308 Reamer Recomendations.

Crankbender

Crankbender

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I was wondering if you guys could give some advice on a 308 reamer. Basically what I am looking for is a easy "no brain er" set up that will shoot well with minimal load development. Something that has been proven to work well with reasonably priced and easily available match bullets but maybe a ballistic tip or SST for hunting too. I am not sure about neck turning, I would like it to be able to fire Factory ammo just for safety sake.

So I figured maybe a Palma reamer with a 155g Sierra match king? What about the Biesly version of this reamer? The rifle is a Stevens short action and will be a single shot the bbl is a 10" twist.
 
I will be doing all the machine work my self. I will also build the stock my self unless a super cheap one magically appears appears.


What is a popular 308 reamer for F classers? I have no intent on competing but when I am done with the rifle there is someone else that may want to use it for that.
 
Do you plan to mag feed or single shot?

1:10 is a LOT of twist for a 308. You only need 13 or 14" twists with Palma bullets and even 210 grains only need a 12" twist.

a simple SAAMI reamer will give you a long throat and allow you to use most bullets, but you won't be able to mag feed most.

You can also speak with Dave Kiff personally and ask him what he suggests. Obermeyer chambers are still very popular in F-TR
 
I have a '95 Palma in one rifle, and it's really tight in the ass end- Don't count on sharing brass with another rifle, or using once fired in that one w/o a small base die to resize brass. Having said this, there's more than one '95 Palma reamer out there. I'm currently running a Rule 150 w/ a .341 neck. I spoke w/ Dave Kiff, and told him that I wanted to run lapua brass and 154 Scenars, and that's what he recommended. I ended up shooting 155.5 Bergers, and they're jumping 0.050 to get to the lands, but it seems to shoot really well.
 
I bought a Clymer 852 Match reamer years ago. basic match reamer for M14's and any other rifle that wanted to shoot 168 Sierra's . It really does a decent job with 155 Palma bullets too. Most of the bullets I tried were in the 150-180 range and it was great.
Its an easy off the shelf type item, though if you have specific needs call Dave Kiff (pacific Precision) Or Dave Manson (Manson Reamers) and talk with them. I've used both guys and you'll get great service from either. JGS is another outfit will will answere your questions. Good Luck.
 
Crank Bender

there is only ONE person to talk to on the subject and that is Dave Kiff at Pacific Tool and Gauge.

Tell him what you want to shoot in regards to a bullet/brass combination and all the particulars and he will set you up RIGHT. While at it get the Go gauge from him as well.

Dave is THE MAN.

CBY
 
O.B. I have the 10" twist ordered just in case I change my mind on what rifle I am going to build first or if I want to pull the bbl it later and chamber to 300 something put it on a long action and shoot heavys. Having my own lathe I get to play like that. 10 twist should shoot a quality 150g bullet fine shouldn't it?
Yes, this rifle will be a single shooter.


MP wolf thanx for that thought. I have 5 or 6 hundred 1X fired Winchester 308 brass. It was shot out of a standard Remington so I would have to really size it down. I have 200 trimmed and Lee collet sized ready to neck turn that probably would be too fat....
 
Here is some good advise from Michael Bryant

As to picking which .308 reamer to use, I'd measure the brass you were going to use and pick the reamer that matches the brass the best. I'd also pick one of the reamers with a .3085" freebore diameter instead of a .310" freebore diameter. It looks like the .308 Obermeyer reamer is the loosest of the 5 reamers on the body. The .308 M-852 is loosest on the neck diameter and the .308 Winchester reamer has the loosest freebore diameter.
I've built a lot of rifles using the .308 M-852 reamer and they have shot well. I built a rifle with a .308 Palma reamer and it gave excess pressure when used with Federal Gold Match factory ammo. It would work fine with handloads worked up to fit the rifle. The M-852 reamer worked well with Federal Gold Match ammo. I suspect that the extra dimensions allow more options

for practical advise I would go with the
M852 reamer or
Obermeyer
I currently have a rifle chambered using an Obermyer reamer and she shoot pretty well. it just so happens i shoot the same reamer that Andy Weber has...seeing he built my rifle awhile back.

My FT/R reamer is much different the my practical rifle build. The reamer is proven just not by me as my build won't be ready until next year.
 
I use the JGS Palma 95 Reamer and mag feed through a 2.8" mag, the rifle has a 1:14 twist barrel and shoots everything up to the 175 SMK. I handload all my own ammo. If you are single feeding then you have alot more flexibility in the reamer choices but I wouldn't go too loose unless you won't reload in the future because the brass is going to get beat up. I would have gone to a slower twist for optimum accuracy, it's never a good thing to go to a faster twist when you have the choice to go slower, time will teach you this.
Good Luck
bigbull
 
I agree with bigbull on the twist issue 12-13 twist are what my barrel maker sells more often in 30 cal. I personally opted for a 12 for my rifle. Even the mags will stabilize with
slower twists. If its a target propostion give yourself (your rifle) every advantage.
10 is OK but slower will likley be better.
 
I just had a 308 chambered with a PG&T reamer that I "designed" with a .340 neck and .060 freebore. It is made so 150SMK's will be seated with the base just below the neck/shoulder junction....with a resulting OAL under 2.8 so it fits easily into the mag. It also seats the 155 Ber VLD with the base a bit deeper, but the shoulder of the boat tail is still above the neck/shoulder junction of the case. I had no intention of shooting any factory ammo, but measured a 168 grFederal GMM to come up with the neck diameter as I am using that brass for reloading. Interestingly, the aforementioned factory round will not chamber...not sure why, as everthing measures OK...so think it may be that the factory case has some neck taper that is larger than .340 at the neck/shoulder junction? Oh well, my reloads chamber fine. I do not have to turn necks. It's been a bit cold for working up a load, but I've been getting more groups under 0.4" @ 100M than over. Using a #5 Shilen barrel with a 1:12 twist on a 700 action in an LTR stock. I did look at the Obermeyer dimensions but decided to go tighter.
I certainly agree with the comment about not needing a twist any faster than 1:12 unless you are going to use match bullets that are longer than 175 grainers. In that regard, check the nullet manufacturers' recommendations.
 
I really don't think you can go wrong w/ a reamer, as long as the neck isn't too tight for whatever ammo you are likely to want to shoot, and the throat isn't too short to seat bullets where you want them. It is very nice to have your own reamer so your chambers are all the same. I know guys shooting 1-14" barrels, and others shooting 1-10". John Whidden has shot and won 1-10", so it certainly can be done. Try it- barrels dont' last forever! My current tubes are 1-12", 1-13" and 1-11.25. I just took delivery of a 1-11" to try the 210 Bergers.
 
For most purposes we use the M852 reamer and 10 twist Krieger barrels...seems to work well...
 
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