GrocMax said:
A buddy wants to try and vaporize varmints, 110 vmax.
Am I reading the SAAMI print right, 300WM SAAMI chamber is zero freebore, a 'funnel' .007" larger than bullet OD and 1.5 deg?
Can you reach the lands with these short 110-125 class bullets?
What's a realistic velocity to expect? 3700?
I built this years before the development of the WSM and Richard’s 300 Varminter.
It is a 300 Win Mag using a Winchester M17 action with a Krieger 1-13 twist barrel, and its only use is for prairie dogs.
Early load development with it showed 4000 with the 110 V-max was no problem. I could have gone more, but after scraping the money together for the barrel, I didn’t want to toast it right away. I found a nice load at just above 3800 that didn’t stress the brass at all, and shot that for probably 500 rounds or so. It wasn’t long after that, I started to get blow ups with the V-max. No doubt, the throat was getting rough.
After one of them caught the front of the muzzle break, I quit using them and went to the 125 Nosler BT. It shoots those very well, but I can’t recall what the velocity is with them.
With the 1-13 I can stabilize the Sierra 155 gr. Palma bullet. I use those to shoot at the longer distances, or when there is high wind. They don’t usually open up the pds, but there aren’t many crawl offs either.
All I had at the time was a standard 300 WM reamer. Don’t know free bore or anything else about it. The 110 was just barely in the case when the barrel was fresh. I had to seat them away from the lands to keep some of the bullet in the case. The 125 BT isn’t much better.
I don’t shoot it much anymore, but it sure is fun when I do. It does actually vaporize a prairie dog.
I know Richard uses the 15 twist barrel, and I believe he uses premium brass also, to get to the 4000 fps mark with the WSM.
I kinda’ like the ability to shoot the 155 when I have to. And as the barrel continues to wear, that is certainly an advantage to me.
I guess the only thing I would change now, would be maybe getting a custom reamer that would reduce the free bore.
Jim