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Hey guys, just thought I would introduce myself & (since business is slow & I have time on my hands), thought I would recount my foray into reloading & the experience I've had thus far.
Little background on me - been shooting my entire life & was in USMC from 89-95. Saw some action in Desert Storm, and later in Somalia in 93. Rifle, shotgun, pistol, love it all.
I've had this FN SPR for the past 10 years:
Its been a great rifle, and after having it glass bedded by short action customs, it was a consistent .5 MOA rifle with FGMM factory rounds. I also used Hornady Steel Match .308 for plinking/steel targets, which gave .75MOA groups. Here is a typical FGMM 100 yard group:
I've pretty much been happy with this for many years, but recently decided to get into reloading, partly due to the difficulty in procuring FGMM, and also curious to see if I could improve the groups.
About a month ago I got a few books & ultimately decided to take an NRA reloading class. I made the 2 hour drive to Fullerton for BigBronco's class, and was glad I did. Relaxed & friendly atmosphere at his house, and I got all of my questions answered. There were other experienced reloaders present, and the collective knowledge was a great asset.
They help me set up my Redding Comp dies (special thanks to Exodus343) and load up some rounds. I loaded 9 rounds each in ladder steps of .5 grains of Federal Brass, IMR 4064, CCI Primers, and Hornady 178gr AMAX. Optimal seating depth on my rifle was 2.310, which meant single loading the rounds (I'm ok with that). Here's a comparison of the FGMM and one of my final rounds:
So after taking the rounds out to test, here are the three shot groups from 38.5gr...drumroll...
Needless to say, I'm totally jazzed! These are the tightest groups I've ever shot with this rifle. Still have some other things I want to try, but i'm really psyched with these results so far. I don't think I would have had the same success trying it on my own the first time out. If you are on the fence about reloading, or taking a class, I say just go for it. Its fast becoming a new passion of mine!
Mike
Little background on me - been shooting my entire life & was in USMC from 89-95. Saw some action in Desert Storm, and later in Somalia in 93. Rifle, shotgun, pistol, love it all.
I've had this FN SPR for the past 10 years:
Its been a great rifle, and after having it glass bedded by short action customs, it was a consistent .5 MOA rifle with FGMM factory rounds. I also used Hornady Steel Match .308 for plinking/steel targets, which gave .75MOA groups. Here is a typical FGMM 100 yard group:
I've pretty much been happy with this for many years, but recently decided to get into reloading, partly due to the difficulty in procuring FGMM, and also curious to see if I could improve the groups.
About a month ago I got a few books & ultimately decided to take an NRA reloading class. I made the 2 hour drive to Fullerton for BigBronco's class, and was glad I did. Relaxed & friendly atmosphere at his house, and I got all of my questions answered. There were other experienced reloaders present, and the collective knowledge was a great asset.
They help me set up my Redding Comp dies (special thanks to Exodus343) and load up some rounds. I loaded 9 rounds each in ladder steps of .5 grains of Federal Brass, IMR 4064, CCI Primers, and Hornady 178gr AMAX. Optimal seating depth on my rifle was 2.310, which meant single loading the rounds (I'm ok with that). Here's a comparison of the FGMM and one of my final rounds:
So after taking the rounds out to test, here are the three shot groups from 38.5gr...drumroll...
Needless to say, I'm totally jazzed! These are the tightest groups I've ever shot with this rifle. Still have some other things I want to try, but i'm really psyched with these results so far. I don't think I would have had the same success trying it on my own the first time out. If you are on the fence about reloading, or taking a class, I say just go for it. Its fast becoming a new passion of mine!
Mike
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