22-284 Winchester

The 284 Winchester was not a commercial success due to a number of marketing missteps, but the case it spawned quickly became a wildcatter’s favorite. Introduced in 1963, the 284 Winchester was envisioned as a cartridge that would compete with the .270 Winchester, but in short-action rifles. So it’s anyone’s guess why the 284 Winchester was introduced in Model 88 lever action and Model 100 semiauto rifles without sufficient action strength or magazine space to take full advantage of the cartridge’s potential. Even in later bolt-action rifles, the 2.80- to 2.90-inch magazine space precluded bullets much heavier than 150 grains, as they intruded too deeply into powder space to further hamstring performance.

What makes this more of a shame is the 284 Winchester is an excellent round with several design features that were well ahead of its time. The cartridge has a rebated rim, like the modern .22 Nosler, which allows the short, fat case to accommodate standard .30-06 Springfield bolt faces. That short, fat case, like modern short magnums, produces a more efficient powder column, aided further by the steep 35-degree shoulder, a trend that has become all the rage on most recently introduced cartridges.

While the 284 Winchester is all but dead in the commercial market, the case has been necked up and down to every conceivable diameter by intrepid wildcatters. The most popular is the 6.5-284 Winchester and Norma (the latter includes more generous freebore to accommodate longer, heavy-for-caliber bullets), which has become wildly popular with the long-range set. The 284 Winchester has also served as the basis for wildcats holding .243-, .257-, .277-, .308-, .338- and .358-caliber bullets. The list of 284 Winchester wildcats would also include the 22-284 under discussion here.

The 22-284 is wildcatting taken to extremes. The round is grossly over-bore, and would make absolutely no sense without the test rifle’s 1:7 rifling twist. Okay, the round is still a bit much, but loading long-for-caliber bullets with G1 ballistic coefficients (BC) in the mid .400s to high .500s does create one heck of a long-range speed

demon, pushing “VLD-style” 75-grain bullets to around 3,550 feet per second (fps), with 90-grain long-range bullets to around 3,350 fps.

True, barrel life will undoubtedly prove short, in terms of lifetime round count, as I expect to get no more than 2,000 rounds out of this rifle – maybe less – before throat erosion begins to negatively impact accuracy. But this is not a rifle I’d carry into high-volume varmint arenas. This is a highly specialized, 10-shot-a-day-maximum rockchuck or groundhog rifle, an extreme-range coyote gun, something I might snipe the occasional wild hog with. Those 2,000 shots should last me a lifetime. I took more life off this barrel during load development than will ever occur in the field.

The test rifle is obviously a custom job, built on a Gewehr Model 98 Mauser action. The side stripper-clip thumb indent marks it as a military weapon. A mystery 26-inch stainless-steel barrel was added, holding only the markings “22-284.” The barrel measures a healthy .82 inch at the muzzle and included very little taper from the breech. The stock is gorgeous, carved from well-figured walnut and included a snazzy Schnabel forend, 24 lines per inch hand-checkering on the forend and grip areas, raised-cheek comb, quick detach sling sockets and an orange Decelerator recoil pad. The Timney replacement trigger is very crisp, breaking at 1.04 pounds. A side Remington-style safety has been added. I mounted a Vortex Optics Diamondback Tactical 6-24x 50mm scope, set in Leupold STD 30mm rings and two-piece STD bases. The rifle weighs 11.18 pounds as tested. The 13-inch length of pull is a bit short for me, but overall, the rifle is comfortable enough.

Dies for the 22-284 are readily available. Redding Custom full-length dies and a Redding Form & Trim Custom die were used to assemble test ammunition. The latter is actually important, as simply shoving 6.5-284 brass through a 22-284 Winchester full-length die will result in crushed cases every time due to the steep shoulder angle. The Form & Trim die eases the .06-inch transition from 284- to .224-inch necks. Nosler and Lapua 6.5mm-284 Norma parent brass are readily available (Quality Cartridge and RCC Brass offer properly headstamped cases), or I should say they are usually available, except for the latest spate of component hoarding and resulting shortages of everything gun related. These are but minor challenges.

The larger challenge is first finding reliable load data, especially for heavy bullets. There are the usual internet chat-room sources, if you’re a truly adventurous soul. What reliable data I was able to scrounge included limited powder options for heavy bullets, largely Alliant Reloder 25 and Hodgdon H-1000. At least these did provide some starting points, allowing me to extrapolate from more common 6mm-284 Winchester data with same-weight bullets. I approached this avenue with the assumption that pushing all of that expanding gas through such a tiny orifice would increase chamber pressures appreciably, which proved correct. During my first round of loading for this rifle, many of my start loads showed pressure signs. Load ladders were adjusted accordingly here.

A handful of new Quality Cartridge 22-284 brass was used to establish maximum case length – 2.147 inches – the necked-down 6.5mm-284 brass coming out of the Form & Trim die a bit shorter and then gaining a bit after full-length resizing. All were trimmed to 2.145 inches for symmetry. I then discovered that after seating bullets into the resized 6.5-284 brass, cartridges would not chamber in my rifle. Those loads would have to be disassembled, brass resized with the decapping pin removed to save precious primers, and inside reaming conducted with a Forester Appelt neck-turning/reaming tool. This took necks from .015-inch to .013-inch thick. Another run through the full-length resizing die made them ready to load again. Both new Quality Cartridge and resized brass required this treatment.

Quality Cartridge 22-284 brass held an average of 61.3 grains of water when filled to the brim, reformed Lapua brass held 63.5 grains and Nosler 63.3 grains of water on average. Powder charges ran from 44 to 53 grains, depending on the powder chosen.

My initial load development, conducted last summer, revealed that the 22-284 runs hot – very hot. A single three-shot string (the new normal during these times of component shortages) would turn the barrel conspicuously hot to the touch. Water-soaked towels were wrapped around the barrel between groups to speed cooling. Failing to cool the barrel between shot strings resulted in bullets occasionally flying apart before reaching the target. I’d guess this was from a combination of excessive bore heat, the fast twist rate and constricted bore. This resulted in a very slow shooting pace, with listed loads requiring several days at the bench.

Slow-burning powders are the rule with overbore cartridges like the 22-284, in this case including Hodgdon H-1000, H-4831sc and Retumbo, IMR-7828ssc, Vihtavuori N165, Alliant Reloder 22 and 25, Ramshot Magnum and Accurate Magpro. Federal GM210M (Gold Medal Match) Large Rifle primers were used for all loads, magnum primers seemed unnecessary. Bullets tested included Quality Cartridge’s 68-grain Game-StopR, Swift Bullet Company’s 75-grain Scirocco II, Hornady’s 80-grain ELD Match, Nosler’s 85-grain RDF, Berger’s 90-grain VLD Target and Hornady’s 90-grain A-Tip. Some of these bullets were chosen in reaction to the bullet disintegration experienced while working up initial loads for this rifle, replacements deemed to be tougher skinned or generally more robust. Lapua brass were used for bullets weighing 68 to 85 grains, Nosler brass for the 90-grain loads.

Quality Cartridge’s new 68-grain Game-StopR is a monolithic copper hollowpoint bullet with a .395 G1 BC. They showed signs of minimal stabilization during a recent 1:9 twist .220 Swift project, so I judged that they would work perfectly with the 1:7 twist of the test rifle. That proved correct. At 22-284 velocities, I also suspect they should prove explosive. Alliant Reloder 25 and Vihtavuori N165 were paired with this bullet. Reloder 25 showed a decided accuracy edge, all loads averaging just shy of ¾-inch, the best a .67-inch group at 3,768 fps using a maximum load of 55 grains. N165 did not perform as well with this bullet, the best group was just .88 inch.

Swift’s 75-grain Scirocco II is an ultra-tough, tapered-jacket/bonded core bullet with a minimal recommended twist rate of 1:8. I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot a wild boar (or deer) with this bullet, though it would also make an ideal pelt-shooting option producing minimal hide damage. The black polymer tip and boat-tail give it a .419 G1 BC. Ramshot Magnum and Hodgdon H-4831sc were used to test this bullet. Magnum gave the best overall group average and the tightest group at .86 inch at 3,415 fps using 49.5 grains of powder. Hodgdon H-4831sc, usually a stellar choice in this round, did much worse. Overall, it would appear my rifle just didn’t care for this bullet, or perhaps just the seating depth chosen.

The 80-grain ELD Match by Hornady gets us into the true long-range class, its .485 G1 BC created by the sharp Heat Shield tip, low-drag design, concentric AMP jacket and exceptional uniformity. This bullet expands aggressively from my .22 Creedmoor, which should only be accentuated at 22-284 velocities 300 to 400 fps faster. IMR-7828ssc and Alliant Reloder 22 were paired with this bullet. IMR-7828ssc turned things around, but only after reaching the maximum load of 51 grains. That load produced one ragged hole measuring .29 inch, pushed at 3,559 fps. Reloder 22 didn’t produce any “wow” groups, but did keep 48- and 49-grain loads at less than an inch, at velocities from 3,406 to 3,493 fps. It deserves more experimentation.

Nosler’s 85-grain RDF (Reduced Drag Factor) is an ultra-high BC (.498 G1 BC) match bullet requiring a minimum 1:8 rifling twist. Its super-small melplat normally would not be expected to promote rapid expansion, but I have a feeling the velocities generated by the 22-284 might do the trick. Alliant Reloder 25 and Hodgdon H-1000 provided the fuel for this one. Only one RDF group exceeded an inch, 51 grains of Reloder 25 doing the trick, printing .62 inch at 3,381 fps. H-1000 did best with a maximum load of 49.5 grains, hitting 3,333 fps and printing .72 inch.

Two 90-grain bullets were auditioned to take advantage of the fast rifling twist; the Berger VLD Target and Hornady A-Tip Match. Both require a minimum 1:7 rifling twist, and from experience, I know they will expand on varmints. The Berger includes a spear-like ogive and sleek boat-tail profile resulting in a .527 G1 BC. It was paired with H-4831sc and Accurate Magpro. The A-Tip provides a phenomenal .585 G1 BC created by the machined aluminum tip, optimized boat-tail and refined AMP jacket. Minimal handling during manufacturing is touted to boost accuracy potential, requiring wiping away machining oil before loading. Hodgdon Retumbo and Ramshot Magnum were tried.

The 90-grain bullets actually struggled a bit, a VLD Target/H-4831sc pairing doing best, printing .64 inch at 3,091 fps using 45 grains of powder, while 46 grains opened the group to 1.08 inches. Magpro managed three groups surrounding 1½ inches. On average, the A-Tip Match did a little better, the best group was .66 inch at 3,362 fps using a maximum load of 52 grains of Magnum. Retumbo and Magnum both produced impressive velocities, the latter is a powder that likely deserves more experimentation with this cartridge; though its best group here was just .91 inch at 3,309 fps using a maximum load of 51 grains.

Overall, Alliant Reloder 25, Ramshot Magnum, IMR-7828ssc and Hodgdon’s H-1000 and H-4831sc showed the most accuracy potential with this cartridge. I believe the 80-grain Hornady ELD Match will become my bullet of choice in this rifle.

Would I recommend having your own 22-284 built? That really depends on your willingness to tinker, and what your varmint-shooting inclinations are. The round requires several extra steps during loading, seems extremely finicky (at least from my rifle), and barrel life is guaranteed to be short. For specialized varminting – long-range/windy-country rockchucks, groundhogs or prairie coyotes, shooting where daily round count seldom exceeds 20 rounds – it just might be the solution to your problems. It is wildcatting taken to extremes, but since when has wildcatting been viewed as completely practical? This is all about pure speed!