That is pretty good speed from a 26" with H4350. I have a 29 barrel also though since its a setback. The barrel is a Blake Machine 1:8-twist finished at 32 inches. Tommy made my other stocks as well. the 284 win is one of those overlooked cartridges. The turnaround is usually less than five days. Unless you really get some exotic woods they all seem to blend together. This is a 1:9 twist, 1.250 straight contour for 32. The new barrel on this rifle was tested using the same load. I have a 29 barrel also though since its a setback. If I had to pick one cartridge for F-Class (both mid- and long-range) I would pick the .284 Winchester or one of its variants. })(); To comment on a post, click Post Title or "Comment" Link. All these components have been a successful combination that has worked flawlessly[.]. HoustonWe Have a Problem Every long-range shooter can benefit from some of tips revealed here. The Berger 215gr Hybrids have been used to win many competitions including recently the 2015 F-Class Nationals. Ill make my wind call while the target is in the pits; if my previous shot went where I thought it would I will take my next shot as soon as the target stops. In a very short span, Ballard and this rifle racked up an impressive string of performances. This barrel has 2200 rounds through it. The reason is that if you have your barrel throated out for the 215s or the 230s, you could have a slow barrel and max out on pressure before the desired velocity is reached. Trigger: I recommend and use Jewell triggers. In fact, this impressive sub-quarter MOA group was shot while fire-forming with a very well-worn barrel! I have used the same brass for years. Since I have only reloaded for hunting or magazine fed rifles I was not familiar with proper seating to allow land engagement of the bullets for 1000-yard accuracy. All this being said, if a man wanted just one caliber for F-Class, long-range benchrest, and hunting, I would still suggest the .284 Win. This cleaning and annealing process is included in the $0.60 (sixty cents) per case price thats all part of the Hydro-forming service. ), super reliable, and has 1/8 MOA clicks what you want for long range F-Class competition. The .284 Shehane has won in Benchrest as well as F-Class competition. In this 15-55X NF model, I like the DDR-2 reticle best, because fine cross hairs (FCH) are hard to see in heavy mirage. If youre looking for the recipe for success, get a good action plus a top-tier barrel and great glass. In a hurry, dont have time? Weve been giving a lot of coverage to tactical rigs and gas guns lately, so we though it was time to showcase a purebred, state-of-the-art 1000-Yard Benchrest rig. Four other people have shot their first 1000-yard matches with my rifles, including my wife, and all of them won relays! Ryan is using 54.0 grains simply as a fire-forming load. Owner Aeon tells us: The 7 SAUM was as easy a gun as I have ever shot to find a good load for H1000 gave great consistency and tuning was not hard. This scope is a Vortex 15-60x52mm Golden Eagle riding in Burris Signature Zee rings. In fact, this impressive sub-quarter MOA group was shot while fire-forming with a very well-worn barrel! In African Obeche wood (any color choice), the price is $795.00. If your barrel or bullets are average, dont expect to perform above average in competition. Despite the issues I explained in the load development section with low initial velocities on new barrels, I would say the .284 is fairly easy to tune. (Eric Bostrom developed an almost identical unit at the same time. I will occasionally mess with the tuner and tighten things up if possible. The .284 uses a grain or two more powder than the 6.5-284, and 7mm bullets cost about $6.00 more per 100-count box. The extra boiler room is enough to drive the 180s at 2900-2950 fps with 30-32 barrels using H4831sc, Vihtavuori N560, or Alliant Reloder 16. Im very exacting in my loading procedures. Note the 5-wide fore-end which is not legal for F-Class. Duane decided to have the barrel chambered for my 284 KMR IMP (Improved) wildcat. The 7 SAUM has a punch to it and I found myself having trouble finishing three relays without form problems in the last relay. For those who do not have a dedicated barrel for fire-forming, this should help keep your round-count down. Now, we are pursuing sub-one-inch vertical at 600 yards! Most importantly, the stock features an extra-long, super-stiff, low profile fore-end. After he cleans his barrel, Joel knows it takes two or three shots to foul in the bore before accuracy returns. Henry: I had 20/10 vision when I was young, but am down to only 20/20. I felt the same result could be had with a Light Gun. The rear bag is a Edgewood EDGEbag Gator. Since 2009, Forum members have posted photos and descriptions of their most prized firearms. The 284 Shehane is a moderately blown out 284, with 3% extra capacity over the parent case. Many championships have been won, and many records set with those two bullets in the .308 Win. Father Ken also competed at the Nationals, shooting great in both individual and team events. The 6.5 and 300 stayed consistently within an inch of each other. Big Mistake! Given a 26-inch tube, this number easily launches moly-plated 142-grain Sierra MatchKings at 3,150 fps. I considered the Leupold competition scopes but ultimately decided on the Nightforce BR. Tom was shooting a .284 Shehane cartrdige in the new McMillan Kestros stock. You Better Believe It, .284 Shehane Winning Wildcat for F-Open Competition, Sunday GunDay: .284 Shehanes for F-Open Competition. So what is ideal, and why? DJs Brass can process everything from .17 Fireball all the way up to the big magnum cases. This rest proves to be versatile in all my shooting Short- and Long-Range Benchrest AND F-Class. My first impression was Wow thats a long stock the forearm is significantly longer than on the original Master Class F-Class prone stock. Forum member Darrell Jones offers a full range of brass prep, brass forming, and brass restoration (annealing, ultra-sonic cleaning) at very affordable prices. The 284 KMR IMP allows you to almost match magnum cartridge velocity in a standard-bolt-face action. Well done father and son! I use about four patches of Carb-Out, let it sit a few minutes, then use one stroke of a nylon brush followed by Patch-Out until the barrel is clean. My load with 180 bergers for my 284 shehane was 56.5g of 4831sc, but it started to show pressure after it had about 200 rounds through it, I backed it of to 56.0g with no problems. This rifle has a 1.55, round BAT LP/RE action, fitted with a Bartlein barrel chambered for the .284 Shehane (an improved version of the .284 Winchester). Do you think some guys clean too often or too aggressively? On this build, I am trying a BixN Andy trigger for the first time. A lot of barrels will top out at about 2850 fps. From this point we worked up in half-grain increments until pressure signs developed at 2950 fps. Thanks for reading and good luck Emil Kovan, Share the post "Best F-Class Cartridge Choices For Mid-Range and Long-Range". At this stage in life, we now have the time and money to get good equipment and rifles. We can turn your case-necks and trim the brass to your specs. Also, most custom die makers want you to send them two or three cases, each fire-formed three times. Bolt timing, ejection, and feeding is going to be messed up. I have known Alex Sitman for many years, and use his stocks exclusively, but was not very familiar with his new Low Profile F-Open stock. Load development for me starts with each new barrel. Hydro-forming by Darrell costs $0.60 (sixty cents) per case with a minimum order of $60. Forum Member JimmyMac posted: Picked up my new 6 PPC today. ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? and F-class cross the coarse shooting. [The load was] 180 Hybrids with 54.0 grains of H4831 SC. This procedure is recommended by Joel Kendrick, the 2004 IBS 600-yard Shooter of the Year. In matches with unlimited sighters, I generally hold dead center with a no-wind zero and use the point of impact as feedback. We would compare notes frequently. Base collar is gold metallic, followed by the red. Jay Cutright chambers my barrels. Ease of Load Tuning Without revealing any trade secrets, we can say the Darrell has very special dies and Darrell doesnt use a mallet or hammer he has a system that is much more consistent. Here is member Quest45s handsome lever-action Henry .45-70 Gov and Glock 40 10mm. Complete game changer! But no, this was done with heavy 180gr Berger Hybrid bullets and the .284 Shehane. To dispense powder, I use a RCBS ChargeMaster set 0.1 grain below my desired load and then weigh them on a Sartorius GD-503 magnetic force restoration scale to get identical charges. He tells us: I found this piece of wood as a return at a lumber yard about 7-8 years ago. Tuners definitely can work. 2016 F-Class Open Canadian Championship, Silver Medal (tied for first on score), 2015 F-Class Open National Championship, Silver Medal, F-Class Open National Championship Teams, 2015, 2014, 2013, Shooting Team Member, Over 15 wins in Regional and State Championships in Palma, F-TR, F-Open, 2017 U.S. National Development Team Member, Share the post "Sunday GunDay: The Modern F-Open Rifle". The weather was variable, with wet but very calm conditions to start the 1000-yard match, resulting in new F-TR and F-Open National Records being set for 20-shot strings. It had 2000 as a straight .284 Win and then I set it back to .284 Shehane to form brass with. Q: First, do you have any advice for older shooters getting started in their golden years? I think this dog will hunt!, Share the post "Sunday Gunday: December Pride & Joy Rifles". The 284 Shehane is amazing, very forgiving and not temperamental. We hope these Pride and Joy rifles may provide inspiration for our readers, whetting their appetite for their next competition, varminting, or hunting rifle project. I use Widden dies. I added a 3/4 track rail in the rear, and milled the underside of the fore-end to create two parallel rails in the front to help the stock track better. Have you learned important techniques from other Forum members and other shooters? In F-Open Division, Team Grizzly won the 1000-Yard Team Championship with a 1580-81X score, edging runner up Team Lapua-Brux-Borden by two points (1578-81X). Kovan Match Rifles LLC, www.matchrifles.com. Norm Harrold (above) won the 2018 USA F-Class Nationals shooting a .284 Shehane. The most common problem is wait-time custom die orders can take months to be completed. Forum member Jim Hardy has shot the .284 with great success. ALL BRASS MUST BE DE-PRIMED before you send it. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; Note I selected that load based on accuracy, NOT raw speed. In F-TR competition, the choice is clear a .308 Win throated for Berger 185gr BTLRs and 200gr Hybrids will win in mid-range AND long-range comps. JavaScript is disabled. Lapua makes great brass for it (no surprise there) and Berger makes great bullets: 130gr VLD, 140gr VLD, 140gr Hybrids. Thats where the .284 Shehane comes into play. Henry: I use a tuner or tuner/brake on every barrel. A great barrel and great batch of Berger 180gr VLDs all made a difference. I have a concrete bench using a slab from a yard furniture place on concrete blocks. There are hundreds of cartridge types capable of winning in F-Open. I asked him to modify my stock and fit it with the new forearm rails, shown in the photo below. Note: With this fouler fire-forming routine, you should ALWAYS do the fire-forming with the SAME POWDER you load for your match ammo. Want to try a Dasher or 6 BRA but dont like the hassle of fire-forming? The 6.5X47 Lapua was designed for 300-meter competition, but as soon as it was released, it was adopted by F-Class, benchrest, and tactical shooters. 284 Winchester Load Data - (Archived) I agree with your fireforming load. Pretty much ALL of them told me that if they had it to do all over again, they WOULD NOT go with the Shehane and, instead, stick with the stock 284 Winchester! Housed in a polished, stainless BAT trigger guard is a Jewel trigger set at 5 ounces. The big bore shooters believe a heavier bullet flies better in unpredictable wind conditions. Ian loaded Berger 200.20X Hybrid bullets in Lapua brass with Vihtavuori N140 powder and CCI BR4s. At least with regard to brass the situation should improve this year: https://www.lapua.com/new-lapua-brass-cartridge-cases-for-2021/. Both are remarkably modern, flat-shooting 7mms. We are blessed with many good match-quality receivers: Barnard, BAT, Borden, Kelbly, Nesika, and Stiller just to mention a few. The first order of business was to get the action ordered, knowing how long it would take to get a BAT left bolt, right port action, plus scope rail, and trigger guard. This stunning .284 Shehane rifle was constructed as a raffle prize to benefit Team USA members preparing for the F-Class World Championship. Whats the water volume of the case? Now that Lapua and Peterson has released 284 Winchester brass, this could alleviate the need to neck up 6.5 brass. Share the post "Sunday GunDay: .284 Shehanes for F-Open Competition". The .284 Shehane Accurate and Forgiving Wildcat In this match I found the first weakness in my beloved .284. The load consisted of BR2 primers with H4831SC powder. The .284 Win gives better barrel life with only giving up a few inches to the 7mmRSAUM. The 6mmBR pilots could run off five shots before I could shoot two. Share the post "Save Time and Bullets Fire-Form with your Fouler Shots". I found that the 300 WSMs vertical really tightened up after about 50 rounds. This load gave us 2910 fps velocity with an Extreme Spread (ES) of 7 fps and a Standard Deviation (SD) of 3 fps over ten (10) shots. Crossed the scale at 11.7lbs. Ian Klemms winning .308 Win featured a Kelbly Panda action, 30 Bartline 1:10-twist barrel, and McMillan X-IT left-hand stock. It had 2000 as a straight .284 Win and then I set it back to .284 Shehane to form brass with. Plus, our years of work experience help us to think, analyze, and thereby make progress. It was a family affair this year for the Klemm clan. Support Our SPONSORS Competitive Edge 5 x 2.5 'Big Bottom' You may see 40 units (on the K&M dial) dropping to 20, then slowly increasing pressure. Darrell took the time to advised me every step of the way to allow me to shoot a 3.158 (5) shot group to win my first round of my first competitive match ever. Mike Youngblood, Share the post "Save Time and Barrel Life Let DJs Hydro-Form Your Brass". Here are the initial powder tests for the Shehane. Lets just say it didnt go as planned. Here are the team members, with Grizzly President Shiraz Balolia top left and coach Trudie Fay in the middle. My fireform loads are going 2765 FPS. Why do you like the .284 Shehane? The only cons I can find are that 284 brass is kinda hard to find! My purpose was to find a cartridge that would launch the high-BC, 180gr 7mm bullets at competitive velocities for F-Class competition. Jason Cohens We the People patriotic .284 Shehane F-Class rifle. Best powders for the .284 Win are H4350 and H4831SC. The action is from the first rifle I purchased with my own money 21 years ago (700VSS). The rifle now sports a 24 Brux barrel chambered in 6mm Creedmoor, with aftermarket PT&G Bolt and DBM metal. Henry: I do not consider myself another Carlos Hathcock or some master marksman. My painter said awesome! and he was able to airbrush the stock with a little yellow and brown to give it that vintage paper look. .284 Shehane Load Development DJs Brass Offers Specialized Custom Services We ran about .002 neck tension with the 180s seated just touching the lands. You Better Believe It". The extra boiler room is enough to drive the 180s at 2900-2950 fps with H4831sc, with long barrels. Thats a $.25 per round difference, equivalent to a 60% savings for the .284. The best bullets for it by far (in my opinion), are the Berger 180 Hybrids. Straight .284 or Shehane you cannot go wrong. I had used the ball expander in the die to neck the cases up from 6.5 to 7mm. [The load was] 180 Hybrids with 54.0 grains of H4831 SC. I asked people that shot both the Shehane and the straight 284 about the pros and cons. The chamber was cut with a reamer made for Lapua 6.5-284 brass necked up to 7mm. [This] caliber has awesome accuracy. Note also the tuner on the barrel. But my .284, with its high-BC Berger 180s, shot inside both the 6.5 and 300 by at least 3 every time. SurpriseVelocities Rise, So Load Must Be Tweaked ), Norm Harrold Won 2018 F-Class Open Division Nationals with .284 Shehane Rifle. To read the accompanying article click here. I am an average 1000-yard shooter, but I do work hard getting the most out of my rifles. As much as I like the .284 Win, for long-range competitions I like the .300 WSM even more. Dale also threaded the barrel for a Woolum Accuracy tuner. I bolted the barreled action in, and squeezed the end of the forearm and barrel together, the stock flexed a little bit, but not as much as other designs that I have tested. Henry: I apply Imperial dry neck lube to the inside of my case-necks with a bore mop. Think how much range time (and barrel life) that saved me. The event was well-attended, with excellent turn out for both the Mid-Range and Long-Range cycles. Darrell Jones offers this service for a variety of popular cartridges: 6 PPC, 30 PPC, 30 BR, 6 BRA (BR Ackley), 6mm Grinch, 6 BRDX, 6 BRX, .260 Ackley, .284 Shehane and of course the very popular 6mm Dasher. The barrel action rides in a Roy Hunter stock. On top is a March HM 10-60x56mm scope in March Gen 3 rings. Hard to imagine it still makes weight with a wood stock and a 36 power Leopold. I do not clean until the match is over. At the 2008 Nationals in Lodi, Wisconsin, Charles shot a 1337-65X with Berger 180gr bullets. These are all very well-made and suitable for F-Class. The K&M arbor with seating force gauge shows the need to do this. This would provide better support for a very long barrel and give more bedding surface. (Thats with a reasonably fast barrel. Other components are: Borden BRMXD LBRP DLC-coated action, Bartlein 32, 4 groove, 1:8.5-twist 400MOD steel barrel, and TriggerTech Diamond trigger. In addition to the 6mmBR-based cases shown below, Darrell can now hydro-form 6PPC cases from .220 Russian brass, and he also offers .284 Shehane. What methods are you using to ensure consistent bullet release? This article covers only the (currently) most popular cartridge/bullet combos for F-Class (F-Open and F-TR). To travel down to New Mexico and win at Raton was very satisfying as I had to come from behind. Ian told us: This Championship was especially difficult as a particularly strong challenger [and new 1000-yard record-holder] Mike Plunkett had earned an early lead and I would have to make up 6 points in the final day to win. He has learned a few special techniques along the way to ensure uniform case-forming. 10 shot group at 100 yards off bipod with back bag, (would like to have that first shot back) . The rifle began its life as a Will McClosky Cerus stock. Typical load for a Shehane is around 57.0 grains of Hodgdon H4831 SC. By blowing the sidewalls out 0.010, the .284 Shehane picks up about 3.3 grains of extra case capacity. Note the block fitted to the tubular fore-end so the rifle rides smooth and steady on the Rodzilla T-Rex joystick front rest. This gave me the right amount of wind to work with. In this story, Henry explains his set-up plus his processes for loading super-accurate ammo. _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-6323545-2']); The 284 is already a pretty straight case and comes with a 35 shoulder so I'm not sure it would be worth the extra time and money to blow it out to a 40. I wanted to do something different PAINT it. Our bathroom has nice concealing in the summer a perfect paint booth. Does the extra width make the rifle easier to shoot? He said he had just the stock that I could use, and sent that to Bryan Blake at Blake Machine. About the Patriotic Paint Job This step was performed on the cases for the next match and it corrected the problem, as I lost no points to elevation. The 168 bergers work great also with vvn165 between 57 and 58g. The paint is Candy Apple Green, the forearm has a white base-coat, center section is gray base coat and the buttstock is black base coat, all covered with five coats of clear. 0. If you look at that 5-round group you might think it was shot with a 6 PPC or maybe a 6mmBR. He won the 2014 United States F-Open Championship, and finished second in F-Open Division at the 2016 Canadian National F-Class Championship in Ontario.