dtech
New member
Back a few months ago I had ordered a new, solid carbide chamber reamer specifically for the very light bullets. I based the design off of the reamer I had made about a year ago with a tight neck and fairly tight body, but with a longer leade.
I received the reamer, and chambered a barrel for a local customer. Last year, just before going out on one of our anual family prairie dog hunts, I chambered myself a brand new 6 x 45 on a 1:12 twist Shilen blank. I started out Thursday morning cutting the chamber, and by that afternoon I was shooting the new 6 x 45 upper in the shop. Late that afternoon I took the new upper out to my brother's range to get it sighted in. It shot my standard moly-coated, 70 grain Sierra Blitz-King load very well, we loaded up the truck and headed out that night. The next two days I put about 400 rounds through it, and killed several PD's out past the 1/4 mile range.
Back to this year. I was hoping to start somewhat of a tradition, so Thursday morning I pulled out that brand new reamer and a 1:14 Shilen blank. Again by that afternoon I was shooting it in my shop. Late that afternoon I took it to my brother's range and sighted it in. Like last year, we loaded up the truck and headed for North Dakota.
The next morning was much less than ideal for hunting prairie dogs. There was intermittent light drizzle and the typical North Dakota wind. I had only gotten a few shots in when my new upper locked up. I had to walk back to the truck for tools to get the bolt open. When I did get the bolt open, I found that my reloaded shell had stuck in the chamber at the web of the case. I took a handful of my reloads and by dropping them into the open chamber, found that the chamber was too tight. I put the upper aside and picked up last year's 6 x 45 and continued to hunt.
When I got back to the shop I pulled out the reamer, and the drawing. After conversing with they guy that ground it for me, we found there was an error on the drawing, making the reamer too small. He told me he would take care of it, and sure enough, a new reamer showed up via priority mail the other day. I cleaned up the chamber with the new reamer, reassembled the upper, and took it to the range this weekend.
I know these are only 3-shot groups, but I was limited for time, and always seem to screw up a 5-shot group!
Needles to say, I was very happy with the accuracy. These groups were shot with my standard prairie dog fodder. They are moly-coated 50 grain Speer TNT's on top of 25.5 grains of AA-2015 BR powder and a Winchester SRP. They were produced on a Dillon XL-650 progressive press. If I get some time in the coming months, I want to try some premium components, along with some careful loading, and see what I can get for 5-shot groups.
I received the reamer, and chambered a barrel for a local customer. Last year, just before going out on one of our anual family prairie dog hunts, I chambered myself a brand new 6 x 45 on a 1:12 twist Shilen blank. I started out Thursday morning cutting the chamber, and by that afternoon I was shooting the new 6 x 45 upper in the shop. Late that afternoon I took the new upper out to my brother's range to get it sighted in. It shot my standard moly-coated, 70 grain Sierra Blitz-King load very well, we loaded up the truck and headed out that night. The next two days I put about 400 rounds through it, and killed several PD's out past the 1/4 mile range.
Back to this year. I was hoping to start somewhat of a tradition, so Thursday morning I pulled out that brand new reamer and a 1:14 Shilen blank. Again by that afternoon I was shooting it in my shop. Late that afternoon I took it to my brother's range and sighted it in. Like last year, we loaded up the truck and headed for North Dakota.
The next morning was much less than ideal for hunting prairie dogs. There was intermittent light drizzle and the typical North Dakota wind. I had only gotten a few shots in when my new upper locked up. I had to walk back to the truck for tools to get the bolt open. When I did get the bolt open, I found that my reloaded shell had stuck in the chamber at the web of the case. I took a handful of my reloads and by dropping them into the open chamber, found that the chamber was too tight. I put the upper aside and picked up last year's 6 x 45 and continued to hunt.
When I got back to the shop I pulled out the reamer, and the drawing. After conversing with they guy that ground it for me, we found there was an error on the drawing, making the reamer too small. He told me he would take care of it, and sure enough, a new reamer showed up via priority mail the other day. I cleaned up the chamber with the new reamer, reassembled the upper, and took it to the range this weekend.
I know these are only 3-shot groups, but I was limited for time, and always seem to screw up a 5-shot group!
Needles to say, I was very happy with the accuracy. These groups were shot with my standard prairie dog fodder. They are moly-coated 50 grain Speer TNT's on top of 25.5 grains of AA-2015 BR powder and a Winchester SRP. They were produced on a Dillon XL-650 progressive press. If I get some time in the coming months, I want to try some premium components, along with some careful loading, and see what I can get for 5-shot groups.
