Help with rem 700 308 and reloading match grade ammo

[Wykyd]

I am opening a can of worms here I know and I am sorry... Long Post!

I have a Remington 700 with the 5r rifling in 308 24 inch barrel with an ORYX Chassis and Vortex PST scope. I have only been able to get it at best to shoot a .5 MOA 4 shot group at 100 yards. I have tried a bunch of combinations to try and get decent accuracy but I have not found the one. Is it me, the reloads or the rifle? I shoot from a bench with Bipod and rear squeeze bag.

Basically I am questioning a few things;
1. My reloading process - Listed below please critique and tell me what I can do better
2. What is a long jump to lands - This barrel I feel has a long jump of about .2 to the lands
3. What constitutes a bad barrel - Subjective I know but I feel like I should be able to get more consistent results from a rifle that cost 1k

I have only shot crappy factory ammo not match grade so I know I am missing data points. With the misc factory ammo (ball to 180gr) it shoots +1 MOA. With varget and RDF 175 I can get a lucky group at .5-.6 MOA for 4-5 shots. Usually thats 1 group of the 10 and most groups are .7-1ish MOA with 1-2 groups over 1 moa.

When I reload;
1. I have crappy FC brass that has been weight sorted and just recently neck turned last outing
- It has not been tested for volume
- I just bought new lapua brass to test going forward
2. Lube and decap with FL dillon die and expand with the stock expanding ball.
- I bump the shoulder .002-.003
- I just bought 21st century expanding mandrel so I can ditch the expanding ball going forward.
3. Wet tumble with dish soap and lemishine for 2 hrs
4. Trim, chamfer and bevel
5. Anneal
6. Hand prime
7. Weigh every charge with FX 120
- Powders tried in ladder testing BLC2, 3031, 4064, Varget
8. Seat projectile to desired depth
- The projectile have been weight sorted to within +/- .02g
- The projectiles I have tried are SMK 168, RDF 175, Barnes Match 175 and some others
- I have tried from my lands (Ogive - .002 which is 2.341 and OAL approx 2.9950) all the way back to Saami
- Have not tried jammed
* All reloading done on single stage RCBS rock chucker

I have a bergara 6 creed that averages .4-.6 MOA and an RPR in 6.5 creed that's close behind that so I know I'm capable as a shooter . Please let me know what you think. I have dropped some cash recently to try and tighten up my reloading process(Fx 120 scale is a year old, new neck turner, Expanding mandrels and brass). I don't know if the brass will make a huge difference but that's one of the only corners I feel I have cut with this rifle. Probably need a concentricity gauge next but I don't know where this rabbit hole will end.

[Dave626]

If you can do .5 moa from your factory r700. You should consider get a custom rifle with match barrel. Pick the bullet you wish to use and ask your gunsmith. Some bullet is long with good B/C might require longer barrel freebore. If your goal is just 100 yards small group, you don’t need to chronograph it. Just play with your seating depth to see what your rifle like. Start your load with 0.020 off the lands, then u can chase the land or back it up more. Every barrel is different you just have to find out what your barrel like.

I use arbor press with pressure gauge. For the precision load, I wipe the lower part of the bullet with hornady one shot lube then I seat the bullet. By doing this my seating force is very consistent. My ES normally the most 15fps. Some will say it is not necessary, but do whatever you like and have fun.

[FLIGHT762]

4064 & Varget are great powders. I did not have luck with the 175 RDF in my two 308 bolt guns.

Bullets that shot well with those powders for me were: 168 A MAX, 168 Nosler CC, 168 Hornady OTM, 178 Hornady A MAX, 178 Hornady OTM, 175 Nosler CC and Sierra 175 OTM.

My Remington 40XBKS has a long throat like your rifle. It shoots well with bullets loaded to magazine length. 2.820" + -.

[baih777]

Is your barrel the factory 11.25 twist or aftermarket 10 twist ?

[ar15barrels]

I am opening a can of worms here I know and I am sorry... Long Post!

I have a Remington 700 with the 5r rifling in 308 24 inch barrel with an ORYX Chassis and Vortex PST scope. I have only been able to get it at best to shoot a .5 MOA 4 shot group at 100 yards. I have tried a bunch of combinations to try and get decent accuracy but I have not found the one. Is it me, the reloads or the rifle?

Load 43.5gr of varget under a 175smk seated to 2.830".
If a 5r won't shoot that into about 1/3 moa, it's you or a mechanical problem with the gun.

Do you know how to adjust parallax correctly or do you think that the numbers on the scope's knob are actually correct?

Go read the section on parallax here:

http://www.caprc.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=36

[Wykyd]

Ok I have read the rdf have had issues but I assumed the smk 168 should have shot decent.

My rifle has the stock barrel at 11.25 twist so the 168 and 175 pills should be perfect.

I understand and adjust my parallax as needed. I will try and source some smoke 175

[Trapper]

Dillon has 175gr SMKs for $38.50 / box

[Wykyd]

4064 & Varget are great powders. I did not have luck with the 175 RDF in my two 308 bolt guns.

Bullets that shot well with those powders for me were: 168 A MAX, 168 Nosler CC, 168 Hornady OTM, 178 Hornady A MAX, 178 Hornady OTM, 175 Nosler CC and Sierra 175 OTM.

My Remington 40XBKS has a long throat like your rifle. It shoots well with bullets loaded to magazine length. 2.820" + -.

Ok thats good to hear. I stopped and found some regular hornady 168 match i can give that a try and order some other pills. I would love to find a pill that shoots good at mag length since with the oryx chassis I have a mag now.

[Wykyd]

Is your barrel the factory 11.25 twist or aftermarket 10 twist ?

Factory 11.25

Load 43.5gr of varget under a 175smk seated to 2.830".
If a 5r won't shoot that into about 1/3 moa, it's you or a mechanical problem with the gun.

Do you know how to adjust parallax correctly or do you think that the numbers on the scope's knob are actually correct?

Go read the section on parallax here:
http://www.caprc.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=36

Thanks I will get some and try them. do you weight sort or anything special?

Dillon has 175gr SMKs for $38.50 / box

Perfect thank you!

[ar15barrels]

Thanks I will get some and try them. do you weight sort or anything special?

No.