Browning BLR .308 challenges

[FergusonTO35]

My dad doesn't really hunt anymore and so gave me his early 90's Browning BLR .308 awhile back. It is a very nice rifle and so I decided to start loading for it. I discovered that the BLR is known for having a tight chamber, and this one is no exception. Rounds resized with my regular Lee die set take some effort to go into battery. I ordered the RCBS small base sizing die which improved it significantly, however some rounds still need an extra little shove.

The BLR mechanism, while fast, is not particularly strong. It works like rack and pinion steering on a car, and forcing the lever to close could really cause some problems. Talked to the gunsmith about it, and she said that running a finish reamer into the chamber would probably take care of it. The rifle also doesn't dimple the primers as strong as I think it should. It has never misfired, but they look marginal to me. I know the rifle has never been disassembled, and I can see some ancient grease in places on the bolt. So, after hunting season is over I'll drop it off for a tune up.

 

[Bilge Rat]

Clean it good. The grease from the factory is thick, clean the chamber. That will give you a little more clearance and cleaning out the action will speed up the lock time/ striker speed.

It is amazing how much crud comes out of the metal on factory new guns. The stuff protects metal while sitting waiting to be sold.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks, will do.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Dropped off the BLR at the gun doc yesterday. She said that the bolt carrier seems to have some binding when it locks up, could be from solidified grease or could have been tight from the factory. So, we shall see what happens.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Gunsmith sent me a message today. Says the rifle has a very tight chamber but it is within SAAMI specs. She also said that this is probably by design, the BLR mechanism isn't as forgiving tolerance-wise as a bolt action and reaming the chamber could cause headspace or light strike problems. It does shoot really well, so I think I'll leave it alone right now. If I ever need a .308 that will eat anything I'll pick up a cheap bolt action.

 

[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.

 

[onlybrowning]

Been following along on this one. Sounds like you got it sorted out. I had a similar experience with an A Bolt Mountain Ti. I love a good BLR. Such a nice lever gun.


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[FergusonTO35]

Thanks. I'm thinking of adding another .308 to the battery, maybe a Savage Axis wood stock.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Tried out the BLR again today and looks like all is well. Every round chambered just fine with no binding. Made a 1" group at 85 yards off shooting sticks, which is as good as I can do with most rifles. See the lower right target.

 

[srb08]

Tried out the BLR again today and looks like all is well. Every round chambered just fine with no binding. Made a 1" group at 85 yards off shooting sticks, which is as good as I can do with most rifles. See the lower right target.

View attachment 285411

That's a really good looking rifle.
Glad you got it sorted out.

That was an odd circumstance that created the resizing issue.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks. Dad never really hunted with it that much and certainly didnt shoot as much as I do, so the rifle is still in great shape.

I reloaded the rounds I fired tonight. About 3 out 20 had a little bit of binding after being reloaded, although nothing like it was. Im thinking maybe those particular cases are questionable. Almost all my .308 brass is what dad gave me with the rifle or range pickups. I guess I should get some new brass at some point, however I'll have to make the best of what I got for the forseeable future.

 

[Bilge Rat]

I would look at your shoulder bump.
The small base resizer is not doing you any good, the OD. is not the issue the length is.
Are you lubing the inside of the neck before resizing.

Measure the shoulder length on some fired cases then bump the shoulder back , that should fix it.

 

[srb08]

Thanks. Dad never really hunted with it that much and certainly didnt shoot as much as I do, so the rifle is still in great shape.

I reloaded the rounds I fired tonight. About 3 out 20 had a little bit of binding after being reloaded, although nothing like it was. Im thinking maybe those particular cases are questionable. Almost all my .308 brass is what dad gave me with the rifle or range pickups. I guess I should get some new brass at some point, however I'll have to make the best of what I got for the forseeable future.

I would look at your shoulder bump.
The small base resizer is not doing you any good, the OD. is not the issue the length is.
Are you lubing the inside of the neck before resizing.

Measure the shoulder length on some fired cases then bump the shoulder back , that should fix it.

Here's a couple of handy little gadgets to have on your bench.

The Lyman is a drop in gauge that will tell you if the headspace is correct, if the brass needs to be trimmed and if it is of the proper diameter. Works with empty cases and loaded rounds.

The Hornady requires a good caliper. It will tell you the actual measurement from the base to the shoulder, for setting headspace.

I run every reloaded round I'm going to shoot through an autoloader, rifle or pistol, through a drop in gauge. I've had some military brass, that even with multiple passes through a small base die, wouldn't drop into the gauge.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I would look at your shoulder bump.
The small base resizer is not doing you any good, the OD. is not the issue the length is.
Are you lubing the inside of the neck before resizing.

Measure the shoulder length on some fired cases then bump the shoulder back , that should fix it.

I suspect the shoulder bump is the culprit here. I must say the small base die does in fact help, the cases require noticeably more effort to chamber when using the standard resizing die. I always lube the inside of the case neck when resizing.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Here's a couple of handy little gadgets to have on your bench.

The Lyman is a drop in gauge that will tell you if the headspace is correct, if the brass needs to be trimmed and if it is of the proper diameter. Works with empty cases and loaded rounds.

The Hornady requires a good caliper. It will tell you the actual measurement from the base to the shoulder, for setting headspace.

I run every reloaded round I'm going to shoot through an autoloader, rifle or pistol, through a drop in gauge. I've had some military brass, that even with multiple passes through a small base die, wouldn't drop into the gauge.
View attachment 285532

Thanks, I'll have order some of those.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Update: Dad decided he wants the BLR back and is going to swap me a nice Marlin 336 for it. I like a bolt action in .308 better so its all good. I took the BLR out for some exercise today to make sure all is good on it. Ammo was some Armscor 147 grain FMJ. The rifle still shoots well, but I think this stuff is hot. Every round had really sticky extraction and flattened primers. It chambers quite easily, so I would think its not a brass problem. I'll try them in my Savage and see if the same thing happens.

 

[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

 

[FergusonTO35]

Well, I think I have the BLR pretty well dialed in. She is dead on with either a 150 or 180 grain slug under 37.5 grains of the Armscor factory powder or H-335, which seems nearly the same. Hopefully dad will take it out this year.

 

[blades]

weigh the brass sans everything . the military brass is usaully a bit thicker than commercial, and sometimes a bit harder as well. and this makes them a bit less capicity wise= higher pressure with the same charge vs commercial case.