Thread: 284 on Husky action

Thinking about building a do everything rifle...out to 600 yards or so.
At the moment I run a Tikka Rem Mag which is too much gun for me really.
As I'm getting older the muzzle blast (even with a suppressor) does my head in...

I'm playing around with 150 grain bullets with 2209 and 2213 to tame things a bit...
Or I can sell the Tikka and build a 284 (or 280) on a Husky 1640 in 6.5x55 that I will never use (because I have no faith in a 6.5 projectile out to 600 yards)...

The Husky is a magic gun for something built in the early 60's...lightweight and accurate...
I'm thinking a 22 inch tru flite barrel...ceracoat...new speedlock firing pin...Talley light weights and carbon stock...3-15 Zeiss on top.

I hear negative things about the Mauser action for accurate builds...but this old gun shoots sub moa all day long...

What do you guys think about the action for 1/2 MOA accuracy?
And what velocities can I expect from safe loads with the 162 eldm and ADI powders...
I really want at least 2800fps which I know will be a breeze with RL 17 if its available...
But it would be nice to hit those velocities with a conventional powder...because I want to burn up 100s of rounds a year...

Cheers...Chris

I'm a big fan of the Husky 1600 action. Very underrated. If the rifle has had a hard life then yeah, go and get some work done, but if it's a nice original gun, then leave it alone and modify something new or one that needs a Birthday.
There's no reason the action can't be a real laser if it's put together right.
Carbon Fibre stock for that model may be a bit hard to find, I'd have a chat to your local maker before you start.
With the 284, I'd be a bit hesitant before you choose that cartridge as it has very straight sides, with little to no case taper- the Husky actions were mostly set up for taper case cartridges and you will run into feeding issues as the mag follower and feed lips will need re-profiling.
One things for sure, there wouldn't be many rifles like it in the hills if you had the work done. I thought of doing it myself a couple of years ago, but I've since sold my 1600 as it was a mint original.

Load your 7RM with 162 eldm to 2800fps (or whatever you fancy) and spend the thousands you've saved on the rifle project on hunting trips.

And carbon fibre stock for tikka will be easier to get than for a husky.

That is a beautiful gun FRST...

Shit photo...but the 6.5 is pretty nice...the walnut stock is adapted off an old Winchester...and the bottom stock is my plug for the mold I intend to make.
Have a appreciated your tips FRST...and I'm pretty sure I can make a tidy enough carbon stock that suits me...

Originally Posted by Shearer

Load your 7RM with 162 eldm to 2800fps (or whatever you fancy) and spend the thousands you've saved on the rifle project on hunting trips.

For sure...but once you get down to 55 grains of powder you have a more compact gun...shorter barrel with a smaller suppressor.
I have to prove the point to myself yet...but the goal is to kill things dead at 600 with less muzzle blast...
At the moment with the Rem Mag I yet slightly fuzzy vision in my shooting eye after a handle full of shots...and not so much a headache but I sure as hell don't want to pull the trigger again for a day or two...old age

Maybe I should be seeing my doctor rather than my gunsmith...

As mentioned, mauser controlled feed can be a bit of a shit with minimum taper cases. They load ok with a slam feed but not so good being gentle and slow. Maybe a push feed action would be better with the dumpy 284 case.

Originally Posted by Fisherman

For sure...but once you get down to 55 grains of powder you have a more compact gun...shorter barrel with a smaller suppressor.
I have to prove the point to myself yet...but the goal is to kill things dead at 600 with less muzzle blast...
At the moment with the Rem Mag I yet slightly fuzzy vision in my shooting eye after a handle full of shots...and not so much a headache but I sure as hell don't want to pull the trigger again for a day or two...old age

Maybe I should be seeing my doctor rather than my gunsmith...

NZ Hunter have been singing the praises of the 7RM in "super pig" guise. (20" barrel and suppressor). They have mentioned it in their last two magazine issues with loads for longer ranges than the standard bush pig type rifles. Could be worth a look but I get the impression you're keen on a more elaborate project, and fair enough.

Don't change a perfectly good hunting rifle sell it to me and use a Tikka or Remington instead.

Can’t comment on the Husky action but the 284 will do what you want speed wise. I have 2 284’s one built on a Weatherby MkV Ultralight 20 in bbl 2850 FPS with 160TMKs, run a magnum DPT suppressor and it’s a joy to shoot. In a Stug cf stock bare rifle 5.5 lbs. The other is built on a Tikka action 22in Truflite bbl get 2930 FPS with 162AMAX. In both cases running Superformance powder. Could push faster with RL17 but accuracy drops off.

Originally Posted by Shearer

NZ Hunter have been singing the praises of the 7RM in "super pig" guise. (20" barrel and suppressor). They have mentioned it in their last two magazine issues with loads for longer ranges than the standard bush pig type rifles. Could be worth a look but I get the impression you're keen on a more elaborate project, and fair enough.

It would be nice to be able to buy his articles on line.
I've just started playing with 150 grain bullets which lets me use 2209...284 loads basically.

And I have thought about rechambering the Rem Mag to SAUM (if that's possible) and running gentle loads in that...
The Tikka leaves me cold...and the Husky is such a beautiful thing (but not original like FRST's one).

I know what you mean about the blurry vision. I got that with a 708 tikka plus a sore shoulder that took a year to go away. Probably your tikka is too light for the cartridge.

A rifle that can kill deer reliably at 600yd will never be an all rounder. Such a gun would look like a tikka 7RM with 26" barrel,big gunworks suppressor or DPT with a couple of extra modules, NF/Z6/VX6 scope, heavy laminate stock (boyds) and a bipod, with handheld rangefinder, 3000 rounds downrange learning to call wind slope altitude etc: all up around 5kg.

An allrounder capable to 400yd would look like a 6.5x55 Husqv with 20" barrel , SHV/VX3/Z5, carbon or wood stock ,no bipod, perhaps a shortened suppressor and 1000 rounds downrange: 3.5kg.

Originally Posted by Bagheera

I know what you mean about the blurry vision. I got that with a 708 tikka plus a sore shoulder that took a year to go away. Probably your tikka is too light for the cartridge.

A rifle that can kill deer reliably at 600yd will never be an all rounder. Such a gun would look like a tikka 7RM with 26" barrel,big gunworks suppressor or DPT with a couple of extra modules, NF/Z6/VX6 scope, heavy laminate stock (boyds) and a bipod, with handheld rangefinder, 3000 rounds downrange learning to call wind slope altitude etc: all up around 5kg.

An allrounder capable to 400yd would look like a 6.5x55 Husqv with 20" barrel , SHV/VX3/Z5, carbon or wood stock ,no bipod, perhaps a shortened suppressor and 1000 rounds downrange: 3.5kg.

I'm a full of shit talking about an all rounder...the Husky makes me think about bush hunting but it never happens...

I've been looking at recoil calculators and I hadn't been aware what a massive effect rifle weight had on recoil. That Tikka has always messed with my head and I had put the blurry vision down to muzzle blast...maybe it is recoil...a heavy stock might be part of the answer.