Too much freebore for light bullets

[subsonic]

I purchased a 6X45 barrel for my Savage 10 and could never get it to shoot better than one inch at 100 yards. I discovered it has .100 or more of freebore. The barrel is a 1:12 twist and I would like to shoot light weight 55gr bullets. What can be done to reduce the amount of freebore in the chamber? Thanks for all advice.

Ron

 

[fdshuster]

You're stuck with what you have. The only fix would be to setback the barrel & recut the chamber using a reamer that has a short throat for the short, lightweight bullets. Freebore can always be lengthened, but never made shorter.

 

[vmaxpro]

Keep playing with the seating depth though. I had a .223 that I only shot 40's from, and it had a friggin mile long freebore. In a matter of .020 difference the groups closed from 1" to 5 touching.

 

[subsonic]

vmaxpro,
after some careful calculations, I have seated a few bullets .060 off the lands. If I go out any further I may not have enough neck to hold the bullets. I have approximately .100 left inside the neck.

 

[spclark]

Was that a new barrel? I'm kinda surprised a 1:12 twist - quite suitable for light bullets - would have such a long throat. Those are more common with twists below 1:9 when heavier (hence longer) bullets are going to be used.

If you're careful and attentive to brass prep and seating operations you can cut that 0.100" close to half, but neck tension & runout is of paramount concern.

What propellant and primer combinations have you been using?

 

[subsonic]

I have been using 30gr BL-C(2) and 28gr RL 15 with CCI 400's. The barrel is a new never used but second hand to me. I have a few propellants to choose from; Varget, Benchmark, H322, H335, BL-C(2), H4895, RL 7, RL 10X, RL 15 and primers I have CCI BR4, 400 & 450, Remington 7 1/2 and Winchester. The bullets I'm using are the Nosler #45477 6mm 55gr Spitzer. These bullets are .595 long with a bearing surface of .182. I also have some Sierra #1500 6mm 60gr FBHP that are .725 long with .230 of bearing surface that I plan to use also.