Re-barrel time, but with what?

[ovenpaa]

We have a 6,5-284 S&L Sporter that is not seeing a lot of use as it is chambered in 6,5-284 which is a vicious round that is ripping the throat out quicker than a quick thing so I reckon it is time to stick another barrel on, the things is what chambering? It has a 12,01mm bolt face so any 308 Win BF round will fit plus it is a long action so it would in theory take anything from 6mmBR to 6,5x55.

So what should I fit? It will be used for target and over land.

[Alpha1]

6.5x55

[dromia]

7x57 Mauser!

[WelshShooter]

A 7mm-08 and 284win could be potential contenders as they have the same base diameter as a 308win. Both are reloader friendly with a multitude of 7mm projectiles on offer. When I was contemplating my 6.5x47 Lapua build I also considered 7mm calibres, can't remember why I chose 6.5mm in the end.

[Sandgroper]

257 Roberts, AI or original.

[Sim G]

7mm-08. Been shooting one the last 10 years and often over looked in the UK...

[Alpha1]

What ever caliber you decide to rebarrel it in please post pictures of the process. Videos would be even better. PLEASE.

[Laurie]

7mm-08. Been shooting one the last 10 years and often over looked in the UK...

Actually a good range choice for short to mid-distance competition if throated long (to around the 3-inch COAL mark) and loaded with mid-weight match bullets - 160gn Sierra TMK and 162gn AMax / ELD-M. A good 150 such as the Lapua Scenar will really shoot at 300. MVs around 2,800-2,850 fps for the 160/162s from cool burning N160 give a long barrel life, modest recoil, and very good accuracy. Will shoot well to 1,000 + but not competitive in any discipline that sees the bigger sevens, 284 and up, in common use.

There is fairly good 7-08 Winchester brass available, but the easy and better thing to do is to neck down a thinner / better 308 Win case such as the Norma or to go down the small primer / flash-hole route by necking down 308 Lapua Palma brass. This may need a mild neck turn depending on the chamber specs (0.015" thick Palma necks become nearly 0.016" through resizing - I turn mine down to 0.014" for a match chamber) and annealing is a good idea after the resize. The resulting case is a little on the short side but doesn't affect performance and you'll reload it many times before it needs trimming. Older Norma is already so thin that necks aren't an issue.

[acormack]

One of my pals has a 7mm 08 and rates it as one of the best rounds out there, on the reds he said 'hit it and it rolls over'. He said it was in a different league to 308 win. Never shot it myself but can only pass on what his thoughts were.

[ovenpaa]

I should have said, the rifle will be used for a combination of overland and paper and should not go beyond 300m for paper. The overland will be Deer plus AOLQ and I have currently short listed it to the following:

6.5x55SE
7mm-08
8x57JS

With a possible for the 30-06

I added the 8mm as I quite fancy something traditional hence the inclusion of the Swede and JS however I do wonder how many people use an 8mm for AOLQ here in the UK plus bullets choice is going to be limited.