.308 reloading

[Guest rogern]

I am just starting to develop a load for the .308

150 grn Hornady SST

Remington 9.50 Primers

Lapua Brass

Varget Powder

 

In the Hodgdons reloading tables it states that the starting weight is 44.00 grns & the max is 47.00C

ok so the 'C' denotes a compressed charge, does it mean that when you seat the bullet, the base of the bullet compresses the charge?

I ask because when I loaded 47.00 grains & held the bullet up to the case it looks like that is exactly what will happen (a lot!)

 

I stopped at 46.50 grns, there are no real pressure signs on this weight (primer cratered a tiny bit) are compressed loads pushing the limit & should I stay away, I tried 45.00, 46.00 & 46.50, none of them are impressive groups (1.50 ins at best) although they are all dead deer!

 

The max OAL for this load is 2.80, at that it does not come anywhere near the cannalure and it is not touching the rifling (Sauer 202) when 'they' quote max OAL do they mean max or could I seat further out.

 

Sorry about all the what ifs but this is my first real reloading job with a .308

[ejg223]

Won't be much help,

I'm also trying to get something going with Varget in 308.

Not bothered about max speed, rather a tighter group.

My last results. all BR2 primers

150gr SP interl. Hornady 46gr Varget COL 2.755, group 1.5" (recoil mild)

165 SST 44.5 gr Varget COL 2.805 group 0.75" ( hefty recoil)

150gr Nos BT 45.5gr Varget COL 2.809 group ?? (very light recoil)

None had pressure signs. I mentioned recoil because it just seemed so

obvious while testing.

Just one problem with all my tests was that I don't trust the fed brass I used.

That's why the ?? with the noslers, three shots went virtually in one hole and the

other three went 1.5" up down to the right.

This week I'll repeat with lapua brass and 150 / 165 Nos BT's

I have 1 in 10 twist.

rgds

edi

[Andrew]

Edi: I doubt if it's the brass that cause the shift in group. Same Lot brass, same load, Same loading technique, correct? What did you do between the two groups? Anything?

 

Rogern: Compressed means just that. Don't worry about it. When I load Hornet I have the powder (Lil Gun) to within .100" of the case mouth and compress it with the bullet. I shoot some of the old National Match loads with the H-4831 in the 308 and they are all compressed loads.

 

Regards,

~Andrew

[ejg223]

Andrew,

all was done the same way, but when checking 50% of the cases

had a problem. Should have seen it before reloading.

I've put this Fed brass to the side and will use Lapua brass which looks perfect

and previous handloads with h335 group perfect.

I only started tracing this problem after firing 6 shot groups,

was just too often that 3 where together and the other three where

all over the shop. And that with three different loads, same result.

 

edi

[Guest varmartin]

Were the first 3 shots in the group close to each other in all groups? and the following shots scattered ?

 

Have you considered excessive barrel heat causing a problem ?

 

Martin

[Guest rogern]

I am just starting to develop a load for the .308

150 grn Hornady SST

Remington 9.50 Primers

Lapua Brass

Varget Powder

 

In the Hodgdons reloading tables it states that the starting weight is 44.00 grns & the max is 47.00C

ok so the 'C' denotes a compressed charge, does it mean that when you seat the bullet, the base of the bullet compresses the charge?

I ask because when I loaded 47.00 grains & held the bullet up to the case it looks like that is exactly what will happen (a lot!)

 

I stopped at 46.50 grns, there are no real pressure signs on this weight (primer cratered a tiny bit) are compressed loads pushing the limit & should I stay away, I tried 45.00, 46.00 & 46.50, none of them are impressive groups (1.50 ins at best) although they are all dead deer!

 

The max OAL for this load is 2.80, at that it does not come anywhere near the cannalure and it is not touching the rifling (Sauer 202) when 'they' quote max OAL do they mean max or could I seat further out.

 

Sorry about all the what ifs but this is my first real reloading job with a .308

 

 

Thanks for the replies, could anyone answer the last bit please re max OAL, am I right that prividing the complete round will cycle/chamber etc max OAL does not matter?

 

Thanks

[Andrew]

Yes. If it fits, feeds, and chambers you're all right.

 

Back to the Fed brass: What problems did you find in 50% of the brass? Visual? Also, I was heading towards the heat issue myself. I again question it when you say that the problem only arose when you started firing six shot groups.

[ejg223]

Hi Andrew & Martin,

I'm sure its not a heat issue.

Had another test yesterday which just

proved that whatever I'm loading at the moment

is not good. Factory Lapua scenars are at their usual

1/2", even got 150gr rem SP (bog standard) to

print around 1/2" with mod on.

Big difference is that all factory ammo chambers very

easy and half of my handloaded chamber hard.

Could it be that my RCBS die is dodgy?

Saying that I loaded a batch of 50 155gr A-maxes a month ago

with h335 which also have the odd hard chabering but group very well.

 

Some of the fed brass had a bit of a bulge some 7mm from

the head, didn't see that on Lapua brass.

I'll get a friend to size some of my brass on his die and

try to narrow this down.

 

Rogern sorry for stealing your thread.

 

edi

[Andrew]

One would expect factory ammo to chamber easily, I think, unless there is something seriously wrong with the rifle. Now I'm assuming that you are keeping all the necessary nonsense like trimming in order, correct?

 

It could well be that your RCBS die is inappropriate for your chamber. Good idea to have your friend size your brass. Too bad you don't have access to a "Small Base" die. (commonly used for autoloaders) This would size the head more completely.

 

Of course, it could be that your rifle doesn't like the Varget load over the long haul. Maybe you should stick to H-335? I have gotten lazy over the decades. I tend to find an accurate load and stick with it. I have loaded, or load, for 70+ calibers (at last look) so I don't seem to have a lot of time to play around experimenting unless my supply of a specific component dries up, or I find a different use for a cartridge that necessitates developing a new load. Besides, I'm somewhat of a realist: If I have a deer rifle that shoots 5/8" at 100 yards for three shots-as my Brno will do on demand- I realize that it is very unlikely that I will improve on that degree of accuracy. Further more, the locale I hunt in usually dictates off hand shots which means I have about as much chance hitting a deer at 150 yards with a 1.5MOA load as with a .625 MOA load!

Is that being lazy? Could be!

 

~Andrew

[ejg223]

One would expect factory ammo to chamber easily, I think, unless there is something seriously wrong with the rifle. Now I'm assuming that you are keeping all the necessary nonsense like trimming in order, correct?

 

It could well be that your RCBS die is inappropriate for your chamber. Good idea to have your friend size your brass. Too bad you don't have access to a "Small Base" die. (commonly used for autoloaders) This would size the head more completely.

 

Of course, it could be that your rifle doesn't like the Varget load over the long haul. Maybe you should stick to H-335? I have gotten lazy over the decades. I tend to find an accurate load and stick with it. I have loaded, or load, for 70+ calibers (at last look) so I don't seem to have a lot of time to play around experimenting unless my supply of a specific component dries up, or I find a different use for a cartridge that necessitates developing a new load. Besides, I'm somewhat of a realist: If I have a deer rifle that shoots 5/8" at 100 yards for three shots-as my Brno will do on demand- I realize that it is very unlikely that I will improve on that degree of accuracy. Further more, the locale I hunt in usually dictates off hand shots which means I have about as much chance hitting a deer at 150 yards with a 1.5MOA load as with a .625 MOA load!

Is that being lazy? Could be!

 

~Andrew

Andrew your'e dead right,

sometimes one gets carried away with the accuracy thingy.

What I aim to achieve is that the point of inpact is always the same

all year round. (we have very little temp change) I achieved this with my

223 which gave great confidence.

Not sure if I'm making a mistake with the sizing as I'm new to reloading

and will for sure make many of the mistakes that others have made in the past.

My advantage is I've got good measuring equipment and hope to find what's

wrong quickly.

I'll get back on this once I find the problem.

rgds

edi

[Andrew]

The 308 is a winner. You'll get it figured out. Keep us posted and good luck!~Andrew

[ejg223]

Sorted, found out the shoulder of the case was a

bit to far forward. Removed a bit of metal off the top

of the shell holder so that the cases would go further

into the die. Perfect, no more hard chambering.

Now back to reloading....

 

edi

[Andrew]

I had a set of 30-40 Krag Jorgensen dies from RCBS that required the same treatment. Must have been made at 5pm on a Friday evening! Good shooting~ Andrew

[Guest rogern]

Sorted, found out the shoulder of the case was a

bit to far forward. Removed a bit of metal off the top

of the shell holder so that the cases would go further

into the die. Perfect, no more hard chambering.

Now back to reloading....

 

edi

 

Not quite with you there buddy, how do u mean? was there some metal there that shouldnt have been or what

[ejg223]

Sorry, wasn't that clear,

the surface of the shellholder that

contacts with the die when the ram is in the up position.

I lapped a few hundredths of a millimeter off (about 2 thou)

which also straightend the surface. Height of shellholder is now less.

The brass could then be squeezed that bit deeper into the die bringing the shoulder a bit back.

Took 5 cases that wouldn't chamber or chambered hard yesterday,

ran them through the changed setup. They all chamber very easy now.

While lapping one can see how even a surface is, in this case it was not

very even. Maybe a bad shellholder. (maybe the die is also too long?)

Either way it works now.

edi

[Guest rogern]

Sorry, wasn't that clear,

the surface of the shellholder that

contacts with the die when the ram is in the up position.

I lapped a few hundredths of a millimeter off (about 2 thou)

which also straightend the surface. Height of shellholder is now less.

The brass could then be squeezed that bit deeper into the die bringing the shoulder a bit back.

Took 5 cases that wouldn't chamber or chambered hard yesterday,

ran them through the changed setup. They all chamber very easy now.

While lapping one can see how even a surface is, in this case it was not

very even. Maybe a bad shellholder. (maybe the die is also too long?)

Either way it works now.

edi

 

ok, that makes sense, watch out for headspace mate.

Regards

Roger