RockyMtnMT
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Ha ha! That's good, but you forgot the nontoxic lead free bullets in the equation!
I couldn't resist, sorry for the shameless plug.
Steve
The .338 Rogue
- Thread starter shortgrass
- Start date
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Ha ha! That's good, but you forgot the nontoxic lead free bullets in the equation!
I couldn't resist, sorry for the shameless plug.
Steve
Tip of the Day:
I use a Wilson Case Trimmer. I couldn't locate any case holders for the 338 Lapua Improved. Wilson will make a custom case holder, for $22.00 plus $10.00 shipping.
lightbulb Use your chamber reamer to enlarge a Wilson 338 Lapua Case Holder. Result = perfect fit. Mounted the Wilson Case Holder in my rubber padded bench vise and carefully turned the chamber reamer by hand using a rachet with a 8" extension to allow the chamber reamer to self feed. Keep the reamer lubed with cutting oil. Slicker than snot. Doesn't involved a lot of cutting if you start with the 338 Lapua Case Holder. Would take me about 10 minutes to do a second one. Took about 30 minutes to do the first one, because I was learning gunsmithing on-the-job.
If this sounds too scary, you might request your gunsmith do this at the same time he's mounting a barrel to your action. Should be very simple for them to do.
On a side note: My gunsmith told me my brand new chamber reamer didn't cut very well. It got the job done but he had to fight it too much. Told me to get my reamer resharpened before attempting to cut another chamber. After manually enlarging this Wilson Case Holder, I understand the problem. Only 2 of the 6 flutes on my reamer were doing 90% of the cutting. A third flute was cutting the other 10%. Three of the flutes weren't shaving much of anything. Not very efficient.
Was this a fault of the reamer? I'm having Bartlein build the barrel and chamber it for me so should I have them test headspace with lapua brass since they are going to install the barrel to the action?
The difference in headspace measurement was not a fault of the chamber reamer or the Go-Gauge. The two different brands of new 338 Lapua cases (Hornady and Lapua) varied in headspace length ~0.004". The Hornady cases were 0.004" longer than the Lapua.
So I would send some of the cases you intend to use and fireform in your finished chamber to your gunsmith, and have them cut the chamber length so the factory cases bottom out against the shoulder in the chamber. That way you'll be able to fireform without any fuss. The bolt should close with enough resistance on the new cases to ensure the case head is forced into direct contact with the face of the bolt - when the bolt is closed.
Awesome. I only shoot.lapua brass and have been stocking it when it goes in sale.
What did you have your throat set at? What are you projecting you COAL to be?
shortgrass
Well-Known Member
For the record, after I neck turned the Hornaday brass in the same fashion that phorwath had turned the Lapua brass, I was able to chamber, with a crush fit, the Hornaday in the 'shorter' Rogue chamber (that had been 'headspaced' to the preped Lapua brass). I keep two (minimum) fired cases from every chamber I cut, and I didn't want to short phorwath (a couple of Lapua cases) when I sent his barreled action and tools to him. The only way to know for sure about the case length between Lapua and Hornaday would be to measure them using the Wilson case length measuring tools before any prep work was done to the casings. Send the cases you want the chamber cut to, like phorwath suggests, for best results. The casings become a 'back-up' for the GO gauge, insuring a crush fit in the chamber of your Improved chamber. The only 'jamming' I care to do, when fire forming, is with the Dashers (.22 Dasher or 6mm Dasher).
shortgrass extended the freebore with a throating reamer another 0.073" over what my chamber reamer cut.
I had the freebore lengthened so that the Berger 300gr OTM would touch the lands when the base of the bearing surface of the bullet was even with the shoulder. The boattail will extend back behind the case neck. The COAL with the Berger 300gr OTM touching the lands is going to be about 3.880". [EDIT 2/11/2018: The Berger 300gr OTM just touching the lands resulted in a COAL of 4.013"]
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I really appreciate all the info. This will be my first custom barrel and want to get it right. With your chamber specs will you be able to fire factory boxed ammo? I know I asked a variation of this question already but then I see shortgrass talking about neck turning. If so was this so with a standard rogue reamer or just yours?
This was with my chamber reamer, the first one shown in my prior Post. The neck on my chamber reamer is 0.370". Yes, I should be able to fire factory .338 Lapua ammo, but I'll measure the neck OD of the factory ammo before purchasing it to be certain. The PPU and Lapua factory ammo I've measure had case neck outer diameters of 0.367" diameter. That will leave me with 0.003" total neck clearance. Enough to fire in my chamber, provided the bolt closes on them with a little resistance.
I ordered my chamber reamer with a 0.370" neck diameter so I could outside neck turn 0.001" off the case necks and end up with neck diameter of ~0.366" after the bullets are seated, for a total clearance of 0.004". I just measured one of my outside neck turned cases with a bullet seated, and the neck OK measures ~0.3664".
Looking forward to the range reports, should be awesome. Any plans for a can? Can you hunt with them in AK?
I have a rifle with about that much clearance on the necks, and it benefitted from turning 1.5thou and opening the clearance a little. It would occasionally not chamber smoothly, but The load wasnt grwat and was getting some smoky necks so some power fouling could have reducing the clearance in the neck area. It is more consistant now with about 6-7 thousandths clearance in the neck. Of course every thou you turn off the necks results in double that in the chamber (its cut off each side after all) so you you dont to turn off too much. Something to consider for a dangerous game rifle, as3-4 thousandths didnt sound like much to me. But i dont have as much experience in this area as others, i only neck turn for this one rifle. Im sure you'll be able to tell more after your testing.
I have a rifle with about that much clearance on the necks, and it benefitted from turning 1.5thou and opening the clearance a little. It would occasionally not chamber smoothly, but The load wasnt grwat and was getting some smoky necks so some power fouling could have reducing the clearance in the neck area. It is more consistant now with about 6-7 thousandths clearance in the neck. Of course every thou you turn off the necks results in double that in the chamber (its cut off each side after all) so you you dont to turn off too much. Something to consider for a dangerous game rifle, as3-4 thousandths didnt sound like much to me. But i dont have as much experience in this area as others, i only neck turn for this one rifle. Im sure you'll be able to tell more after your testing.
Refining the answer I provided two Posts prior to this one.
My COAL is 3.963" with the Berger 300gr OTM. Just a little more than that because I've meplat uniformed my bullets. So on the non-meplat uniformed factory bullets, the COAL would be around 3.975".
The Case Head to Ogive length on the 300gr OTMs (Ogive as in 0.330" diameter on the bullet) is 3.132"
The length from the case head to the location on the seated 300gr OTMs where the lands of the rifling first touch the bullet (rifling marks on the bullet closest to the case head - near the ogive on the bullet) is about 3.075".
How long is your mag 4"? When do you plan on firing it?
My Wyatt's mag will only accept a COAL of 3.825". I have their CFE-12 extended magazine box. The Berger 300gr OTMs will only be fired single shot style, fed directly into the chamber by hand.
I'll be loaded 275gr Swift A-Frames to magazine length for bear/camp protection, or for shorter range hunting loads.
I fired the first round about an hour ago, but with no scope on the rifle. Just glass bedded the barreled action to the McMillan stock Friday night, so I'm going to fire a few bullets to break-in the barrel next, prior to sending it and the muzzle brake in for nitride treatment.
Phorwath do you have experience with the nitride treatment? Can you talk a little bit to the benefits you have seen? Just wondering about the process you do, if you have to do anything special after nitride and if it ever decreased accuracy. Im considering doing it on a spare bartlein barrel I have. It has already been ceracoated so I dont know if that is a deal breaker.
