I picked up a few boxes of 308 barnul recently to feed my m305. There was a point I thought I was going to have to return or rebarrel the rifle. I'm talking a few feet of spread in any direction. I was hoping to use it to sight it in before going to some higher quality stuff. I left silverdale pretty depressed that day. Tried some Winchester white box soft points and it seemed to like it better but I know/hope there is room for improvement. I realize I'm only going to get the best results with top quality factory stuff or good hand loads, but I'm not that far into it yet. Is there a brand these rifles seem to prefer (cheep plinking) in general or is it down to the individual rifle/batch of ammo.
Bad barnul
- Thread starter RSK
- Start date
RSK - Sorry to hear that the rifle didn't shoot well with the Barnaul. My rifle used to shoot badly with Winchester White Box and still does with Norc surplus however the worst groups are about 4"-5" max spread and are often quite a bit better.
Before I started reloading, I found that Hornady 168 grain match ammo performed quite well. Also, Federal 168 grain Gold Medal Match seems to shoot well for many folks. These are both fairly expensive for plinking.
I think that individual rifles can be quite picky. A friend of mine and I have exchanged various handloads at the range and loads that shot well in one rifle consistently did poorly in the other, and vice versa.
Honestly, I'd start reloading as quickly as possible. You can get into it for the cost of a few boxes of ammo and your costs per round will decrease by over 50% (for equivalent quality ammo). You are going to spend many times the cost of the rifle in ammo alone over the life of the barrel, let alone the life of the rifle.
Before I started reloading, I found that Hornady 168 grain match ammo performed quite well. Also, Federal 168 grain Gold Medal Match seems to shoot well for many folks. These are both fairly expensive for plinking.
I think that individual rifles can be quite picky. A friend of mine and I have exchanged various handloads at the range and loads that shot well in one rifle consistently did poorly in the other, and vice versa.
Honestly, I'd start reloading as quickly as possible. You can get into it for the cost of a few boxes of ammo and your costs per round will decrease by over 50% (for equivalent quality ammo). You are going to spend many times the cost of the rifle in ammo alone over the life of the barrel, let alone the life of the rifle.
Each rifle/barrel is unique, and will "prefer" certain loads over others.
Having said that, I have yet to meet a Barnaul ammo that was "great" in any rifle (any calibre I've tried) - the best I've been able to achieve with Barnaul is mediocre results.
Having said that, I have yet to meet a Barnaul ammo that was "great" in any rifle (any calibre I've tried) - the best I've been able to achieve with Barnaul is mediocre results.
andrew3081
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vancouver, BC
So far I dont have problems with Barnul ammo.
My rifle actually likes BarnauL to the point I'm almost able to try the 1.5MOA challenge with it. Almost!
It will give consistent 2.5" groups with a few 1.5". I can hit a 315y 10" gong 5 out of 5 with it.
I'm not bragging; just saying the rifle/ammo combo is different with all rifles and I'd hate to see someone pass on cheap BarnauL without trying it first.
It will give consistent 2.5" groups with a few 1.5". I can hit a 315y 10" gong 5 out of 5 with it.
I'm not bragging; just saying the rifle/ammo combo is different with all rifles and I'd hate to see someone pass on cheap BarnauL without trying it first.
Took the rifle to Hungry shortly after I got it. He was actually surprised how well the sights worked. I felt another one in the store and it was very gritty, these have a very clean click. I found that the number of clicks from bottom to actually hitting where I was aiming at 100 yards was closer to 16 than the 8 in the " how to kick a.. with irons" sticky. The action feels nice and tight in the stock. Haven't tried to turn the stock as the indexing seems bang on. It has a S&J spring guide and have the gas system nice and tight. I suppose it could be a bad batch of ammo. Dave at silverdale mentioned a guy with an RFB was looking to unload a bunch since it didn't agree with his rifle either. Like I said the white box was better but I'm still getting just under a foot of spread. And that might also have something to do with the operator.
Hmm, operator error could certainly be a factor, one foot spread seems large.
You can set that rear sight to the 8 click from bottom by loosening the elevation drum and setting it back 8 clicks then tighten and you're golden!
That screw is merely holding down the cap on the drum so no worries of loosening the sight itself.
You can set that rear sight to the 8 click from bottom by loosening the elevation drum and setting it back 8 clicks then tighten and you're golden!
That screw is merely holding down the cap on the drum so no worries of loosening the sight itself.
