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22BR Build

ballisticdaddy

Silver $$ Contributor
Had my trusted smith (Mark Chesebro) spin up a barrel chambered in 22BR with .255 neck and .100 freebore for the Berger 85.5 grain hybrid. Wanted something with great accuracy and minimal recoil for shooting club and local PRS style matches. Finally got some time to get some rounds down range, started with seating depth while the barrel speeds up. Starting load of 27.0 grains of Varget with the Berger 85.5 hybrid seated with .005 jump gave me 2,832 fps. Group shown below are shots 9-11 out of the Benchmark 1:7.5 twist in MTU contour finished at 26" and for those that believe shooting suppressed compromises accuracy........this was shot off a rickety wooden bench with bipod and rear squeeze bag

IMG_2632.jpg IMG_2635.jpg Ballistic-X-Export-2022-10-29 14:53:32.856598.jpg
 
What is you loaded round neck diameter? And is this turned Lapua brass or unturned?
What did your loaded round over all length end up at, and is the boat tail junction above the neck shoulder junction with the 85.5? Currently looking for options on a .22br and reamers, any help would be great thanks for your time.
 
What is you loaded round neck diameter? And is this turned Lapua brass or unturned?
What did your loaded round over all length end up at, and is the boat tail junction above the neck shoulder junction with the 85.5? Currently looking for options on a .22br and reamers, any help would be great thanks for your time.
Loaded neck diameter of the Lapua brass is .252 without turning. Seating the Berger 85.5 hybrid to touching the lands is 1.720 base to ogive with plenty of room between the boat tail and shoulder. Pictured below was my dummy rounds, case on the left is unturned and case on the right had a skim pass. I know the reamer used by my smith was from Dave Manson.

IMG_2467.jpg
 
Loaded neck diameter of the Lapua brass is .252 without turning. Seating the Berger 85.5 hybrid to touching the lands is 1.720 base to ogive with plenty of room between the boat tail and shoulder. Pictured below was my dummy rounds, case on the left is unturned and case on the right had a skim pass. I know the reamer used by my smith was from Dave Manson.

View attachment 1380762
Could you please provide the length of the bullet from base to tip? And also the cartridge overall length from base to tip since we all use different inserts to index on the bullet ogive. Are both of the bullets pictured the 85.5?

Is your barrel the standard .218 bore or did you order a .219 bore?

As for neck turning did you neck turn while it was still a 6mm? I ask because if you size the neck down with a .22 cal bushing it does not size the whole neck down to the shoulder and leaves a little step at the unsized portion.

My last question is if you are able to size down from 6mm to .22 cal in one step and what size bushing did you use?

Thanks.
 
Could you please provide the length of the bullet from base to tip? And also the cartridge overall length from base to tip since we all use different inserts to index on the bullet ogive. Are both of the bullets pictured the 85.5?

Is your barrel the standard .218 bore or did you order a .219 bore?

As for neck turning did you neck turn while it was still a 6mm? I ask because if you size the neck down with a .22 cal bushing it does not size the whole neck down to the shoulder and leaves a little step at the unsized portion.

My last question is if you are able to size down from 6mm to .22 cal in one step and what size bushing did you use?

Thanks.

Bullet length from base to tip: my bullet 1.169 Berger website shows 1.167 in length
Overall cartridge length from base to tip: 2.340....yes both bullets pictured were 85.5 hybrids
Barrel is standard .218 bore and bought it off the shelf, no custom order.
I only neck turned one case as a dummy round, my chamber is .255 so no turning needed.
Sized virgin Lapua 6BR brass using a cheap Redding full length sizer, no bushing used.
Yes I was able to size down in one pass using a healthy application of lanolin/alcohol lube.
 
Bullet length from base to tip: my bullet 1.169 Berger website shows 1.167 in length
Overall cartridge length from base to tip: 2.340....yes both bullets pictured were 85.5 hybrids
Barrel is standard .218 bore and bought it off the shelf, no custom order.
I only neck turned one case as a dummy round, my chamber is .255 so no turning needed.
Sized virgin Lapua 6BR brass using a cheap Redding full length sizer, no bushing used.
Yes I was able to size down in one pass using a healthy application of lanolin/alcohol lube.
Thanks for the information, I appreciate the help!
 
As for neck turning did you neck turn while it was still a 6mm? I ask because if you size the neck down with a .22 cal bushing it does not size the whole neck down to the shoulder and leaves a little step at the unsized portion
One click on any dealer that has a Redding 22BR Body Die in stock and your life will get a whole lot easier.

I've been using the Redding 22BR Body Die for years to neck down Lapua 6BR cases for both my 22BRs. It sizes to the bottom of the neck and gives you a .252 neck diameter (unturned) with a bullet seated.

Good shootin' -Al
 
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