Questions regarding scope/rifle combo

[Chas1]

You guys were lucky. I'll bet the Platoon Sargeant didn't get such great pro and con scores on the next go round.

 

[USMC30]

We were lucky. Looking back, it's a miracle that I made it out in one piece. I can remember driving an LVS across the desert at CAX loaded with live ammo and other explosives just waiting to be blown up with each bump in the road.

As far as the platoon seargent, I hear that he retired as a seargent after 21 years! He never made staff. I'm sure our beach excersion had something to do with that. He also had a 3rd class PFT so he wasn't doing himself any favors.

 

[Chas1]

Sounds like your Sargeant was just putting in his time. We had a few like that and they didn't care too much for folks like myself who made Sargeant in 2 1/2 years with Staff if I re-enlisted at 4 years.

 

[USMC30]

Hello all. I have enjoyed my new rig and have been impressed with its performance. Unforunately, I have been down with shoulder surgury and have been limited to rimfire activity and smiping small animals with my pellet gun to maintain my sanity.

I have used my down time to read up on reloading. It didn't take long for me to realize that I needed to start loading my own rounds if I wanted to take it to the next level with my Savage BAS .308.

I bought a Dillon RL 550 B press. I am working on getting all the dies, scales, etc. that I will need.What do you guys think about the Dillon? I haven't bought any powder, primer, or rounds yet so does anyone have any reccomendations? Thanks in advance. I hope all is well with everyone.

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent"
-Thomas Jefferson

 

[liltank]

I bought a Dillon RL 550 B press. I am working on getting all the dies, scales, etc. that I will need.What do you guys think about the Dillon? I haven't bought any powder, primer, or rounds yet so does anyone have any reccomendations? Thanks in advance. I hope all is well with everyone.

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent"
-Thomas Jefferson

My dad has a Dillon progressive. Not sure what model because it is about 15 to 20 years old. It is a progressive and has worked very well in the past. I used it for my 25-06 and 243 when I was still at home. I think they are solid machines. You should do quite well with it once it is set up and running. I would get a single stage at first for your initial loading though. Once you found something to your liking then just run them on the Dillon.

Tank

 

[USMC30]

It sounds like I have a decent press. Thanks for the info tank

 

[Chas1]

Sorry to hear about your shoulder giving you problems, hopefully your on the mend and it won't be long untill your 100%. Congratulations on the new press. I can't comment on the Dillon as I never used one but, I've heard many here have good things to say about them. Enjoy.

 

[USMC30]

The Dillon 550 seemed to be a good "middle of the road" press. What ended up selling me was a you tube video showing some dude cranking out .223 rounds at the rate of 100+ per hour which I thought was pretty cool. I will let you guys know how it does.

 

[mopar440]

if dillon is middle of the road whats at the top
the dillon is the top of the line only wish i could afford one

 

[USMC30]

Mopar, I was refering to middle of the road for a Dillon. As you know, Dillon makes progressives that are a heck of a lot more expensive than the 550. The 550 seemed to me my needs in terms of it's performance.

 

[mopar440]

oh i see now
dillon is a very good press i have couple buddys that use them very consitant loads dont know if anyone makes better one for residential use

you have great looking rig should shoot nice

 

[USMC30]

Thanks. I have been really impressed with the savage BAS. As i mentioned before, it did not take me long to realize that I would need to start to load my own ammo to get the results I was looking for. I will let you guys know how it does.

 

[USMC30]

Welcome USMC30. As I am not one of the most experienced members on this site, I will try to start things off in the right direction for you, but I am sure you will get some great advice from some of the senior members shortly. Since you already have the rifle and caliber purchased, all I will say here is that your friend didn't lead you astray. I have owned 2 Savage rifles up to this point as well as Remingtons, Winchesters, Rugers, Sakos, Brownings etc. and in my experience the 2 Savages have been one, two, for the most accurate out of the box rifles I have ever owned. They haven't been the best quality, but for long range work, in my opinion, accuracy is more important than all other aspects. The 308 seems to be the go to caliber for the beginner. Cheap to shoot, accurate, lots of ammo info and choices. It will get you out to 1000 yards but by the time it gets there it will be all out of gas. What I mean is that the 308 is fine for paper but as far as hunting goes, know the calibers limitations. Being that you didn't mention hunting, I would say, good to go.

A lot of long range equipment is personal preference, quality wise one brand may be just as good as another but it is up to what you prefer, that makes it right for you. So for me the scope that you have, although in the upper end of quality, is what I would call over gunned. I come from a Rocky Mountain hunting back ground and for that a 3-9x42 was the standard, so just take this with a grain of salt. If I had come from a target shooting back ground I would be more familiar with the extra magnification, but I never seem to zoom more than 10 to 12 power on my scopes, this is just where I am the most comfortable. I must say though that I did love every one of my Leupold scopes that I have ever owned.

As far as what round to use, I have to say, tuned hand loads!!!!!!!!!!! I am probably the biggest advocates of reloading out here. If you don't hand load you will just have to try several different loads in your rifle to see what it likes. I would suggest match grade ammo if you want to be serious, and if that is the route you go it will be expensive. If you do reload then try the Sierra 175 gn Matchkings, or Hornady 168 gn A-Max, I have had good luck with both of these bullets.




Post some pictures for us of your rig. Once again welcome, and enjoy your new set up.

Straightshooter,
I wanted to give you an update on my Savage BAS .308. I have had good results out to 400 yards with match grade ammo. I decided that I would need to start reloading in order to take it to the next level. I purchased a Dillon 550B press and am almost reasy to start my first batch. Could you sugest primers, powder, etc. I will try the bullets you reccomended. Thanks in advance.

 

[liltank]

Straightshooter,
I wanted to give you an update on my Savage BAS .308. I have had good results out to 400 yards with match grade ammo. I decided that I would need to start reloading in order to take it to the next level. I purchased a Dillon 550B press and am almost reasy to start my first batch. Could you sugest primers, powder, etc. I will try the bullets you reccomended. Thanks in advance.

The most common loads for the .308 is RL-15 and Varget. On one sight I frequent, everybody is changing from Varget to RL-15 due lot inconsistencies with the Varget. Another option is IMR-4064. These are all great powders in my opinion. Primers would be Rem. 9 1/2, Federal 210's, CCI 200 or BR2's, Win. WLR, and Wolf large rifle primers. Doing some reading I have found that some are guys are using magnum primers. So now just pick your bullet and go to town with reloading fun.

Tank