Savage 10 BA -- first handloads, 308 Win

The Kurgan

The Kurgan

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I just started handloading a few weeks ago, and I have already put about 58 handloads and 80 commerical loads down the pipe, so I will assume the barrel is more or less broken in now. Things are starting to come together in terms of the proverbial optimal load, though I know there's much more work to do with the nut behind the gun :) These are a few 3-round groups shot at 50 metres on a bench using a Harris bipod. BTW, I don't particularly like the bipod, and would like something a bit more solid/stable...

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Looks good, now back up at least to 100 yards. get some sand bags etc and see how they really shoot. Nice start though.
 
Off the IMR website that load is below suggested starting load of 41.0gr. It is not a bad start even if your load is a little on the wimpy side:p
 
Today's outing at the 100 yard range was a bit disappointing, I fired 20 handloads (same receipe as above, but 41 grains) and 20 commercial rounds to harvest the fire-formed brass (Hornady Superformance 150 grain SST). I shot from a bench, using a Harris bipod.

My last three shot group with my handloads yielded a 7/8 inch group or 6/8 inch center of hole to center of hole.

The commerical crap yielded a 10 shot grouping of about 2 to 2 1/2 inches.

Should I be concerned about the accuracy, or keep on testing new recipes, or re-barrel? My expectation are clover-leafs at 100 yards.

I just finished some new handloads: 168gr Sierra Match, 39/40gr IMR4895, .2 off lands. Perhaps things will tighten up.
 
Still pretty good considering your shooting with a bipod. A good rest and some sandbags are called for to really see what it can do.
 
Play with it a bit, try stuffing a back pack with clothes and shoot off of that to see if the rifle is jumping on the bipod legs, try a few groups out at 300M to see if your just trying too hard to line the cross hairs up... Don't pass over a load that might be quite good unless your 100% sure it's the load and not another variable.

Your pushing 1/2 MOA with a stock rifle... That's a pretty decent accomplishment in its self.
 
Here are the groups... more work to do for sure. I will keep chugging along. Thanks for the advice! I will try to shoot from a sandbag to see how things perform. BTW, I'm weighing my brass next time around, and sorting by weight groups, and of course by type (Hornady, S&B, Winchester). This is in addition to ensuring they're all the same length.

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You are still at or below the suggested starting load from the Hogdon website. Things might start to tighten up with move velocity. I agree that sorting your brass would be a good start and match bullets will likely shoot better than a hunting bullet.
I would not even think about rebarreling just yet, because you have not done enough testing. Bump up your load to about 1 gr under max load and try more testing.
 
The Kurgan said:
Should I be concerned about the accuracy, or keep on testing new recipes, or re-barrel? My expectation are clover-leafs at 100 yards.
Click to expand...

Concerned or rebarrel? No.

You are just starting out reloading; your doing fine; take your time; learn what works for you; have fun and don't expect too much too soon.

Not everyone gets instant one hole groups when they buy a Savage rifle and start reloading. Infact not all Savage rifles shoot great. Though I'm sure yours will.

I said in one of your threads a couple of months back that it can take me up to a couple of hundred rounds to feel comfortable behind a new rifle. I was including the whole reloading process in that. Granted I'm slow as molasses and can't shoot for chit but you get the idea. :D
 
Well after 220 handloads of just about every "tried and true" recipe I could assemble (4 brands of brass, 3 brands of powder, 3 brands of bullets, 2 bullet weights, 2 types of primers, and an expensive electronic powder dispenser), I have come to the conclusion that I won't achieve greater than 3/4 inches with this factory rifle. Last sunday's outing gave me a few sub-moa groups at 100 yards. My best 4 round group was 3/4 inch, and another just a hair over 5/8 inch. Everything else (95% of my shots) grouped around 1 inch to an embarassing low of 1 1/2 inches (I think the barrel was fouled by then). Great for a hunting rifle, but not enough for a top-of-the-line Savage tactical rifle with a heavy barrel. I have made arrangements to rebarrel this beast into a calibre that will make some purists shudder in disbelief, but I know different (and don't care). She's getting a Krieger 22" or 24" barrel chambered in 7mm-08, a Timney competition trigger, and a few other goodies.

So a near new barrel and perhaps a scope will be up for sale in a few months. I'll toss in a "free" accutrigger to sweeten the deal.
 
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I think you have been wasting powder and bullets on loads at or below the starting load.
There are plenty of good loads that tried and true. You want to shoot 168's? A good load for shooting 300m ISU is 39 gr of IMR 3031. You want to shoot 155's? 46 gr of Varget will get you out to 1000 yards.
But hey, who the hell am I to tell you how to spend your money?
 
Hey Maynard, your points are valid. I increased my powder charges to the maximum grains recommended in the Lyman Reloading Handbook for the 3 different powders I used. I also used a few CGN member recipe recommendations. The two best 100 yard groups were achieved with the higher, but not highest charges as per Lyman. I'll keep playing as it will be months before a barrel change becomes a reality, and by then I will likely have sent 1200+ rounds down the barrel. This has been a good learning experience.
 
I don't know what bullet weights you have tried, but the Savage 308 McMillan that I used to have only liked heavy bullets. It shot 190gr Sierra MK bullets great. But it really loved the 185gr Bergers. It shot them into 1/2 moa at 250 yards.
 
Please don't give up on this rifle yet. Try either of those 2 bullets mentioned above. Like I said, they are the only weights my Savage liked.
 
Once you narrow it down to a few good loads, start adjusting the seating depth to see if that improve a 3/4" group to 1/2". Some match bullets are very picky about seating depth. I have found that SMK's bullets will shoot with just about any seating depth.

There are also other things like over cleaning the bore. Some barrels shoot better dirty. If you clean after every range trip, your barrel may not start shooting until you have 2-20 rounds of fouling down it. This will screw up grouping results if you are looking for a good group out of a clean cold bore.

1200 rounds down a .308 is only about 1/4 used up, still lots of life in it.

Stick with one powder, one primer and one batch of weight sorted brass and one bullet. You are changing too many things every time and just chasing your tail.

Also try changing your aiming mark to a square. Shoot at the corners instead of a small round aiming mark. A 4 inch square will give you 4 points to shoot at.
 
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