L Cazador

Measure your current shellholder height and then go to Sportsmans and see if they have a competitive brand shellholder that is thinner so you can get the desired bump. If you can't find a thinner shellholder, you may have to make your own, by filing or grinding off a thousands or two at time till you get the desired bump of .001-.002". Measure from the bottom of the shell holder to the top of the shell holder. The top part meets the die and the bottom part meets the ram..

A rifle shoots better fouled than a clean barrel ! Well if that were case I'd be buying those factory barrels that I use for tomato stakes rather than spending all that money on these nice smooth custom barrels that I own that take a lot of shooting before they foul. Well what fits one shooter as "still shooting good" can definitely be garbage for another. I have owned a borescope for some 25 years now and the one thing I learned with it is how clean is a clean barrel. Fouling deposits in layers and just because you don't see blue on the patch doesn't mean it's clean. It's probably not blue because you just penetrated the first layer. More work will probably reveal even more fouling. As this fouling accumulates it will build layer on layer even faster because copper adheres to copper easier and because carbon deposits will also deposit it will keep building and hiding the copper underneath. Nothing wrong with shooting a fouler before you shoot for record. I shoot benchrest matches and I clean every ten shots, some guys clean every five and that's a custom barrel that fouls very little. I use custom barrels on my hunting guns as well and I clean every 20 shots. I use Sweets first as that product provides lubricity for my cleaning brush and then I use Bore Shine on a phosphor bronze brush. I also clean the chamber ring after each cleaning which will also affect accuracy. I always use a bore guide and dry patch the chamber as well as the bore. Watch the video that Viper posted and you will get an idea how to properly clean a bore. There were some things I disagreed with on the video, don't put your patches in a jar, use a plastic solvent bottle for dispensing your solvent onto the patch or brush. Sweets comes in a bottle with a drip top so you can dispense on to a patch. Another thing the guy did was not wear gloves, use some type of rubber glove like nitrile gloves so the solvent doesn't come in contact with your skin. Cleaning is not a race to get it done as fast as possible, although I wish that were possible, so don't run the rod back and forth like in some kind of race. Use a slow stroke so the patch or brush does not skate over the rifleing. Always cover your scope lens as solvents will destroy the lens coatings and can etch the surface as well. You'd be surprised as to the amount of solvent that sprays out as you clean so clean in a well vented area.

A lot of interesting suggestions here! Long action Remy and you want to work the cartridge through the magazine I assume. Since you have a 7mm mag the 280AI is basically it's twin without a belt, so that's out(one of my favorites btw). I'd go 6.5/284 and if you reload I'd do a 6.5/285 Shehane, 100fps faster with the 140's and you don't have to stand on the brass. However you want to do factory, hmm custom rifle but still factory. But if factory is the way you want to go, then so be it and get a good custom barrel in an 8 twist that will shoot those 140-145 bullets perfectly. Be sure to get a custom reamer made with the proper freebore so you can shoot the factory stuff which has the bullets sunk down to zero freebore levels as well!

Brass has become pretty inconsistent in neck thickness as of late. Not that it's ever been consistent, but it's gotten worse. Even Lapua has become pretty inconsistent where there is a difference of 2-3 thousands in neck thickness. What this means is the bullet tension is going to vary by 2-3 thousands! At long range this can make a huge difference in point of impact. Recently I had to neck turn my Hornady 22/250 brass, because it varied as much as 5 thousands between cases and bullet tension was all over. There was a huge difference in point of impact and group size because of this. Turning the case necks, not only improved the runnout but also rendered much more consistent bullet tension. Consistent .400" groups with 53g V-Max are now run of the mill with this Savage 10 rifle, excellent shooting for a factory rifle! While it did shoot half inch before, groups were not consistent with some running 3/4 inch with point of impact changes. I use a standard full length die for these reloads and bump the shoulder .002". You don't need a bushing die for neck turning, you just need to watch that you don't turn too much off the neck as the standard die will only size to a certain neck diameter. Usually neck turning up to.004" off(depending on neck thickness) will not have any effect on a standard sizing die. In my humble opinion, there's no cartridge that will not benefit from neck turning. I use a Nielson Punkin turner and it makes simple work out of neck turning!

Dave, I'll take both boxes in trade for 2 lbs, 7828SSC per phone call. Thanks, Butch

Man I haven't seen this kind of stuff since the early 70's, I grew up with it. Great quality stuff back then but todays modern reloading equipment is far ahead. I'd say if someone offers $200 for the lot sell it, otherwise piece it out. The Ohaus scales are nice, probably about $30 a piece. The Mayville shotgun loader about $60, maybe.

You have an issue that should be handled by Remington. Call them and get instructions on what to do. Unless it's a factory authorized repair, I wouldn't mess with it. If those measurements are of the cartridge head, that is a lot of expansion. That would be a chamber dimension issue best addressed by Remington.

Remove the trigger if you're doing the entire action and fill the trigger hanger holes with modeling clay. Use extra grease on the action screws and tighten the screws to about 10 inch pounds. You don't want to completely tighten the action as you will introduce added torque or stress to the action, which is what you're trying to eliminate. I've been using marine epoxy, which is what I have found best.

I'll take the Berger 6.5 bullets.

I've been using bushing style dies for many shooting applications including AR platforms. The bushing size you will need will be determined by the loaded cartridge neck diameter and the shooting application. Start by measuring your loaded cartridge neck diameter with the brand of brass that you will be using and subtract .003" to determine bushing diameter. This is a starting point and whether or not this will produce the desired neck tension for your shooting application is a matter of trial and error. Another fact to consider in choosing bushing size, is whether you use the expander button or not. I prefer to not use the expander button to eliminate any distortion or neck run out. For AR applications increased neck tension is sometimes desirable to produce a round that will retain the original seating depth, as too light bullet tension will result in the bullet driven deeper into the case during cartridge feed from the magazine. Bushing full length dies will bump the shoulder and the amount of bump should be measured with a headspace guage to determine what headspace dimensions will work best with your rifle. FYI I use bushing dies for both my hunting firearms and competitive firearms.

Go to Gunbroker.com , go to "find a dealer", insert your zip code and you'll have a list of ffl's near you.

Nightforce is the only way to go unless you can go the extra for a Schmitt and Bender or an Ior Valdada. If you're shooting 800-1000 yards nothing with less than 32 power on the high end. The other thing to consider is zero stop and at least a 56mm objective. And one last thing is don't cheat on the rings and base. Get a solid platform you can count on. Spend at least $200 on a set of rings and bases.

A call to Savage arms would be the helpful way to go on your question.

Anytime you get a "flat liner" load you're dangerously close to, or past, maximum pressure. I ran your load in my QL program and yep it confirmed at 71gr., you're at max. . Going to RL22 will increase velocity but will also increase pressure. You might try RL25 and see what it will do in your rifle. It is my favorite in the 257 WBY. with heavy bullets. BTW those 115 Bergers really perform better an 8 twist for good groups. Your rifle is probably a 9 twist.

I just got another e-mail from Winchester saying they will resume production on 218 Bee brass in late 2016. They recommended to back order the brass through my dealer. Problem is nobody is back ordering. There is some on Gunbroker .

Would like to buy 218 Bee brass new only or factory ammo.

I've built many rifles over the years for both hunting and competition shooting and the 6.5/284 is one of my favorites. My advice would be to spend the money on a Rem 700 action and install a Krieger barrel and have it done by a competent gunsmith. No need to blue print the action, just have the action and bolt face trued. If you're going to shoot 140's out the 6.5 go with the long action and an 8 twist barrel.

Sent you a PM. Interested in barrel.

Vary well put!! Thanks Willie!

The agreement, and this is on the ranch rules web site, is access will be granted to the ranch with a valid big game tag or access to certain pastures as designated by the lessee for prairie dog/varmint hunting will be granted by purchase of an access permit provided by the Diamond A ranch headquarters. Price of this permit is $60 for a one week access for prairie dog/shooting, and $60 for a big game tag holder ( turkey, javelina, tags are obviously not included since they fall in the spring), are they not considered big game at the Boquillas??? Yes , some of this is state land that we're being denied access to!! Please note that Diamond A is a lessee not the land owner. Diamond A leases from the State and the Navajo Nation. It appears that Diamond A has been granted full discretion as to access of the ranch, since they have now closed the ranch to all hunting with no clear date as to when or if it will be open to any hunting!!

Here's my bore cleaning method . Two patches with Sweets down the bore , let sit for about five minutes . Next brush the bore with a bronze brass brush and Butch's bore shine , two strokes for every shot you have put down the bore , use a bore guide and don't let the brush exit completely , that will save the crown . Push the brush down the bore from the breach slowly , this is not a race , till the brush just begins to exit . Now pull it back and repeat this once for every shot down the bore . Run one patch with hydrogen peroxide after brushing , this is going to foam out the copper and powder fouling and neutralize the solvents . Dry patch till the bore is completely dry and there is no more black , blue , or green . Otherwise you will have to start over . Next don't forget to clean the chamber . There will be a tough ring from powder fouling that will form at the end of the chamber . Remove this by twirling a larger diameter brush in the chamber ( add one caliber larger diameter ) with Bore Shine . Now dry the chamber with several patches . If you don't remove the chamber ring , you will eventually have pretty wacky shooting rifle . Keep in mind that factory bores are very rough , and they will require more frequent cleaning . Finally use a good oil such as Butch's gun oil to protect the bore . Always shoot a fouler through the bore before shooting for score or hunting . Most gun owners never put in enough work to clean their rifles properly and have no way to verify their cleaning process . This process has been verified by a bore scope and years of experience shooting paper and game ( thousands of rounds a year ) ! Never leave anything in your bore overnight !

You are way off base with RL-17 and 180g bullets ! That powder is way too fast for the heavy bullets . Read my prior post on this , Win. 760 or Hunter both sperical powders that will give you the best velocity , and the best extreme velocity spreads . And yes by all means use a magnum primer , Fed 215M's are great . Too bad all you got for brass is that junky Winchester stuff . Just check it all real well before you use it , Winchester will make it good if you get too much junk . I save all the junk and send it back . They've been very good about it .

I've seen alot of 243's get shot out in one weekend in a prairie dog town , and that goes for AR-15s in 223 as well . After viewing many barrels through a bore scope , long barrel life is waiting a few minutes between shots and letting the rifle cool or owning several rifles and switching off between cooling periods if you shoot it a lot in one sitting . Hence a great little reason to tell the wife you need two or three rifles at least !! The 243 is particulary one of the worse because of it's 20 degree shoulder and the amount of powder that the case holds vs. the bore diameter .

The 300 WSM does it's best with Win 760 ball powder . The problem with any of the stick powders like 4831SC or RL-19 is that you can't get enough powder in the case for any added velocity . I did a lot load work for a freind about a year ago on the 300 WSM . The load work included the use a chronograph , and a computer ballistics program . The main problem with the 300WSM is the short neck and having to deal with a short action magazine length . Usually a 165-180g bullet is well below the neck/shoulder junction , enfringing on what little powder room there is . Seating bullets out further out of a long action or single loading is best for the 300 WSM .