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Another post for the evening,
Been doing a lot of reading for 284 and it seems EVERYONE is using either 160 tmk 162 eld x or 162 eldm.
Is anyone using anything different in their hunting 284s?
Also does anyone have any real time reports on the effectiveness on the eld x's on deer? I have heard they don't perform that well at times.
Cheers George
Used 150gn Nosler BTs in my 7mmRM and they worked very well. No reason they wouldn't in a .284win.
162 ELDM is deadly. Goodluck finding any though. No issues with the X in my RM yet and mates having good results with the 160 TMK in his RM.
Arthur will be along soon to let you know how awesome a flat or round nose soft heavy projectile is in .284........he would be correct.
I’m using 150NBTs in my 284. Bang flop. Nut behind the butt is more important IMO
180 eldm in mine
162 AMAX, 160TMKs , 150 ELDX, 150gn partitions, 154 SSTs, 145 gn Speer HC, 140gn Accubonds, 145gn Barnes LRX. I like 2 loads/pills for each rifle - one long range (300+ yds) and one bush load for up close and personal.
The ELDX is a fine bullet, we use them in 30 cal (178gr, 200gr, etc) 7mm (150 gr and 162gr) 6.5 (143 gr) in 300 Win Mag,300 WSM, 30 06, 7mm 08, 7mm Mag, 260 and 6.5x55, oh and I almost forgot the 270 with 145gr. Reds, pigs, Sambar and Thar, Fallow so far.
In a lot of cases we get complete penetration but sometime bullets are found on the off side. Jacket separation does occur sometimes but it still gets the job done, bullets recovered from the 6.5 cal are mostly perfect mushrooms due to the lower start velocities of around 2700 fps.
Have been using a 284W on & off for over 35yrs & have hunted with them around the world ,have owned 3 over that time& shot 100's of all game types with it & IMO it is just about the perfect Kiwi caliber. This year have just taken possession of a custom 284W build by Allen Carr l have been gathering bits for years for & built to my specs,l waited for this build as it will probably be my last custom & joins 4 others Carr has done for me over the years ,so l wanted it to have meaning for me .
All my 284W's loved AR2209, my favorite Hunting Loads with this long throat build - for Goats ,Pigs,Chammy & small Deer is the Speer 130gn BT pushed along by 58gn hitting around 3150fps ,my all round loads are the 140gn NP with 57gn hitting 3100fps & 145gn Speer with 56gn for 3000fps. My premium Tahr & Deer load is the proven 140gn Barnes-X pushed along to around 3000fps & the 160grn Speer doing around 2900fps ,l have taken Elk,Sambar,Caribou,Wap & Moose .
Over this Roar period, as last year was a Chyna Flu cluster fuck ,we did a extended hunting expedition across Kiwi Land,l used those hunts to put this 284W through its paces while l decided on final barrel length/suppressor selection .Over the course of the 35 days of actual hunting with it ,we took basically everything we are lucky to have on offer across our great country from pigs in the scrub to Tahr on the Alpine peaks & the rifle build & caliber performed great & there is nothing l would change on the build/loads & would not waste any time worrying about heavy for caliber bullet selection for 99% of the hunting here .
Couple of animals from the trip -
Tahr taken at 535 mtrs with 140gn Barnes-X ,in extremely windy conditions on the tops ,(wind was that bad we had to fly out early or risk getting stuck), both shoulders turned to jelly & dead before it hit the ground .
Attachment 181719
Big Bodied Stag taken at 314 mtrs hiding in choked up gully 140gn Barnes-X exited with 3 knuckle hole behind off side shoulder ,bang flop
Attachment 181720
Pig taken at 70 mtr's running through scrub with Speer 130gn BT while hunting Fallow,both shoulders turned to jelly.
Attachment 181721
Stag taken at 145 mtrs both shoulders destroyed ,140gn NP
Attachment 181722
Chammy taken at 622mtrs with Speer 130gn BT,after mate thought it had been hit after it walked behind the one he dropped,turned out must have flinched when showered with rock fragments .
Attachment 181724
In over 3 decades of hunting with the 284W never seen any benefit on selecting something like 160grn+ Eld's etc ,for New Zealand hunting & even while hunting Elk,Sambar & Moose overseas l used 160grn Speer doing around 2900fps .
im running 150gr LRABs in mine they shoot great!
I have shot sika vey close and reds out to 550m its is lacking a bit of punch past 500. Probably be better off with a 160-168 for the long stuff.
I am just starting with a 284w and am in the process of load development with the Hornady 154gr SST. Have a few Sierra 150gr TGK to try as well.
@bunji is 140 NP Nosler Partition? I run 125's in my 6.5x55 and they are excellent.
Greetings @George22,
Whatever projectile you choose needs to be compatible with your mag and throat length. The .284 Win has a neck that is barely one calibre long so the projectile needs to be seated with the ogive outside the case neck. This may not be possible with some mag lengths unless you are prepared to single load. A short throat may wind up with the base of the projectile seated well down into the powder space limiting your choice of powders. Checking which projectiles are compatible with your rifle should possibly be step one. I am going through this process with my 7mm SAUM with the 5 projectiles I have in stock at the moment.
Regards Grandpamac.
Hi all
I am using Hornady 154 interlocks as that is mostly what I had lying around when I starting with my 284 2 years ago. They are good reliable bullet with very average BC but shoot very well in my 20" Brno using VV550. I have a box of the 154 Round nose which I am going to load up for bush ops, and have the magazine filled with the pointy ones for longer range, I find this system works well for me in the Ruahines and Kawekas and allows me to use up projectiles that aren't performing well at longer ranges. The RN is deadly in the scrub and quite accurate out to 150m. The Hornady 154 interlocks have taken reds and sika with authority up to ranges of 360m to date, and with the chrony telling me they are doing 2980 MV I think they would be fine out to 500 odd. I was using Sierra 150 MKs in my 7-08 however with the extra 250 fps they be a little explosive at close range, certainly good for longer range work, but I am enjoying the challenge of using the different projectiles in my possession and trying to get them to work with some of the powders I have on the shelf, it's added a new dimension to reloading for me.
Cheers
Ruger
Hi GrandpamacQuote:
Originally Posted by grandpamac
Please post on your progress with the 7mm Saum as i am sure you will generate some good info that those of us loading for the 7 Saum will find interesting!
Cheers
AMac
@Ted6. 5 Yes that is the Nosler Partition l have used them for years in various calibers & on game around the world & like them when driven around that speed where anchoring shoulder shots are the go ie game in thick scrub or risk of dropping of a cliff etc .
The 6.5x55 is another under rated cartridge for what we hunt here,another in that family that l had not even heard of & l grew to love, was while l was in Africa a mate had a beautifully balanced 6.5x65mm RWS,it would be a great round for here & he pulled off some spectacular shots with it on Plains game,from memory it out performed the 270 with 140gn and 160gn bullet weights so it would be ideal here with Reds on the hills & it was his favorite gun for Caribou shooting across wind swept barren ground.
Will do. I am just starting after letting the rifle sit in the safe for some time so results will not be immediate. The rifle also has a 1 in 9.25 or 9.5 inch twist so am tending to projectiles up to 150 grains although I do have some 162 AMAX to try as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by AMac
Regards Grandpamac.
Cheers for the replies team,
Definitely some food for thought. Mag length is no issue. I think I have talked myself into sticking with 140 bergers and 160 tmks. But I would like to give speers a go too.
I’ve been using the .284 for the past few years where the first barrel was 16 inches for north island bush hunting. I used 150 gr Sierras SP’s and they worked a dream
When we headed south I swapped barrels putting on a 20 inch barrel for longer shots. The only projectile I’ve run so far has been 140 gr ballistic tips and they’ve been used on reds, fallow, tahr, chamois all the way out to 535 mtrs killing well.
No animals required a follow up shot but after using the 140 gr projectiles I couldn’t see myself going up to a heavier projectile.
A few years back I read of an American hunter who used the .284 exclusively hunting all North American game for many decades and his chosen projectile was the 140 gr Nosler Partition and he swore by them
I have also used the 284 for 20+ years. Most of the time I was pushing 139grn Hornady spire points. These worked perfectly in the BSA and I shot them flat and hard and just sighted in 2-3inch high and with no rangefinder was good to 300yrds - a long way in my experience. I was going to change this rifle to 150 Ballistic Tips as they have a short boat tail and as previously mentioned the neck is short and I like to seat them long (same reason I used a flat base Hornady) close to the rifling. More recently I have a scope with elevation dial on a Tikka 284 and with a rangefinder I moved to the more slippery 162 ELDX. They also work perfectly and I’m happy shooting a bit further with the technology.
To be honest with NZ game I’d just use anything that is accurate as all bullets seem to work fine. Ballistic Tips seem easy to get to shoot well and seem a good place to start as they are easier to get these days
Good luck - great calibre
