First Reloading shots

G

Gabrile

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
37   0   0
Location
Edmonton
This is my first time ever reloading. I just got my first reloading batch:

Horandy 150 grain SST
Powder H-380 - 48 GRAINS.
Cartage: Remington - .308
Cartage size: 2010
Rifle: Tikka


5 group shots:
picture share
photo share

1.675
free upload pictures

Question: Why did the other two fly about an inch further away? The only difference would be probably maybe the cartage size .005 variance. Would that make a difference?
 
Do a Google search for LADDER Test.... this is usually a time saver and will save o components.... usually a ladder test to produce a couple of accuracy nodes(a point where your groups will tighten up with a certain amount of powder). Sometimes this will be a medium charge.... sometimes it will be book max.


You can also try tweaking your cartridge O.A.L to get less jump between bullet and the lands/grooves of the rifling.

Nosler has step by step process.

How to measure your rifle’s seating depth.
Step 1: Insert the bullet into the neck of the fired case. It should fall freely into the case with no resistance.



Step 2: Remove the bullet from the fired case and press the case neck lightly against a flat surface to create a small indentation in the case neck so that it will grip the bullet.



Step 3: Insert the bullet, base first into the case so that the case just grips the bullet by itself. Just get the bullet started into the case, don’t seat it too deeply.



Step 4: Completely color the bullet with a felt marker.



Step 5: Gently insert the case and bullet into the chamber of the firearm and close the action. Do not pull the trigger.



Step 6: Carefully open the action and gently remove the case.



Step 7: Retrieve the bullet. It will either be stuck in the lands of the barrel or still in the case. If the bullet is stick in the lands, it can be removed with a cleaning rod. If the bullet is still in the case, gently remove it with your fingers taking care not to mar the ink and proceed to step 8.



Step 8: During Step 5, the lands will have contacted the bullet and pushed it back into the case neck to scrape the ink off of the bearing surface of the bullet. Simply push the bullet into the case until the edge of the case neck is just to where the ink has been scraped off.



Step 9: Carefully measure the overall length of the dummy cartridge. This overall length is called your “rifle seating” depth. It is where the bullet contacts the lands of the barrel. This length is different for every type of bullet depending on ogive, meplat, etc. This process should be repeated three to four times to obtain a consistent average.



Step 10: Set your seating die to seat at a depth between .015” and .03” less than your rifle seating depth.

When loading E-Tip® bullets, seating them .050” - .100” away from the lands typically produces the best accuracy.
Lightweight bullets may need to be seated further from the rifling. A depth of one bullet diameter inside the case neck gives good neck tension for ignition.
The overall length must be short enough to function through the magazine.
 
350 Mag said:
Do a Google search for LADDER Test.... this is usually a time saver and will save o components.... usually a ladder test to produce a couple of accuracy nodes(a point where your groups will tighten up with a certain amount of powder). Sometimes this will be a medium charge.... sometimes it will be book max.


You can also try tweaking your cartridge O.A.L to get less jump between bullet and the lands/grooves of the rifling.

Nosler has step by step process.

How to measure your rifle’s seating depth.
Step 1: Insert the bullet into the neck of the fired case. It should fall freely into the case with no resistance.



Step 2: Remove the bullet from the fired case and press the case neck lightly against a flat surface to create a small indentation in the case neck so that it will grip the bullet.



Step 3: Insert the bullet, base first into the case so that the case just grips the bullet by itself. Just get the bullet started into the case, don’t seat it too deeply.



Step 4: Completely color the bullet with a felt marker.



Step 5: Gently insert the case and bullet into the chamber of the firearm and close the action. Do not pull the trigger.



Step 6: Carefully open the action and gently remove the case.



Step 7: Retrieve the bullet. It will either be stuck in the lands of the barrel or still in the case. If the bullet is stick in the lands, it can be removed with a cleaning rod. If the bullet is still in the case, gently remove it with your fingers taking care not to mar the ink and proceed to step 8.



Step 8: During Step 5, the lands will have contacted the bullet and pushed it back into the case neck to scrape the ink off of the bearing surface of the bullet. Simply push the bullet into the case until the edge of the case neck is just to where the ink has been scraped off.



Step 9: Carefully measure the overall length of the dummy cartridge. This overall length is called your “rifle seating” depth. It is where the bullet contacts the lands of the barrel. This length is different for every type of bullet depending on ogive, meplat, etc. This process should be repeated three to four times to obtain a consistent average.



Step 10: Set your seating die to seat at a depth between .015” and .03” less than your rifle seating depth.

When loading E-Tip® bullets, seating them .050” - .100” away from the lands typically produces the best accuracy.
Lightweight bullets may need to be seated further from the rifling. A depth of one bullet diameter inside the case neck gives good neck tension for ignition.
The overall length must be short enough to function through the magazine.
Click to expand...



Thanks!


I just ordered a trimmer. I will make sure that all cartage are the same length and that the OAL is constant and give it another try.
My tikka is very accurate with factory 150 G and 178 G loads.

I love the first results. But i want to see the 5 shots touch!
 
Welcome to handloading.

Two pieces of advice:

Don't start with a max load and then wonder why the holes don't touch. Start (with H380) at 44 gr and make 5 each in 0.5 g increments and shoot groups up to 49gr. let barrel cool between groups. Be prepared to stop before you get to 49 because the ammo is too hot. Take them home and pull the bullets.

If you do a test like this with each powder you try, you will find what shoots best in your rifle. Each rifle is different. One of mine shoots 1" at 300 yards with 46 gr of H380 with match 150 gr bullets.

H380 is a ball powder and great for loading ammo quickly. It measures perfectly form a thrower. You don't have to weight each charge. I suggest you put it aside until you decide to load 165 ort 180 gr bullets for hunting. 150 gr is bit light for that powder.

Buy a can of 4895 or Varget, and run a test like I suggested above (43 gr to 45 gr). Your rifle shows great promise, so there is a good chance your magical load will be found with a better choice of powder.

Buy a good loading manual. Speer and Hornady have good ones. Read all the educational stuff at the beginning. It is interesting and important.
 
H335 is an other powder that works well with the 150 gr bullet .however I much prefer IMR 4064 and 165 gr Sierra GKs or the 180 gr Nosler partition also loaded with 4064 .
 
Ganderite said:
Welcome to handloading.

Two pieces of advice:

Don't start with a max load and then wonder why the holes don't touch. Start (with H380) at 44 gr and make 5 each in 0.5 g increments and shoot groups up to 49gr. let barrel cool between groups. Be prepared to stop before you get to 49 because the ammo is too hot. Take them home and pull the bullets.

If you do a test like this with each powder you try, you will find what shoots best in your rifle. Each rifle is different. One of mine shoots 1" at 300 yards with 46 gr of H380 with match 150 gr bullets.

H380 is a ball powder and great for loading ammo quickly. It measures perfectly form a thrower. You don't have to weight each charge. I suggest you put it aside until you decide to load 165 ort 180 gr bullets for hunting. 150 gr is bit light for that powder.

Buy a can of 4895 or Varget, and run a test like I suggested above (43 gr to 45 gr). Your rifle shows great promise, so there is a good chance your magical load will be found with a better choice of powder.

Buy a good loading manual. Speer and Hornady have good ones. Read all the educational stuff at the beginning. It is interesting and important.
Click to expand...

I used Lyman 49th edition loading manual

picture host


His recommended starting load for the H380 is 48 grains. Supposedly this was the most accurate for him.

My next plan was to make .5 increments starting from 48 grains - 52 grains.

I have Varget power as well, Did not test it yet. The H380 48 grains was my first load.

5 min ago i got a cartage case stuck in the resizing die lol....Lucky i resized about 60 cartages before blowing it up.

I will try the varget as you said. I will make some 46 G loads with H380 and see how it will go!
 
I've only been reloading for a few years on .308 and what I have found is that Varget and IMR4064 work best for me. COAL measured consistently to the Ogive matters, distance to lands matters, brass matters (Lapua is best for me), brass prep matters such as consistent trim, primer pocket uniformed, flash hole debuted, an exact consistent powder measurement matters, bullet matters (Sierra Match Kings are best for me), etc. I'm no expert as I've only been shooting for 4 years but if I do my part, with consistent ammo as above, I can get a very tight cloverleaf with 5 shots at 100 meters. Bottom line is that the ammo has to be made consistently and right for your rifle and distance, and the shooter has to do his part if you want the best accuracy. It's fun to try and get all the shots in one hole.
 
Gabrile said:
So what would be the bext for 168 gr sierra MK ?
Click to expand...

I generally use the Hodgdon on line site for loading data with Hodgdon and IMR powder. Since you say you have Varget, it is a good powder for the 308. For the 168 grain Hodgdon recommends a starting load of 42, and a maximum load of 46C. The C means it is compressed and you can expect that the bullet will squash the powder down a bit when you seat it.

I prefer the stick type Hodgdon powders over the ball powder as they are affected less by temperature change.

Varget would be a good powder for your 150 grain as well, and should give good velocities.

It is always good to check more than one source to be sure your load makes sense. Sometimes there are mistakes in the data provided. Here is a link to the Sierra Data for the 308 which you can download and print out. I noticed that they recommend a starting load of 43 grains of H380 going to a max of 48.7 grains for a 150 grain. That makes that Lyman data suggesting 52+ grains look a little suspicious... Hodgdon don't even seem to list the H-380 for these bullet weights.
 
Hmm.....The data seems to be very close with minor changes between Sierra & hodgdon vs lyman manual. With exception to the 150 grain.

For the 168 smk he says the best accurate load he tested was N550 with 44.5 grains.

Did anyone try the N550 before? I can only find it online and it is kind of double the price of the varget at H380. Is it worth trying?

I guess i need to test everything until i find the best load for short and long shooting.
 
You can spend a lot of time and money fiddling around with loads.... FWIW - You did very well with your first attempt - there is a good chance the rifle is shooting better than you, so this must be taken into consideration. After years of reloading, I've come to the following conclusions:

1) A given rifle generally "tunes" to a specific bullet weight, so playing around with different bullets is a priority for me.
2) Once tuned, I find that there are "go to " powders that seem to suit specific calibers (eg Re 15 for 303, 308 and H4350 for 6.5 x 55)
3) Don't get too worked up about land proximity... its a minor variable for a hunting rifle.
4) Be consistent from round to round, batch to batch
5) Let the barrel cool sufficiently between shots - use your wrist to monitor the barrel temp.

If I were you, I'd play around a bit with charge weight with your current 150 gr pills. For the 168's Varget or Re 15 ...
 
Last edited:
cosmic said:
You can spend a lot of time and money fiddling around with loads.... FWIW - You did very well with your first attempt - there is a good chance the rifle is shooting better than you, so this must be taken into consideration. After years of reloading, I've come to the following conclusions:

1) A given rifle generally "tunes" to a specific bullet weight, so playing around with different bullets is a priority for me.
2) Once tuned, I find that there are "go to " powders that seem to suit specific calibers (eg Re 15 for 303, 308 and H4350 for 6.5 x 55)
3) Don't get too worked up about land proximity... its a minor variable for a hunting rifle.
4) Be consistent from round to round, batch to batch
5) Let the barrel cool sufficiently between shots - use your wrist to monitor the barrel temp.

If I were you, I'd play around a bit with charge weight with your current 150 gr pills. For the 168's Varget or Re 15 ...
Click to expand...

My Tikka is very accurate with the 150G factory ammo. That is why i tried the 150G first thing.

But, I also got some decent .5 groups with 178G as well.

I feel addicted to this,

Question: How much do you clean your barrel between groups ? Normally i try groups of 5 shots twice or three times to make sure it is consistent. Do you normally give it a fast patch between a couple of shots?
 
Gabrile said:
My Tikka is very accurate with the 150G factory ammo. That is why i tried the 150G first thing.

But, I also got some decent .5 groups with 178G as well.

I feel addicted to this,

Question: How much do you clean your barrel between groups ? Normally i try groups of 5 shots twice or three times to make sure it is consistent. Do you normally give it a fast patch between a couple of shots?
Click to expand...

I only clean at the end of the day of shooting. If you clean during the day, it will take 3 to 5 shots to get back to the point where groups can be compared.
 
Gabrile said:
Hmm.....The data seems to be very close with minor changes between Sierra & hodgdon vs lyman manual. With exception to the 150 grain.
For the 168 smk he says the best accurate load he tested was N550 with 44.5 grains.
Did anyone try the N550 before? I can only find it online and it is kind of double the price of the varget at H380. Is it worth trying?
I guess i need to test everything until i find the best load for short and long shooting.
Click to expand...

I do not pay much attention to the "most accurate load" stuff. They probably are testing it in a different barrel weight than yours, different length, etc... Their most accurate load and yours are not likely to be the same.

N550 is a double base powder, and has a lot of energy per unit of weight (as does Varget). It does give good velocities, but it also can be harder on your barrel. I would try a N140 before I would do a N550, if you want to try a Vihtavuori powder. N140 is a single base. Here is a powder burn rate chart so you can narrow down other choice in brands with the same or similar burn rates.

And here is a energy content chart for the various powders. At the same charge weight, lower is better.

PowderHeatPotential.JPG
 
As Ganderite mentioned, I only clean at the end of the day, and sometimes not even then if I've only fired a few shots... Cleaning is over-rated - years ago, when ammo was corrosive, you had to clean the rifle ASAP after shooting. Unfortunately, that regimen has carried through to today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom