284 Winchester?

[bloodtrail18]

What are the pros and cons of the 284 Win? My Grandfather hunted with a 284 and liked it. It seems to me that a cartridge that pushes a 150 grain bullet at around 2900fps would be a bit more popular than the 284 Win is.

[RJH1]

They are fine, but people latched on to the 7 mag way back when and the 284 dropped to the wayside. Also i think that the 284 was mainly offered in the model 88 Winchester and that helped seal it fate too

[Dakota7493]

Isn't .284 the same thing as 7mm-08?

[Phillip Fields]

Introduced by Winchester in 1963, the .284 Winchester was designed to achieve .270 Winchester and .280 Remington performance from the new Winchester Model 100 autoloader and Winchester Model 88 lever-action rifles. It is on a par with the .280 Remington, and 100-150 fps ahead of the 7mm-08. It was a completely new design and was not based on any existing case.

[JakeGraves]

Isn't .284 the same thing as 7mm-08?

No, 7-08 has more case capacity

[silencer2011]

The 284 has case capacity of around 66 gr. Water, the 7-08 is roughly 10 grains less. THE 284 IS FAR SUPERIOR TO THE 7-08 IN MY OPINION, BUT THE LEVER GUN OF THE PAST WAS LIKELY THE DEMISE OF THE 284. BRASS AND AMMO IS HARD TO FIND. THE 6.5-284 WILDCAT VERSION IS REALLY POPULAR ALSO.

[Drycreek3189]

Nothing wrong with it. It just didn't catch on. Lots of cartridges didn't, some depending on what gun scribe pushed them, or didn't. For instance, the .270 Winchester owes its popularity largely because Jack O'Conner killed everything in N America with it sang its praises. The truth is, several other cartriges could have done the same and did. The Model 88 and Model 100 Winchesters were nice rifles, but the bolt action delivered superior accuracy in most cases, and when they fell out of favor, so did the .284 Win.

The same might be said of the .280 Remington. It was conceived for the Remington pumps and autos, but the 7mm mag pretty well killed it as RJH1 said. That and the fact Remington changed its name back and forth. I still use a .280, and own two of them. The truth is, we could get along with about a half dozen cartridges for everything in the world, but how much fun would that be ?

[Stick1]

It was a completely new design and was not based on any existing case.

I think this has a lot to do with it. Not many bolt actions are set up ideally to run it. It can me made to work, sure. The case has some unique features that can be problematic in "standard" bolt action designs. Its longer than most short action rounds, and shorter than most long action rounds. Not too big of a deal. But.....its fatter than a standard '06 based case and skinnier than a standard magnum round. Most feed rails were designed for one or the other, not something in between. And this case falls "in between" in every single aspect. Then you throw in the rebated rim and this case can sometimes fight you every step of the way from a feeding standpoint. It really was better suited for the guns it was introduced in at the time. We have more "medium" actions available today that can run it better, but we also have more choices of alternative rounds that hit that same performance window.

Not many companies offering rifles chambered in it anymore and not a whole bunch of ammo choices on the shelf. Both key factors for keeping it alive in the hunting world.

That said, it is an awesome round and has not suffered the same fate in the target world. Neither have the other derivatives based off that case. It's a very efficient design and its reputation for accuracy is legendary.

[sendit]

No, 7-08 has more case capacity

This is wrong. The 284 Win has greater capacity than the smaller 7mm-08.

[TheGreyGhost]

I have a custom 284 and it's my go to gun. I even took it to Africa. The PH told me I needed more gun but before I left he begged me to sell my gun to him. He was very impressed with that gun.

[meltingfeather]

Isn't .284 the same thing as 7mm-08?

Negative. Same OAL but slightly different case dimensions, resulting in higher case capacity for the .284 (66 gr. vs. 55 gr. for the 7mm-08).
7mm-08 is necked down .308
.284 is a unique design that had no parent... it became the parent case for 6.5x284 Norma.

[xman59]

No, 7-08 has more case capacity

not

[Bear Charge]

I don't load so I stick with 7mm-08

[catslayer]

280 is slicker and 280 AI slicker than that... It isn't a slouch but there are more interesting options

[JakeGraves]

No, 7-08 has more case capacity

I was wrong. My apologies.