Loading for 308

[1911whore]

figuring it out

well there are a few methods for measuring the distance of your lands and grooves from differnet commercially available tools to loading dummy rounds as previously stated. Take your time and reference then cross reference everything. As for BC and flight data go here http://www.eskimo.com/~jbm/calculations/traj/traj.html

you can play with the numbers and see what will get you where you want to be. Faster isnt always good but case prep is key. go slow measure everything twice. SMK's are a great bullet and I have actually had great results with the Hornady A-Max 168 gr and Re-19 it will do half minute at 100yds easily.

[brando]

Competition seating dies (with micrometer adjustment) are excellent for putting out batches with finely adjusted (and repeatable) seating depth. And like Ocabj said, the old Stoney Point (Hornady) OAL gauge is a handy tool.

[C.G.]

Competition seating dies (with micrometer adjustment) are excellent for putting out batches with finely adjusted (and repeatable) seating depth. And like Ocabj said, the old Stoney Point (Hornady) OAL gauge is a handy tool.

+1. I have Forster Micro dies for my Grendel, they are so much better than the regular RCBS dies that I am thinking about getting them for .223 and .308.

[30Cal]

What is the best way to do this?

Seat a bullet out at around 2.86" in a sized case and stuff it into your chamber. If it doesn't drop out of the chamber by gravity alone, then the bullet is in the rifling. Seat the bullet 0.005" deeper and repeat until it drops out on it's own. Then measure the OAL and that's where your lands begin.

If you push a Sierra 168 to 2500-2650FPS with the usual .308 powders, it's going to shoot well (and if it doesn't, the rifle needs to be fixed).

Ty

[Prc329]

Where is the best place to buy powder and primers? Is IMR 4895 good for 223 as well? What is a recommended primer? I'm going to Angeles sunday so I'll get something there but just wanted another source just in case.

[wildcard]

Where is the best place to buy powder and primers? Is IMR 4895 good for 223 as well? What is a recommended primer? I'm going to Angeles sunday so I'll get something there but just wanted another source just in case.

IMR 4895 can work for .223. Better choices may be Winchester 748 or H335. You'll of course be looking for small rifle primers. I like the CCI line.

[thmpr]

Slow IS good..


I use this basic load of Varget and a 168gr SMK out of my Rem700VS.. 39.5gr and I average only a slow 2410fps....yes.. 2410fps....I use the same load for 200 and 300yd relays for my M1A as well......ohh.. this target was a 5 shot group @100yds....

NRA,
You are dead on... According to Sierra's load, 39.9 of Varget @ 2400 is best for accuracy loads for Varget. They also state N540 @ 39.5 grains is thee best powder for accuracy loads... And guess at what velocity?---> 2400 fps.

[thmpr]

PRC329,
There are two vendors used: Widener's Reloading and Powder Valley. Powder Valley normally has items in stock but Widener's offer the best price which is why they normally run of inventory quickly. As far as primers, CCI and federal. But now have switched over to only CCI 34 and 41.

[schmud0811]

you have a 10 twist so you should give 190gr smks a try. Winchester brass, wlr primer, start at 42 of rl15...i found a happy medium in my rifle of 43.5 mvs over 2600 with a 190.

[Budd]

Where is the best place to buy powder and primers? Is IMR 4895 good for 223 as well? What is a recommended primer? I'm going to Angeles sunday so I'll get something there but just wanted another source just in case.

Somewhere fairly close is The Stockade in Westminster - only buy powder and primers from them - most everything else is way overpriced. Call first to make sure they have what you need - if not they will transfer it in from one of the other stores and have it in a day or two. Just another source to consider. I buy all of my powder and primers from them so I don't get the Hazmat fees from Midwayusa.com

[Prc329]

Hey Budd. What did you decide on using for the 175 grain SMKs?

[Budd]

Haven't decided yet between BLC-2 and Varget. Here in Cali I don't think we would see any advantage of the "Extreme"(Varget) series of powder from Hodgdon. The extreme series see no significant variation in temperatures from 0* to 100*. Also, BLC-2 uses slighlty less powder and slightly increased velocity in the heavier rounds.

Federal 210M primers though.

I still have 140 Black Hills to shoot up and clean for brass.

[Jicko]

PRC:

I'm going to be at Rainbow Range this SAT, if you drop by, I can pour you a little bit of RL15, Ramshot TAC and VV N540, then you can try them out before you go buy a whole lot...

Regarding powder/loading-supplies.... we liked Powder Valley, just do a group-buy, then you are covered.

I'll also have my chrono setup, so, if you already have rounds loaded, you can test them too.

[Prc329]

I wish I could. Got to go to a birthday party with my little ones on Saturday.

[Prc329]

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=395095

That is the seater die everyone is talking about?