I am going to build a custom 284 winchester hunting rifle. I have already had several people say if i leave it at 2.8" OAL i wont be happy. I am looking for 2900fps+ out of 140-150gr bullets. (TSX,Interbond,Accubond etc).

I notice in winchesters latest quick reloading guide they list OALs in the 2.9-2.97 range.

I am wondering what loads/lengths you guys are running. Trying to determine what extra throat length i should have for my barrel.

Thanks for your help.

I wish you peop le would forget this OAL crap! Gun writers in magazines starated this S@@@ and it only for real seriouis benchrest guys,they it is still wquestionable. just load your ammo to reloading books specs and forget all the other stuff. Your not gaining anything,by AOL neaxt to rifiling ect,ect. vangunsmith

I load for my sons .284 which is in a Ruger M77 Flatbolt. this rifle has a "normal" throat in other words it is set up for factory rounds,I have tried to seat the bullets further out to see how far they go but I don't go far till I hit the lands. This has not been a problem for this rifle and I doubt that it ever will be unless you are trying to shoot the long 175's at max powder charges then there won't be enough room. This rifle is performing fine as is and I've ever measured the OAL so I don't know what it is but I suspicion it is 2.8"
We started loading 130 grain bullets for my son with reduced loads and now are shooting IMR 4064 at full power loads and the 130 grain bullet and it is very accurate, with this he took his first Mule Deer buck this year as well as his first Bull Elk.
If you talk to bench rest shooters they'll convince you to throat it long, in the real world you may not see any difference if shooting the 140-150's.
Enjoy that rifle, .284's are underrated.

Ruger built the .284 on a LONG action.

2.8oal such as on a Sako L579 is a big limiter, imho. At 2.8" you can't load any Nosler bullet as the ogive will be in the case, or low in the neck any way. I thought I could use the 120 gr NBT, but it was also a no-go...

A custom chamber can be throated for any bullet desired. The OAL to reach the lands is a moot point there. The reason I hear most often for "loading long" is to increase powder capasity and gain velocity. This is not always a logical line of thought either, depending on the cartridge. The general rule of thumb is a 10% increase in powder capasity will give a 2.5% increase in velocity if pressures are kept the same. The extra powder space you will gain adding 0.10" or even 0.2-3" isn`t going to gain one much. I don`t load the 284 but I would guess 5.5gr would be a 10% gain with most powders. If you figure 2900 fps as the velocity reached before adding the extra powder you would gain about 75 fps extra.
I would though be sure to go long on barrel if you are looking for top velocity, a 26" wouldn`t be too long IMO.

Mine is a Custom Shop barreled Encore so have no issues with mag size or OAL. No problem hitting 2900 fps using 140 Barnes TSX and Rl 22. Another advantage with Encore that it is substantial;ly shorter overall than a bolt gun since it has no bolt per se. My 24" barreled composite stocked Encore is 3.25" shorter overall than my 22" barreled Kimber Montana; which is one svelt, handy gun in it's own right. BTW the Encore weighs just 7.5 lbs scoped.

Cossack2...what length are you loading? To ogive and OAL? This is pretty much what i am looking for, 140 TSX at 2900-2950. I would also like to have the ability to shoot 160-175s as well. Thanks for the info.