Thread: 284 Powder and Bullet advice

58gr Re26, giving me 2850 out of a 20" barrel with a 160 TMK loaded at 3.100".

Originally Posted by Pommy

58gr Re26, giving me 2850 out of a 20" barrel with a 160 TMK loaded at 3.100".

I don't think I can get that much RL16 in a case. At 54g I'm starting to get a little crunch. Maybe the 26 is a little denser?

I know someone who can get 63g in a 6-284 case but it is rammed in so tight it needs a press to push it all in.

The 160TMK does look to be the bullet I want to shoot. Do you have much jump?

@kiwijames, I had mine throated for 160-162's. There's still some jump. Load isn't compressed. Peterson brass. Started getting an extractor mark at 59gr and a slightly sticky bolt at 59.5gr.

Originally Posted by Pommy

@kiwijames, I had mine throated for 160-162's. There's still some jump. Load isn't compressed. Peterson brass. Started getting an extractor mark at 59gr and a slightly sticky bolt at 59.5gr.

We are in the same boat then. I'm also using Petersen brass and I have now a decent length throat. My neck is very big though with it measuring 0.3250". A loaded round is 0.3165" so I have a lot of room. I'm not sure if it's an issue but it bugs me. RL26 on paper is crazy low pressure in comparison to other powders, like 10K PSI lower. Im of the understanding is nearly impossible to overload it in a 284. There's just not enough room.

Originally Posted by Pommy

58gr Re26, giving me 2850 out of a 20" barrel with a 160 TMK loaded at 3.100".

I’ve loaded groups of 56, 57 & 58g RL26 under 160TMK’s in Petersen brass. My OAL is 3.126 so not much difference for 0.012” jump.
Do you neck size? I ended up with a 315 bush to give 0.0015” neck tension. I’d be interested to see if this is the same for you.

Ive found RL26 and FED 215M are a great match in a 260Imp, so it might be the one for 284 as well.....

@kiwijames, redding type S bushing die. Mine's got a .318 neck.

Originally Posted by Pommy

@kiwijames, redding type S bushing die. Mine's got a .318 neck.

What's your neck wall thickness or the loaded round dimension?

Originally Posted by zimmer

What's your neck wall thickness or the loaded round dimension?

.316. A bit tight. Can't recall what bushing I'm using. Gunsmith cocked up first time around and used a .316 reamer despite my giving them a dummy round that measured the same.

Originally Posted by Pommy

.316. A bit tight. Can't recall what bushing I'm using. Gunsmith cocked up first time around and used a .316 reamer despite my giving them a dummy round that measured the same.

Turned necks on mine at 14 thou’ at .312”. I’m using Redding Comp bushing neck die with .310 bushing to give 2 thou of neck tension. Typically gives single figure 5 shot ES. Interestingly, Lapua brass neck wall thickness varies by up to 1.5 thou’ on my Mitutoyo ball micrometer, which is good compared to most, but worth addressing nonetheless.

I was struggling to work out why my 284 was so inconsistent. To top it all off my new 308 was also giving extraction issues. I have now identified the scope, a Swarovski Z6 that’s just came back from Austria is the problem with a parallax problem and the 308 wasn’t too hot but was a tight chamber. The scope is off again to Swarovski for repair and the 308 has a new Wilson FL bushing die coming from BRT to FL size everytime. Man guns can be so frustrating.

Threw a few 160 TMK’s down range today.
Reloader 26 certainly could be a good powder in the 284Win. Loading 58g RL26 having an average speed of 2861 from a 20” barrel. Accuracy was unfortunately not as good as I had hoped at over 1”
55g of VV N160 gave 2770fps with great accuracy and low ES. This will be my load for now.
Reloader 16 also has good speed with 54g doing an average 2822 but not as good accuracy as the VV N160.

Originally Posted by kiwijames

Threw a few 160 TMK’s down range today.
Reloader 26 certainly could be a good powder in the 284Win. Loading 58g RL26 having an average speed of 2861 from a 20” barrel. Accuracy was unfortunately not as good as I had hoped at over 1”
55g of VV N160 gave 2770fps with great accuracy and low ES. This will be my load for now.
Reloader 16 also has good speed with 54g doing an average 2822 but not as good accuracy as the VV N160.

With re26 did you ladder up higher than 58gr?

Reason i ask is at 58gr you may not be going high enough to get into that node.

Im running 57-57.5gr with 180gr eldms for 2850 fps from 22"

Originally Posted by GWH

With re26 did you ladder up higher than 58gr?

Reason i ask is at 58gr you may not be going high enough to get into that node.

Im running 57-57.5gr with 180gr eldms for 2850 fps from 22"

No. I think RL26 has some potential but I have a couple issues with my 284. First the stock is not good to shoot from my bench setup so is frustrating to shoot, plus the rifle has terrible mirage with the suppressor. I’m having good result with N160 so for now I will run with this and fiddle later on. The whole thing has been a pain in the ass. I’ve near shot a pound of powder down the tube without a good result only to find the one thing I discounted was the problem. Swarovski Z6

Originally Posted by kiwijames

No. I think RL26 has some potential but I have a couple issues with my 284. First the stock is not good to shoot from my bench setup so is frustrating to shoot, plus the rifle has terrible mirage with the suppressor. I’m having good result with N160 so for now I will run with this and fiddle later on. The whole thing has been a pain in the ass. I’ve near shot a pound of powder down the tube without a good result only to find the one thing I discounted was the problem. Swarovski Z6

Bugger