my .308 load results

flyingfisherman

Well-Known Member
Hi guys,

I did some reloading for my .308 to try and find a 'sweet' spot. Im shooting a R700 PSS in .308 with 150gn Hornady SSTs, Federal match primers, H4895 and PRVI brass (once fired). I fired three round groups at 118 yds (thats how long our range is apparently!), starting with 43gn of power, working up at 0.5gn a time up to a MAX of 45gn.

The rifle was cleaned prior to going to the range and i fired two three shot groups of PRVI 168gn match ammo to 'foul the bore'. I waited 7 minutes between groups, although half way through i gave the barrel 15 minutes to cool as it was getting hot. As you can see from the results, it isnt grouping that well. still. I think that the groups would be tighter if fired from a cold barrel every time.

Attachment 1 is a two shot group with my .243 done on the same day, same conditions etc, just to prove that its not all the man behind the gun!
View attachment 1396

This one you can see the 168gn match ammo, giving fairly good groups, im discounting the first three shots due to the rifle being clean before starting..?
View attachment 1397

43gn shows two through the same hole, one 1'' left and 1/2 high. 44gn shows an even larger split.
View attachment 1398

43.5gn shows three rounds spread over 2'' in elevation with a little azimuth spread.. 44.5gn shows 1.5'' ish group.
View attachment 1399

I wrote 45.5gn on the target, actually 45gn. Also a 4 round group. Anyone got any ideas why it would group like that?
View attachment 1395

Im not overly happy with the results from the .308 today. i think i may go back to the range tomorrow and only do say two 3x round groups, thus eliminating barrel heat problems (even though its a varmint/heavy barrel)

Oh, and im fully aware that the rifle is shooting 1-2'' left, but i didnt want to mess around with point of aim when trying to get decent groups.
 
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Hi, What distance off the lands are you seating the bullets at? Try it at 10 thou, and work on the powder charge.

I haven't try'd H4895 in my .308, i use N140 with good sub 1/2"-3/4" groups in my Prohunter mkII.

Atb,

Moe..
 
Hmm, how far off the lands?! a few people have asked me this, ive made a dummy round and tried to measure it.. even with the round only .3 into the case, its still nowhere near from what i can see/feel. i dont have a proper guage though.

OK UPDATE.

Ive measured the OAL of a 150gn SST when pushed into the chamber of the rifle. Its 2.93'' I did it 5 times to ensure that i was right. I smoked the head and could see two witness marks where it was sat in the throat. The rounds that i used above were to the handbooks min OAL of 2.8''. I think the MAX OAL would be 2.895, that giving 0.3'' seated inside the case. Where would you guys point me next?

Also for info, im from the new generation that doesnt fully understand divisions of an inch.. Never had it explained! I know 1/8th, 1/16th etc, but not this 100th or 1000th? anyone care to enlighten me? :oops:
 
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I think you need to read a proper reloading book, and invest a little bit of money in an OAL gauge.
 
Any bedding issues aside, you may be facing the fact that the rifle doesn't like the SST bullet. When I shoot and get groups like that, and I've tried everything I can think of, I figure it's the bullet and move on. Not all bullets are accurate in all rifles.~Muir
 
Cheers Kevin, i mean the 168gn PRVI did seem to shoot better through the rifle, so i had thought of changing to something other than the 150gn sst. Apart from bedding, are there any other areas you think i could check? Regarding the OAL, is it worth making some up to the MAX OAL of my rifle minus 10 thousandths of an inch (whatever they are!), do you think that this could be the area in which i could tighten the groups up?
 
OAL of rounds, in most rifles if not all, makes a substantial difference to accuracy, assuming that the rifle is mechanically (including bedding) otherwise sound.

A good reloading manual will show you how to measure your rifle's (probably) unique dimension between case head and the ogive (not the tip) of your chosen type of bullet where it contacts the lands of the rifle. This is not the same as where the bullet might bump the throat someway beforehand. Having established this baseline dimension, you can use a gauge to achieve test rounds loaded to within 10-20 thou off of the lands - the range between which most rifles respond with greatest accuracy. Somewhere between 10 and 20 thou you will find a length where groups tighten, then thereafter loosen up again.
 
Sorry but I have hear, seen and read about seating close to the lands and have found that most of my rifles don't like and have far better precision with the bullet seated deeper. In your .308 I would try some BLC-2 powder. With the Hornady 130 grn SP seated to a COL of 2.700" it shoots very nicely thank you:-

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The bottom is three shots at 82 yards using a lowly .308 Parker-Hale 1100 LWT with it's normal sporter weight barrel and it's NOT FREE FLOATED EITHER :D. The spread out three at the top was a bullet, a heavier 200 grain Speer that it didn't like the load of that one and no I don't have a Sinclair of Hornady etc comparitor.I do it the old way :rolleyes: and it seems to work for me.

Oh Reloader 15 works well in the .308 as well ;).
 
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...It's a Fenland thing...

:rofl: am I am not even from round these here parts ;) on rifles like the 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser it's impossible to get near the leade same goes for my 30-30:-

36532858.jpg

Another 3 shot group but this time shot on Bisley's Short Siberia but again using the Hornady 130 grn SP bullet but H-335 powder this time.
 
why stop at 45? did you get any pressure signs?
hodgden list 45.5 as max!
i load h4895 for myself and a friend in 3 x .223 (50 gn in 3 rifles), 2 x .243(55gn and 95gn in both rifles, soon to start on 70gn), .308 (110 gn and 125 gn) and 22-250(55 gn).
all work best at max load and i've never measured the MOL or messed around with seating depth, just crack on with the bullet seated into the case 1 diameter ( for .308 COL would be case length + bullet length - bullet diameter) assuming they fit in the mag and are clear of the rifleing.

just my thoughts - mind you i'm no expert, just a peckerwood who lives in west berkshire with not enough guns! but i will be messing with seating depth on my new rifle when i get round to it.

ps. nice group with the .243, do you really think 3 shot groups with a warm gun really shows you how that load performs - when i get something half decent i make up a batch and just keep useing them for a while, they always seem to get better that the initial test group.
 
I do think that the poor grouping may have something to do with a warm barrel. So, ive knocked up 9 rounds with 44gn of powder, 150gn SST and now made the OAL 2.895'' which i think is the maximum OAL for this round. Will post the results this arvo, see if its made any difference..
 
Firstly, I would support the advice given to aquire the proper equipment to cover your reloading activities, thereby removing some of the doubt, & all of the missing bits of info you need,:).... second, I would say you should always print a minimum of FIVE shots as this is the number required to give a group,(no , I'm not inviting a bun fight here!),As I can see from your .243 Win card, It should not be a case of the nut behind the butt, so moving on........... as previously stated in other post, try another bullet, this will inevitably give a much different result if you leave everything else alone! A very large bonus would be for you to aquire, or borrow a chronograph, this toy will identify lots of reasons for your troubles. Steve.
 
View attachment 1415

Well, went to the range, did the bottom LH group with the .308 first off, with the flyer being shot number 3. I then shot my .223 (also a R700 PSS) as i have recently cleaned it and wanted to check zero. I ended up moving it 5 clicks to the right, which put it on the money. i love that rifle! Anyways, the last group i did with the .308 is the top after moving it 0.75MOA to the right.

As you can see, the groups are much tighter than yesterday. Thanks for all of the help. It is really appreciated. Differing the OAL seemed to make all the difference.
 
Nowt wrong with them groups !!:thumb:
Now load em up, get out and have fun shootig them :D

Cheers,

Moe..
 
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