Skip to main content
Live chat will not be available on Monday, September 7th in observance of Labor day. We will reply to your request as soon as possible.
Help Center Community Shop

.308 ammo ... continued

kimberkid
I mostly reload, and as others have stated, once you find the right load for you rifle, it will always out perform the Factory Ammo at about 1/5th the cost ...

However, I have bought some surplus for plinking:

I've noticed that with imported surplus ammo like Hirtenburger, Portuguese, Aussi ... they tend to shoot better in European firearms than domestic firearms.
Most recently I shot some Port. 308 Surplus in my Saiga 308 and my Remington VSSF ... the Saiga grouped around 1" (after the first shot which was always a flyer)
The Remington shot about a 4" group ...

Look around and see if you can find some Lake City surplus ball ammo(best brass around and its also re-loadable!)

.
.
.
If you really want to do something, you'll find a way ...
... If you don't, you'll find any excuse.
0

Comments

13 comments

Date Votes
  • Sir Martin
    ok cool. but all of the de-priming, priming, measuring power, case re-sizing, etc. probably takes a lot of time.. about how long does it take to pump out a single round?
    Martin
    0
  • Tailgunner1954
    Mr Martin
    Only 1 round can take a while, as you will be spending a lot of time changing dies. Most reloaders do the various steps in batchs.
    Lube, size/deprime (same die at the same time), once you have a rhythm down, say 1hr/100.
    Prime (hand tool in front of the TV) .25hr/100.
    Measure/dump powder (using a powder measure), .25hr/100
    Set and seat the bullet, .75hr/100
    Add it up, and your looking at roughly 2.25hr/100, spread out over 3 evenings (powder and bullet always go in the same day) or 1.35 minutes each. If you hand weigh each charge, the total time will increase to around 3hr/100 or 1.8 minutes each.

    My times may be a little high, but I enjoy reloading and don't believe in rushing.

    Whittemore
    Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.
    0
  • Sir Martin
    good stuff, are there any special things that i can to to make my rounds more accurate?

    Martin
    0
  • ContacFront
    Sir Martin,

    First you have to ask yourself what kind of performance you want from your ammo.
    Then you have to ask yourself what your rifle can do realistically.

    You can either reload to save money, or reload to get the highest performance you can out of a weapon, which will cost you.
    Bottom line is how much time, money and effort you are willing to spend to achieve your desired goal.
    0
  • Sir Martin
    well, ContacFront, theoretically, if I was trying to get the best round i could get, are there any things i could do in the process of reloading that could additionaly accurize my round?

    Martin
    0
  • ContacFront
    How much experience do you have with reloading? And how much time and money do you want to spend.
    0
  • Sir Martin
    i have no experience, i hope to gain some information before i start though, and when i want a great round, then il spend as much as it takes, sometimes i will want to make just some regular rounds and sometimes i will want to make some really nice ones

    Martin
    0
  • JustC
    Loading is a rewarding at the bench as it is at the range. I agree with Tailgunner1954,..take your time, and enjoy the whole operation. Every step you take puts you ahead of the game[8]

    why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
    Got Balistics?
    0
  • ContacFront
    Guys,

    Do you have any good links you can send Sir Martin to get him started? I am trying to find some sites to direct him to give him a better understanding of reloading.

    Can't say it any better than JustC.
    0
  • kimberkid
    quote:Originally posted by Sir Martin
    ok cool. but all of the de-priming, priming, measuring power, case re-sizing, etc. probably takes a lot of time.. about how long does it take to pump out a single round?
    Martin
    A lot will depend on the equipment you use ... I run my cases through a tumbler to clean, then a basket/crank type seperator and I use a Dillon 550 for loading. I can de-prime, prime, case re-sizing, use powder-drop measurer, and crimp (if you want) all with the throw of a lever 1 time (the loader has 4 stages and will copmlete all four at once, then you rotate the shell plate and repeat). I can easily load 300 rounds of .308 an hour ... 400 if I really push it, and have everything prepped.

    The easiest way to learn re-loading is get a book ... Lee and Dillon both make a good one, then when your ready, do things one step at a time ... there are even video's available. If you can find someone that reloads to show you the ropes its a lot less confusing and frusterating at the very start.
    .
    .
    .
    If you really want to do something, you'll find a way ...
    ... If you don't, you'll find any excuse.
    0
  • nononsense
    This is an illustrated, fairly complete introduction to metallic cartridge reloading:

    http://www.reload-nrma.com/metallic.html

    And this one uses video clips if you load 'QuickTime':

    http://www.reload-nrma.com/videos.html

    Then I would visit the library or buy more than one reloading manual and read them completely. Older manuals are just as valuable and can be gotten inexpensively at gunshows and used book stores. Searches on the web will yield an amazing amount of information, also.

    Best of luck!
    0
  • TaiChi
    Sir Martin

    There are many steps you can take to make your reloads more accurate. They take time and make the round more consistent. Here are some of the more common methods used by benchrest shooters:

    Sort cases by weight
    Trim all cases to same length
    Uniform primer pockets
    Chamfer inside flash hole
    Weigh each powder charge
    Seat bullets concentric

    As stated above the ammo you shoot is only as good as the rifle you use it in and the guy behind the trigger. Try some Federal 168 gr. Match ammo in your gun to get a base line. The Federal ammo is the most accurate out of the box ammo you can shoot out of a 308!
    I would also recomend a book by David Tubb, he deals with all aspects of highpower shooting and loading for same!!

    Steve
    0
  • JustC
    Be sure to sort cases by weight,..ONLY AFTER they have been trimmed, flash holes deburred, primer pockets uniformed, mouth chamfored and deburred. This is the only way to make accurate use of the weight figures. Cases with longer lengths, burrs inside from the flash hole punch, shallow primer pockets, etc will all weigh heavier since more metal is present. Completely uniform before weighing and you will be comparing "like" objects. You may find that todays brass is pretty consistent once you prep it.

    You might also take a look at the Tubbs video for loading. He walks you through setting up dies,..prepping cases, weighing charges, etc. It can be found in most catalogs.

    why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
    Got Balistics?
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity