Handloading....

[The Annoyed Man]

I love handloading and what it does for accuracy in rifles. (I haven't really started loading pistol ammo yet, although I have all the dies, etc., that I need.) So today I'm headed off for Elm-Fork with my son and his guest from California. I'll be bringing along my Remington 700 and my M1A. If any of you guys are there, look for an old fat guy with white hair accompanied by two guys about 21 years old.

So, the two .308 loads I prepped are:

1. 175 grain Sierra Matchking BTHP over 42.6 grains of Varget, new unfired Remington brass, Winchester Large Rifle primers, COAL of 2.80". This is my "sniper" load. It shoots into 4 shot .375" center-to-center groups at 100 yards out of my Remington, and it will do it with repeatability until my eyes get tired.
2. 175 grain Sierra Matchking BTHP over 40.0 grains of Varget, new unfired Remington brass, Winchester Large Rifle primers, COAL of 2.80". This is the lowest load from the book for this particular cartridge combination.
3. 168 grain Sierra Matchking BTHP over 44.4 grains of Varget, new unfired Remington brass, Winchester Large Rifle primers, COAL of 2.775". This is hotter than average, but not yet at the full SAAMI specs for the cartridge combination.
4. 168 grain Sierra Matchking BTHP over 45.7 grains of Varget, new unfired Remington brass, Winchester Large Rifle primers, COAL of 2.775". This is the hottest load in the Lyman manual for this cartridge combination. Haven't tried it yet. I have a good strong rifle, but I'll be watching it carefully for signs of over-pressure. The book says it produces 61,100 P, which is just under the max allowable for the cartridge.
5. 180 grain Hornady SST Boat Tail Ballistic Tip over 41.3 grains of Varget, new unfired Remington brass, Winchester Large Rifle primers, Crimped, COAL of 2.76". This is the middle ground for this combination.
6. 180 grain Hornady SST Boat Tail Ballistic Tip over 42.4 grains of Varget, new unfired Remington brass, Winchester Large Rifle primers, Crimped, COAL of 2.76". This is about halfway between the above load and the max load for this combination.

These last two loads are intended for hunting purposes. I wanted to cook something up that was sort of near the upper end of the .308 cartridge's range of bullet weights what would tackle most north American game at ranges out to 300 yards or so without losing too much velocity. Varget does not produce the highest velocities with this particular bullet, but it isn't the slowest, and it is the only rifle powder I have on hand at the moment. Until now, all of my handloading has been with Sierra Matchkings in 168 and 175 grain weights. I guess it is a slightly slower burning power than some, but my Remington has a 26" heavy barrel, and that length should allow the powder to get maximum burn before exiting.

I also still have some Federal 165 grain Fusion ammo that I want to run through the M1A. It seems to give pretty good results, and I bought that gun for hog hunting to begin with, so I just want to check zero and make sure everything is still working as planned.

It should be a whole lot of fun, regardless of the heat.

[Jumping Frog]

Sounds like a great time!

You give a good example of how testing various "recipes" can turn into an awful lot of permutations and combinations.

Does your range allow you to setup a chronograph down range?

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm not sure if they allow you to set one up down range, but I've seen them set up a few feet in front of the shooter's bench several times. I don't own a chronograph yet, but I want to get one. In fact, if you've got any suggestions about which one you prefer, I'm all ears. It's the one part of the picture that's missing. You can't really have an idea of what your ammo is capable of unless you know how fast it's going. All I've got to go by for now are the velocities listed in the loading manual, but that data is for a 24" test barrel with a 1:10 twist rate. I have a 26" barrel with a 1:10 twist on my 700, and a 22" barrel with a 1:11 twist on my M1A. I could add a litte velocity for that extra 2" of barrel on the Remington, and subtract a little velocity for the lost 2" on the M1A........but even that is purely speculative since the twist rate can have a measurable effect on velocity, and the twist of the M1A barrel ought to add a little velocity.........in theory.

You never really know until you measure.

But it sure is fascinating stuff, isn't it? There's a great deal of satisfaction to working up a load that works really well in your rifle, and then knowing that if you can see it, you can hit it.

It was abysmally hot there today, and my shooting suffered. The temperature was up around 104º-105º when we left. It was hard to get my heart rate and breathing down to where I could have a really steady hold. Also, I had been up since 5:40 this morning making up about 30 rounds in different configurations. And lastly, the full power 175 and 180 grain loads gave me quite a beating. My shoulder was getting pretty sore by the last 10 rounds or so. We saw AndyC and spoke with him a couple of times while we were there.

All well..... I'm off to start polishing all the brass we brought back.

[MoJo]

I have two chronos - - - an older Ohler 33 that was my dad's and a Shooting Crony Alpha Master Chronograph. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/de ... ber=306796" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The reason I bought the shooting crony was the whole unit was just a little more than new screens for the Ohler and is much more versitle. Love it!

[ghostrider]

This is the chrono I use:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?p ... ber=852429" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've been happy with it.

[Jumping Frog]

I've spent a lot of time reading reviews and various forums.

Here is the one I want to get at some point in time. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/de ... ber=773378" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I like the idea of not shooting the electronics if a shot is too low. I've read too many instances where people don't take into account the fact that the bore is a couple of inches below their optics . . . . with bad results.

Until now, I have used my next door neighbor's chronograph when I've gone shooting with him. I know when I was shooting a scoped S&W 629, I was worried about hitting his chrono.

[MoJo]

All of the current chronographs do an adequate job. I opted for one with the enectronics and display remote from the screens.

[ske1eter]

Fun, fun, fun! I need to get mine out for some load tweaking as I have a Savage 110 set up for a suppressor.

Your loads seem way more than adequate for N.A. game. For all but moose and big bear, I'd go for some premium bullets in 150 to 165 gr. given the slightly smaller case capacity vs. the 30-06. I used a .30-06 w/ 180 gr. Win. w/ XP3 bullets for only one critter, the greater kudu, while on a hunt to South Africa. I hit it a bit back, quartering forward. It entered around the paunch and broke the left front shoulder. All of my other shots were with an Encore handgun w/2-7x scope in .308 Win shooting the 150 gr. XP3 loads. The gemsbok was a bit slow to fall but everything else folded. The penetration was excellent.

For our trip next year, I'm looking into loading up some Barnes TTX bullets in 150 gr. or so and use them for everything. So far the plan includes the eastern cape kudu, warthog, and bushbuck.