Gunsmithing Rechamber?

[ranger1183]

Rechambering a .308 into a .30-06?

I have an old 26" barrel chambered in .308 that I'd like to have rechambered in .30-06. Problem is there is not enough room left on the barrel to hack off the old .308 chamber and restart with a .30-06 chamber. The slope / contour of the barrel drops off to quickly leaving not enough width to meet up with the action.

Since the barrel is already threaded for a Remington 700, can the present chamber be cut deeper into becoming a .30-06 chamber while the current Remington 700 threads are re-used?

Thanks!

 

[9H_Cracka]

Re: Rechamber?

No.

Compare the body/shoulder junction dimension to see why. The '06 is smaller than the 308.

 

[doc76251]

Re: Rechamber?

If it was a heavy taper you could do it. With what you are describing you could still do it but I would be worried about the "meat" over the cartridge area being sufficient to handle the pressure. Might be handy to post a pic of it with an 06 round laying next to it. I'm sure some of the gun plumbers here would give you the skinny.

Cheers,

Doc

 

[9H_Cracka]

Re: Rechamber?

It's pretty clear Doc he wants to use the existing threads and breech cone.

 

[doc76251]

Re: Rechamber?

9H,

Yeah, I missed the last line. Most folks would want to true up the surfaces ........ there I go thinking again

Cheers,

Doc

 

[sinarms]

Re: Rechamber?

you could make it a 30-06AI

 

[GasLight]

Re: Rechamber?

The shoulder junction is also .388" further forward in the .30-06 than in the .308. You would need to measure a .30-06 reamer or case at the same distance as the .308 shoulder to determine for sure if there was enough meat or not. I don't have the where withall right now to do the math, but if you could figure the angle of taper on the .30-06 case, you could determine the diameter of said case at 1.560" and compare that to the diameter of the .308 case at the shoulder (.454").

Dave

 

[9H_Cracka]

Re: Rechamber?

A simple glance at the case drawing in the RCBS reloading manual tells the story very clearly DD.

 

[BlackOps Tech]

Re: Rechamber?

What is the breech length of the barrel?

 

[GasLight]

Re: Rechamber?

Didn't have a great drawing to look at, but I couldn't help myself and did the math. The -06 case looks like it should be right at .443" at the same distance as the .308 case shoulder. This is .011" smaller than the .308 case which would leave you with a bulge in your brass of that dimension. Sorry to think it further than you already stated NineHotel LOL. The .30-06 AI would be the best bet if you have to leave the tang complete.

 

[300sniper]

Re: Rechamber?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DebosDave ©</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Didn't have a great drawing to look at, but I couldn't help myself and did the math. The -06 case looks like it should be right at .443" at the same distance as the .308 case shoulder. This is .011" smaller than the .308 case which would leave you with a bulge in your brass of that dimension. Sorry to think it further than you already stated NineHotel LOL. The .30-06 AI would be the best bet if you have to leave the tang complete.

</div></div>

you came up with the same dimension i just did with a quick cad drawing based on teh dimensions i found here: http://www.stevespages.com/page8d.htm.

i got .4434" @ 1.56" from the bolt face on the 30-06 and .454" at the .308 shoulder (1.56" from the bolt face).

 

[GasLight]

Re: Rechamber?

Not bad eh? I just learned when I would ever use my high school trig in the real world LMAO

DD

 

[ranger1183]

Re: Rechamber?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DebosDave ©</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Didn't have a great drawing to look at, but I couldn't help myself and did the math. The -06 case looks like it should be right at .443" at the same distance as the .308 case shoulder. This is .011" smaller than the .308 case which would leave you with a bulge in your brass of that dimension. Sorry to think it further than you already stated NineHotel LOL. The .30-06 AI would be the best bet if you have to leave the tang complete. </div></div>

ok, so a .30-06AI will work. That is great news!

Seeing that I already have a complete set of Redding Competition .30-06 dies:
1. Can the same reamer used to cut the .30-06AI chamber also be used to re-cut the these three dies?
2. Or do I have to order a different reamer?
3. Is re-cutting the dies something my local gunsmith can do or is this at a higher level?
For re-chambering this .308 barrel into a .30-06AI barrel plus re-cutting the dies:
4. How much should I expect to pay?
5. Is there someone on SH that specializes in this work?
6. Any ideas of what I should expect these days regarding wait times?

 

[GasLight]

Re: Rechamber?

1&2. You will need a different reamer for a re-size die than a chamber die. The re-size die is under size by a couple thou IIRC, because the brass has spring back. There are people who do use a chamber reamer to resize their brass, they are basically just making a 'shoulder-bump' die.

3. Your gunsmith should be able to re-chamber the dies as easily as rechambering the barrel, just needs a different reamer. The only thing I am not 100% sure on here is if the dies are hardened after reaming or if they are coated with something, either of those things may prohibit re-chambering your current die set.

4. This will depend greatly on if your 'smith already has a reamer set for the caliber. I think having a chamber cut is between $150 and $250 depending on who does the work. I would think if they already have the dies you could get it done with both items for around $300. If he doesn't already have reamers, he can also rent them instead of buying, or you might approach him to split costs if he wants to keep the reamers. It might be worth looking into a die set for the caliber as it may well be cheaper to buy a set than to buy a reamer and pay for re-ream.

5. There are many good gunsmiths on the hide.

6. The wait time will depend on who does the work. Some are very backed up and not taking piece work like this, and others have a more manageable work load and can provide quick turn around.

HTH
DD

 

[bohem]

Re: Rechamber?

By the time you get done working the solution around keeping that barrel, you might just find it cheaper to get yourself a barrel blank in the same or similar contour and take it to your local gunsmith.

Chances are very good that he already has the 06 reamer, the dies you have will now work without changes, and since he's going to have to rechamber the first barrel, the only difference on that end is you may or may not get it recrowned (I certainly would).

Basic underlying question.

Is all the hassle and expense of cutting the dies, buying at least 1 new reamer (probably 2), and not having a new barrel to start with worth the possibility of saving 50 bucks vs. just doing the job right the first time? Chances are the answer is "no." At least, that's what my experience has taught me.

Sorry to rain on the parade.

 

[9H_Cracka]

Re: Rechamber?

The other issue is Remington has no rime or reason as to where they pick up threads on the action and the barrels when they make them. I tried to put a 30-06 barrel on a action that came with a 270 barrel and the timing was off 270 degrees. This means we have to very carefully set the chamber deeper and the breech cone deeper. The cost of the labor for setup and work exceeds the value of the barrel.

 

[eddybo]

Re: Rechamber?

Even if the 06AI will clean up the chamber you still might end up with a ring around the neck of your case. I just did a similar fix for a 7mm/08 barrel I screwed up by running the reamer in too deep. After I ran the 280AI reamer in and started shooting it I ended up with a neat looking little step in my brass just a tad in front of the shoulder. Turns out the neck dimension on my 7mm/08 reamer is a little bigger than the neck dimension of my 280AI reamer. It does not effect anything and looks like it is done intentionally, but is not right even though it is probably only .0015 or .002 difference. I thought about making a spacer to keep my bushing die from sizing this larger portion of the neck, but the gun shoots great so I just said heck with it. I was planning on keeping the gun for myself so it is no problem what so ever. Now if I ever got ready to sell it I would fully disclose this condition and am sure it would effect the price.