vujade

The only issues I've seen is if you fire the Russian steel cased stuff AND THEN fire some brass ammo. The brass seems to get stuck. It may be the sealant/lacquer they use in the steel cased ammo? No issues with the 'bear/wolf/tiger' ammo out of an AK. It's just quite dirty. (not corrosive though).

yep. drove me crazy at first. then I started to measure the bullets and as Clod said, even the match bullets (both SMK and Hornady TAP) are all slightly different.

From what I'm reading, neck sizing fire formed cases should increase accuracy. Are there any instances when it would not? Or, all things the same (powder, primer, bullet, etc.) why would groups get larger (odd flyers) when you neck size? On some heavier loads - (once that didn't show any high pressure signs before) (and WAY below printed maximums), the bolt is a little sticky when pulling up to extract the bolt. I'll also note that this particular rifle seems to have a VERY tight chamber. (It loads factory rounds ok but what i thought was full size resized and worked for another rifle wouldn't fit this rifle). thanks!

hi guys, Say you have a new in box rifle. I'm curious to know what is your are your procedures/philosophies on STARTING to build that load. Do you run some factory ammo in there first and see which ones 'work' and then start by replicating it (using the same bullet type/weight and velocity)? Do you use a known good load that you've had success with another rifle and then work it up/down/sideways (change something else) until it's customized for that rifle? Say you don't have factory ammo and would rather use reloads from the get go - do you start by pick any bullet and then do the ladder test to discover the best powder weight first? Or pick the a middle the road weight and try out a whole lot of bullets?

guys. sorry I forgot to update this. I sent an email to SWFA. This is what I received the next day: --- Based on what you have described, this sounds more like a mounting issue. Without seeing your weapon, I cannot say definitively, but I want to say that your mounts are too close to the turret saddle and this is putting stress on the internal aspect of the scope and this is why you are experiencing this issue. If this is the case, I would loosen the rings and position them closer to the center of the main tube or throat. This should remedy what you are experiencing. Thank you, --- So I did...I loosened the mounting rings. (they seemed fine) but I moved the rear one maybe a few mm so that it's about exactly centered. I tightened it to 14 inch/pounds (I had it at 15 prior) just to be safe. Looked at a target (neighborhood shingles and roof tops) at 100 and 200 yards and wow! No parallax issues! I still have to have it set (parallax setting) to 15-18 meters (which is odd) but with no parallax up/down/side/side, I'm good to go. I'll just pretend the 10m on the scope really means 100 meters! Thanks for the help/suggestion!

guys, sorry i'm a newb here; so some more questions. I have a target out at about 100 yards (ok, it's my neighbor's porch light). I have the rifle on a pretty firm rest (it's not moving). I made sure the crosshairs are as 'tight as can be' by focusing on the sky and then re-checking by focusing on a wall. I'm now going to leave that setting. If I adjust the parallax setting, its most clear (where the target is clear/sharp WITH the crosshairs also clear/sharp) when the parallax setting is around 15 meters/yards (i'm not sure what the measurement on the scope is). If I crank it to 100 - it's pretty darn fuzzy. I tried the test, I don't touch the rifle - i just line my eyes up and look through the scope. if I move my head left - right, I'm good! almost no parallax (it'll does still move a little). However, when I move my eyes up and down, there is movement on the crosshairs relative to the target. Is that normal? As a test, I stuck a bore sighter on there and target a the soda can I have on a tree (bb gun) that is 20 yards. The laser is not moving but in all parallax setting, that movement is obvious. The movement of my eye, should it be VERY minor? or am I maybe moving my head too much. I'm trying to get the tightest group, i don't want any of it related to some parallax error. Should I assume that when the sharpest image IS, that is the setting where parallax is minimal? Could it be a scope issue? (I know this ain't a S&B or US Optics) but I reckon is still not a walmart special and should be decent enough for what I'm trying to accomplish.

good info. I'll be reading up and then I'll play with setting it up again. I couldn't pass it up for $100. (no visible damage/clean/like new condition). It's replacing a Nikon buckmaster 4-14x. I know that's probably a superior scope but I'll be putting that on another rifle. And this SS (yeah, I think that other name is silly too so I just say it's SS) will work for what I'm trying to accomplish. (and it matches the rifle/stock and it's just as good to look good than work good right). =) thanks guys!

very nice. I love the Fenix lights! for the flashlights that you listed, I like the idea that you can use cheap and easy to find AA or AAA batteries.

oh, I'll add this. I also have a Nikon Buckmasters 4-14x40. On that one, If i'm looking at something at 100 yards, I set the parallax at 100 yards and it's crystal clear. (likewise at targets at 50 yards and moving the parallax setting to 50 yards).

for reference, I'm using this scope: SWFA SS 10x42 From what I'm reading, there is a distinct difference between parallax and focus although they are somewhat related. The SS10x42 has the rear parallax adjustment at the back (normally where you would adjust the variable magnification). There is then the eyepiece where you adjust the focus. I've tried to adjust a newly installed scope by pointing it at the sky with the parallax set to infinity. I then start to adjust the focus until the crosshairs are tight/not fuzzy. I then put the cross hairs on something I know is at 100 yards and adjust the parallax to be set at 100 yards. However, if adjust the parallax down to say 30 or 40, it's actually more clear! If I focus on something at say 50 yards, it's most clear when I set the parallax to 15! Is that normal? Do I set it to the 'proper' parallax setting at the cost of being clear or is it best to have it set at the most clear it can be (and have to wonder if I'll have parallax point of impact errors). What am I trying to accomplish? I just want to have the tightest groups I can, minimizing any errors such as POI changes.

First, i know these are only 2 groups but after much experimenting..i think i found the right load and OAL combination. Thanks everyone who's helped! It's been a huge learning (and continues to be) opportunity. I shot the group on the bottom first. I couldn't see if I hit anything since i replaced the Nikon 4-14x got and a fixed 10x scope instead. I then shot the group on the top. There was a range clear and I walked to the target in surprise! 100 yards. Savage 10FP. I changed to a SWFA SS 10x scope. 168 Hornady TAP. 42.1 grains of Varget. win primers. Fed cases. OAL 2.857 (.60 to the lands). I just made some more. I'm sure the stars aligned for the groups above and there was some luck there. (I think my rifle is just a .60 to .75 rifle; at least most of the groups are about that) but it's nice to get a nice group you can cover a dime with. When I got back to my bench, a guy to my right set up to shoot a muzzle loader and the guy to my left had this round that looked a good 50% bigger than my 308! Nice rifle but Geez it was loud and was literally pushing me with his muzzle blast. So i stopped there and called it a day. =)

I normally (99%) clean them after each range visit. Often, I clean them pretty quick at the range. I just pack up maybe 15 minutes before everyone else does so by the time my party is ready to leave, i would have cleaned most if not all of my guns already. Granted it's not a DETAILED clean but it's mostly field stripped (for example, I'll take apart the AK (which isn't a lot) except for the gas tube area). I find that it's easier to clean them when they are still warm. On my 10/22 though, I tend to clean the barrel and wipe it down after every range visit (about 200 rounds) and then do a full field strip every 2 range trips or 400 rounds. Nothing scientific..I just shoot the 22s a lot and sometimes I get lazy. Main thing is to not rush it too much; I've seen folks ram the cleaning rod a good 6 inches past the muzzle and yank it back while the patch is still wobbling. I think you'd seriously wound a crown/muzzle that way. With that, I'd rather have a dirty gun than a damaged clean one. But i'd rather have a clean gun that was cleaned properly.

hi! I've got a savage 10 in 308 as well that I'm developing a load for. i'd love to hear how yours goes. Mine seems to love the Hornady AMAX. The SMK likewise. Both in the 168 grain variety. I'm using 42 grains of Varget (not very hot). I'm actually just looking at some data I got today after a trip to the range trying out different OALs.

another OAL related question... When I reseated some of the bullets, they seemed loose. I was able to compress it down into the case with the calipers while measuring OAL. I know that's bad since it will increase pressure. I pulled it out somewhat and now it holds and it's still within the OAL i'd like. I assume with a semi-auto, that's probably bad. but since I'm using a bolt action and single feeding slowly, it should be ok right? I decided to not crimp yet (one less thing to buy for now) since I'm not running them on a semi auto anyway. the bullets that seem to do this (just a handful) I believe were previously pulled out (since I see marks like they were once loaded. I pulled the bullet out and redid a few with AMAX from the box and it seemed to hold. hmm. (i measured them and they are all the same diameter).

3 hours later and I loaded about 25 ish rounds. =) thanks for the info Dolomite. I started with a ladder test a few weeks ago (my first session) (42 grains all the way to 44something in .5 increments. the 42 seemed to be best). the 25 something rounds I just loaded were loaded with 42 grains since that seems to be the best) starting with a 2.800 OAL (replicating the factory Hornady TAP which the guns likes and I'm using similar bullets (the 168 AMAX with the red tip). I made some at 2.830. then 2.860 and finally just a few rounds to retest the ones I was disappointed with last time (2.890) (which is .030 to the lands). I hope to test it tomorrow!

beautiful art; I love the b/w. Thanks for sharing!

and fun it is!

thanks for bringing me back to reality guys! I just loaded up on some 168 bullets from the store. Hope to reload some this weekend and hopefully back to the range in not too long of a time!

I appreciate your comments Jonnin. For the first year of owning the rifle, I thought it was a dud because all forums said how Savage rifles should be making 1 hole groups and all I could muster was a slightly less than half inch at 100 with FGMM/Hornady TAP. Reloading threads on forums likewise was starting to set my expectations too high. To answer your question - it's a Nikon 14x40 scope and I know there is some human error as well since even with sandbags, I know I can't be aiming at the exact dot every single time and I only allowed a few seconds to let the barrel cool between shots (although after each 2 groups, I cleaned the bore and rested for 3 or so minutes. I know the barrel was hot but perhaps over estimated a bull barrel. I also purchased the rifle used. (it's an older Savage 10fp pre-accutrigger). Is it unreasonable that a barrel could be worn out? (I can certainly see the rifling but what is a true test?) I never thought of that. I've only tried loads from 42 to 43.5. I need to try some lower powered ones and give it more time.

thanks for the advice guys. I had just assumed closer to rifling = better. I'll also look into a flat base bullet. so many options/conditions/combinations with only millimeters at stake! You'd think it would drive one crazy but it's so much fun.

slugs and buckshoot work well. I tried 2 boxes of cheap bulk from Walmart. The first box had a FTE every magazine (mag of 5). The 2nd box seemed to go better (the last 4 mags all fed/fired/ejected). I've since helped polished some of the areas and I'll can't wait to test it out again! (also, I'm reading that those 'booster' pucks aren't any good. i place an MD arms one (not the special one, just the $10 one). I wonder if that causes some of the issues. I may try the factory one just to try.

I finally jumped in with drill and dremel and did it... (and it wasn't so bad afterall!) Before: After:

Hi guys, Can I pick your brains... Reloading for a Savage 10fp in 308. 20 inch barrel. With Factory loads (Hornady TAP/FGMM), I average .5-.75 inches @ 100 yards. Shooting off a stable platform of sandbags in the front and back. Reloading on Fed cases. Winchester primers. Varget powder. 168 Hornady Amax and 168 SMK. Cases trimmed to 2.005. OAL 2.800. My first reloads (forgot to trim but the cases were under 2.015) netted 3 shot groups in the .4-.7 inch mark. A slight improvement over the factory. I only tested powder weight from 42-43.5 (.5 increments) but the 42 grains of Varget seemed to have the smallest deviations/groups. Just recently, I got a hold of a tool (someone was helping me so I don't know what this is called) but it used a once fired case and the calipers to measure where the bullet meets the rifling/lands (!?). Any, that tool said to increase OAL a bit. We started conservatively. In the end, the cases were 2.875 (averaged since the tips of the bullets were not all uniform). Using a 42 grains and cases OAL at 2.875... I was disappointed that all the shots were .75-.9 inches. (I shot 7 groups (3 for SMK, 4 for AMAX). I plan to dial it back to make them shorter but I had thought it would have made things better. Is there something I missed? As a test, I had 3 rounds from my 'last' batch where they rounds OAL were 2.800 can it made a clean .500 group. I plan to make some more rounds of a the shorter variety but I'm open to some comments/advice/etc.on any thing else that may cause this/ways to make the groups shrink. (the only other factor was that I trimmed the cases this time) I just want to make some 1 ragged hole groups like I see on the internet. =)

thanks guys. Dolomite... in a different thread, you had mentioned something about installing barrels and that you minimize headspace and that makes brass 'grow less'. (forgive the rough paraphrase). This much case growth isn't a sign of that is it? In other words, it's within reason that a case can grow this much after only 2 firings? I also didn't know they have separate neck/body sizing dies. (mine is the one that does the neck, body and pops the primer out) Thanks _Bert. I'll cut it AFTER I resize. That makes sense.

hello. I'm reloading 308. Federal cases. Question - The length of factory cases (not fired yet) are between 2.007 - 2.010 inches (Federal and Hornady cases). Once I fired them and put them through station 1 of a Dillon, they have grown to 2.021 to 2.027. My question - Is that normal "growth" after just 2 firings (the shot when shooting them as factory loads and the 2nd shoot after shooting them as the first reload)? If the manual says case length should be 2.015... does that mean it's not safe to fire them if they are longer than that and I should always trim them whenever they are over 2.015? thanks guys!