308 SD or Velocity

[NiMiK]

Load for accuracy, not speed. One, faster rounds just mean you'll miss faster. Two, its more wear and tear on your components and barrel.

Thanks NorCalFocus! I'll redo the charts after my next outing. That was my first time putting a chart together.

OpenSightsOnly, I've had awesome results with the Berger Hybrids in 168's. I have another box of the LR in 175's that I want to try as well. They're pretty pricey but its hard to put a value on this education.
Haven't tried or seen any Lapuas at the local stores though.

[J-cat]

Not sure what my OAL is but they fit in my AI mags. I've been measuring by CBTO for a while since it gives me more consistency when seating. OAL doesnt sit well for me since meplats vary from bullet to bullet no matter the batch or brand.

[NiMiK]

[NiMiK]

OAL I have is 2.784. This gives me 0.20 off the lands. This jump seems to work well in my rifle. I'll be testing a few more charge weights today and see how they group. No velocity test for these as I dont want my magenetospeed to interfere.

[J-cat]

2.784” is awful short for being only .020” off the lands. 44grs is going to be hot. In most chambers .020” off the lands is more like 2.884”+ to the tip so you are working with a lot more case volume. I would go to a smith and have him increase the freebore or rework your load in Hornady or Winchester brass.

[highpower790]

I concur!The gunsmith I use for M14/M1 work has a reamer that creates a very short throat with a coal 2.780,fine for me as its allows a few more rounds to be shot before rebarreling.

[NiMiK]

That is what I thought as well. I'll try a different caliper and load a dummy round based off ogive and then another at oal sammi specs. I'll also see if they chamber correctly. If I need to bring it to a smith I might just go with a 6.5CM.

I've loaded 10 rounds and the OAL of each is +/- .001 with this lot of 500. I still need to double check the another caliper though.

[LynnJr]

You load for best accuracy first then you check the muzzle velocity to see if your were you need to be. After that you look at your extreme spread to see how much it will influence your groups as the distance is increased.
Standard Deviation is of no use to me at all because hypothetical groups don't count only real ones do.
If your groups are good and your velocity is good but your extreme spreads are bad it's time to make a primer change.

[NiMiK]

You load for best accuracy first then you check the muzzle velocity to see if your were you need to be. After that you look at your extreme spread to see how much it will influence your groups as the distance is increased.
Standard Deviation is of no use to me at all because hypothetical groups don't count only real ones do.
If your groups are good and your velocity is good but your extreme spreads are bad it's time to make a primer change.

Thanks for the info, LynnJr. From what I've read on SH and other forums, Savages tend to have issues with short throats. Not all but quite a few owners complain about it. I've put quite a few rounds of 175gr FGMM through mine without issues. No bullet seat back when loading and unloading factory ammo.