Chambering how to for flatline/cutting edge bullets

[Hammer101st]

How does a person set up a reamer for copper turned bullets such as flatline bullets?
I have a .338cal wildcat set up for 300grn bergers are chambers such as that compatible with turned bullets

 

[Dusty Stevens]

The reamer makers can help. Theyve done it all before

 

[Hammer101st]

The reamer makers can help. Theyve done it all before

Yea im not gonna really call any of them up and waste ther time that they could be grinding reamers for people to ask them questions when im on more of a info seeking mission when i could ask on here and have a conversation about with out wasting anybodys time.

 

[stevenpoplin]

you get a solid bullet you want to shoot and put it in your 338 wildcat cases where you want it to be. Then you send it to a reamer maker and have a conversation with them on exactly what you want. If you don't know they can advise you

probably will shoot the bullet out the barrel. But probably won't be optimal in several ways

 

[Hammer101st]

Thats what i did for my wildcat. So im guessin im not gonna get any educated answers hear so nevermind

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Thats what i did for my wildcat. So im guessin im not gonna get any educated answers hear so nevermind

The reamer makers are there to help- the folks answering the questions are not grinding the reamers, they are there to answer your questions. Your gunsmith will do the same because they are the ones in contact with the folks doing exactly what you want to do

 

[ronemus]

I found that the same freebore was optimal for 285-300 gr lead core bullets and 254-285 gr monolithic copper bullets in a .338 Lapua - 0.400" freebore; that's for single loading, not mag length. I was surprised by that, but it seems the shank is close to the same length for all, it's the ogive that varies. I haven't tried the Bergers, but I have used Hornady, Nosler, Lehigh Defense, Warner, and Badlands Precision. I hop that helps.

 

[Hammer101st]

Wow thats alot of freebore mine is only a 293 freebore so im not jumping alot maybe .10 to .15 max

 

[ronemus]

I'm usually jumping 0.030" but mag length is considerably shorter. I'm still working on loads, but the lead-core bullets I've tried don't seem to mind a 0.3" jump. At this point my loads are about MOA, but I won't be happy until I shrink that considerably.

 

[moondog]

Talking to Alan Warner a couple of years ago about this. I think it has more to do with the bore dimensions and twist. I tried them in my 7 SAUM and believe it or not, a 6BR. If memory serves (probably not)
They liked to be jumped-- a lot!
I never could get the accuracy to make me happy. I know the guys shooting over 2500 are using them with great success But, at matches inside 2500ish are still dominated by core and cup.I also have a 338 Imp shooting 300 OTMs and have no problems reaching 2500. I am at 5000ft which helps.

 

[Hammer101st]

Hey thanks for your input yea the chamber in my wildcat is set minimal jump i figured if i need more jump ill just have my smith put a throat reamer through it. I am goin down to Peterson brass factory next week i only live about 60 mile from them ill have to talk to them guys they all have cheytacs and run turned bullets

 

[moondog]

Give Warner a call, he'll be the guy to talk to.

 

[SKWERLZ]

338 solids need a lot less freebore than a cup core.
.110-.160 works well with 265-285 long nose solids depending on neck length.
I think my 338 edge reamer has .110 FB
With a 265 bearing surface just clear the neck/shoulder junction

 

[SKWERLZ]

I found that the same freebore was optimal for 285-300 gr lead core bullets and 254-285 gr monolithic copper bullets in a .338 Lapua - 0.400" freebore; that's for single loading, not mag length. I was surprised by that, but it seems the shank is close to the same length for all, it's the ogive that varies. I haven't tried the Bergers, but I have used Hornady, Nosler, Lehigh Defense, Warner, and Badlands Precision. I hop that helps.

.4 fb would leave you with about .08-.1 engagement with common 285 solids and a less with lighter one.
Here’s a Sloan spec 338NM (.260FB?) with a 285
That’s about the max I’d run and I’d want less for 255-265’s.

 

[Hammer101st]

Man that looks sexy

 

[ronemus]

These are bullets I have loaded for my next range session.

Left to right: Hornady 285 gr ELD-M, mag length; Nosler 300 gr RDF, 0.030" jump; Badlands Precision 285 gr ICBM 0.030" jump



With a 0.40" freebore nearly the full length of the neck contacts the RDF and the ICBM has 0.25" in contact. The 265 gr Nosler Accubond Long Range, the Warner 285 gr Flatline, and the Lehigh Defense 254 gr match solid are similar.

Choice of freebore will depend on the particular bullets chosen, but something in the range of 0.1" (for mag length) to 0.4" (single loaded) will be appropriate.

 

[SKWERLZ]

I’m not believing that’s a .4 freebore
I’m at 4.2-4.28 for OAL anyways with a much shorter FB so it’s single feed anyways as is 338NM with 285’s which is well over CIP mag length.

My 375 reamer isn’t even close to .4 fb.

 

[ronemus]

I cut the freebore myself with a UniThroater, and it is in fact 0.40". If you look at the RDF, you can see that there is a considerable section of the shank that is clear of the neck. As received from LRI, the chamber was SAAMI standard and had 0.167" freebore.

The OALs of the three rounds pictured are 3.745" (mag-length ELD-M), 3.975" (RDF at 0.030" jump), and 4.315" (ICBM at 0.030" jump).

You're shooting a different bullet than I am, so the measurements are not directly comparable.

 

[SKWERLZ]

I’m shooting 300 OTM’s and 265 and 285 badlands
The 285 badlands only has .485 of bearing area.
The Warner has .490 I think.

 

[ronemus]

It all depends on how you measure. With a comparator I get 0.537" for the shank of the Badlands Precision 285 gr; it's actually a bit shorter since the comparator is 0.330" ID. The optimum freebore would be shorter for this bullet, but it's workable - at 0.030" jump, I have 0.167" in the neck which is sufficient with a new barrel. My 1/4" of contact was from a visual estimate and was incorrect. Badlands smooths the transition at the start of the boattail and the ogive, so the measurement by whatever means gets blurry.