Need to feed my new Remington 700

[BlueOvalBandit]

Most of the ranges around here don't allow FMJ for rifles.

Is it they don't like FMJs or they don't like bimetal jackets or anything else that attracts a magnet?

I really can't think of a single reason why copper jacketed FMJs would be disallowed and going to 150 FMJs can get decent savings.

If the ranges are just crazy and ban all FMJ's you can get 150gr soft points from Hornady and Prvi for about the same price. They also make 308 plated bullets for 30-30's but I don't know how well they will perform, plated is iffy to me.

Another option is head over to Missouri Bullets and get yourself some coated lead bullets (I'd go this route for staying on the cheap side)

Missouri Bullet Company

 

[smokindog]

It's FMJ they forbid. They actually have to be SP, HP, ... or other "expanding rounds"

Is it they don't like FMJs or they don't like bimetal jackets or anything else that attracts a magnet?

I really can't think of a single reason why copper jacketed FMJs would be disallowed and going to 150 FMJs can get decent savings.

If the ranges are just crazy and ban all FMJ's you can get 150gr soft points from Hornady and Prvi for about the same price. They also make 308 plated bullets for 30-30's but I don't know how well they will perform, plated is iffy to me.

Another option is head over to Missouri Bullets and get yourself some coated lead bullets (I'd go this route for staying on the cheap side)

Missouri Bullet Company

 

[smokindog]

I used that already They need to move that store further from me!!!!

Glad you got a selection of bullets, now my only question is--did you use your $10 off Cabela's coupon too?

 

[lrrifleman]

To the OP:

I have shot 308 for almost 27 years. During that time, most rounds fired were either MatchKing or FMJ. When I dabbled with the idea of shooting high power metallic silhouette, I bought 500 or so 165 soft pointed GameKings. They would be my suggestion for a dual purpose non FMJ bullet.

I would like to share a recent observation, not to be confused as a thread deviation. I have (within the past 2 years) acquired 2 Remington 700s which demonstrated poor accuracy with factory ammo. One was in 308, the other in 7mm Remington Magnum. The 308 was a Varmint model, the 7mm was a Long Range. In both, factory ammo loaded to magazine length was producing 4+ MOA groups at 100 yards. The 7mm also demonstrated tough extraction. On both I found that the two rifles had very long leades, causing excessive bullet jump. In order to get acceptable accuracy, I have to load my MatchKings between 0.010"-0.015" long. I strongly suggest that you use a Hornady or a Stoney Point tool to measure the leade on your rifle.

Both rifles were purchased brand new, and by the time I identified the problem, the 7mm had less than 300 rounds through it, and the 308 had about 600 rounds through it.

 

[novalty]

I have the VLS version of the 700, and found a significant jump between magazine length and the throat. Loading to the lands produced an OAL of 2.960" and loading to fit be magazine made the OAL 2.810". I have just been shooting mine .020" off the lands and feeding it single shot--going to try loading to fit the magazine and hope the accuracy doesn't go to heck.

 

[lrrifleman]

@Novalty:

I discovered the leade/bullet jump issues while trying to develop 1000 yard loads for F class matches. With my 308 Varmint, I started using Mil Surplus XM118LR rounds, and on a true 1000 yard range, I was lucky to get a 25-30 shot group that would stay inside a 3 foot circle at 1000 yards. On my home 1000 yard range, which is actually about 1040 yards, 1 was lucky if I could get the XM118LR to stay on the 6ft by 6ft target frame.

Sadly, I saw the same performance on a Remington 700 Long Range in 7mm Remington Magnum, except the icing on the cake was an extremely rough chamber! I am finding that after Remington relocated, their quality control has plummeted.

 

[Fishinfool]

Basic Hornady 150 SP's are about the cheapest non - FMJ bullets out there, and tend to shoot well, at least in my rifles, usually better than the typical FMJ bullet (non-target). They are what I use, over H4895 in my .308's when I want good accuracy and function (several semi's in the mix) for cheap. 168 grn. Match Kings for best accuracy, and I really like Nosler Partitions as big game bullets.

Larry

 

[novalty]

@Novalty:

I discovered the leade/bullet jump issues while trying to develop 1000 yard loads for F class matches. With my 308 Varmint, I started using Mil Surplus XM118LR rounds, and on a true 1000 yard range, I was lucky to get a 25-30 shot group that would stay inside a 3 foot circle at 1000 yards. On my home 1000 yard range, which is actually about 1040 yards, 1 was lucky if I could get the XM118LR to stay on the 6ft by 6ft target frame.

Sadly, I saw the same performance on a Remington 700 Long Range in 7mm Remington Magnum, except the icing on the cake was an extremely rough chamber! I am finding that after Remington relocated, their quality control has plummeted.

Not sure when they relocated, but my 700VLS is date stamped '84 on the barrel, and the serial number prefix corresponds to that. Just shooting at 100 yards like it sound smokindog will be doing. Unfortunately, my shooting ability isn't good enough that I can blame the accuracy on the rifle--guess if I load OAL to fit the mag and my current groups get worse then I suspect that will be rifle related.

 

[smokindog]

While watching videos and reading, I came across this video.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIMvK9espCw[/ame]

See the channels in the table that the press is secured to? I've been looking for those. I looked around the ultimate reloader site to no avail.

Anyone know where/how to find those?

 

[novalty]

I believe this is what you are looking for, well at least an example. Referred to a T-tracks in my web searching, which pulled up a couple forums with reloading.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/ALUMINUM-MITER-T-TRACK-Peachtree-Woodworking/dp/B000KV14PY"]48" ALUMINUM MITER T-TRACK WITH MITER T- BAR by Peachtree Woodworking - PW1036 - Table Saw Accessories - Amazon.com@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31VxSwUSFEL.@@AMEPARAM@@31VxSwUSFEL[/ame]

This site has some pics of a bench being assembled and the tracks being used: New Reloading Bench - TexasCHLforum.com

 

[elpac3]

150 Nosler ballistic tips

 

[Chukar60]

Great timing on this thread. Just picked up my first 308. Came in here looking for some pet loads to start with.
Thanks for the information.