Shot first batch of .308 hand-loads, got results, now how do I make them better?

Well - You are missing one of the fundamental parameters - bullet weight. Most hunting rifles will preferentially tune to a specific bullet weight. So, unless you are determined to stick with 165's, try some others eg 150 g or 180 g. And don't fall for all the marketing hype - plain ol' flat base Hornady Interlock SP's or Sierra's will do the job nicely.
 
From Loaddata.com

.308 Winchester Nosler Trophy Grade

Warning! Notes: All loads fired at 100 yards, except where noted, from a Nosler 48 Trophy Grade rifle with a 24-inch barrel and Leupold 35x scope. Nosler cases and CCI 250 primers were used throughout. (Rifle Issue #251 - July, 2010)
Be Alert: Publisher cannot be responsible for errors in published load data.

Wt. Bullet Powder Manufacturer Powder Charge Velocity (FPS) Favorite?

165 Nosler Custom AccuBond Hodgdon Varget 48.0 2735
Remarks: overall loaded length (inches): 2.830; group (inches): 1.29; average of four, three-shot groups
 
Manwithoutastar said:
There’s one at the range, I was wondering if knowing the velocity will help with accuracy? Or am I looking for consistency?
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You are looking for consistency. Low extreme spread and standard deviation numbers. You might have a load that looks great at 100 yards. But high numbers will make that load ugly at longer distance.

Also highly doubt you are having low pressure issues at around 43-44 grains Varget. Take pics if you can of the fired cases.
 
If your brass is old it may need to be annealed . I've found old / mismatched brass makes more diff than I thought , I weigh my brass and group from light to heavy in the box
 
Consistent brass prep (cleaned
, resized the same with minimal bump of shoulder to kit overwork brass, case length, sort brass by brand, make an OAL gauge out of a case, dremmel and bullet and start at 20 though off rifling, find nodes and then adjust seating depth) . Some powers and bullets just work for one gun but not another. VARGET is generally good in 308, but I have one gun that hated VARGET and I tried a handful of different bullets. Same gun shoots 1/2 to 3/4 MOA when I do my part with IMR4895 and Sierra Match kings or Nosler Custom comp 168 grains.
 
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Longboat said:
You are looking for consistency. Low extreme spread and standard deviation numbers. You might have a load that looks great at 100 yards. But high numbers will make that load ugly at longer distance.

Also highly doubt you are having low pressure issues at around 43-44 grains Varget. Take pics if you can of the fired cases.
Click to expand...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m9ovokvfb6n8uys/cgnpic.jpg?dl=0

Damn, I suck at posting pics on here, can’t tell if the link works
 
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cgnpic.jpg
with no spaces or " gives you:

cgnpic.jpg


Looks like Dropbox doesn't like to link directly.

Do look under powered with all that soot on the necks. Brass not expanding to seal chamber.
 
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Lapua Naturalis 170gr, great lead free hunting bullet, shot a few at 300m recently, great speed and accuracy.
43.1 of varget out of my 30" match barrel was at 2700fps on labradar. A friend took a big moose down with this load/bullet last year and its what I'll be using too.
 
You have a hunting rifle with a noodle barrel lol. The first 2 or 3 shots are going to be the best in terms of accuracy and precision. I wouldn't stress about anything around 1.5" groups because that's probably the best you are going to get. My barrel is 1" in diameter and I can shoot quite a few rounds and shoot 5 round groups for load development with no change of point of impact on the target from the barrel heating up, where as you can probably shoot 2-3 before bullets start getting slung out like they are coming out of a 12 gauge shotgun. Just something to think about.
If I were to do load development with that rifle, I would be shooting 3 shot groups at .5gr difference, from an absolutely cold bore. Meaning its going to take a day to do a proper load development unless you are cooling it down in an air conditioned vehicle or something between groups. Varget, lighter bullets, and consistent brass is the best chance you have with that setup. I have found nodes in the 43-46gr range with varget in my 308's, but be aware Varget differs greatly from lot to lot, by as much as 150fps which translated to over 1.5gr difference in charge weight for my rifle. Wipe your chamber clean, monitor pressure signs, and try to get up around 44gr. And...… get a better scope.
 
DonnieM said:
You have a hunting rifle with a noodle barrel lol. The first 2 or 3 shots are going to be the best in terms of accuracy and precision. I wouldn't stress about anything around 1.5" groups because that's probably the best you are going to get. My barrel is 1" in diameter and I can shoot quite a few rounds and shoot 5 round groups for load development with no change of point of impact on the target from the barrel heating up, where as you can probably shoot 2-3 before bullets start getting slung out like they are coming out of a 12 gauge shotgun. Just something to think about.
If I were to do load development with that rifle, I would be shooting 3 shot groups at .5gr difference, from an absolutely cold bore. Meaning its going to take a day to do a proper load development unless you are cooling it down in an air conditioned vehicle or something between groups. Varget, lighter bullets, and consistent brass is the best chance you have with that setup. I have found nodes in the 43-46gr range with varget in my 308's, but be aware Varget differs greatly from lot to lot, by as much as 150fps which translated to over 1.5gr difference in charge weight for my rifle. Wipe your chamber clean, monitor pressure signs, and try to get up around 44gr. And...… get a better scope.
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I do take a min in between groups, but obviously not nearly what ur suggesting. It’s def no bull barrel, But if you do some reading on Sauer rifles, the German quality in barrels are working better than average after heating up. Don’t go off my results. They come with a sub moa 5 group guarantee from factory , taken with grain of salt, but I’m gonna stick with my 5 shot groups for now. I have considered barrels temp. All groups were .5 gr difference. I’m confident in the set up, this was literally only day one, thanks for the tips
 
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Quality thin barrels do not start walking all over the place. I punish even my off the shelf Bergara with snap shooting practice etc. Hits where it supposed to cold or hot.
 
DonnieM said:
You have a hunting rifle with a noodle barrel lol. The first 2 or 3 shots are going to be the best in terms of accuracy and precision. I wouldn't stress about anything around 1.5" groups because that's probably the best you are going to get. My barrel is 1" in diameter and I can shoot quite a few rounds and shoot 5 round groups for load development with no change of point of impact on the target from the barrel heating up, where as you can probably shoot 2-3 before bullets start getting slung out like they are coming out of a 12 gauge shotgun. Just something to think about.
If I were to do load development with that rifle, I would be shooting 3 shot groups at .5gr difference, from an absolutely cold bore. Meaning its going to take a day to do a proper load development unless you are cooling it down in an air conditioned vehicle or something between groups. Varget, lighter bullets, and consistent brass is the best chance you have with that setup. I have found nodes in the 43-46gr range with varget in my 308's, but be aware Varget differs greatly from lot to lot, by as much as 150fps which translated to over 1.5gr difference in charge weight for my rifle. Wipe your chamber clean, monitor pressure signs, and try to get up around 44gr. And...… get a better scope.
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All of that is total goofy nonsense. All of it.

Feel free to explain this five round group out of a noodle barrelled .270 Win... shot within 30 seconds... after 40 rounds down the pipe.



Or these ones, which were workup loads...






All a fair bit better than 1.5 moa, and all shot from a far from cold barrel.
 
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