Newbie question regarding free bore in Tikka t3

[bonecollector777]

I have a question and I could be way off here but. . I'm building a 280ai off of a Tikka t3 action. I knew going into it the magazine length on tikkas can limit your COAL and I'm fine with a little less speed having to seat bullets a little deeper as long as I can still reach the lands. I'm reading that the max guys are getting is 3.340" in tikka mags and most are slightly less than that. 280ai Saami specs are 3.330 COAL. I'm having Chad at LRI do the work and his reamer list shows .07" of freebore for the 280ai. I'm struggling to understand freebore in relation to COAL. Does .07" freebore mean a Saami spec load puts the ogive .07" from the lands? I'm assuming I'm wrong due to different bullets having different lengths to the ogives. long story short does .07" freebore mean the lands will be a little closer for my 3.340" COAL than say a freebore of .170"? I'm hoping to be able to shoot the 162 eldx or 168ablr without having to shove the bullet too deep into the case due to the mag length restrictions and still be able to reach the lands or close to it. hope all that made some sense. I can also get the extended bottom metal from redsnake tactical for a COAL of 3.500" but would prefer to stick with my regular magazines if I can. Thanks!

 

[86alaskan]

If I'm right, free bore is the distance from the end of the case to the start of the lands where the bullet makes contact. The lower the free bore the more bullet in the case. You'll probably want to talk to Chad and tell him what's up, and maybe measure a dummy round to make sure you get what you want.

 

[Rhovee]

if You are worried about it, and want the same performance, do a 7 saum and seat the 280's way out there. But yes, .070 freebore means Saami length plus .70. I get 2900 with H1000 184 Bergers in a 24" barrel 7 saum on a Tikka length action. Do you already own the action?