f t/r questions

[rware91]

hey guys im going to get the savage 12 f t/r at some point. after some research i am planning on getting that rifle and top it with the NF bench rest scope. and a sinclair f class bi pod. my question who has a good load for this rifle and if my current load is good. Seirra 155 grain match king boat tails, with varget powder thinking of trying to push 45.5 grains on the powder.

 

[uncleduke]

???Are you sure about 55.5? 45.5 of varget is more like a standard load for a Palma bullet. Check the load data available on the main page. I do not exeed 46.0. What is the twist of your bbl. ? What distance will you shoot? If you are just starting out consider the heavier weight bullets if the twist is adequate. Learning to read wind is a bit easier with a bullet that drifts less. Long range .com is home to the top f-class shooters. Ask questions there and learn from the pro's. The savage is a great choice. I get beat up by them too often.

 

[Rust]

Even at the COL I load .308 to, I don't think I could pound 55.5 gr of Varget into the case with a hammer under a 155 Scenar or 175 SMK. If I did manage I might want to fire the rifle by remote control ;D

There is a very nice .308 Win info page on this sites home page, you might want to peruse the information there.

Because of the limited case capacity of the .308, you'll need to pick a bullet with enough BC to remain supersonic to 1,000 at the velocities you can attain out of your rifle. With a low enough velocity variation that vertical stringing isn't too bad, meaning you'll spend time getting to know your chrono.

Myself, I've been using 155 gr Scenars, RL-15, CCI primers and Lapua brass. Won't mention the exact powder charge because I've got a lot of freebore to play with which increases the amount of powder I can get away with. Also makes single loading the order of the day.

 

[1000yardstare]

rware91, hope your 55.5 gr of Varget is a typo. Might be wearing the firing pin as a lip ornament if you use it with 155s. The Sierra manual shows 44.8 gr of Varget and RL15 with the 155 MKing. I use a little heavier load of RL15 with 155 MKings to give 2850 fps but my OAL is .085" longer than the Sierra manual in a Ruger Target Rifle.

You have chosen a great rifle, good luck with it.

 

[rware91]

Hodgdon Varget 45.5+ CCI BR2 155 SMK Lapua
or Win 2950+ fps Jerry Tierney Palma Load
(Charge varies with lot)



This is what i based my load off of.
45.5 Varget
BR2 Primers
155 sierra match kings
and remington brass



so am i missing something here?

 

[rware91]

i just saw my typo guys thanks for the help. yeah there is no way in hell im gonna push 55.5 i ment 45.5

is this going to be a good load?

 

[fdshuster]

rware91: You are very close to my standard accuracy load , proven over dozens of averages of 5 shot groups at 2 & 300 yards, thru my heavy barreled Tikka 1-10. I've settled on 45 grs. of Varget, 155 Sierra #2155 MatchKing, seated to touch, WLR and/or Fed210M & Lapua brass. But would not feel bad using any other combination of powder charge, bullet ( 150 gr. #2190 also works well), seating depth, primer and even case. It's such an easy cartridge to load for, it seems almost any quality components will work well. There was an excellent, exhaustive article in the Dec/Jan 2009 issue of "Handloader" magazine, authored by Gary D. Sciuchetti titled "Developing an Accurate .308 Load", and his final findings were also very close to the load you mention.

 

[rware91]

thanks for all the help guys. i have one more question about seating depth. i am new to reloading and dont understand this. is it how "far" the bullet is inserted into the case? cuz what i did was measure a factory round with my caliper and then seated the bullet to match those rounds, is this ok?

 

[NateHaler]

i just saw my typo guys thanks for the help. yeah there is no way in hell im gonna push 55.5 i ment 45.5

is this going to be a good load?

You won't know until YOU try it.

 

[fdshuster]

rware91: As Nate said, you won't know 'til you try it, in your rifle, they are all different. Most of us (or all?) refer to seating depth as the relation between the bullet ogive and the beginning of the rifleing, normally referred to as the leade area. The Stoney Point, now Hornady, chamber o.a.l. gauge is one of the ways of determining that measurement, and it will vary depending on the throat depth, as cut by the chambering reamer. Some factory rifle's will have very deep/long throat depths, so long that it is not possible to seat the bullet(s) to touch and still keep them firmly in the case neck. There are a lot of excellent publications out there if you are "new to reloading". The Lyman 49 th edition has an excellent "how to" section in the front giving much detailed basic explanations, and if you want to get into reloading with accuracy being the main concern, "Precision Shooting" publishing has a very good book titled "Precision Shooting Reloading Guide". A lot of good info contained in the Sinclair catalog, (2009-B now available free), and also details the majority of tools and gauges that are available. The only way seating your bullets to the same depth in the case mouth as a factory round would have any meaning, would be if it were the same bullet: same ogive shape, length, exact weight, etc.

 

[ericskennard]

Why not consider the 175 grain. This is a fantastic bullet.

 

[fdshuster]

rware91: I should have jumped on this much sooner, as it relates to your question about seating depth: a picture really is worth a thousand words. Go to this sites home page, click-on Technical Articles ("Actions" with a picture of a receiver), shown above "Black Friday", click-on and scroll down to "Stoney Point oal gauge users guide----". Everything you could possibly want to know about bullet seating depth.

 

[JERRYHM]

The new Sierra 2156 (155 grains) has a much higher BC than the older Sierra 2155 (155 grain) bullet.
Some of the early test data I did for the Palma team.



The Rifle used in these tests:
Quadlite action
Robertson stock
NF BR 12 – 42X Scope
Krieger barrel 298/3075 - 30” - 1:13.5 twist
The rifle is shot in a BR/F class mode.

The current Round Count is: 1923


12-29-2008
100 yard chronograph testing, Sacramento, temp =43 degrees, humidity = 62%
Varget 2008 lot, Sierra 2156 bullets, OAL set for a jump of 0.027” at 2.900”

Load --- Case ---Primer ---MV-----ES-----SD----- Group ---- Comments
4x.0 --- Lapua – 210M --- 2986--- 06 ---- 03 ----- 0.312” ---
4x.5 --- Lapua – 210M --- 3024 --- 12 ---- 05 ----- 0.201” ---
4x.0 --- Lapua -- BR-2 --- 3004 --- 10 ---- 04 ----- 0.423” ---
4x.5 --- Lapua -- BR-2 --- 3033 --- 05 ---- 03 ----- 0.353” ---
4x.0 --- Win --- 210M --- 2993 --- 12 ---- 04 ----- 0.259” ---
4x.5 --- Win --- 210M --- 3014 --- 05 ---- 02 ----- 0.373” ---
4x.0 --- Win ---- BR-2 --- 3002 --- 11 ---- 04 ----- 0.358” ---
4x.5 --- Win ---- BR-2 --- 3021 --- 17 ---- 07 ----- 0.196” ---

 

[jhw1]

Savage F-T/R is a good choice. Two of the shooters on the USA F-T/R Team shot stock Savage .308 & helped the Team win Gold at the World Championship in Bisley this year.
I came back with 5 Gold medals.

John Weil
Team Savage
Team USA F-T/R

go to censhot.com for a look at the new light weight carbon fiber bipod. 1 lb 5 oz (approx) Site is still under construction.

 

[jhw1]

Oh, by the way my load is;

Lapua case
Varget powder @ 47.9gr = 3050
Federal 210M
Berger 155.5 bullet 20 thou off the lands.

Works well in my gun.