Chamber or neck reaming 357 Herrett deeper

[30hrrtt]

I have a 357 Herrett super 14 barrel that has a .4 throat. The rifling isn't great and it is not worth the cost to have it rechambered. But it could be fun playing with.

I know nothing about chamber reamers.

Can I rent a 357 Herrett reamer and hand ream it deeper. Does the rim cutter come on the reamer or is that a separate operation? What else would I need to rent/have to use the reamer if possible? This would basically make it a 35 x 30-30 improved.

Would it be easier to use a neck reamer and just cut longer neck a couple tenths to be able to seat bullet out farther?

Shoots j'ed bullets ok but boolits shoot more into a pattern than a group as the boolit jump is just way too much. I want to shoot lead.

[ASSASSIN]

Of all the 357 Herretts I've had my hands on, 90% of them were rechambered to the 35X444 Ackley Improved...

Yes, the rim counterbore is made into the reamer and if you use a 357 Herrett reamer to try and cut the chamber deeper, correct headspace will be destroyed...

If the long throat is what you are worried about, yes, you can (properly) use a neck reamer to increase the neck length and overall length of the cartridge. I have done this myself, so I know that it can be done. You just need to make sure that both the reamer and hamber end of the barrel are held in perfect alignment. I would also recommend cutting a new throat since T/C does a p-poor job of this...

You may also need to change out your bullet seating die, like one of the small universal 35 caliber bullet seating dies from Hornady...

Since this it strictly a reloading proposition only, I see no problem with what you are trying to accomplish. Like everything else in life, a little common sence goes a long ways....

A

[Doc Highwall]

Seeing that it is a single shot, have you tried seating the bullets out longer to see how it shoots.

With 200 grain bullets or more.

[paul h]

You might want to consider what Mike Bellm calls the lazy mans herret aka full length 30-30 case. You cut the neck of the chamber deeper so that you don't have to trim the cases back, and your long throat will shrink right back. No need for new dies, and a bit more powder space.

[Nobade]

Yep, that is a good way to go. Couple of points to consider though - 30-30 cases have a much thinner neck than .358 or whatever. A normal 35 cal. necker cuts a hole way too big for blown out 30-30 brass. A custom neck/throater is in order to do this job properly. Or a custom 35 Herret chamber reamer with the long neck already there.

Another is this is certainly not a hand turned job. The barrel needs to be chucked up in a lathe and the bore where the new throat will be located indicated in straight. Then the necker supported by the tailstock so it can't get cocked. I know Bellm does a lot of these rechamber jobs and I suspect he has a custom long necked reamer ground just for him. For a one time job you would likely be way ahead to get him to do the rechamber for you rather than mess up your already existing barrel.

[ASSASSIN]

Mike Bellm is in the middle of packing and moving to Colorado and it will be a month or more before he will start taking in any more new work...

If you are worried about the 30-30 brass being too thin in the neck, use 375 Winchester brass. It has the same rim and base diameter as that of the 30-30 Winchester but, the 375 brass is thicker and much stronger...

I use 375 Winchester brass for most all my 30-30 based cartridges - 7X30 Waters, 30-30 Ackley Improved, 6mmX30-30 Improved, 35X30-30 Improved, 30 Herrett, etc., etc....

A