6.5-284 Norma

6.5-284 Norma
.308 Winchester on the left, 6.5-284 Norma on the right
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	Sweden
Production history
Designer	Norma
Designed	1999
Specifications
Parent case	.284 Winchester
Bullet diameter	.264 in (6.7 mm)
Neck diameter	.297 in (7.5 mm)
Base diameter	.501 in (12.7 mm)
Rim diameter	.473 in (12.0 mm)
Rim thickness	.040 in (1.0 mm)
Case length	2.170 in (55.1 mm)
Overall length	3.228 in (82.0 mm)
Case capacity	68.33 gr H2O (4.428 cm3)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 125 gr (8 g) Partition 3,000 ft/s (910 m/s) 2,497 ft·lbf (3,385 J) 142 gr (9 g) Hodgdon 2,850 ft/s (870 m/s) 2,557 ft·lbf (3,467 J)
Test barrel length: 24 Source(s): ,

The 6.5-284 Norma originated as a wildcat cartridge based on the .284 Winchester cartridge necked down to 6.5 mm.

The parent case .284 Winchester was created around 1963, but did not see extensive commercial use. The 6.5 caliber allowed for the use of long, aerodynamic bullets. In 1999, Norma submitted it to CIP. It has since been standardized as the 6.5mm-284 Norma.

It has been used extensively in benchrest competitions and is known as an extremely accurate long range round. Using an improved version of the 6.5/284, Rich DeSimone set a 1,000-yard (914.4 m) world record at 1.564-inch (39.73 mm). Rich DeSimone's 1,000-yard (914.4 m) record has been broken by Tom Sarver, who shot a 1.403-inch (35.64 mm) group in 2007 using a .300 Hulk wildcat cartridge that is based on the .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge. In contrast, most hunting rifles do the same at 100 yards (91.4 m) to 200 yards (182.9 m). A 140 gr (9.1 g) class bullet can be driven safely to 3,000 ft/s (914 m/s). Also, there are many popular hunting bullets for this caliber, making it a good hunting round as well.