I decided to rebuild my existing BR 6.5 x 284 Remington 700 and its a short action with a tight .286 neck with a single feed to a new build as a repeater. After a brief discussion with 2 gunsmiths that the short action may or may not give clearance issues if used as a repeater rifle while ejecting a loaded round and magazine feed issues. I decided to scrap this rifle build and start a new build from scratch. Rifle will be used for bench shooting and hunting.


6.5 x 284 standard neck
Templar VII custom long action with built in 20 MOA rail ( Made by Defiance )
26 inch Bartein barrel : 7.5 twist
McMillian A5 stock with cheek riser and flush cups ( sling inserts ) with forward rail for Atlas bipod
AICS magazine
Color for stock : Marble : 70% olive, 20% black and 10% light grey
Aluminum pillar bedding with Marine Tex
Jewel trigger adjusted to 1 pound
.188 free bore
Using existing ATACR 5.5 x 25 x 56mm once completed
Built by GA Precision

What do you guys think?
I have a 6.5. Creedmoor capable of 2800 fps with 140 grain bullets ( haven't gone that fast though )
I just need a little faster 6.5 and already have all the existing dies / components for a 6.5 x 284 since I have an existing single feed 6.5 x 284

One question bugs me, is the 7.5 twist too fast and should I use the 8 twist? I just can't pick which one to use and I hear the higher RPM tear bullets apart like the 7 twist. Is that true? I just don't want to make the wrong choices on the twist on this build.

Berger website says the 153 and 156 grain offerings can be used in 1:8 twist and faster, will 7.5 twist help a little better to aid stabilization?

GAP says the 7.5 twist is their standard twist for the 6.5

You’re way out of my league but the people who know (not me) say to pick a bullet and build around it. I would think if your plan is to stay with the 150+ bullets then 7.5 is great. Sounds like a good reason to try the heavy A-Tip

7.5 twist if you're regularly shooting past 1000 yards. Otherwise a 1:8 is more than sufficient.

And BTW, I typically use a 1:8.5 for my 6.5 Creedmoor, loaded with 140's, and they do get shot beyond 1000. The slightly relaxed twist gives me a bit more MV.

I would go with he 1:7.5 in this case. Berger calculator with the 150+ bullets shows SG of 1.5 which is stable but that is the demarcation point for marginally stable to stable, while the 7.5 gets 1.7 which is well in the stable range.

I shoot a lot of F-Class, and am pretty familiar with both these rounds, and how they'll do on paper (and for score at 1,000).

I would suggest considering going to a straight .284 Win with a .220+ FB, and running the 180 or 184 Hybrid. I would be shocked if GAP didn't have the reamer already on-hand.

I don't think you'll see nearly the difference going from 6.5CM to 6.5x284 as you would going from 6.5CM to a straight .284 Win. The former will be marginal, the latter will be profound.

Lapua is releasing straight .284 Win brass this year, but in the interim you can do what everybody else does and just neck up 6.5x284 stuff.

You'll get better barrel life, a cartridge that is easier to tune (think 6BR or .308 level easy), and one that will show a significant increase in wind deflection at 1k.

My 2 cents.

Edit: Missed the part about you already having 6.5x284 dies. I they're bushing dies, you'd just need a seater and a new bushing.

The reason I suggest this is I pretty much see most any 6.5 cartridge get walked on by the .284s and the 30mags monthly. Everyone shoots the straight .284/180 & 184 combo because of the reasons I mentioned.

Thanks fellas for the good advise.

TxMike if you don’t mind my asking where in Texas you Shooting FClass.... Houston?

Yes sir!

I shoot down at Bayou 2x a month, and CTSA (New Braunfels) 1x.

I'll also travel out to Stanton, and Panola for various matches.

Come on out sometime!

I need to. I shot a local match with a guy who shoots New Braunfel sounds like good match

My 6.5-284 is a 27” 1:8.5” Brux barrel and I can shoot 142 smk’s excellent, I have some 150gr smk’s and haven’t really tried to develop anything yet but it doesn’t look like the few I did load will be stable.

I wish I had at least an 8 twist, and definitely wouldn’t be afraid of a 7.5 twist. But I also focus on 140 class bullets as a standard load.

I'd go 7.5" twist and the long action is perfect. You'll run the 140's about 2950 and the 153/156 grainers about 2850 fps. It would make a great LR build.

Hey, I don't know who you are but I've been wanting to show up to an f-class match out at Bayou. Maybe I'll run into you sometime. Might even sign up for one soon.

Mike McCasland.

I'll be at the next 1,000 yard match...first Sunday of the month. You don't have to be a member.

The signup is done online, you can email highpower@bayourifles.org to get on the email distro/match info.

Be there at 6:00AM if you want to help setup targets to see how it all works, or be there before 7:30AM when registration closes.

We're usually done by 10:30AM - 12:00PM.

Thanks Chad.

F Class is fun. i shot at Bayou a few times with my 7mm WSM