Chamber length & .308 COL

Ike666 · September 24, 2010, 08:01 AM

Well, I got my Hndy LNL Chamber Gauge and metered the chambers on my Rem 700 and Win M70. What a surprise.

The Rem measured 2.94 (actually 2.935) with the Hornady 168 gn Match HPBT and a whopping 2.992 with the 168 gn SMK. First of all, I guess I wasn't really expecting that much difference from two "similar" bullets. The SMK has a BC of 0.462 and the Hndy a BC of 0.450. I noticed that the ogive on the Hndy was more "angular" and the SMK more of a continuous curve. I'm assuming this is why the SMK went further up into the chamber before contact with the lands. The SMK is on the left and the Hndy on the right.

Now I normally load to a COL of 2.8 to 2.81 for both these bullets. In recent firings I noticed the Hndys actually performed a little better than the SMKs in this rifle. I'm guessing it had less of a jump (0.125 vs 0.182 for the SMK).

The case gauge suggests loading to a COL of chamber length minus 0.02 to 0.04. That would mean the the Hndys should have a COL of 2.915 to 2.895 and the SMKs 2.972 to 2.952. Frankly, this seems absurdly long to me but so does a jump of 1/8th on an inch!

I'm not worried about magazine length here and am content to load single shot. But, really, almost 3 inches?? I was reading on another site that the Rem 700 are notorious for long chambers. Suggestions, recommendations?

wncchester · September 24, 2010, 09:13 AM

"Rem 700 are notorious for long chambers. Suggestions, recommendations? "

Factory rifles have long throats, it's just a fact of life. So do most customs unless the owner requests otherwise.

September 24, 2010, 08:01 AM	#1
Ike666 Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2009 Location: SW VA Posts: 491	Chamber length & .308 COL Well, I got my Hndy LNL Chamber Gauge and metered the chambers on my Rem 700 and Win M70. What a surprise. The Rem measured 2.94 (actually 2.935) with the Hornady 168 gn Match HPBT and a whopping 2.992 with the 168 gn SMK. First of all, I guess I wasn't really expecting that much difference from two "similar" bullets. The SMK has a BC of 0.462 and the Hndy a BC of 0.450. I noticed that the ogive on the Hndy was more "angular" and the SMK more of a continuous curve. I'm assuming this is why the SMK went further up into the chamber before contact with the lands. The SMK is on the left and the Hndy on the right. Now I normally load to a COL of 2.8 to 2.81 for both these bullets. In recent firings I noticed the Hndys actually performed a little better than the SMKs in this rifle. I'm guessing it had less of a jump (0.125 vs 0.182 for the SMK). The case gauge suggests loading to a COL of chamber length minus 0.02 to 0.04. That would mean the the Hndys should have a COL of 2.915 to 2.895 and the SMKs 2.972 to 2.952. Frankly, this seems absurdly long to me but so does a jump of 1/8th on an inch! I'm not worried about magazine length here and am content to load single shot. But, really, almost 3 inches?? I was reading on another site that the Rem 700 are notorious for long chambers. Suggestions, recommendations?

September 24, 2010, 09:13 AM	#2
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	"Rem 700 are notorious for long chambers. Suggestions, recommendations? " Factory rifles have long throats, it's just a fact of life. So do most customs unless the owner requests otherwise.