DIY reaming a throat for a little extra freebore?

[saskgunowner101]

Filed under thinking out loud dumb questions of the day, how involved a process is it for an average Joe to ream a throat/leade for a touch of extra freebore? Or, if too involved for said, guy, is it a big deal for a gunsmith? I have a rifle chambered in 400 Legend which seems to have next to no jump to the rifling, even with stubby bullets. While I don't mind short throats as it relates to accuracy, a little wiggle room for longer and heavier bullets would be nice. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[tiriaq]

Straightforward with the correct reamer.

 

[saskgunowner101]

Is there a specific name for the kind of reamer that would be used?

 

[Lodi]

Throating reamer.

 

[guntech]

I found that a spiral fluted throating reamer to be the best for hand throating... I always placed a rod in from the muzzle against the reamer so you could feel it's progress and stop it easily with the rod. It is easy to take too much throat out.

 

[struff55]

it's not really a job for a novice

 

[I Dont Care About You]

it's not really a job for a novice

It really isn't.

 

[hunter5425]

If you can find a gunsmith with a throat reamer it would be less expensive to have it done than buy the reamer for a one off job and maybe take it too deep to boot.

 

[bearhunter]

That depends on how much the hourly rate for the smith is, plus what he'll charge for wear on the reamer, and if you have to mail or ship the firearm?

 

[saskgunowner101]

That depends on how much the hourly rate for the smith is, plus what he'll charge for wear on the reamer, and if you have to mail or ship the firearm?

If you had to attach a ballpark dollar figure to a job such as this, would I want to know?

 

[bearhunter]

Like I posted, depends on the smith and what he would charge. Most smiths have an hourly rate, ranging from $75-$150+

A dedicated throat reamer is going to cost you around $200 shipped

A smith needs to cover his costs, including shop, tools, power, wages, etc. If you have to ship it to the smith, add at least another $100 to the cost.

If you drive it to the smith, add whatever it costs for fuel.

It's not a difficult job, if you're careful. They make throat reamers with options, just like chamber reamers where you can attach the tip to a "pull rod" through the bore, so you can apply a bit of tension then turn the reamer by hand. I WOULD NOT SUGGEST USING A HAND HELD DRILL.

If I were in your position, and a smith was close by with a chamber reamer with a longer throat, I would just take it to him and get him to recut the chamber, if he doesn't have a proper throat reamer. Most smiths doing a lot of chambering will have a throat reamer for popular diameters.

 

[708fan]

PT&G makes a hand throater. They cut fast. Set it for Tiny bites until you’re used to it. Eight 1k IBS BR records were set with a gun that had the throat sharpened with a hand throater several times over the summer ‘21.
“PT&G Uni-Throater.”#10699. Phone at lunchtime on the west coast and you’ll probably get Dave Kiff on the phone covering the lunch hour.
He’s a good s h i t.

 

[saskgunowner101]

Thanks for the replies guys, gives me a little something to mull over either way whether I need a winter project, or get a smith to take my $$$ and save me a few grey hairs lol