Looking to reach 1000!!!

[hutner3421]

I am looking for advice on upgrades or products to help improve the ability of my rifle.

I have recently decided to get serious about reaching down range and hitting the infamous 1000yd mark. At this point I still consider myself a novice, but have a significant amount of time behind a rifle( mostly hunting and target to 300 yds). I have a Remington 700 SPS Varmint in .308 that I have chosen to begin this task with. The only thing that has been done to the rifle is a trigger job. Have a Millet 4-16x56 TSR-1 mounted on picatiny rail with Leuapold rings. Has a Harris bi-pod as well. At this time the gun is shooting sub MOA groups, but barely and not consistantly. I am determined to stay with this rig, as I believe that with a few adjustments, the gun will be more capable than me for a while. My first thought is to replace the flimsy stock. I have looked into HS, Mcmillan, and Bell & Carlson. At this time am leaning towards the HS.

Apologize for the long post, but want to try and give as much info for usefull feedback. Any and everyone feel free to give your opinion! I am here to learn!!!

 

[bigbuck]

Welcome to LRH . someone will eventually chime in with some good advice .

but until then i'll recommend a few things if thats okay .

A good trigger say from 1 1/2 lb to 2 lb at the most in my opinion.


A good bullet with a high bc for your .308 I would give the Amax a try or berger.


An hogdon extreme powder specifically if you plan on practicing in HOT conditions .

Last but not least get real picky with your load development (this one i'm learning at this very moment) . Sort brass, anneal make em all the same length and so on .

Note this is just what i've read but if you've seen the targets that broz shot with the new .338 bergers he's doing something right and this si just a few of the tricks he's doing.

Good luck gun)

BigBuck

 

[trebark]

aaahhh...improve the accuracy potential of your rifle.....

1. Replace Stock with HS, McMillan, B&C, laminate etc.

2. Bed the action into the new stock (if the stock does not have an aluminum block, then pillar bed too)

3. Trigger Job (which it sounds as though you've done)

4. Recrown barrel

5. Reload your ammunition - for 1k shooting you will want 175grain or heavier SMK, VLD or Amax bullets. A buddy of mine shoots the 208Amax with 48 grains of RL17. Gets 2700+fps out of the load.

I've taken these same steps more than once.....

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-308-1k-rifle-evolution-continues-43510/

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/nephews-transformed-rifle-53634/

 

[Miller Outdoors]

If in your situation I'd first swap out the stock, or I'd bed the receiver and firm up the forend with a rod or JB Weld to make it stiffer. I'd also make sure the barrel was fully floating with plenty of clearance.

Then I'd try the 185 or 190 grain Berger VLD's and do a ladder test with Hodgdon Varget to see what powder charge gives you good margin for error. Then I'd load up a bunch of 5 shot groups at the two most promising looking powder charges .02" off the rifling and see which shot best. Then I'd take the best of those loads and try 4 more 5 shot groups 1) .015 into the lands, 2) right at the lands, 3) .015 off the lands and 4) .030 off the lands. Pick the best one and work up a drop chart, then go out and confirm the longer range drops. Then go hunting.

 

[hutner3421]

First let me start by saying, thanks for the info guys (trebark and bigbuck)! What yall are saying is consistant with what info I have been looking into. Definately agree with the load your own mentality. Although I have never done this, I will be purchasing the equipment to do so soon. Any recomendations on loaders and equipment would be appreciated as well. As far as stocks, I am leaning towards the HS. The current trigger is the factory Xmark. I had a gunsmith test and adjust this for me. He said I was fortunate that it breaks as clean as it does, but could only adjust to just under 3lbs.

Again any additional input is welcomed! Keep it coming folks.

Thanks

 

[hutner3421]

Miller Outdoors......thanks for the input!

Unfortunately I have never loaded my own ammo. I am looking into purchasing the equipment now. So, that being said, is there a " how to load ammo for dummies" version of your loading info. I.e. .....ladder test, lands, etc. If I should just by the book, feel free to say that .

Thanks again

 

[trebark]

In terms of reloading stuff, I use RCBS. It's good middle-of-the-road price. Lee makes decent gear and is the least expensive. Both companies have 'kits' that pretty much have all the gear you need to get started. Then you can start to add all the extras and get into the minutae of reloading.

Before you buy any gear though. Get a reloading manual and read, read, read. Learn everything you can about the reloading process and then go and buy gear.

Welcome to the addiction! It will suck your wallet dry!

 

[bigbuck]

First let me start by saying, thanks for the info guys (trebark and bigbuck)! What yall are saying is consistant with what info I have been looking into. Definately agree with the load your own mentality. Although I have never done this, I will be purchasing the equipment to do so soon. Any recomendations on loaders and equipment would be appreciated as well. As far as stocks, I am leaning towards the HS. The current trigger is the factory Xmark. I had a gunsmith test and adjust this for me. He said I was fortunate that it breaks as clean as it does, but could only adjust to just under 3lbs.

Again any additional input is welcomed! Keep it coming folks.

Thanks

I like the the RCBS press it's fairly reasonable you can also get a starter kit that has everything just about that you would need .

I have a rifle basics trigger in my 300 RUM it's cheaper than a jewel if money isn't tight then the jewel would probably be the go to trigger. I've also used timney triggers and they work really well and are not to heavy on the wallet.

You should be able to find a used HS stock for a okay price every now and then online.

I must warn you when you start to load your own it will become as much fun as shooting or atleast thats what has happened to me

bigBuck

 

[trebark]

Miller Outdoors......thanks for the input!

Unfortunately I have never loaded my own ammo. I am looking into purchasing the equipment now. So, that being said, is there a " how to load ammo for dummies" version of your loading info. I.e. .....ladder test, lands, etc. If I should just by the book, feel free to say that .

Thanks again

Read, read, read...it won't take you long to learn what all these terms mean.

Ladder Test: putting together reloaded ammunition with progressively higher volums of powder and shooting them in a round-robin order.

Lands: if you look down the barrel of your rifle you will see it is 'rifled'. There are 'lands' and 'grooves'. The lands are the higher areas. The chamber of your rifle ends at the lands of your barrel. So miller's advice is to load bullets so that they are various distances from the lands. This distance is often called 'jump' (as in how far your bullet has to jump before getting into the barrel)

Keep the questions coming.

 

[Buffalobob]

Until you get to reloading, you can get a box of Fed GM 175 match and try it and see how the accuracy is. Usually it will provide competitive accuracy to 1000 yards.

67462 - Ammo .308 Win., Gold Medal, Sierra MatchKing Boat Tail Hollow Point Bullet, 175 Grain, 2600 fps, 20 Round Box

The other thing to do is to find a place to shoot.

 

[loaders_loft]

Buffalobob is on the right track. Get some 175 or 155gr match ammo for starters. Make sure you have a 20MOA base to reach 1000 and get some drop data from a fellow shooter using the same ammo (best) or from a ballistics program (many apps for Iphone/itouch or free online). You will likely need a 6-9" swivel bipod, a rear beanbag and an anti-cant (level) for your scope.

I barely shot at 1k this month for the first time, so I'm learning too. There are lots of guys at our local match that shoot stock 308's with minor upgrades....

 

[Super-X]

Couple of things.....
Make sure you get a seater die that does not crimp, target bullets don't have a crimp ring.
Optics, need to be repeatable when the adjustments are made. The choice here can really make a difference. I struggled recently with my first scope purchase in nearly 10 years and ended up with a Japanese made Sightron SIII.

Manventure.com has some real good deals on optics, bullets and misc.

TM

 

[hutner3421]

Thanks again everyone for the input.

Super X...thanks for the die info. I am currently shooting a Millett TRS, that I have put through multiple target test going around the target and coming back to zero. It has done very well, always ending up at O-O ( once zeroed I reset my turrets).

loaders_loft.... I am currently using a free program from JBM to help decide on a round and hopefully truely utilize once I have started using the rounds. Let me know if you have any other suggestions. I do not have an I phone, but if you know of anything for blackberry, that would be great. I do not have a 20 MOA base. My gun smith tested my scope and said that I have over 90 MOA of adjustment and considering I was able to zero on the bottom side of that I should be OK out to 1000. I have the bi-pod (Harris), but not an anti-cant level.....need to look into this!

buffalobob.....thanks for the ammo link. I am ordering some to try out until I can start loading my own.

Keep it coming folks.....all of this has been useful!!!

 

[loaders_loft]

here they are, all different types of bubble levels for your scope. Len also sells several types right here in the LRH store.

Stay away from the ones that mount to the rail. I had the $$$US Optics swivel rail mount level and it was off level when I tightened it on the rail. Lame. Midway was great, and traded me for the scope mounted swivel model, which is better but the swivel is a bit hokey. I also have the scoplevel on my prairiedog rifle, 22-250, which works fine but its not very robustly made.

Recently I purchased the hollands signature model, which looks well made, and robust. We'll see, it should be here in a couple days.

The Vortex was a bit cheaper but it looks like its full of sharp edges and I didn't want that digging into my back & gear. The others that mount in place of the rings or just on top of the scope seem like they would be hard to see from shooting position.

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