Headspace advice needed, 6.5 Creedmoor, 2 diff Savage rifles

[ntsqd]

Try 'coloring' the extractor groove of some cases with a Sharpie, then tumble them normally. It may be enough and survive the tumbling.

But like others have said, I'd keep the brass separate. Buy the ammo boxes in different colors too.

 

[98dyna]

Which bushing are you using? Hornady says #375 for the 6.5 so I measured my brass last night. Savage 110 Tactical 6.5 Hornady brass once fired is 1.5535-1.5550, which is .0015 diff or less thickness than a piece of thin paper. Hornady new brass (non-match) right out of the box measured 1.5545-1.5550. I would be worried if you sized it at 1.5490, now you are getting really sloppy in the chamber. I have 2 .260 AI rifles, they have .002 difference in chambers between the 2. I bump sized for the match chamber and then the die neck sizes for the standard, no problems so far. The shell holders make sense to me because you can also use them for other casings.

 

[TejasRider]

I used the 400 bushing based on how I read the SAAMI diagram. I suppose the main thing is consistency in measurements.

https://saami.org/wp-content/upload...99.4-CFR-Approved-2015-12-14-Posting-Copy.pdf (page 39)

 

[98dyna]

I would go with the shell holders, I would take a small file and notch the rim slightly with one rifles brass. My .02 worth.

 

[Wedgy]

Since these are Savage rifles, I would reset the headspace so that both have the same that way you would not have to separate brass. This is a simple/easy task on a Savage. When I built my 6.5x47 I used a piece of new Lapua brass to set headspace. My brass only grows about .002" and when I size it I am pretty much putting it back to factory spec. I don't notice a difference when I use new brass versus the fired brass.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this you can get your gunsmith to set the headspace on both barrels to match.

This is by far the best solution so you can interchange the ammo in the rifles and load one round for both(maybe), but you can mix the brass together together for sure. The three 6.5 Lapuas I've had shot within .3 grains for their sweet spot.

 

[Hondo64d]

For now let's accept that somehow I was able to justify buying a 2nd Savage in 6.5 Creedmoor. One is the Hunter Tactical (Cabela's model) and the other is the Desert Tactical.

The Hunter Tactical was my first purchase and I worked up some loads that seemed to work for my 100 and 200 yrd paper punching. A few weeks ago I picked up the Desert Tactical and tried to see how those loads would perform in that rifle. What I found was that I couldn't fully chamber those cartridges.

I've since picked up the Hornady Headspace bushing set and measured fired reloads in my HT and fired commercial in my DT. Below are the measurements I got on 10 of each.

Hunter Tactical:
1.5390, 1.5380, 1.5380, 1.5370, 1.5370, 1.5360, 1.5370, 1.5365, 1.5370, 1.5370

Desert Tactical:
1.5350, 1.5330, 1.5340, 1.5345, 1.5340, 1.5350, 1.5355, 1.5345, 1.5345, 1.5345

I also went ahead and measure some unfired cartridges.

My reloads:
1.5330, 1.5325, 1.5330, 1.5325

Hornady match 140:
1.5300, 1.5290, 1.5290, 1.5290

I'm using Hornady dies and a Hornady shell holder. Die was run down to where it touched the the shell holder at the top of the stroke, then give a 1/4 turn for a slight cam-over.

So here are my questions.
1. Is the chamber difference such that I should segregate my brass so that I keep a set with headspace correct for one and a separate set for the other?

2. Should I be looking at pushing my shoulders back to 1.5310 for both?

*edit: since its my first time using the headspace bushings, my zero may not have been set correctly but all the measurements relative to the zero I set were consistent.

Any help would be appreciated.

I'd break the barrel nut loose on both and reset the headspace on both using the same go gage. After that, you should be able to use the same die setting and brass on both.

John

 

[ntsqd]

I'd be tempted to face the rear of the barrels enough to gently re-chamber them both with the same reamer.

 

[J E Custom]

All rifles and chambers are different and unless you touched the chamber with the same reamer and head spaced them exactly the same, chances of the two rifles liking the same ammo is unusually rare.

I recommend that you keep the ammo/loads separate and size to get the best fit for each. Treat them like two separate rifles and keep the loads in different ammo boxes.There are many ways to do this as suggested by others, and the benefits far out weigh the effort.

The only other way to deal with this is to size the cases to fit the tightest chamber and live with the brass life on the one over sized
and the accuracy.

Just my opinion

J E CUSTOM

 

[Canhunter35]

The base of the case may have to be resized to fit in the new gun?
I have a pva base resizing die

 

[Barrelnut]

The base of the case may have to be resized to fit in the new gun?
I have a pva base resizing die

DANG! Didn't know about it. I could use that on a 300 RUM. Thanks for posting.

 

[ThrdKllr]

All rifles and chambers are different and unless you touched the chamber with the same reamer and head spaced them exactly the same, chances of the two rifles liking the same ammo is unusually rare.

I recommend that you keep the ammo/loads separate and size to get the best fit for each. Treat them like two separate rifles and keep the loads in different ammo boxes.There are many ways to do this as suggested by others, and the benefits far out weigh the effort.

The only other way to deal with this is to size the cases to fit the tightest chamber and live with the brass life on the one over sized
and the accuracy.

Just my opinion

J E CUSTOM

Even if you got the headspace set the same, your distance to the lands could be different. Not a problem if you load a short one in the long one but could be bad reversed. About the only way to have the lead the same length is to ream it with the same reamer. My Manson reamer has a .199 freebore and my factory Savage barrel had to have.225 according to the measurements I got. I use Lapua brass in my Savage and Hornady and Starline in my Bartlein barrel.

 

[TejasRider]

Any recommendations for a good gunsmith in the Fort Worth area? I got home last night and found that I have smooth barrel nuts. A few DIY youtube's later watching guys use pipe wrenches now has me looking for a gunsmith with the right tools. Any suggestions?

 

[Wedgy]

Easy to take off either but most prefer the old nut so they pipe wrench the smooth ones. I have a notched on I can send you if you want to ditch the smoothie.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1006552646/wheeler-engineering-barrel-nut-wrench-savage-10-110

 

[ntsqd]

Pipe wrench them off & replace with earlier Savage OEM type aftermarket barrel nuts with the drive splines. Something like: