6br help needed......

G

Glenn Bruce

Guest
I'm helping a buddy with the used 6BR he's got.
We're seeing some things that look strange to me. I've loaded for a few years, but I'm no expert. This 6 BR has me confused.
Look at these pictures, is this a really tight chamber that was built with the intent that the necks would be turned? These are measurement taken from a fired case!
The gun came with Redding F.L. Dies, after sizing the brass, the inner neck measures .233'', that seems too tight?
P1090132.jpg

P1090130.jpg
 
Looks like the inside of the neck is .243 on the dial and the outside is .270.
Looks ok to me unless you have a tight neck chamber.
Is the die a standard die or a bushing die?
Can you slide a bullet in the neck of a fired case?

If I'm guessing correctly, you have a standard die that does not have the expander ball installed on the decapping rod and that is why the inside of the neck is so small after sizing. Look in the die box to see if the expander is there and install it if it is. If not call redding for a replacement.

If it is a bushing die, then the bushing is too small. If this is the case, then get another bushing .002 to .003 smaller then the neck diameter of a loaded round.
 
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It is a standard die, NOT a bushing die.
You can NOT slide a bullet in to a fired case, I thought that was strange.....

The die has an expander ball, I removed it as I did on my other dies that are bushing dies. Looks like that was a mistake, I'll try loading some with the expander ball installed. I used a Lee de-capper to remove the spent primers.

Would a .243'' inner neck on a fired case indicate that the brass needs to be turned?
 
Glenn

The best thing to do is to have a chamber cast done, then you will know the exact neck size. Most good smiths engrave the neck diameter on the barrel near the caliber. Look for that if you haven't already. If the loaded round chambers easily, it is safe to shoot. Remember that the brass springs back about .001 after firing. So if the neck on a fired case measures .270, you probably have a .271 neck chamber. The other thing you can do is just skim the necks with a turning tool (about .001) if you have one which should give you .002 clearance.
 
You can't count on measuring the way you're doing it - you might as well guess. You need a tubing micrometer to measure neck wall thickness. And you don't know how big the chamber neck is without measuring the chamber. A chamber cast will tell that story.

Just because a loaded round chambers does not mean you have enough clearance. Stop now and have the chamber measured.
 
OK, some opinions.....

Judging by your picture you have a .271 chamber neck. this is still considered a "no-turn" neck... TIGHT but safe as long as you check your loaded rounds and/or are careful to check them by feel when chambering. If you meet with resistance, STOP!! and figure out why.

The .270 nk dimension shown in pic would explain why your bullets will reseat without neck sizing. Your tolerances are so tight that the neck springs back to hold the bullet. This is termed "shooting with a fitted neck" and folks have been doing it for years. I shoot a .271 necked "no-turn." There is no downside here, DO NOT put the expander ball back on! If you're worried about the "safety" of running to tight tolerance then you could do as another poster says and do a light neckturning pass, a "cleanup cut," but it's not necessary.

REMEMBER THIS........ as long as you're loading singly and you don't force anything YOU WILL NOT "jam" anything or create pressure problems UNLESS THE NECK IS TOO LONG FOR THE CHAMBER. As far as I know no one has ever been STUPID enough to spec out a "no-turn" reamer so short that you must trim to length before firing. Many .262nk reamers are spec'd such that you must both TURN and TRIM and in this case you must be careful of length.

Judging by your picture the inside neck diameter reading is useless. Measuring this way with a caliper is inaccurate. If you want to know your neck thickness then measure the bullet itself and then measure the neck of the loaded round and do the math.

As long as nothing is jammed or crimping no extra clearance is needed.

you've come to the right place for help.

al
 
Al

alinwa said:
OK, some opinions.....


REMEMBER THIS........ as long as you're loading singly and you don't force anything YOU WILL NOT "jam" anything or create pressure problems UNLESS THE NECK IS TOO LONG FOR THE CHAMBER. As far as I know no one has ever been STUPID enough to spec out a "no-turn" reamer so short that you must trim to length before firing. Many .262nk reamers are spec'd such that you must both TURN and TRIM and in this case you must be careful of length.


If I remember correctly, the original 6BR Remington as designed by Mike Walker and Jim Stekl had a .040 shorter neck. I suppose there could still be barrels and reamers out there like this. Not that the new version would chamber in the old version, but sometimes strange things happen.
Click to expand...
 
This has been quite a learning experience for me. I've been loading hand guns for about 6 years, the high power rifle stuff is relatively new to me. I've been at it about three years, but as you get into unkowns like this, it requires a bit of extra care.
When I had a 6.5/284 built for 1,000 yards, the builder (Steve Braun -Ohio) walked me through everything. He built it for a no turn neck and set me up with dies, powder ect...... He made it so simple that I never learned some of the things discussed here.
I've sInce loaded .223, .308, 30-30, 30.06 & .416 Rem Mag, so it's not like I'm a virgin, but I'm certainly NO expert!

I appreciate all the help, THANK YOU all for you efforts!
 
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