Gunsmithing 308 reamer advice

[Killswitch Engage]

wondering if you guys can recommend a 308 reamer for me. i want more of a tactical/utility chamber then a "match" chamber. i want it to be happy with about anything i feed it as far as m118lr, fgmm, home roll so with that i kind of wan to stay away from tight neck but not have a giant amount of freebore with a 2.800-2.820 ish cartridge. any recomendations?

 

[Cigarcop]

Bisley

 

[FCS]

0.343" neck diameter, 0.085-0.090" of freeborn.

Who are you planning to get reamer from?

 

[Thumper580]

0.343" neck diameter, 0.085-0.090" of freeborn.

Who are you planning to get reamer from?

A couple of days ago Pacific Tool and Gauge had SAAMI 308 reamers available. Good price $138.00

 

[Gene Poole]

I went with a M118 Special Ball (on Chad Dixon's advise). It was a good call for me. It'll fire beat up mil-surp just fine and does great with my pet load (Lapua, 175 SMK, Varget) in F-Class. It's a little long in the throat, but 175 SMKs don't seem to care about the jump. I load them to about 5-10 thou over spec (2.805 to 2.810).

 

[ugsly]

Bisley is what I used for shooting 168 Fed Match, it has worked very well. Call PTG and see if Dave has a free minute to talk, get a pen and pad handy.

Casey

 

[Raven0369]

Who ever does the reaming is the most important thing! Any good reamer is capable of doing a good job.
Because the person doing the reaming can cut a perfect chamber, make it to short or to deep with the same reamer.
Look for a good gunsmith more than anything! Free bore is put on the reamer itself I have scene different free bore on the same caliber reamers from the same manufacture. I would suggest to shortest free bore possible. Otherwise you have to set the bullets out of the case longer to get the best accuracy. There are no such things as a tactical or utility chamber. Just tight chambers and loose chambers. The tight chambers shoot the best!
The loose chambers are less prone to fouling malfunctions. I will take a tight chamber over a loose one any day. Because I want that one shot to count.

 

[BillCh]

I got my reamer through Grizzly. The neck is .3445 with a .050 free bore.
At first I thought that the neck might be a little on the big side. It has been a non-issue.
The free bore seems to work out pretty well too. A 175gr SMK loaded to 2.800 is about .021 from the lands. This free bore has also been a pretty good compromise when using the 185gr and 155.5gr Bergers.

The good thing about the .308 Win. is there are so vary many reamers to choose from.


B

 

[Raven0369]

Who ever does the reaming is the most important thing! Any good reamer is capable of doing a good job.
Because the person doing the reaming can cut a perfect chamber, make it to short or to deep with the same reamer.
Look for a good gunsmith more than anything! Free bore is put on the reamer itself I have scene different free bore on the same caliber reamers from the same manufacture. I would suggest to shortest free bore possible. Otherwise you have to set the bullets out of the case longer to get the best accuracy. There are no such things as a tactical or utility chamber. Just tight chambers and loose chambers. The tight chambers shoot the best!
The loose chambers are less prone to fouling malfunctions. I will take a tight chamber over a loose one any day. Because I want that one shot to count.

 

[Col Kurtz]

Killswitch, don't take it the wrong way, but what you are asking is kind of like asking "What engine do I need for my truck ?". Depends. are you going to run Nascar truck series, drag race, or tow a large trailer up mountains? It's really all going to come down to what you want to do with it. A few questions you have to know the answer to is, what platform you want to put your .308 in semi, bolt, or single shot? What is your mag box length going to be, if this applies? Do you want to change anything to possibly be able to seat your bullets out further so you can gain velocity? Do you wish to shoot any VLD's, or Hybrids? If this seams like a lot, it is. if you want to be able to run anything and everything and it shoot pretty good, well that is what the factory has came up with in a SAAMI chamber. This way it can handle most everything. Kind of like a factory engine in a truck, it's not great, but it isn't to bad either.

 

[E. Bryant]

If the goal is versatility, then I think there is a lot to be said for SAAMI-spec chambers.

 

[Killswitch Engage]

I guess I can elaborate some here. I have had many
.308's over the years. Some tight some Sammi factory etc. I am not sending my
shit to a gunsmith. I am my gunsmith. I don't want a Ferrari out of the .308 because that's not what it is. I want it to be what it is and that's a old work horse. My rifles are bolt guns and I run standard aics mags. No voodoo And crazy loads. Normal 2600-2650 with 175 or 178amax. Possibly considering trying the 185 juggernaut as I have heard some good stuff there. So as I said in my original post...not a tight neck, 100% function is the need. Don't wanna turn necks. Want a jump of not really more then .020 or so with a 2.800ish oal. Maybe I will just spec my own grind and be done. Thanks for the input guys.

 

[Rthur]

Dave sent me a bisley for factory ammo/reloads. Don't have the print in front of me right now but should do what you are looking for.



R

 

[Killswitch Engage]

That's probably the route Im going