"Match" Chamber?

[CaptnC]

Been looking at a barrel for my next build and I'm like the feed back I've seen from the members here who have bought Criterion Barrels from Southland Shooting Supply.

They list a number of barrels as having "Match" chambers. I'm very interested in another 6.5-06, but the chambering list, lists it as a Match chamber.

Not a lot of 6.5-06 brass out there, so I will go down the once fired road...AGAIN! And I hope not to hear the same BS I got from another barrel maker..."if you use once fired brass, you should expect to have problems!"

So what is a match chamber compared to a "normal" chamber?

 

[cohunt]

Usually tighter than saami, sometimes requires neck turning brass--- best to ask the person clambering it what the reamer specs are rather than assume though

 

[wjarrell]

I have a 260 rem barrel on a Savage from them that has a "match chamber". If I remember right it has .160" of free bore which is a little more than a standard chamber, how much more I'm not sure. Good barrel and NSS is easy to deal with. Last time out with the 260 I shot about a 2.5" to 3" group at 600 yards.

 

[CaptnC]

That figures...the neck will be a tight spot. The easiest once fired brass to find is 270 and 30-06. So I'm back to buting new 25-06 brass to minimize, not eliminate neck issues in the chamber.

I was thinking it most likely a bit smaller chamber, but didn't think about neck size/thickness.

 

[CaptnC]

wjarrel,
Good to know I won't have someone flip out just because I might question what I hearing!

As much as I don't want to turn a neck I may have too...3" groups at 600yds...I could live with that!

 

[yoteslayer]

Not all match chambers have to neck turn I order a lot of reamers with a tight neck no turn cuz a lot of shooters don't want to turn necks it just makes all the tolerances tighter and in Theory would enhance accuracy

 

[elkaholic]

A lot of the old theories don't really hold true anymore since long range became popular. For example, .002"-.003" clearance in the neck will more often than not raise es as opposed to .004"-005". At 100 yards, little if any difference in group size but very significant at 1000. Also, too tight a throat can cause pressures to be erratic and definitely costs velocity. There are other examples too but tight tolerances, when they work, means everything has to be near perfectly machined including the brass or it can cause more accuracy loss than gain.

 

[J E Custom]

Go with the SAMMI chamber and you wont "Have to turn" unless you want to. Also you can get the reamer with whatever dimensions you want for the brass or bullets (Different brands of brass may have different neck thickness.

A well cut chamber 'is'a match grade chamber. A chamber that is called a match chamber may be to tight and cause problems.

J E CUSTOM

 

[CaptnC]

Well that's good to know.

I wish in my original post I would have ask how many, if any owners of match chambers use once fired brass.

ThE answer to that I guess be...if you can aford aatch grade barrel, don't cheap out...buy new brass!

I'm really not cheap, old habits die hard! I've used once fired since the early 70's and it had worked perfectly until two weeks ago!

I have a computer, lap top, a cell phone! So I can pick up bad habits! LOL...why not buy some new brass.

To be honest, the last new brass I bought was 25-06 for the 6.5-06 I built in 2017 for wife. I had bought 50 cases, they lasted about 8 firings, next thing I knew I was cranking out 6.5 necked brass from 270...

 

[CaptnC]

J E CUSTOM,
I really don't have a problem with having to turn the neck because I would like to get the accuracy out of the rig.

I have never turned a neck before...looks like i will be looking into it on youtube...

 

[ar10ar15man]

bottom line until you see a reamer print, you do not know.
there are no standards nor specs for the word "match".
so ask for a chamber.reamer print or pass

 

[Aldon]

Not sure where you would buy 6.5-06 brass....

I am sure someone may but all mine are fireformed.

I do neck turn and anneal routinely.

 

[bigngreen]

What you got from the other maker was not BS, once fired brass from an other chamber is one of the biggest wastes of money and accuracy I can think of!
Brass that fits your chamber so perfectly that it's just moving a couple thou and springing back after each fire and size cycle brings a level of consistency you will not achieve with brass that has formed to another chamber unless it's a smaller chamber really either by luck or actually building a fire forming barrel.

Match reamers means what ever they guy who spec'ed it thinks match is.
If you have a tight Sammi chamber and you buy brass out of a sloppy Sammi chamber your hooched, again!
I have only one Saami reamer, I really don't like them cause they are marginal for everything, that's the point, I use very specific reamers for specific reasons. IF I got it my pumpkin to use only once fired brass I'd have a reamer made based on what showed up for brass and what my sizer would do with it, more than likely add a little to the base and put the neck to .004 clearance and bring the throat down a little from most Sammi prints. I'd then headspace it a little longer so everything would be happy, happy but that'll never happen cause it's so much easier and cheaper to use new quality brass the first time.

 

[Deputy819]

So what is a match chamber compared to a "normal" chamber?

I had the same question regarding my recent .280AI build with a Criterion barrel. The email I received from James at NSS said that their "Match" designations mean either a shorter throat (ex 6.5x55 Swede) or longer throat (ex .280AI).