Norma is now producing 6.5x.284 brass commercially,and the Black Hills Diamond line is offering factory ammo. So this superb round is no longer a wildcat. The following is from the Norma website ........
Dear Customer,
We are now ready to deliver 6.5-284 cases. This, after a long production
delay. Expect them to arrive in 2-3 weeks from now. Contact any of our
USA reps. Other reps. with orders are:
ITALY
Bignami SpA
Via Lahn 1
I-39040 Ora (BZ)
Telephone +39 0471 803000
Telefax +39 0471 81 08 99
Internet
www.bignami.it
email
[email protected]
GREAT BRITAIN
Dynamit Nobel RWS (UK) Ltd
Upton Cross
Liskeard
UK-Cornwall PL14 5BQ
Telephone 1579 362 319
Telefax 1579 363 303
For load data here are some loads to start with:
Nosler 120gr Ballistic Tip 54.8gr MRP 3232 fps
Norma 130gr Diamond Line 54.0gr MRP 3101 fps
Sierra 140gr Match King 50.9gr MRP 2953 fps
All are max loads. Start 5% below and work up.
More load data will come later on our web site:
www.norma.cc
Regards
Johan Nordström
Support
2000-02-20
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Also,the following interesting info is from the january 2000 issue of Guns & Ammo magazine,pg 77, What's New for 2000,"NORMA'S NEW LOAD"....Norman Ammunition has proprietized the popular 6.5mmX.284 Winchester wildcat as a new facory round that is loaded for them by Black Hills Ammunition. Driving a 130-grain Norma BTHP at 3,050fps (initial chronograph results) the cartridge will be martketed as a long-range varmint and tactical rifle cartridge with applications in 1,000 yard match shooting,High Power Rifle Match shooting as well as IHMSA and practically any other application for a wind-bucking,flat shooting round. The paper ballistics show that the trajectory of this new round will match the trajectory of the .300 Winchester driving a 190-grain BTHP bullet with about half the felt recoil. As a plus, the 6.5x.284 will stay supersonic beyond 1,200 to 1,400 yards.
The .284 Winchester is a short body case with the width of a magnum body and a rebated rim of a standard .308 Winchester case. Originally chambered in Winchester's Model 100 auto rifle and Model 88 lever rifle, the .284 Winchester round is currently not chambered in most factory rifles, although it has long been popular as a custom chambering the discriminating riflemen. The .284 has been necked up and down to create a variety of special purpose wildcats,and Norma is the first company to legitimize one of these. As a plus for High Power shooters,the 6.5x.284 should feed from standard Springfield 1903 stripper clips and work in Winchester or Springfield actions. The Remington 700 short action may be too short unless bullets are limited to the shorter 120 and 130-grain variety. Morma invited a few writers out to try its new cartridge on South Dakota prairie dogs,and no dog was safe out beyond 700 yards. As a comparison, a .223 and a .22-250 varmint rifle as well as .308 Tactical rifle(sic)were in attendance, but a gusting 18 to 20 mph wind wreaked havoc with the small bores. The big Norma wasn't unpredictably hampered by the wind at all. The .308 held its own until we started on a 31x42-inch rock at 1,200 yards. The .308 quickly ran out of gas while the 6.5x.284 Norma scored an impressive 10 straight hits on the rock by Pete Forras(pictured) of Precision Shooting. HS Precision provided one of the rifles for the varmint shoot, while the others were provided by Pete Forras of Prcision shooting and Varberger Rifles of Sweden. Ammunition was loaded and tested by Black Hills Ammunition,Inc. Dept GA,P.O.Box 3090,Rapid City,SD 57709
Is this impressive or what guys? I'm thinking along the lines of the shortest bolt action available,consistent with a magazine length that would accomodate any premium bonded 140 grain pill,Swift,etc,custom reswaged into Hornady Amax's superb 6.5mm 140 grain bullet shape,with its attendant superlative sectional density and awesome Ballistic Coefficient. With careful and creative loading technigues, this superb bullet launched at hopefully around 3000 fps, would provide unparalleled ballistic efficiency, imo and provide wide ranging hunting,target versatility with reasonable recoil,in essence,everything Jim Carmichael delineated in the Outdoor Life issue that introduced his Panther,a 6.5x308 later to become the .260 Rem,but just a little better in the 6.5mmx.284 ,imo,by virtue of its greater case capacity,stronger web design,and higher operating pressures than specified for the 308 parent case.
Now if the 6.5mmx284 with 140 grain bullets seated to the base of the neck WILL fit in the magazine of a rechambered .260 Rem Model 7,or .260 Rem 700 short action that would be great, but as alluded to earlier, I doubt it.(Please note,I have no first hand knowledge of this cartridge,all my info is book.)
I guess that's why Norma went with the 130 grainer. As Jon Sundra has opined in print, going to a long action obviates some of the beauty of the short 284 Win,but oh well, the ballistics and efficiency of this cartridge appear so ideal,perhaps that is why this cartridge generates so much interest for me. I hope it succeeds.
Stay safe and all the best, Phil <-----<