General Purpose .223 Reamer?

Hey Guys,

I've chambered 2 barrels in .223 for F/TR and I just couldn't get them to shoot as well or as consistent as I can a .308, so I'm 'repurposing' the action.

I'm looking for recommendations on a reamer that would work decently well for 52-80gr bullets; was planning to build a 28" 8-twist. The gun will be shot primarily for fun/practice, and maybe a 300 yard MR match if the winds are calm...but 'fun' and 'no drama' are top priorities.

You figure I can get away with a SAAMI reamer, or would I want something like a Wylde? I'm admittedly hesitant on the wylde, just because the neck would probably be a mile wide for what I'm doing...but if that's the only thing with the freebore I need then it may be the only option.

Any other 'off the shelf' reamers that might be a good fit?

Thanks in advance!
Mike

 

the wylde was designed for 100-600 service rifle
52-80's
if you insist on 80s at 2.4xx the wylde is the way to go
else get a throatless reamer and a throating reamer and do as you please.

300 yards, 1/14 minspec, short throat 52 gr match bullet, neck turned

 

SAAMI spec will work fine in a bolt gun. 77 and lighter should be just short of the lands at 2.250 mag length. 80s should shoot fine loaded to the lands. Wylde was made for ar15s that need a bigger chamber for function.

 

bs .
the throat is LONGER to allow 80s to be single loaded at 2.4xx oal.
it is a compromise design for rifle that have to be able to shoot 69/75/80
for service rifle 200/300/600 yard matches. not the best for any one, but works well for the mix.

 

Mike, question, is this going to be used as a repeater or a single shot? Possibly both?

 

Single fed.

 

you need to narrow you choices.
is 300 max
then no need for heavy bullets
neck turned ?
mock up a dummie and get a reamer made.
why waste an action on a saami spec chamber

 

Several guys in our 300yd f class league shoot the 77TMK with 23gr Varget Lapua brass federal gold primers. They clean the f class target several times a season 300-20+ x's. They used wylde reamer in Savage bolt guns with 7 twist 30" brux barrels

 

Depending on the specific bullet manufacturer, the overall difference in BTO measurement for the weight range of bullets you listed may be as much as 0.200" to 0.250". That's asking a lot from a single reamer considering the overall neck length of a .223 Rem case is only slightly over 0.200". That generally means you have about half the neck length, or ~0.100" to play with as far as generating optimal seating depth while still keeping the bullet boattail/bearing surface junction (or base for FB bullets) above the case neck/shoulder junction, but not more than halfway out the neck.

Depending on the bullet manufacturer, a freebore of 0.110" to 0.130" or so would be optimal for a number of bullets in the 80 gr weight class, whereas bullets in the 50 gr weight class are short enough (BTO) be seated optimally in a chamber with zero freebore. The difference between these two freebore dimensions highlights the dilemma of optimizing a throat for such a wide range of bullet weights/lengths.

The boattail/bearing surface junction of ~80 gr bullets would be sunk pretty far below the case neck/shoulder junction in a rifle throated with zero freebore (i.e. optimal for the ~50 gr bullets). It can certainly work, in fact, I developed a load with the 80.5 Fullbore bullet in a zero freebore .223 Rem rifle that shoots quite well. But it's not ideal. Another alternative would be to optimize the freebore for the longer ~80 gr bullets and accept that the shorter/lighter bullets will be seated very far out in the neck and may still have to be jumped a country mile. A third alternative would some compromise between the two.

My suggestion would be to utilize the exact same body/neck specs from a proven match .223 Rem match reamer, and have JGS or Manson make you one with whatever you think is the appropriate freebore (i.e. something between zero and 0.130"). In your shoes, I might be tempted to go with a freebore somewhere in the range of 0.050". It wouldn't be optimal for either the shortest or longest bullets in the range you listed, but might still work OK for both. As I mentioned, I have loaded the 80.5s for a zero freebore rifle and it worked pretty well. Due to the bullet being seated deep and the resultant reduction in [effective] case volume, I went with H322, which is probably a bit faster powder than you'd normally choose for an 80.5 gr .224" bullet. IMO, having an extra .050" freebore would certainly have facilitated loading the 80.5s for that particular rifle, but would not necessarily have made it impossible to seat the shorter/lighter bullets.

 

Post number 16 may answer your questions.

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/what-is-223-remington-match.3978666/#post-37495322