Bought a savage 12 bvss 308...

[LkPillsburyDude]

Added a 20 moa base, nightforce nx8. I had an LRB M25 before but I'm trying to take long distance a little more seriously. Already reload. Any good long range forums out there beginner friendly?

[sigstroker]

Good luck with that. There seems to be something with long range shooters that makes them more cantankerous than typical.

But every one of them is a genius and expert. Just ask them.

[theLBC]

snipershide probably has more experts, but they can be merciless if you start out on the wrong foot. most questions you might think of have been answered many times, so it is a good place to start even if you don't post right away.

[Dave626]

Most Sniperhide members definition of Long Range is 1800yards or above. 1000 yards is like med range for them.

[JTROKS]

I’m no expert, but the 308 is not much of a long range cartridge anymore unless you find a heavy VLD bullet that’ll shoot accurately and hot for FPS. I have a Remington PSS in 308 and unfortunately it’s not a 1/10 twist. It’s OK since I don’t do much long range shooting for the mean time. I’m still setting up my 300 WSM for 1 mile and with this component shortage, mainly primers and powder it’s hard to do some load testing. Our resident ELR shooters start at 2000 yards.

[smoothy8500]

What is "long range" really considered (aside from the NRA standards 800 thru 1k)? Based on the average Calguns posting, it seems anything further than the typical 100yd sitting on the bench is really "stretching it out there...."

[nvcnvc]

accurate shooter.com also has a lot of very helpful (and not judgmental) people. Got a lot of info from that site when I was starting out...however they are not extremely LR...but for up to 1000 yards (maybe a little farther) you will find a lot of info....

[Surferchris1]

Well, sounds like your off to a good start. Unfortunately this little corner of Calguns isn't very active.

• .308 is fine for what you're doing. It's not what I'd choose to compete with, and not necessarily what I'd recommend to my friends; but if it's what you have you can learn a lot with it. It'll probably be a long time until it's holding you back. Don't listen to anyone that tells you it isn't a workable cartridge for recreational long range shooting.
  
• Snipershide might have an attitude, you don't have to like it, but it's probably the single best resource we have.
  
• Accurateshooter.com is a little more civilized. It seems like more benchrest guys; but there is value to us in what the benchrest guys are doing.
  
• If you would consider yourself "good at math" buy and read all of Bryan Litz's books. Start with Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting, then read Accuracy and Precision for Long Range Shooting. These books might seem expensive but they've saved me so much money! They test all the variables so I don't have to test them myself. I personally like the engineering/scientific approach.
  
• If you don't like math, skip Litz's book and get Ryan Cleckner's book. I mean Cleckner's book is good either way, I've even seen him post here.
  
• Erik Cortina, F-Class John, Applied Ballistics, Winning in the Wind, Vortex Nation and Impact Shooting are pretty good YouTube channels.
  
• Someone will probably recommend TiborasaurasREX's Sniper 101 YouTube Series. It's alright but don't take it too seriously. It wasn't bad 10 years ago when there wasn't much information out there, but I think there's better content and resources now. Also, he's just kind of a tool.
  
• What ballistics calculator are you running? I've tried several and personally like BallisticsARC the best, Hornady is probably second and has some cool super accurate drag curves if you shoot Hornady bullets. Applied ballistics app is very highly regarded but I haven't used it personally. I've got all my data in BallisticsARC already and don't want to switch now; but if I was starting from scratch that would probably be my pick.

Now about your gun specifically, because I also have a Savage 12 (that was at one time) chambered in .308.

• My Savage worked very well with Sierra 175gr Tipped Matchkings and about 44.5 grains of Varget. (But of course start low and work up your own load) This load stayed supersonic to about 1100Y and gave me 10.6 Mils of drop at 1000. It also shot 168 Grain TMKs, and 178 Grain Hornady ELD-Ms well.
  
• I tried heavier and lighter bullets, but I couldn't push the heavier ones fast enough and I actually got more drop at 1000. And the lighter ones scrubbed velocity too fast and didn't stay supersonic to 1000. 175gr was the sweet spot for me.
  
• The Acutrigger is pretty good, at least as far as stock triggers go, but this $7 spring from gunshack lets you dial it a little lighter if you want to. (It's an OEM Savage part that they use on their "Target" and "Varmint" models.)
  
• Some of the bolt lift kits make a minor improvement, but don't expect a drastic change.
  
• Some people complain about extraction problems with Savages. I've never had a problem, but I do replace the ejector and extractor springs every few years on most of my guns that I shoot a lot. It only costs a few dollars and I consider it regular maintenance.
  
  
  

[sigstroker]

[*]Snipershide might have an attitude, you don't have to like it, but it's probably the single best resource we have.

Speaking of youtube, his channel has some pretty good videos. He doesn't post them very consistently, but they're usually good.

[*]The Acutrigger is pretty good, at least as far as stock triggers go, but this $7 spring from gunshack lets you dial it a little lighter if you want to. (It's an OEM Savage part that they use on their "Target" and "Varmint" models.)

I have a 12FV that I think has that trigger, and it was 2 pounds right out of the box.

[*]Some of the bolt lift kits make a minor improvement, but don't expect a drastic change.
[*]Some people complain about extraction problems with Savages. I've never had a problem, but I do replace the ejector and extractor springs every few years on most of my guns that I shoot a lot. It only costs a few dollars and I consider it regular maintenance.

I saw a youtube that said both of those issues can be helped somewhat by taking apart the bolt and just cleaning it well, lubing, and reassembling. It's easier to take apart if you have an impact wrench or maybe an impact driver.

[Surferchris1]

I agree the Acutrigger is great for a stock trigger! But for $7 I couldn't not see if I could get it a little better.

I tried this bolt lift kit from Desh Industries that actually puts a thrust bearing behind the BAS screw where it makes contact with the bolt shroud. It did help, but it wasn't a night and day difference.

I never needed an impact to remove a BAS screw, but my two savages are older; maybe they're really locktiteing them on these days.

[liber]

I wouldn't pick the 308 for ELR either, but I would certainly grab it for a lot of stuff, hunting included. Changing that 308 to a 6.5 Creedmoor might work out better in a very similar cartridge, but much better ballistics. You can rebarrel the 308 pretty easily.

I don't understand what type of firearm you have or what that bolt lift kit does, but it seems you have a Savage of some type. So it's probably better for me to be quieter than noisy.

[waveslayer]

Well, sounds like your off to a good start. Unfortunately this little corner of Calguns isn't very active.

• .308 is fine for what you're doing. It's not what I'd choose to compete with, and not necessarily what I'd recommend to my friends; but if it's what you have you can learn a lot with it. It'll probably be a long time until it's holding you back. Don't listen to anyone that tells you it isn't a workable cartridge for recreational long range shooting.
  
• Snipershide might have an attitude, you don't have to like it, but it's probably the single best resource we have.
  
• Accurateshooter.com is a little more civilized. It seems like more benchrest guys; but there is value to us in what the benchrest guys are doing.
  
• If you would consider yourself "good at math" buy and read all of Bryan Litz's books. Start with Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting, then read Accuracy and Precision for Long Range Shooting. These books might seem expensive but they've saved me so much money! They test all the variables so I don't have to test them myself. I personally like the engineering/scientific approach.
  
• If you don't like math, skip Litz's book and get Ryan Cleckner's book. I mean Cleckner's book is good either way, I've even seen him post here.
  
• Erik Cortina, F-Class John, Applied Ballistics, Winning in the Wind, Vortex Nation and Impact Shooting are pretty good YouTube channels.
  
• Someone will probably recommend TiborasaurasREX's Sniper 101 YouTube Series. It's alright but don't take it too seriously. It wasn't bad 10 years ago when there wasn't much information out there, but I think there's better content and resources now. Also, he's just kind of a tool.
  
• What ballistics calculator are you running? I've tried several and personally like BallisticsARC the best, Hornady is probably second and has some cool super accurate drag curves if you shoot Hornady bullets. Applied ballistics app is very highly regarded but I haven't used it personally. I've got all my data in BallisticsARC already and don't want to switch now; but if I was starting from scratch that would probably be my pick.

Now about your gun specifically, because I also have a Savage 12 (that was at one time) chambered in .308.

• My Savage worked very well with Sierra 175gr Tipped Matchkings and about 44.5 grains of Varget. (But of course start low and work up your own load) This load stayed supersonic to about 1100Y and gave me 10.6 Mils of drop at 1000. It also shot 168 Grain TMKs, and 178 Grain Hornady ELD-Ms well.
  
• I tried heavier and lighter bullets, but I couldn't push the heavier ones fast enough and I actually got more drop at 1000. And the lighter ones scrubbed velocity too fast and didn't stay supersonic to 1000. 175gr was the sweet spot for me.
  
• The Acutrigger is pretty good, at least as far as stock triggers go, but this $7 spring from gunshack lets you dial it a little lighter if you want to. (It's an OEM Savage part that they use on their "Target" and "Varmint" models.)
  
• Some of the bolt lift kits make a minor improvement, but don't expect a drastic change.
  
• Some people complain about extraction problems with Savages. I've never had a problem, but I do replace the ejector and extractor springs every few years on most of my guns that I shoot a lot. It only costs a few dollars and I consider it regular maintenance.
  
  
  

Excellent post

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

[waveslayer]

Added a 20 moa base, nightforce nx8. I had an LRB M25 before but I'm trying to take long distance a little more seriously. Already reload. Any good long range forums out there beginner friendly?

Well Calguns won't be your cup of tea, most guys talk about is this legal is that allowed, asking for a friend BS. The off topic makes you feel bad for guys seriously posting some stupid questions and need to leave the keyboard and make friends.

Go to the Hide where real shooters roam and will give you good advice. It's not for the weak, that's for sure. Don't start off with getting into lo g range bought a Savage in .308... my little 6.5 Grendel will out shoot that .308 , that's a taste of the Hide and I truly meant what I just wrote.

.308 are practice rounds like .223 is . Not considered lomg range, 1,000 is what we warm up on.

How's the rifle group. What bullet are you using, etc... this will help in your new endeavor to get more serious.

We can link up on the Hide, I'm active over there. I check in here once in a while to get a good laugh

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

[sigstroker]

I finally looked up OP's gun. It's a varmint model so he's probably already got a good trigger.