Upgrade stock?... Or hand Loads?

223submoa

223submoa

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EE Expired
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Hi Everyone,

I have an SPS tactical in .223, and I am a new shooter. I've been getting out shooting at least once a week for the 2 months I've had my rifle. I have found the consistency to be quite poor. Some days I can shoot sub MOA groups, others I find I can't best 2 MOA, regardless of how meticulous I am. I have a limited budget to work with as far as shooting supplies go. What do you folks think would get me the best value per dollar spent? Should I upgrade my stock, and continue to shoot inexpensive factory ammo? Or pick up a reloading set-up, and start making nice consistent ammo from good components? I just can't swallow 40.00 a box plus shipping for federal gold match ammo. Can anyone give me some guidance? What realistically should I expect to spend on a decent reloading system? I'm not looking to shoot 1/4 MOA, but would like to consistently shoot sub MOA, and am on a budget, so price is a big factor. Would the basic LEE press be acceptable?:http://www.cabelas.ca/product/3538/lee-breech-lock-challenger-press What about this starter kit?: http://www.cabelas.ca/product/3534/lee-50th-anniversary-reloader-kit What else would I need? Dies, a reloading manual, components? What am I missing? Any help is appreciated!

Mike
 
Last edited:
223submoa said:
Hi Everyone,

I have an SPS tactical in .223, and I am a new shooter. I've been getting out shooting at least once a week for the 2 months I've had my rifle. I have found the consistency to be quite poor. Some days I can shoot sub MOA groups, others I find I can't best 2 MOA, regardless of how meticulous I am. I have a limited budget to work with as far as shooting supplies go. What do you folks think would get me the best value per dollar spent? Should I upgrade my stock, and continue to shoot inexpensive factory ammo? Or pick up a reloading set-up, and start making nice consistent ammo from good components? I just can't swallow 40.00 a box plus shipping for federal gold match ammo. Can anyone give me some guidance? What realistically should I expect to spend on a decent reloading system? I'm not looking to shoot 1/4 MOA, but would like to consistently shoot sub MOA, and am on a budget, so price is a big factor. Would the basic LEE press be acceptable?:http://www.cabelas.ca/product/3538/lee-breech-lock-challenger-press What about this starter kit?: http://www.cabelas.ca/product/3534/lee-50th-anniversary-reloader-kit What else would I need? Dies, a reloading manual, components? What am I missing? Any help is appreciated!

Mike
Click to expand...


Mike - both will improve your shooting but given the choice of one or the other I would handload first. I would buy a reloading kit some dies and some Sierra 69g SMK's and some Varget powder. Somewhere around 24.8g - 25.8g of powder will propel that little 69g pill very nicely.
 
Tomochan said:
Mike - both will improve your shooting but given the choice of one or the other I would handload first. I would buy a reloading kit some dies and some Sierra 69g SMK's and some Varget powder. Somewhere around 24.8g - 25.8g of powder will propel that little 69g pill very nicely.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice Tomochan. Eventually I will get a new stock as well, I just can't afford both right now. It will be nice to do them separately too to see exactly how much benefit I get from each.
 
reloading 223

Use load that load mention by other member it works
#1 get your gun bedded in stock its in.
#2 you can get a RCBS Partner press for app $80 dollars will work well for 223rem,
#3 Don't skimp on dies reg dies have poor bullet seaters generally.
Pm me I have a extra set of the # 56111 Redding die set available. these are top class dies will be putting on ee boards when I can post them



P1090504.jpg
 
Start reloading. I have my cheap axis shooting .5-.7" at 100 yards with the right combo.
For the recommendation of the 69gr smk. I would try the hornady 68gr match instead. After 100 test loads of smk I couldnt get them to shoot good no mater what. The hornady shot real nice on the trial run more testing to be done but so far 100x better then smk
 
The stock you have can be made more than acceptable with a decent bedding job, something you can do at home yourself for less than $50. Spend your money on reloading, you can get started with a decent used press and some dies for very little money, or like you suggested get a pre packaged kit and you get most of what you need to start sans dies. The only issue I see with the kit is you will likely replace everything in it with in about a year, maybe less with the frequency that you are going shooting. But it will be a good place to start. Good luck!
 
OP pm manitou fast, and take him up on the offer. With a c clamp and those dies, you will get better results than shooting cruddy factory ammo.
 
Reloading would be the better investment. The Lee kit is great and the only thing I really had to change was the scale ........ really didn't like the Lee scale but everything else was fine. You can tailor the ammo to your rifle and find out what it likes best! Bedding your stock would be a cheap fix too that might help.
 
I have the same rifle/caliber that I have been tinkering with. I considered getting a better stock, but after optics, and premium reloading equipment (Wilson/Sinclair) $ was tight. What do you have for glass?

I decided to devcon bed the flimsy hogue stock, recoil lug and forestock. I have since worked up loads with 55gr. Blitzkings, 55gr. Nosler BT, and 70gr. Berger VLDs over varget that are all very impressive. I won't comment on group sizes until I get out to take on one of the "prove it" challenges, but you have a very capable rifle if you bed that stock and have quality optics.
 
The Lee kit for around $140.00, a better scale, and a set of Lee or RCBS dies will get you started for under $250.00.
I like the Jennings Mack 20 scale which can be purchased for about $70.00 online.
It has a resolution of 0.02 grains while most scales have a resolution of 0.1 grains.
Yes those Redding dies are great but they are bushing dies so you would need to measure a loaded round and subtract 0.001" or 0.002" to get the correct size bushing.
Since you probably are not using all the same type of brass your neck dimensions will vary greatly meaning you will need multiple bushings.
This will get too complicated for a novice reloader.

I have had excellent results using Lee dies and a Lee Anniversary kit.
This is 100Y with .308

31-10-11.jpg

The Anniversary kit primes on the press while the Breechlock Challenger kit comes with the hand priming tool.
I believe that it is worth the couple extra dollars if you can find a Breechlock Challenger kit.
What twist is your rifle?
 
Thank you everyone for your replies!

thump_rrr said:
The Lee kit for around $140.00, a better scale, and a set of Lee or RCBS dies will get you started for under $250.00.
I like the Jennings Mack 20 scale which can be purchased for about $70.00 online.
It has a resolution of 0.02 grains while most scales have a resolution of 0.1 grains.
Yes those Redding dies are great but they are bushing dies so you would need to measure a loaded round and subtract 0.001" or 0.002" to get the correct size bushing.
Since you probably are not using all the same type of brass your neck dimensions will vary greatly meaning you will need multiple bushings.
This will get too complicated for a novice reloader.

I have had excellent results using Lee dies and a Lee Anniversary kit.
This is 100Y with .308

31-10-11.jpg

The Anniversary kit primes on the press while the Breechlock Challenger kit comes with the hand priming tool.
I believe that it is worth the couple extra dollars if you can find a Breechlock Challenger kit.
What twist is your rifle?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info. Very nice shooting! My rifle has 1:9 twist heavy barrel on it.
 
whatever stock you have get it bedded that is where inconsistency comes from. factory ammo doesnt help either. if you get into reloading look at getting a scale with a resolution of .02 gr. lots of people here use the gem pro 250 which is anywhere from $130 to $200
 
You don't pull the action from the stock to clean the rifle do you? Check you action screws and make sure none are too loose or tight...

I have loaded a pile of ammo with a Lee anniversary kit, it is what it is... The Dies make a huge difference... The lee 3 die set with neck die are very very good... It's no Redding bushing die set but its 1/4 the $$

The Lee scale is a pain to use untill you find a rhythm... Then it's very accurate and bomb proof... And slightly less annoying.

The Lee perfect powder measure works as well as any other I have used... Actually a touch better then an RCBS unit I had.


Varget OR H4895 under a 69gr SMK is an excellent combo... If your lucky your rifle will really like the 75gr Hornady Amax too.
 
as most people have said, reloading supplies first, you can make most factory stocks shoot much better just by bedding them. its relatively cheap, around 50 dollars for material, you can have a gunsmith do it for a little more or try it yourself, its not very hard, there are lots of videos of people doing it on youtube if you want to check it out. That's the first thing I do to a gun, I have taken guns that shoot 2inchs at 100y and with the same factory ammo they shoot under an inch. the next step is reloading. I have an hs precision stock on my rifle, they are in the 500dollar range with a aluminum block. people say you don't have to bed them. I was shooting .75moa av groups so I decided to try bedding it.. well it made the gun shoot .5 inch groups. aluminum bedding blocks may be true, but is your action completely true? in my opinion bedding is the best way to go. another thing you can do is buy a cheek piece for your stock, comfort is key when it comes to shooting, you should be able to firmly rest your cheek in the stock with your eyes closed (on a bench) then open your eyes and see the full image in the scope without moving your face. if you cant achieve this, your neck and head are not relaxed while shooting which will lead to bad grouping. so my suggestion would be, bed your stock, if your not comfortable with your stock butt height fix it, shoot with the ammo you are using, if your still not satisfied, start reloading.
 
I agree with hotwheels....

I bought lee kit, then after a year upgraded my scale to a RCBS 10-10 scale. Eventually the lee scale would not hold zero, but it works. Just had to keep my eye on it. And the lee deluxe dies are a great value IMHO.

just my $.02
TKS
JPB
 
Start reloading , i would be patient and vulture the hell out of EE. slowly put together a nice reloading kit for yourself. And keep your eye out on EE for a nice composite take off stock that you could bed or have bedded.

Be patient ... Theres a saying ... there is three options for you " Fast , Good and cheap " ... you can only have 2 of the options. Good and cheap is what your looking for. Your not gonna get fast too. Just take your time and hunt around.

Good luck !
 
I want to thank everyone for your advice and input. Truly helpful! I'm going to bed the action, I've started to gather up the supplies to do so, and once my tax refund shows up I think a reloading setup will be in my near future.
 
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