Savage Bolt Gun in 6.5 Grendel

[maverick5582]

Well now that I can post again after losing all my posts in the recent hack attack I am starting on my 6.5 Grendel bolt gun.

I have a Savage 11 FCNS 7.62 x 39 action with a on the way. Drop box magazine. I plan on shooting 107-129 grain bullets. So I am thinking 1 in 9 twist with a 24" barrel.

What is the best reamer to use for a bolt gun since I am assuming that a .295" neck will work best for a bolt gun? At this point I do not know what the mag length C.O.L. will be.

Any recommendations?

[maverick5582]

Dang, not one comment. I must have nailed it right off the bat!

[KentuckyBuddha]

BjornF16 has a thread for a similar project. I did my homework and collected most of the components to make a rifle on the same Savage only using a Shillen barrel instead of the Pac-Nor he chose.

1/9" twist is almost certainly fine for anything up to 129gr. That is the twist rate I went with as well. I have done lots of hand wringing and I am not at all convinced 1/8" twist would not have been a better idea.

I am sorry I can't help you with what reamer would be best for you. I am positive that others can (and have in other threads).

[maverick5582]

Yes, I read BjornF16 post. I am leaning toward the Pac-Nor barrel. Chris at Pac-nor sent me a copy of his reamer print. I have looked at the .264 LBC print and there is very little difference except in the lead and throat area, and we are talking about .005" between the two. Both of the reamers I have looked at so far are from Pacific tool. One neck is .2948" and the other is .295".

The last barrel I chambered for my AR-15 was chambered with Manson reamer from an AA print. I am not trying to re-invent the wheel here. I just want to be sure before I settle on a barrel which chamber I am getting. Thanks for the reply.

[KentuckyBuddha]

You are most welcome! Our thoughts were the same. I wanted nothing but SAAMI spec for all of mine to include bolt action. I can see why one would prefer a longer throat if they were going to use it as a single shot, but I was hoping not to do so. lol

Pac-Nor seems like a no-brainer. I am not going to disparage the one I bought before I try it. It is still yet to be sent out for Melanite at the moment, so it won't be particularly soon.

Hopefully someone will sort you out about that reamer, I will be happy to have my memory refreshed about that point as well.

[BjornF16]

Yes, I read BjornF16 post. I am leaning toward the Pac-Nor barrel. Chris at Pac-nor sent me a copy of his reamer print. I have looked at the .264 LBC print and there is very little difference except in the lead and throat area, and we are talking about .005" between the two. Both of the reamers I have looked at so far are from Pacific tool. One neck is .2948" and the other is .295".

The last barrel I chambered for my AR-15 was chambered with Manson reamer from an AA print. I am not trying to re-invent the wheel here. I just want to be sure before I settle on a barrel which chamber I am getting. Thanks for the reply.

Can you send me the reamer print?...I didn't bother asking.

[Von Gruff]

I went with a .293 neck for my Grendel Max and while there are a few changes to lengthen the COAL it is still using Grendel brass as well as the 7.62x39.
I wanted every advantage in my bolt rifle

[maverick5582]

Can you send me the reamer print?...I didn't bother asking.

I sent you an email.

[maverick5582]

Shillen sent me a copy of their reamer print today. Their throat dimension is 2.0738" which is .0232" less than Pac-Nor's reamer which is 2.097". Pac-Nor still has the nod at this time.

[JASmith]

Shillen sent me a copy of their reamer print today. Their throat dimension is 2.0738" which is .0232" less than Pac-Nor's reamer which is 2.097". Pac-Nor still has the nod at this time.

Are we talking about the Grendel or really stretched version?

[maverick5582]

Are we talking about the Grendel or really stretched version?

Basically it is all Grendel. I am hoping that QuickLoad will work a little better with the bolt gun than the AR-15.

[JASmith]

There seems to be a typo.

Those dimensions are longer than the case, throat, and the convergence to bore

[maverick5582]

There seems to be a typo.

Those dimensions are longer than the case, throat, and the convergence to bore

[IMG][/IMG]

Here is the Pac-Nor print. The Shilen is an Excel file I am having trouble loading it. The Shilen dimension for throat is 2.0738"

[JASmith]

Ah yes, the difference between SAAMI spec and variants is again illustrated!

The listed dimension is where the throat ends and bore diameter starts.

More significant is the point where the throat gets tighter than the OD so standard bullets. That would be the start of the throat. The shoulder of the bullet won't go further forward than about this point without engraving lands onto the bullet.

[maverick5582]

Ah yes, the difference between SAAMI spec and variants is again illustrated!

The listed dimension is where the throat ends and bore diameter starts.

More significant is the point where the throat gets tighter than the OD so standard bullets. That would be the start of the throat. The shoulder of the bullet won't go further forward than about this point without engraving lands onto the bullet.

So I am assuming that you are referring to the point that the lands start at .256" diameter?

[JASmith]

So I am assuming that you are referring to the point that the lands start at .256" diameter?

I think we are struggling with definitions a bit.

The lands start as soon as the throat diameter drops below groove diameter, which is a smidgeon past the 1.670" Length (0.2644" dia) on the drawing shown above.

The lands are completely developed when the taper takes the diameter down to the groove diameter of 0.256" with the 0.2420" diameter being a reamer design convenience to account for small variations in actual bore diameter.

[maverick5582]

I think we have arrived at the same point now. I just want the taper from the lead to the throat dimension set out far enough to seat the bullets a little further out for more case capacity being this is going to be for a bolt gun. Since I have seen how many problems have arisen in the past when ordering barrels without the reamer print being in hand, I felt it was necessary to ask for a copy of the reamer print from each barrel manufacturer that I was considering.

I have found this week during conversations with different suppliers of gun parts that many do not understand what it takes to make a Savage rifle into a good 6.5 Grendel platform regardless of which reamer you use. So let the buyer beware. I have already had to return one such order because of confusion over what we were talking about. I hope to have the the whole rifle less barrel in hand this week.

[JASmith]

If you want to seat the bullets a bit further out, take a look at the 95 grain GS Custom HV and the Lehigh Defense Controlled Chaos bullets. I can seat them rather far out in my SAAMI-compliant chamber

[maverick5582]

If you want to seat the bullets a bit further out, take a look at the 95 grain GS Custom HV and the Lehigh Defense Controlled Chaos bullets. I can seat them rather far out in my SAAMI-compliant chamber

Thanks for the info. I will take a look at them.