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[odies dad]

Finally got a chance to try shooting a 308 that I put together a while back. This was one of my easier projects (or so I thought) since the barrel was already blued and I had a VZ24 receiver that had good bluing left.

The barrel was one of FAC's sporter contour 308's. problem is the throat was very tight kinda like the Parker-Hale barrels and I had a tough time reaming the chamber. I did this one by hand because I didn't have my lathe yet.

Now that I have shot it and examined the fired casings (new factory loads) I see that the primers are flattened and there is a bulge in the case ahead of the web. Looks like the reamer wobbled when I was trying to chamber it.

Do you think the chamber will clean up if I take a thread or two off the breach and start over? Should I try a 3006 reamer? Any other suggestions. I hate to scrap a new barrel.

[z1r]

This is why removable pilot reamers are to be preferred. If the pilot is too tight not only do you run the risk of cutting the chamber wrong due to trying to overcome the friction fit but you can also damage the rifling.

 

I'd set the barrel back two threads and recut if I was going to try and repair it. Depending on how oversized your chamber the -06 may not clean it up since the case is so much slimmer near the shoulder.

 

Don't feel too bad, one of my first was similar. A recut Rem 700 barrel that didn;t have too good a chamber to begin with. I also got a slight expansion. But, since the rifle will ALWAYS be fired with factory loads it wasnt an issue.

[odies dad]

I'll have to try it and see what happens.

It was disappointing because this thing really feeds the 308 nice.

We have a reamer in the coop that will fit a PH barrel so I will request that when I get to it.

It would be nice to have a set of removable pilots but the are really spendy.