From your experience, will a 27" barrel completely burn the powders used in the 6.5X284? The reason I ask is that I do not want the bullet getting upset by unburnt or still burning powder as it exits the barrel.
This gun is being built on a trued Rem 700 long action, H-S stock, 1:8 twist Lilja #7 barrel, and will be used primarily for longrange antelope and deer. I am not looking at shooting 1000yd competition, but want as much accuracy as possible.

Thanks, Lonnie

Actually, Lonnie, anything longer than the legal minimum of 16" will allow all of the powder to completely burn in an ordinary bottleneck shoulder-fired centerfire round (powder combustion occurs in only the first few inches of a centerfire rifle chamber/bore).

The operative question is will a 27" barrel provide enough containment to allow the expanding gases to accelerate the bullet to near maximum potential velocity and allow the pressure of the gas at the muzzle to be sufficiently low as to not disturb the bullet's exit. That answer would be yes, as you will find no difference in accuracy potential that can be attributed to barrel length. In other words, you could expect about the same accuracy from the same barrel if it were cut to 18", and maybe even better accuracy due to the relative stiffness of the short barrel. Making a barrel longer doesn't necessarily make it more accurate, and can have just the opposite effect in some instances.

For your intended purpose,you have spec,'d your rifle well. The barrel finished at 27" will get near max performance from the 6.5 X 284. I shoot a 28" barrel in my 6.5 X 284 and get a very accurate 2974 avg. fps velocity with a 142 Sierra MatchKing. It would be hard to get a better long range performer on deer or antelope.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight......RiverRat

Thanks for the replys. What velocity would I realisticly expect my 27" Lilja 1:8 twist #7 contour barrel shooting 140 grn Match Kings or A-Max? Also have you ever shot 120 gr. bullets, and if so how did they work? I don't know if 120's will work in a 1:8 twist.

Thanks, Lonnie

You should see 2900 fps and maybe a little change accurate velocity from your 27" tube with the 140 class bullets. With a 28" plus barrel 3000 fps can be reached but the truly accurate velocity runs about 2950 to 2980 from the longer tubes from what I have seen. I would try, H4350 EXT @ around 48 to 49 gr., H4831 SC somewhere between 51 and 52.5 gr., and RL-22 around 53 gr. If I were you I use the 139 gr. Lapua Scenar or the 142 Sierra MatchKing.

My 6.5 X 284 has a 1 in 9 twist barrel and I have been playing with the 123 gr. Lapua Scenar which has huge B.C. (.547) for a light bullet with excellent results. Velocity is averaging 3226 fps and the accuracy is sub .5 MOA with two bug holes measuring in the .1's. I am usint H4350 EXT wiht the 123 Lapua. If the weather is decent I am going to wring this load out at 1000 yds this weekend.

Don't worry about the 123 Lapua working in a 1 in 8 twist, it will. I have a 260 Rem. hunting rifle with a 1 in 8 twist Krieger that shoots 90 gr. Speer TNT's well under .5 MOA at 3450 fps. Talk about trashing a coyote! All the load data I posted was save in my rifle with good brass life. Work up to it. Hope this has helped some.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight......RiverRat