Pegasus and other LR guys, step inside please...

[JasonMPD]

Okay, some holiday donations are going to get my .284 Win kicked off a bit sooner than I thought it would. Just a brief re-cap:

What I have:

-Rem 700 barreled action in .22-250
-B&C Medalist Varmint/Tactical stock

What I need:

-New barrel in .284Win (undecided on twist...please opine. 1:8 maybe?)
-new barrel threaded for muzzle goodies, like a SF compensator.
-Barrel mated to action, trued, blueprinted

Hopefully I can start load development in February.

I want to use heavy-for caliber bullets: 160 to 180gr. I will likely stick with A-max and Berger target and VLD bullets. Is a standard chamber size adequate or is having a tighter "match" chamber a viable idea to squeeze more accuracy out of the rig?

I'd like to hear all the ideas or thing's y'all would do to squeeze more accuracy out of the gun (other than simple stuff like bedding the action, of course)

[Ernie Bishop]

1-9 will work fine.
If you really feel the need to go faster, then a 1-8.5 twist.
Typical distances, and max distance?
Types of shooting? Competing? If so, what kind?
I would go with what I call a match chamber-no neck turning required but tighter than a standard chamber.
Get a scope level.
Front rest or bi-pod (both?)?
Trigger?
Running it as a single-shot or using the magazine?

[JasonMPD]

1-9 will work fine.
If you really feel the need to go faster, then a 1-8.5 twist.

I'm mostly seeing 1-8 offered, not 1-8.5.

Typical distances, and max distance?

Nominal - 200-400yrds; Occasional - 600+ (eventually to 900+)

Types of shooting? Competing? If so, what kind?

BR, Casual for accuracy and possibly some open class shooting. No current plans for competition. Some days ome LR hunting perhaps.

I would go with what I call a match chamber-no neck turning required but tighter than a standard chamber.

Who offers this? Or what reamer of whcih dimension would I need to buy for the smith to use?

Front rest or bi-pod (both?)?

Capable of both.

Trigger?

Haven't got that far yet. Jewell, I reckon. They make a Rem 700 trigger that goes down to 3-5oz.

Running it as a single-shot or using the magazine?

The stock would have to be cut out for a DBM, so I will leave it single shot.

-Jason

[Ernie Bishop]

All of my 7mm's are 1-9 twist (Two 284 Winchester's, 7mm SAUM, 7mm WSM) SAUM is a Lawton, WSM is a Bartlein
My SAUM and WSM I have shot out past 1200 yards (162 A-Max in the SAUM, and 180 JLK in the WSM).
Shot my heavy barreled 284 Win out to either 1,000 or 1200 yards--168 SMK (Krieger)
Haven't shot my hunting 284 Win yet (Brux)
What do you mean by "BR" and "Open Class"?
First, choose a smith that when you tell him what I said, he will understand you completely. If you want a list of who I use, I would be glad to share.
Since it will be used as a single-shot have your smith throat your barrel for a compromise of the 162 A-Max, 168 VLD's and 180 VLD's. He should know how to do this.
Specific disciplines of shooting matches have specific rules. For bench shooting that could be used for F-Class Open and for 600 & 1K BR matches I would go with a 3" wide forend.
If you are intending to do more field shooting than bench shooting, then you get a stock that is made to be shot primarily from the prone position off of a standard bi-pod.
You can always attach something like a Hart Accuracy Asset--Turns a sporter or Tac stock forend into a 3" forend to be used with a 3" wide front bag. Sort of the best of both worlds
Peg will have some good names too.

[JasonMPD]

By "Open Class" I mean any LR competition with no real restriciton on weight/size of the rifle.

And I am willing to ship my stuff to a trusted smith you or Pegasus have used. Florida does not have a lot of these smiths, that I have found, because there is not much regular LR shooting around here.

[Ernie Bishop]

Like club shoots, egg shoots, tactical matches, etc...
Any shooting discipline will have specific regs, like Light-Gun in 600 and 1000 yards matches has a weight limit of 17 pounds, but you can use a brake as long as it does not angle the gas backwards.

[Pegasus]

I don't have a .284 so I can't help you with the twist right now, but I do know a lot of people who shoot .284 in competition and I can ask them. However, I think Ernie has done a great job answering that question.

I do know several competition gunsmiths, some in Texas and others out of state and I can certainly share that info with you but I can check with them first to see how they are backed up and if they would even do this build.

I think February is optimistic, have you even got the barrel ordered? Barrelmakers have long lead times. If you read my diatribe on how I built my latest rifle you might remember the amount of thought that went into specifying the barrel. Length, twist rate, contour are what you need to know to order the barrel. The gunsmith will do the chambering and for the ones that I would connect you with, they will know about match chambers and such. But the barrel may take upwards of 6 months.

What I suggest you do is pick a bullet then specify the twist rate that will be the most proper for that bullet and then go with that. Krieger, Broughton, Brux and others are excellent barrels, but their lead time may be very long. You might also want to look at Shilen, they have a faster turnaround time, but I have had good luck with Tim North (Broughton) getting me a barrel quickly in the past.

Pick a gunsmith and talk to him first then quickly order a barrel.

[JasonMPD]

Thanks for all the advice so far. I guess February is optomistic.

The bullets I plan to use nearly exclusively:

Hornady 162gr Amax
Berger 168gr VLD Match
Berger 180gr XLD Match

I ordered my Berger manual specifically with this build in mind.

So, I guess the next step is to pick the brain of a good smith and see what their wait time and costs are as well as what sort of chamber dimensions, etc. I don't need to "shop around" for a gunsmith. If y'all recommend one and they don't want gold bullion in payment, I'm good with them. Seeing the results y'all obtain, I am confident in any smith you'd recommend.

Just a question... Would it be preferable for me to remove the barrel (a buddy has vises necessary for such) prior to sending the action off? Saves me shipping freight and the smith time, but I don't wanna screw anything up (but not really sure what it could screw up if done meticulously). Plus I could try and sell the barrel.

[Pegasus]

Great three different bullets, with different ogives, bearing length and overall length. Berger does not show a 180XLD in 7mm, but they do show a 175XLD. The current favorites are the hybrids, if you can find them, the 180gr Target Hybrids.

For loads, make sure you also reference the powder manufacturer's site for information. They are more familiar with their products that the bullet guys.

As for removing the barrel before shipping, that's something you should discuss with the gunsmith.


BTW, I just noticed your signature line. I think the word "can't" is missing from it.

[Ernie Bishop]

Jason,
Eric Wallace has built my last two 284 Winchesters. His reamer is set-up for a single-shot or a LA. I shoot 168 SMK's in the first one and plan to use the 162 A-Max in the other one.
I am putting his name first, because I think that once you get all of the components in, he can get the work done the fastest.
His number is 406-925-3947 Email: Eric Wallace ewallace1@cablespeed.com
Chuck McIntosh (Just south of Gillette) http://www.macsgunworks.com/Pages/default.aspx
Jim See http://www.centershotrifles.com/
My son and I have shot itty-bitty groups at distance with guns that all four (Greg below) of these men have built.
Choosing a smith for yourself is a personal thing. There are a lot of good guys out there. Find the one you are comfortable with and choose him.
Greg Tannel is another outstanding gunsmith. He has built several custom rigs for me as well. http://www.gretanrifles.com/main.jsf

[JasonMPD]

Berger does not show a 180XLD in 7mm, but they do show a 175XLD.

BTW, I just noticed your signature line. I think the word "can't" is missing from it.

I meant 175XLD...one of those days.

And the Sig line reads correctly. It basically means that amateurs do the minimum necessary to achieve a result once or twice and consider themselves "good to go." While on the other hand, professionals train harder and harder until they fail (fail at faster...reloading, shooting, target acquisition, etc.). But at each failure point, they push on to proficiency, then push on again to another failure point, and so on.

[JasonMPD]

Jason,
Eric Wallace has built my last two 284 Winchesters. His reamer is set-up for a single-shot or a LA. I shoot 168 SMK's in the first one and plan to use the 162 A-Max in the other one.
I am putting his name first, because I think that once you get all of the components in, he can get the work done the fastest.
His number is 406-925-3947 Email: Eric Wallace ewallace1@cablespeed.com
Chuck McIntosh (Just south of Gillette) http://www.macsgunworks.com/Pages/default.aspx
Jim See http://www.centershotrifles.com/
My son and I have shot itty-bitty groups at distance with guns that all four (Greg below) of these men have built.
Choosing a smith for yourself is a personal thing. There are a lot of good guys out there. Find the one you are comfortable with and choose him.
Greg Tannel is another outstanding gunsmith. He has built several custom rigs for me as well. http://www.gretanrifles.com/main.jsf

Outstanding, thank you. I will send out some emails and see what their work loads are like.

[Pegasus]

And the Sig line reads correctly. It basically means that amateurs do the minimum necessary to achieve a result once or twice and consider themselves "good to go." While on the other hand, professionals train harder and harder until they fail (fail at faster...reloading, shooting, target acquisition, etc.). But at each failure point, they push on to proficiency, then push on again to another failure point, and so on.

Interesting. I guess that makes me a professional; I can get it wrong.

[Pegasus]

I contacted my gunsmith directly and he said he would consider doing your build. Let me know if you are interested and I will PM you his contact info.

[JasonMPD]

I contacted my gunsmith directly and he said he would consider doing your build. Let me know if you are interested and I will PM you his contact info.

What does he mean by "consider" doing it? Just based on his current backlog?

[Pegasus]

This guy only does competition guns for fellow competitors and he is not a full-time gunsmith. He has built my last two F-TR rifles.

[JasonMPD]

This guy only does competition guns for fellow competitors and he is not a full-time gunsmith. He has built my last two F-TR rifles.

Ok, I see. Thank you! I will let you know after this holiday weekend. It's proving busy beyond belief.