can someone explain reamers to me? savage12 FTR and how to use the info for reloading

[scissorhands]

I will be picking up a (factory) Savage 12 FTR in .308 and have done my fair share of searching for information about this rifle. I have found that the barrel was cut using a obermeyer reamer. Is this true? I found the spec/drawing online and was wondering what I am suppose to do with the information. This will be a dedicated F-TR rifle.

Previous rifles (remington and a savage) have all been hunting guns and I just reloaded to saami spec for each.

Any tips on handloading/brass prep for the Savage FTR? I will be using Lapua brass, cci br2 primers, varget, and 175 SMK.

Thanks,

Rob

 

[bohem]

Which Obermeyer 308 reamer, I recall there being several.

In the mean time, you can use a Stoney Point type gauge or a split-neck brass case with a bullet in it to find out where the bullet touches the lands. Then depending on the bullet you want to use you pick a seating depth and start a ladder test. Hit me up via PM and I'll give you a hand cutting out some of the time involved.

 

[waste_knot]

+1 for what he said.
I posted a chamber drawing with all the important dimension on a fill in form. It's in this reloading section under "data book download".
You can measure a piece of fired brass and enter the data for future reference so you will be able to set your dies to the proper headspace and choose the correct neck bushing. Etc etc.

 

[clmayfield]

Generally, you will pick the reamer before you make the rifle based on what you plan to do with the rifle. For an Ftr rifle, you might pick a reamer and leade to go with the bullet you are planning to shoot. For instance, for heavier, longer bullets, you might want a longer leade so that you can seat the bullet out farther to give you more space for powder. If you are running 155's, especially Scenario, you might want a shorter leade, otherwise, the bullet might fall out of the neck before you get close to the lands.

Given the fact that you already have the rifle, you are going to need to use an Oal gauge to figure out what bullets will work for the rifle and as mentioned above, measure a fired casing to determine headache. The preferred method to do this is to use a thrice fired neck only sized case, but once fired will do if you don't have a neck only sizing die.

This is a long winded way of saying that for an already purchased rifle, the reader no longer really matters. The one way it might matter is if you are using someone else's reading data, if they have the same reader and the same bore diameter, your pressures should be pretty close, so that would give you a good sense of where to start when working up a load.