Small base die for Browning BLR .308?

[FergusonTO35]

That's what I was thinking. Probably just be easier to get the correct mag. I saw some NOS .358 mags on GB for like $40.00 each.

[FergusonTO35]

Ok, the Little Brown Santa Claus dropped off the small base die today. Got it in my hot little hands and made some ammo with 37 grains IMR 4895/180 grain W-W Power Points. Took the rifle and ammo out to my little range and tried it out. The rounds now slide in just fine for the most part, a couple of them were still a little sticky. Fired the rifle at 100 yards off a bipod and it will make three shot groups of around 1.25", which is pretty good for my shaky hands.

I never thought much about the .308 before but it is really starting to grow on me. The cartridge seems to really like reduced loads with heavier than usual bullets/boolits. May have to get a bolt gun to match!

[FergusonTO35]

So, I wonder if it would be worthwhile to have the chamber honed or reamed a little bit bigger? If I get another .308 I would rather not keep two different loads for it, also it seems like this would make the rifle more reliable and put less wear on the rack and pinion mechanism.

[FergusonTO35]

Talked to the gunsmith, they said it would be no problem to run a finish reamer into the chamber and open it up a bit. I'll drop it off after the season, gonna have a trigger job done on it too.

[Lloyd Smale]

I dont have one but dad does and i load for it. I load for a bunch of differnt 308s from ar10s the the blr and savage 99 to bolt guns that have loose chambers and tight. I dont even fool with anything but small base dies in 308s or 223s. Loaded like that i can grab any load in the house and know it will run in any gun. I havent seen doing it reduce accuracy even a small ammount and if brass life is less i doubt its much less and once fired brass for either of them is relatively cheap. So for the benift gained i see no negetives in using a small base die. No brainer if you ask me. You still can run into problems with once fired brass though. I had a cetme with a real loose chamber and even after small base sizing brass the die didnt size far enough down on the case to be able to use them in my tighter chambered 700 and model 7. The ran fine in my ar10 and the blr though and worked in the rest but some needed firm pressure to close the bolt. Really if my experience is the norm you will have more problems using brass fired in that blr in something else then you will once fired brass in your blr. Only guns ive had with looser chambers then the blr are that cetme and my ar10.

[Tatume]

I had a Belgian made BLR 308 years ago ...

Had the BLR even been invented in 1712?

[FergusonTO35]

Yes, because JMB also invented time travel!

[gmsharps]

Had the BLR even been invented in 1712?

Browning was a bit ahead of its time.

[silverbuzzard]

My BLR would not chamber RCBS sized cases, did not matter 3 different brands. Bought small base, problem solved

[FergusonTO35]

Update: the gunsmith examined the rifle and test fired with factory ammo and my reloads. She found that the chamber is very close to minimum SAAMI specs, and the BLR design apparently needs a snug chamber to maintain proper headspace. Said I could have it reamed if I wanted, but that could induce light strikes. I think I'll keep the rifle as it is for now and work on my loading technique. It would probably be more cost effective to just buy a cheap bolt action if I need a .308 that will eat anything.

[Norske]

It probably depends on whether the chambering reamer used for that particular rifle had been sharpened or not.

[Gundogx2]

My BLR reloaded were a little tight small base die cleaned it up. I could not work up a load that was as accurate as hornadys light magnums or whatever they call them now
It just clover leafs them


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[Lloyd Smale]

.

Small base Dies have long been the Gold Standard for reloading the Browning BLR.

yup just buy a set. the upside is your 308 ammo will run in any 308 and theres no down side. Some say less brass life but at most youll loose one or two firings and 308 brass is easy to find. Every 556 or 308 round i load anymore are done with small base dies.

[FergusonTO35]

Ok, I think I got the BLR brass straightened out. I compared neck and body measurements of the factory Norma rounds and fired brass, and some range pickup brass that had been run through the RCBS small base die. Little to no difference in the Norma rounds and brass which had been run through the RCBS sizer, however the latter still made the bolt hard to close. In fact, the fired Norma rounds chambered more easily. Got to thinking about it (a slow process!) and decided to resize the brass to to maximum possible. I removed the decapper pin from the die so there would be nothing at all impeding the round going fully into the die. That done, the resized rounds now chamber as easily as the factory Norma rounds.

I went ahead and pulled down all my reloaded rounds, ran them through the sizer, and trimmed the cases to 2.05 OAL. Then I reinstalled the decapper pin and ran them about halfway through the die to expand the neck just enough so bullets would seat straight. Loaded them up with my favorite .308 load of 37 grains IMR 4895/180 grain Winchester Power Point. Then, ran all the rounds through the mag and into the chamber of the rifle. To my delight, they all chambered and extracted just fine. So, I'm thinking maybe the decapper pin on the RCBS die was adjusted down a little too far, preventing the shoulder from getting bumped back enough. Hopefully I can try them out tomorrow.

[Prairie Cowboy]

The BLR acquires increased bolt travel (needed due to the rotating bolt) with reduced lever travel, by using the rack and pinion system. Unfortunately this system operates at a mechanical disadvantage, at the expense of weak primary extraction.
So, it's no surprise that loaded cartridges need to fit the chamber well.

[FergusonTO35]

Ok, tried out the BLR with my improved loads today. Happy to report that every round chambered just fine with no binding. Managed to make a 1" group at 85 yards with shooting sticks, which is about as good as I can do with most rifles. Thinking about adding another .308 to the battery, maybe a wood stocked Savage Axis.

[FergusonTO35]

Just thought I would update this old thread. Been shooting the BLR lately, and had some very sticky extraction with Armscor.308 147 grain FMJ. Pulled down the rounds and found they contain 44 grains of a ball powder. I would guess it's in the H-335 speed looking at the Hodgdon data. Backed down the charge by 15% to 37.5 and now all rounds eject slick as snot. They seem to shoot ok, the BLR has a horrible trigger pull and the barrel takes forever to cool.

[pietro]

the BLR has a horrible trigger pull

Yeah, they're notorious for that, and IME a real gunsmith (not some parts-changer) who can successfully fix that issue will be very hard to find - many will try, but few are chosen.

(Since they're not target trifles, I just lived with mine)

[FergusonTO35]

It's "ok" if you don't try to give it the traditional bolt action squeeze. The way I do it is place my finger flat against the trigger, and try to slowly press backwards. But yeah, the trigger pull plus the skinny barrel that heats up fast means accuracy will seldom match a standard sporter bolt action. Yesterday I was shooting it side by side with my Savage Axis, same ammo and distance for both rifles, and the difference was very obvious. Nonetheless, the BLR is a solid choice for someone who wants a faster, flatter shooting cartridge in a rifle about the same size and weight and same operating procedure as a 94/336.

[Ramjet-SS]

Been there done that. older Browning BLR need that small base die.