Browning BLR and Small Base Reloading Dies

[Bigahh]

Every now and then I have trouble chambering a round in my 308 BLR. I use Forster Bench Rest Dies. Can my problem possibly be that I do not use a small base resizing die? Do you BLR guys use a small base die ?

[Hobie]

I hope you don't mind my editing of your topic title but I thought that "Browning BLR Dies" might not have drawn the traffic you're looking for...

[Old Savage]

The chamber and the barrel are tight in mine.

[Les Staley]

I, too, had trouble with a tight chambered BLR in 308. Small base dies did help some, but didn't eliminate all the problems.. mine was an early one, made in Belgium.. I finaly sold it to a guy that wanted to use only factory ammo.. he was happy and so was I... Les

[model55]

Had a winchester 100 before the blr so I've used the small base dies the whole time with no problems at all-wish I could have said that about the model 100.

[Timothy]

Sorry to interupt but what are small base dies?

[Bigahh]

I hope you don't mind my editing of your topic title but I thought that "Browning BLR Dies" might not have drawn the traffic you're looking for...

Thanks Hobie, I should have put more thought in it.

but what are small base dies?

A small base die is nothing more than a resizing die that sizes to a bit smaller dimension to allow better chambering in Autos, Pumps, and Levers. I was wrong to think a BLR didnt need them. Will be putting in an order for one with Midway.

[M. M. Wright]

I probably own as many BLRs as anyone, (11) mostly .308 Win and have never had to use the small base dies. Truth is though, I've never fired most of them, but I have shot the first one a lot. Early Belgian mfg. It has a lot of wear both outside and inside so the chamber is no doubt "loosend up" some. As I have given these away to my grandsons they think Grandad should provide the ammo too so I load quite a lot for them using std RCBS dies. No complaints but I will be sure to ask them about any problems.

[pricedo]

Had a winchester 100 before the blr so I've used the small base dies the whole time with no problems at all-wish I could have said that about the model 100.

Some owners had problems with the Win Model 100 semi-automatic.
I had a 100 for a while but it never felt "natural" or comfortable when I shouldered it & rather than restock it I wound up trading it in for a Rem 7400 which I eventually traded up toward a Sako Hunter & so on & so on & so on.
It was quite a while ago but I think there was a generic manufacturing defect with the 100s involving a weak pin that was susceptible to breaking & I think at one time there was a recall in effect & you could send your 100 in to Winchester for a free fix because the problem was a shooter safety issue........kinda late for that now I'd think.

I use mostly factory ammo in my Browning .308 Win BLR now since the quality of 21st. century factory ammo is as good or better than most reloads but have never had any problems using hand loads in the gun made with ordinary sizing dies.
Even with today's computerized manufacturing processes there are small differences between guns of the same make, model & caliber...........some BLRs are no doubt "tighter" or "looser" than others.

[Don McDowell]

As long as the brass is either new or fired in the BLR I get along fine with regular dies for the 308, it's chamber is pretty tight and brass from other rifles, especially my Savage won't work in it.
The 243 blr doesn't seem to mind where it's brass comes from, and regular dies work fine for it as well.

[geobru]

My BLR has a tight chamber, but I haven;t had any problems using regular RCBS dies.

[earlmck]

Bigahh, we need a little more info on your chambering problem. Occasional hard chambering is more likely to be in the neck area: is the brass a bit too long? Is the finished round a bit too large in the neck? Is the bullet engaging the riflings before the bolt is quite closed? Is the reloaded round just slightly crooked (too much bullet runout)? These are the areas I would investigate before I bought a small-based die.

Anyway, take one of the rounds that is causing difficult chambering, pull the bullet, and see how it chambers now. This'll tell you if you have base problems or neck area problems.

[Don McDowell]

One other thing the 308 is a bit finicky about is seating depth, if you get a round with the bullet seated out just a touch to far, it won't let the bolt completely close.

[Jayhawker]

I've never had a problem using regular dies with my 358 Win. It shoots reloads or factory just fine.

[pricedo]

As long as the brass is either new or fired in the BLR I get along fine with regular dies for the 308, it's chamber is pretty tight and brass from other rifles, especially my Savage won't work in it.
The 243 blr doesn't seem to mind where it's brass comes from, and regular dies work fine for it as well.

If the brass is FL sized as I do for any cartridge designated to be used in an auto-loader or lever action it wouldn't matter what gun fired the brass before.
I used neck sized only brass solely for reloading ammo for the gun the brass was fire-formed in.

[Don McDowell]

[quote="pricedoIf the brass is FL sized as I do for any cartridge designated to be used in an auto-loader or lever action it wouldn't matter what gun fired the brass before.
I used neck sized only brass solely for reloading ammo for the gun the brass was fire-formed in.[/quote]

It does make a difference, so that and combine with the BLR prefers remington brass and the 99 gets the best accuracy with winchester brass, it's no big deal to keep the brass sorted by headstamp.

[buckeyeshooter]

I use small base sizers on all auto, pump and lever guns as a standard practice.