Ladder Test Results - 30 Nosler - 215 Hybrids

I've use a throating reamer. They work but you are introducing a different tooling into the chamber which may or may not be as precise.

I can tell you with complete confidence custom rifles can and do go out the door and don't perform to expectations either, and they cost a lot more money.

Personally I would not waste my time on a custom with a. 100% SAAMI 30 Nosler. There is definitely performance left on the table trying to stuff it in a standard action not to mention the other negatives of having a bullet stuffed that deep in the case.
Yeah it seems like that is why APR was so hesitant - they did not want to use 2 different types of reamers I guess.

Mike, where can I get a reamer to just send to those guys?
 
Yeah it seems like that is why APR was so hesitant - they did not want to use 2 different types of reamers I guess.

Mike, where can I get a reamer to just send to those guys?
I've used Manson for all of my custom reamers.

I would ask them if they have built a reamer similar to what you are looking for.

As a secondary plan, as much as I hate dealing with PTG, I almost bet they have a reamer print already.
 
I've use a throating reamer. They work but you are introducing a different tooling into the chamber which may or may not be as precise.

I can tell you with complete confidence custom rifles can and do go out the door and don't perform to expectations either, and they cost a lot more money.

Personally I would not waste my time on a custom with a. 100% SAAMI 30 Nosler. There is definitely performance left on the table trying to stuff it in a standard action not to mention the other negatives of having a bullet stuffed that deep in the case.
Sure customs go out the door and don't perform to expectations. If using a good smith it is rare at best. I would be willing to bet you could easily buy $5K worth of factory rifles and never see 1/2" moa or better. Some will get lucky. The majority will not.

The 30 Nosler is not optimized along with most SAAMI cartridges. But for example my 28 Nosler from APR is a SAAMI chamber and these were the results from my initial testing. These were mild loads and the barrel had 30 rounds through it. How much more could you get out of it with a longer throat? 20-50 fps? Maybe? Fnlights sounds like he is building a hunting rifle not a competition ELR rifle. There is alot to be said for keeping it simple.

195 Berger 2922 fps
180 ELD-M 3121 fps
177 HH 3196 fps
169 HH 3287 fps
 
Sure customs go out the door and don't perform to expectations. If using a good smith it is rare at best. I would be willing to bet you could easily buy $5K worth of factory rifles and never see 1/2" moa or better. Some will get lucky. The majority will not.

The 30 Nosler is not optimized along with most SAAMI cartridges. But for example my 28 Nosler from APR is a SAAMI chamber and these were the results from my initial testing. These were mild loads and the barrel had 30 rounds through it. How much more could you get out of it with a longer throat? 20-50 fps? Maybe? Fnlights sounds like he is building a hunting rifle not a competition ELR rifle. There is alot to be said for keeping it simple.

195 Berger 2922 fps
180 ELD-M 3121 fps
177 HH 3196 fps
169 HH 3287 fps
Yes hunting rifle. I must say that I am curious as to how much difference a custom reamer would make. I see that Longtine is getting 3,000 fps with his SAAMI and I know another guy on a seperate form that has a SAAMI APR 30 Nosler and he is getting 2,950 with a softer load to save barrel life. I am no 30 Nosler expert though, but slinging a Berger 215 at or just under 3k seems like a long range killing machine to me
 
Sure customs go out the door and don't perform to expectations. If using a good smith it is rare at best. I would be willing to bet you could easily buy $5K worth of factory rifles and never see 1/2" moa or better. Some will get lucky. The majority will not.

The 30 Nosler is not optimized along with most SAAMI cartridges. But for example my 28 Nosler from APR is a SAAMI chamber and these were the results from my initial testing. These were mild loads and the barrel had 30 rounds through it. How much more could you get out of it with a longer throat? 20-50 fps? Maybe? Fnlights sounds like he is building a hunting rifle not a competition ELR rifle. There is alot to be said for keeping it simple.

195 Berger 2922 fps
180 ELD-M 3121 fps
177 HH 3196 fps
169 HH 3287 fps
I'm not talking about velocity gains, those are typically fairly minimal, but it's there.
I'm more concerned with getting the bearing surface of the bullet above the neck/shoulder junction to avoid donut interference.

There's absolutely no negative to seating the bullet in this way but there are negatives by not.

I suppose if you're a 1 and done shooter with your brass it's a non issue but if you are a hand loader then definitely not.
 
Sure customs go out the door and don't perform to expectations. If using a good smith it is rare at best. I would be willing to bet you could easily buy $5K worth of factory rifles and never see 1/2" moa or better. Some will get lucky. The majority will not.

The 30 Nosler is not optimized along with most SAAMI cartridges. But for example my 28 Nosler from APR is a SAAMI chamber and these were the results from my initial testing. These were mild loads and the barrel had 30 rounds through it. How much more could you get out of it with a longer throat? 20-50 fps? Maybe? Fnlights sounds like he is building a hunting rifle not a competition ELR rifle. There is alot to be said for keeping it simple.

195 Berger 2922 fps
180 ELD-M 3121 fps
177 HH 3196 fps
169 HH 3287 fps
Ryan Pierce was running 195s 3100+ with his 28 Nosler Spec'd reamer and 26" barrels. I would expect 30-80fps more. Not much, but some people will go greater lengths than a longer throat to gain that much speed. The big thing is you're leaving nothing on the table and you could potentially reach a higher accuracy node safely with the correct throat opposed to a shorter one. You also never have to worry about donuts with the bullet seated in the neck properly.
 
Last edited:
My 30 Nosler is a custom XP-100. Shoots the Berger 210 VLDH very well. Currently seeing 2800-2850 FPS with RL26 and about 50-60 rds down the barrel.

18.5" Bartlein 5R barrel, Jon Beanland built. Target at 100 meters. Reamer print attached.

There's value in doing a non-SAAMI spec chamber.
 

Attachments

  • B40FC39B-22F9-4B0A-8B54-2DD34C2B028C.jpeg
    B40FC39B-22F9-4B0A-8B54-2DD34C2B028C.jpeg
    563.4 KB · Views: 61
  • F29EBC0D-654F-4AB1-8A92-E7E86543C739.jpeg
    F29EBC0D-654F-4AB1-8A92-E7E86543C739.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 54
  • 5DC36C1F-5315-473A-85F7-5D2FF8218E6E.png
    5DC36C1F-5315-473A-85F7-5D2FF8218E6E.png
    146.1 KB · Views: 60
@FURMAN has experience with 30 Noslers with SAAMI and longer throats. Don't quote me, but I believe he was around 3100ish with a 215 in his long throated 30 Nosler.
 
l@FURMAN has experience with 30 Noslers with SAAMI and longer throats. Don't quote me, but I believe he was around 3100ish with a 215 in his long throated 30 Nosler.
Yeah I have read his 30 Nosler guide over on LRO and he mentions that the SAAMI throat works just fine with a 215 Berger, but he prefers a freebore of around .200 - .220 - Ryan can correct me if I am wrong.
 
Here is his guide for reference - https://www.longrangeonly.com/30-nosler/

Looks like he was around 3k with most of his loads
You'll note that the .200 FB custom chamber was 3100 with multiple loads with a 215 opposed to 3000. Either velocity will be enough for most critters, but the point is the longer freebore offers benefits. You'd probably be fine with either if it doesn't matter to you.
 
Yes. I'm not trying to argue with people I am just not sure someone getting in their first custom who in a previous post said he was using to hunt 400-500 yds. and I don't see what appreciable differences he would see at those distances.
 
Top