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Neck down .408 brass or use .375 brass for .375 .

RonA

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Minuteman
Jul 10, 2011
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Browns Valley CA
Is it better to use .408 brass and neck it down for .375 Cheytac or start with .375 CT brass? I haven't looked to see what the reamer dim. are compared to the loaded case dim.

RonA
 
Re: Neck down .408 brass or use .375 brass for .375 .

Use what ever you got. You will be fine either way.
 
Re: Neck down .408 brass or use .375 brass for .375 .

I don't have any brass yet and at $2.50 each I want to be sure that I have something that doesn't have to be sized down .010 in the neck each time it's fired. I'll get the reamer dim. first and then get the neck diameter of the loaded ammo from one of the manufacturers. If it's too small I'll either have the reamer modified or check into .408 brass and see what the neck thickness is before sizing down to .375 If it will give me a thicker neck that i can turn and bore to get something that fits the chamber properly, I'll go that route.
 
Re: Neck down .408 brass or use .375 brass for .375 .

It really depends on your reamer spec, some times you might need a thicker neck if you wont to neck turn all depends on the brase your using and what you wont to do with it.
 
Re: Neck down .408 brass or use .375 brass for .375 .

Ron,

I usually buy the brass and seat bullet to figure out the reamer dimensions. I like about .003-.004" clearance and will go tighter if I want to skim cut the necks on the brass. It's also the best way to get the throat right.

Nathan
 
Re: Neck down .408 brass or use .375 brass for .375 .

I forgot that you were into this stuff Nathan. Hope all is well. I just ordered the rifle a couple of days ago and haven't seen the reamer print yet(Shop doesn't have a reamer for this) so once I have that and a couple of cases I'll figure it out. .002/.003 is what i am looking for and I'd like to have a bit of extra neck thickness so i can push them into a die and then load and indicate in the lathe for turn and bore of the neck. If there isn't enough material for that I'll just push them onto a spud on the lathe and true up the outside of the neck.
Thanks for the reply and have a nice holiday season.
Ron Allen
 
Re: Neck down .408 brass or use .375 brass for .375 .

You do the same Ron and have fun with the new toy. If I ever get my TAC338 actions from the group buy I'm going to do a .375-.338 Lapua Imp and a .500 A-square. My barrels are growing old waiting for the actions
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Got bullets(350gr SMK's), powder, brass, and just received the dies from C&H. Just waiting on the rifle for now. Drew up the suppressor and mount detail so I can get that made while Mark and crew put the rifle together. I hope it shoots ok with the SMK's. Sounds like their might be a little trial and error with this cartridge and matching the bullet to the twist rate. I'll make solids if i have to, but the price on the sierras is very reasonable. Especially since I don't plan on shooting out past 800 or so. Might be a good setup for some long squirrel shots if they'll stand in place long enough for the bullet to get to them. I hear you about the actions. I think the action and stock are normally the holdup though. I was going to see if I could use someones elses rifle to test the suppressor, but couldn't find anyone that had a .375 or .408. Stay warm up there Nathan.
 
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Especially since I don't plan on shooting out past 800 or so.

Huh? A .375CT for 800m shooting? That seems like a really odd choice. Then again, there was a light bullet made for the .408 way back in the mid-2000s that was designed for that exact mission, giving an insanely low Max Ordinate and making shots on personnel out to that distance just a matter of aiming center mass.
 
Huh? A .375CT for 800m shooting? That seems like a really odd choice. Then again, there was a light bullet made for the .408 way back in the mid-2000s that was designed for that exact mission, giving an insanely low Max Ordinate and making shots on personnel out to that distance just a matter of aiming center mass.

I needed a test bed for the suppressor and the bonus is being able to shoot bullets formed out of .223 cases for shooting shorter distances very cheaply if supplies dry up. I used to shoot ground squirrels at 500-600 yards with my .338 Lapua using 88gr of AA4350 under 200gr Nosler BT's. Best extended range squirrel rifle I ever had.

And yes, I was able to get a good price on .375 CT brass. Actually, everything was easy to get once i found where stuff was hiding.

RonA
 
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Yep. That's the place. With brass the same price as .338 Lapua and 350SMK's at 80-90 cents each it is not really that expensive to shoot.
Retumbo is still the problem. I've only found 2#'s so far but I think i can get enough by summer to put this thing to good use and have a little fun.
 
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Yep. That's the place. With brass the same price as .338 Lapua and 350SMK's at 80-90 cents each it is not really that expensive to shoot.
Retumbo is still the problem. I've only found 2#'s so far but I think i can get enough by summer to put this thing to good use and have a little fun.

I managed to get 48# of Retumbo from Powder Valley before they stopped taking back orders. Figured that would be enough to wear out a barrel.