I'm having a new rifle built n 6.5-284 what would you recommend as far as chambering goes. 6.5-284 Winchester or 6.5-284 Norma, I have never done any wild cat loads just 308 so I'm looking for the easiest way out. Will I have to neck turn the brass and what do you guys mean by necking up and necking down and how do you do it. Best Regards Steve

I would go 6.5-284 Winchester. It is the cheapest and easiest. You can just buy regular 284 Win brass and run it through the 6.5-284 sizing die. It works great for me and the 284 brass is half the price. I have also found it to be very consistant in the newer lots. My rifle that Montana Rifle Co. did for me years ago is still a 1/2" shooter with this brass.

Either is just as easy to work with. Just as long as you know which you have. If you go the Winchester route, make sure you use 284 brass or Hornady brass. If you go the Norma route, use Norma or Lapua brass.

Hi there-

You always hear how good Norma and Lapua brass is for competition shooting, can't say that about the Winchester. While the Winchester may be cheaper, I just bought another hundred Lapua cases for my 6.5 X .284 and it was $0.49 cents each at Bruno's, which isn't so bad.
The Winchester brass is something like .004" smaller at the base/web area than the other two, which means you will only be able to use the Winchester brass if you go that route. I don't use Hornady, I thought it was the same as the Norma, could be wrong though. Personally, I wouldn't limit myself like that.
If you use the Winchester brass, you will have to neck it down to 6.5mm, no big deal, just run it into the die as previously mentioned and the die will squeeze the neck smaller. The Lapua and Norma brass are already 6.5mm and do not require any "necking" up or down. As far as neck turning goes, it depends on the reamer you use, and what neck diameter it is set to cut.
The neck diameter on my two rifles is .290", I neck turn my brass for loaded rounds of .288" dia. I think the so-called "standard" neck diameter is .297" which would not require any neck turning (double check that figure). While that is an attractive thought, if extreme long range accuracy is your goal (I assume it is), a little neck turning is in order.
I'd go for the Norma chamber (I did...twice).

-Rick

PS- Doesn't the Black Hills "factory" loading use Norma brass? Might be a good selling point down the road if the need ever arose.

I've just been through the same process.
Pacific Tool & Gauge had reamers for both the Winchester and Norma chamberings, and they were a little different. I asked for the chamber prints and the Winchester had a neck of 0.301" (0.300" for the Clymer reamer), the Norma was 0.297". The Winchester was about 0.0015" larger at the case head. At that stage I bought a PTG finishing reamer, figuring that the chamber would handle both necked down Winchester brass and Lapua brass (what I normally use in my 6.5x55).
The only difference in Reamer Rentals was neck size.
But then I changed my mind. Now I'm getting Manson Precision to make me a 6.5-284 reamer with a 0.290" neck. I'll use Lapua brass again because I'm serious about accuracy with my target rifle. I'll use the PTG reamer for chambering hunting rifles.
Another difference is the freebore length that the reamer cuts. The Norma chamber tends to have more to suit longer target bullets. I'm getting a throater reamer from Manson as well to suit the 139 grain Scenars.
Go the Norma chamber and Lapua brass for serious accuracy. Go a tight neck if you want just a little bit more.
Go the Winchester chamber if its just for hunting and saving some $$$ is important.

I should have added I know you can use Hornady brass in a Winchester chamber, because I did. I would have gone with the Lapua chamber, but I sorta jumped on the 6.5-284 band wagon and made the assumption that they where one and the same. As rduncan pointed out, Norma and Lapua are great brass for the price. Resized Winchester brass is crap for my purpose, will probably be fine for most people, but this was a dedicated long range target rifle. Hornady brass was really my only option, it was good but I don't think it is up to the levels of Lapua brass.