John Model 10
09-15-2010, 09:23 AM
Yesterday, I picked up my new Model 10 Predator Hunter in .243 Win. I had already done up a few handloads for it and tested them for function/cycling (but did not fire it yet), last night. A couple of them required a little extra force to close the bolt, which surprised me, as this is virgin Winchester brass which measures within spec. I also noticed that, of the three different bullets used, all of them exhibit some signs of touching the lands, but one was more pronounced than the other two. Here's the details:
Sierra 80g SP
Started at spec length of 2.710". However, after chambering three of them, I found that they all gave a little resistance to closing the bolt. One of the three being notably harder to close. When I ejected them, I noticed that they all had distinct marks from the lands and they all were pushed back to approximately 2.665" in length. I was surprised at this, being quite a change and well under spec length.
Hornady 87g V-Max
Started with a length of 2.712". These seemed to chamber easier, but still show slight signs of touching the lands. No change in length after being chambered, however.
Hornady 100g SP Interlock
Started at a length of 2.710". Like the V-Max above, no change in length and not hard to chamber, but showing slight signs of touching the lands.
Without doing a closer comparison, I'm going to assume that the ogive of the Sierra 80g SP is set longer than those of the two Hornady bullets. But still, this seems a little short and was alarming, as my 10FP in .308 is the opposite, having a very long freebore. So, I guess I have two main questions. First; is this something I should be concerned with? So far, it seems only to be a real issue with one bullet and I could probably work around that, anyway. Second; has anybody else experienced this? I saw another thread with similar issues in a new 10FP, but it has not been determined yet if it was a brass issue or a short chamber issue.
This is my first .243, so I want to avoid any critical errors in handloading for it. I think that, as it sits now, I can work with it, but was just surprised to see such a tight tolerance. It would not bother me if I didn't have to extend my OALs, as I do with other calibers, so long as it shoots like it should and safely. What do some of you gurus think?
Thanks in advance,
John
Sierra 80g SP
Started at spec length of 2.710". However, after chambering three of them, I found that they all gave a little resistance to closing the bolt. One of the three being notably harder to close. When I ejected them, I noticed that they all had distinct marks from the lands and they all were pushed back to approximately 2.665" in length. I was surprised at this, being quite a change and well under spec length.
Hornady 87g V-Max
Started with a length of 2.712". These seemed to chamber easier, but still show slight signs of touching the lands. No change in length after being chambered, however.
Hornady 100g SP Interlock
Started at a length of 2.710". Like the V-Max above, no change in length and not hard to chamber, but showing slight signs of touching the lands.
Without doing a closer comparison, I'm going to assume that the ogive of the Sierra 80g SP is set longer than those of the two Hornady bullets. But still, this seems a little short and was alarming, as my 10FP in .308 is the opposite, having a very long freebore. So, I guess I have two main questions. First; is this something I should be concerned with? So far, it seems only to be a real issue with one bullet and I could probably work around that, anyway. Second; has anybody else experienced this? I saw another thread with similar issues in a new 10FP, but it has not been determined yet if it was a brass issue or a short chamber issue.
This is my first .243, so I want to avoid any critical errors in handloading for it. I think that, as it sits now, I can work with it, but was just surprised to see such a tight tolerance. It would not bother me if I didn't have to extend my OALs, as I do with other calibers, so long as it shoots like it should and safely. What do some of you gurus think?
Thanks in advance,
John