replaced the Vortex Viper 30MM scope with a Nikon UCC 1" scope to shave a few ounces off the weight. The rifle balance and heft is just perfect for both close and long range shot. This is going to be my Mountain rifle for years to come.

 

[SJB358]

"My personal limit at this time for shooting game is 500yds under great conditions. I practice further and may extend that someday, but for right now that's where I'm capable of making real high percentage shots."

I have huge respect for that.

Guy

Same here. 500 yards is still a long way in the mountains up where the big elk and muley live!

DF, great rifles as usual.

I will say this, for us short range guys, less than 600 yards on target types, BC isn't the be all end all. I am not saying it does not matter, but it is less of concern as the folks who are stretching into the 1000 yard ranges. I can't find any flys on the 140 AB or 150BT's for the 270. Pushed to a reasonable speed, I am thinking it will be plenty good for deer and probably still hit with 1500 Ftlbs at 500. That would be enough for me to call it an elk rifle.

Looking at MC's way of keeping BC around a .5 and running around 3K, it sounds pretty familiar. Not exact, but with the WSM's, I am running the 270WSM 150 PT/AB 3100, 7WSM 160 AB 3100, and the 300WSM 180 BT 3025.. I could easily knock them all down to 3000 and be fine with it, but that is where they really fell out accuracy wise, and I can't hold em back!

 

[mcseal2]

Desert fox that is a sweet looking 6.5. I actually think having the 264 made me look away from the 6.5x284 for this build, not because the 6.5's don't perform extremely well but because I wanted something different. I already pack a 264 on my hunts that I can't buy factory ammo for in most places should my reloads be lost, so I thought it made more sense to have something real common to take too. This gun will be my back-up for less physical hunts where I use the 264 like most whitetail and antelope hunting. It will also be my back-up for elk hunting once I get my 300WSM. It's main job will be everything in between, all hunts where weight is a factor for game smaller than elk and larger than coyotes.

Thanks also Guy and SJB for the posts. I figure I may get to shooting longer someday but not right now. It makes me sick to cripple anything so I limit myself to high percentage shots. I call 500 my max under good conditions, and let conditions shorten it from there. If I can get steady enough position and have time to use the wind meter and rangefinder and dial I'm real confident there. Otherwise I let conditions dictate my max range, I shoot enough targets and coyotes to know if I can make the shot by the dancing of the crosshairs.

Got 2 coyotes that were circling a cow we hald calving this morning, one running at 125yds and the other when it stopped at 290yds. I keep an X shooting bag in the back of my Polaris ranger for a rest and had time to use it on the second one. I break my .500 BC /3000fps rule for yotes. I almost never have time to range so I go for max velocity and dead on holds. For me that's the 6mm with a 70gr BT at 3824fps, +2" at 100yds, max rise +2.75 at 180yds, and -2.8" at about 335yds. Out to there I just get steady and wait for them to stop. Well I usually wait.

 

[CatskillCrawler]

@Catskill - You might take a look at Accurate MagPro. There is data available for 130gr and 150gr bullets (from 24" barrels) showing 3200+ with 130gr and right at 3000fps for 150gr. That tells me you should be able to get something like 3125fps for a 140gr out of a 24" barrel. Even figuring you lose 100fps for the 2" length difference, you're still over 3000fps. And that will be one flat hammer, I suspect, for deer and other thin-skinned game. I've not used MagPro in a 270Win, but I've used it in a 270Wby with good results in both velocity and accuracy.

That's a nice option for certain. I've read articles and researched some loads using MagPro for the 25-06 and 270Win. I've seen a where a bunch love it for their 300WMs too.

Once I get my 257R and 358W loads a bit tighter I'm going to dive back into the 25-06 and 270W loads. I'm very happy with the 270W now as I get great accuracy and long brass life using 58.0gr of H4831SC to reach 2850-70fps with the 140gr AB.

Thanks!

MCSeal - I think you're going to be very pleased with your set-up. I believe that you can find a suitable load using any decent bullet from 130-150gr for sub-500yd hunting out of your .277-35Whelen. 8)

 

[mcseal2]

@Catskill - You might take a look at Accurate MagPro. There is data available for 130gr and 150gr bullets (from 24" barrels) showing 3200+ with 130gr and right at 3000fps for 150gr. That tells me you should be able to get something like 3125fps for a 140gr out of a 24" barrel. Even figuring you lose 100fps for the 2" length difference, you're still over 3000fps. And that will be one flat hammer, I suspect, for deer and other thin-skinned game. I've not used MagPro in a 270Win, but I've used it in a 270Wby with good results in both velocity and accuracy.

That's a nice option for certain. I've read articles and researched some loads using MagPro for the 25-06 and 270Win. I've seen a where a bunch love it for their 300WMs too.

Once I get my 257R and 358W loads a bit tighter I'm going to dive back into the 25-06 and 270W loads. I'm very happy with the 270W now as I get great accuracy and long brass life using 58.0gr of H4831SC to reach 2850-70fps with the 140gr AB.

Thanks!

MCSeal - I think you're going to be very pleased with your set-up. I believe that you can find a suitable load using any decent bullet from 130-150gr for sub-500yd hunting out of your .277-35Whelen. 8)

I might have to get one of those Whelen's someday, seems like everyone here sure seems to like them. Might be just the ticket for a black bear hunt someday. For now, I hate the waiting for the barrel part, I'll get the ball rolling pretty quick once I get it back. Another perk of having the gunsmith a mile away. Once the barrel is good to go it's off to Mcmillian for the stock work and then to the fun part.

 

[SJB358]

I might have to get one of those Whelen's someday, seems like everyone here sure seems to like them.

You won't regret it

 

[vodekzz]

This is nuts but go with 280 AI. 120 BT @ 3300 with N160 shoots in the same hole.
140 AB @ 3150 1/2 inch, 160 AB@ 2950 1/2 inch at 100 yards. As more I shoot it more I like it.
I total rifle scoped weight is about 8.25 lb. and it kicks like my 270 win. If you reload this is great caliber. My 270 win became safe queen for now.

Vodekz