I just finished putting together my first Savage build. It's chambered in .308. The action is a model 10 with a Shilen 1:10 twist. I have been shooting a .308 Mauser I built that had an Adams & Bennet barrel that was short chambered. I finished the chamber and head spaced it myself with the help of a fiend with a lathe. My COAL with a SMK 168 bullet touched the lands at 2.865 or so. I have had good luck jumping about .020 to the lands. I picked up some 155 gr. SMK's and tried to see how they fit my chamber in the Mauser. Wouldn't even touch the lands before they fell out of the case. I tried these same bullets in the Savage. They touched the lands at around 2.820. The 168 SMK's touched the lands with a COAL of 2.730! Anyone had the same experience with these Shilen or similar barrels? I'm so used to hearing about Remingtons that have a COAL of 2.90 and still not touch the lands. I would just like some feed back if this is unusual or not. I guess I won't be chasing the lands anytime soon!!!


Mark