The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

I got on well with the Lapua Scenar 168/167 at 600 yards however my 'Go to' bullets for .308 are the 155 Scenar and the 170 Lockbase with the former occasionally being pointed prior to use dependant on distance.

The Lapua Type L also work nicely from 600 to 1000 yards.

Cast bullets are fine for accurate shooting out to 600 without anything special in the alloy department just good quality control. In my rifles my averages were always better with good cast bullets that with good condom bullets the cast are just that bit more accurate as they are easier to tailor to your firearm.

The 311299 is a good target bullet if its twin dimensions fit your rifle. Loverins like the 311407 will shoot well as they are easy to get to fit different rifles freebore but rarely give the best accuracy.

Cast bullets usually work best if they are heavy for the calibre, although the 311440 and the 311441 designs have also performed well for me over the years.

In the heavy bullet range along with the bore riding 311299 the 311229, 311331, 311332 and the 311284 have always shot well in 30 calibre rounds.

Not at all being a fan of the 308 cartridge I haven't shot it as much as I have interesting calibres but in my Ishapore 2A1 the preferred bullet for me at present is the SAECO 315.

All the usual cast bullets caveats apply, good freebore and groove fit or good groove/bore fit for the bore rider designs and a soft, tough alloy rather than a hard, brittle one. Gas checks may or may not help it will depend on the gun. For 600 yards velocities of around 1800 fps are more than adequate as we are shooting at know distances a flat trajectory isn't so important a good lube is necessary and you are asking a lot for coatings like liquid Xlox to perform well at this velocity range however NRA 50/50 type lubes are more than adequate, personally I use 2500 for everything and it has never failed me at velocities up to 2600 fps in cast.

Powders, fast rifle powders are good for this velocity range. My powder of choice is Vihtavuori N120 both for performance and availability.

meles meles wrote:
Bullets, ooman, BULLETS. Heads is where you go to take a leak...

but you knew what I meant didn't you !

meles meles wrote:

Heads is where you go to take a leak...

Is that just a USN term or is it also used in the Royal Navy?.....

Did you know it is called a "head" because in the early Navy days the toilet was located at the front of a ship right at the bow, also called the Head, and the action of the waves helped to clear it out.

We can't vouch for the septics, but it is definitely RN terminology...

Dromia,

What were those reference numbers you quoted for the cast bullets ? Bullet references? If so, from what supplier? Or NOE mould references ?

Lyman/Ideal are the original reference numbers for their designs.NOE do their own versions of them. The SAECO is an Eagan design.

Well oomans, after checking 4 different books and consulting People Who Know Such Things, we have assembled 15 rounds of cast bullets for a trial at 100, 300 and 600 mards. We've settled on 240 gn NOE gas checked bullets over 23.3 grains of Alliant 2400 in once fired and neck sized GGG 7.62 brass. COAL is 2.8 inches. We settled on the Alliant powder and the charge for it as it seems a well recommended load somewhere in the moderate pressure region for this combination. If it works well and groups tightly we'l leave things well alone. If it isn't making tight groups but shows no signs of pressure we'll start working our way up the ladder.... assuming we still have a head and paws left.

Well I am not sure where you get the data from but that seems to me to be getting too far up near maximum for my comfort especially as you are using a heavy/long bullet which seats well into the case and doesn't leave much room for any seating depth error.

As I said in my post I would recommend a slightly slower powder like N120 or Reloader 7 if wedded to Alliant.

Now tell me what signs of pressure might be?

We're feeling them now: tremblin' paws, sweating, hardly daring to pick up the micrometer to re-check the seating depth to see if it's changed since we last checked...


Otherwise..


Hard extraction
Mis-shapen primer
Gas or soot around the primer
Bulged primer
Imprinted primer (ie extractor / bolt face markings)

snayperskaya wrote:

meles meles wrote:

Heads is where you go to take a leak...

Is that just a USN term or is it also used in the Royal Navy?.....

Did you know it is called a "head" because in the early Navy days the toilet was located at the front of a ship right at the bow, also called the Head, and the action of the waves helped to clear it out.

Yeah but in later days it was moved to the back end, what became the 'Poop' deck, the sailor had had enough of 'Peeing into the wind' by then!