glockster157

I have been loading on a Dillon 550 for 25 years now and you can make very good quality ammo on it. I am sure the Hornady would be the same. I have never loaded 308's on the Dillon but I have loaded 30-06's and a lot of 223's. One trick I do on the bolt guns is I use a neck sizing die instead of the full length sizing die when I am loading for a varmint or target rifle AND the brass I am loading was fired in that rifle. I use ball powders that measure very accurately in the Dillon powder measure and I seat the bullets to the same length I would in the single stage. I catch them instead of letting them fall into the bin as I don't want to upset the bullet as it is out farther than normal. I have shot groups that were just as good as when I did the same loads on the single stage. If you are loading 308's for an auto rifle like a M1A, them you would not be able to neck size or seat the bullet out but the ammo will still be better than most you can buy because the quality is in the preparation and the components. Prep your cases properly, use good components, be consistent in your processes and you will make good ammo.

Winchester 748 or Hogdon H335 are both very good powders and i have had great success with them using 55 grain bullets. For IMR powders I use IMR 4198 but since going to a Dillon progressive years ago I have stuck with the ball powders because they so well through the powder measure. I have recently tried some Accurate 2520 with the heavier 77 grain bullets with very good results.

The newer ones are fine. When they originally came out there were a lot of feeding issues. The older models have the white front sight and the newer ones have the orange sight. I got lucky and caught a wood stocked model on sale at Dicks (gotta love that name) at a really good price. It came with 5 chokes and has been 100% reliable. It has the same inertial action as the Franchi I-12, if memory serves me correctly. The main difference between the Franchi and the Stoeger is the finish. The Benelli uses an inertial action also but the recoil spring is in the buttstock while the Franchi and the Stoeger use a spring under the barrel inside the hand guard. I really have not shot it much but I have had no malfunctions so far.

Yes, the good thing is you are hitting the target. the bad is at 6 yards the group size should be a lot smaller. My advice, slow down, speed comes with practice. As Harvey Penick used to say, practice makes permanent...perfect practice makes perfect. Practice working on smoothness, bring the weapon up, find the front sight and pressing the trigger...twice. Then step back and do it again, and again, and again.....soon you will find that there is one fairly small hole in that target.

I stand corrected, just looked at their website and it does have a 1-9" twist. That should work well up to 70 grainers and maybe even 77 grainers. Yay to Savage....I wish all th egun manufacturers were as sensible as they seem to be.

I agree on the newer bullets but watch out for the length. A lot of the heavier bullets are longer and if you have a 1-12" twist they may not stabilize. A lot of the bullets are made for the newer AR's with the 1-9" and 1-7" twist rate. I am not sure of the twist rate on Savage bolt guns but I doubt it is that quick.

The last one I had was a fairly clean 1972 version but "Jenius" me let it get away. I agree the MK III epoxy finish is not the prettiest but it is more durable than the polished blue. But the MKIII's have the factory throated barrels, the ambi safety of decent size and real sights. Grips are the hardest for me. I actually like the plastic MKIII grips because I have shorter fingers and they are thinner than the wood.

Glock's are rugged, 1911's are classic, Beretta's are racy but Hi-Powers are just plain sexy. I like my G34 and my G19 a lot. They are lighter, hold more rounds, are probably even more reliable...but when I pick up that MKIII Hi-Power, it just feels invigorating...for the lack of a better term. Or is it just me?

A couple of points. 1. If you want a max load I am going to assume you are trying to actually make a "Magnum" load. Bullseye is a poor choice for that. It is a great target powder though. As stated earlier, most soft or swaged lead bullets need to need to run slower, around 700-800 fps to leading. This can also be achieved in 38 special cases using even less powder, usually around 3.0 to 3.2 grains. I have rarely used Bullseye in 357 cases but I believe 4.5 to 5.0 for a target load was about right. I would go to Alliant's web page as they publish load data. 2. The exploding light charge rumor has been around longer than my 30 years of reloading. In all cases I have ever seen investigated, a double charge is the most likely cause, not a light charge. I used to load .5 grains in 38 cases with a toilet paper wad over the powder charge using 148 grain cast wadcutters as squib loads. Never had a problem. 3. If you want to produce a high performance load, use a much slower burning powder. I am a firm believer in Alliant 2400. Some use Hodgon H110/WW 296 (same powder BTW) and some like Alliant Blue Dot. In my experience, Blue Dot is a little unstable in light bullet loads and there was even a warning put out by Alliant some time back on Blue Dot. H110/296 works best with heavier bullets and longer barrels, plus it does not seem to be as cast bullet friendly as 2400. With 2400 you can get Magnum performance with light bullets, cast bullets(they still need to be hard cast and not swaged) or heavy bullets. I love the Keith 173 SWC over 13.5 grains. Very accurate. 4. One other compromise is a powder like Alliant Unique, which is one of the best cast bullet powders out there. It works well with jacketed bullets also. Very dirty powder but it is a classic and it will produce some of the most accurate loads with the least effort. It will turn your stainless guns black but a little solvent and a tooth brush will get them right back. Another medium powder is Accurate #5. I have had a little success with #5 but nothing like Unique. Last, but not least is WW 231/HP38(again same powder). I little faster powder than Unique but pretty flexible and a lot cleaner. Works great in 9mm's, 38 SPL's and 45 ACP's to boot. A medium burning powder like these will not get you the performance of 2400 but they give you a lot more velocity than a really fast powder like Bullseye. Still very economical. I have loaded 5.2 grains of 231 under anybodies 158 grain SWC bullet for a +P load of about 930FPS in 4" 357's for years. It will also shoot well in all steel 38's.

Phillip at Bellshire Hardware on Dickerson Road will mail it for you USPS at a very fair price.

I am embarrassed to say that I have been into the shooting sports for 30 years and even been in the gun business twice, but I have never personally owned a Winchester model 94. I was in a small shop Saturday and they had a clean 1971 model for a price so low I couldn't pass. I have owned a slew million Marlins but I want to shoot cast bullets in a 30-30 and Marlins are notorious for having slightly oversized bores with micro-groove rifling. I am hoping I can get my 170 and 150 grain lead bullets to shoot well in it. Either way it is a slick little rifle. As a luck would have it, I have a Williams receiver sight that fit right on it, so now I have to wait for some cooler weather to throw some bullets.

If I give $250 for something it is going to have good name brand on it. Plus, you don't need that much power, probably Chinese on top of everything else. I had a Millet 6-25x56 30mm a while back, just not clear on the top end.

The 257 Roberts is probably one of the best all around cartridges ever for the southern US. Loaded with light bullets it makes a fine varmint round for ground hogs and coyotes. With heavier 100-120 grain loads it is a fine deer cartridge. It is just behind the 25-06 in velocity but is much easier on barrels. You do need to hand load to maximize performance and cut costs. It is considered a very efficient and classy cartridge.

Nikons warranty is not nearly as good as Leupold from what I have heard. I have first hand experience with Leupold and it is excellent. Leupold Rifleman scopes were originally assembled from left over older Vari-X I tubes. These were not one piece tubes like the new ones. I don't know if they changed them later as I don't keep up with them but I would say they are are far cry better than Tasco. Tasco has gone way down since the old days. Bushnell 3200's are good and the 4000/4200 Elites are even better. If you can find the older Bausch & Lomb 4000 Elite you can usually get them in the 6-24 power for 300-350. They are brighter than Leupolds. I have a Weaver V16 (4-16x42)in good shape I would consider selling. It is a Dot with a fine cross hair not a Duplex but it is a pretty good and the scope is in great shape. PM me if you are interested.

I know I m the one that recommended the Simmons but I also agree with the others here that a good used Leupold is also a great choice. If you have to get the Simmons for now, it makes a great 22 scope when you do replace it with a better one. For example, I can see 22 caliber bullet holes in the black at 200 yards in the shade with my 20x Leupold. As much as I like the Simmons for the cost, don't expect that kind of performance. Good on a bright day, best at 16x and down but usable at 20x. One other thing, be sure to get a scope with a adjustable objective lens for parallax. I have bought good used 4-12x40 VXII's w/AO for $225-250. Just something to consider, I want you to make an informed decision and not feel like I was pushing you to the Simmons. I really would rather have the used Leupold if I had to choose.

I guess I win the lottery because I just rebarreled a 700BDL 30-06 from rusted out LW contour to new Remington factory pull Sporter Weight in 30-06 and it headspaced OK. I know it was just luck but I will take it. Again, I hate to argumentative, but I have 3 of these and I am having much better results than that. I bought them for 22's when I was heavy into CZ452's and was just going to use them for 50 yards. Since I have sold off a lot of 22's I have tried them on other rifles including a BDL in 223, a Savage 308 and a #1 in 6mm. I don't have any problems seeing a target at 300 to 400 yards. I have not shot at that distance. I have used them out to 250 without problems. I agree that It does not compare to my Leupold 6.5-20 Long Range Target or my VX3 but for a cheap scope it gets the job done. DO NOT BUY THE MIL-DOT version as the dots are too BIG and it is not usable. BTW, it has 152 4 and 5 star reviews at Midway out of 159. I have to agree with them. Simmons Whitetail Classic Rifle Scope 6.5-20x 50mm Adjustable Objective Truplex Reticle Matte - MidwayUSA I have looked at Tascos, Swift, BSA, Banners, Millets and others and they are all worthless above about 12x to 16x. Even then I have seen these not hold zero or not track properly. So far this has not been the case with these Simmons.

I use one on a G27(though I am putting it on my G19 now) but I also use the trigger blocks in conjunction with the clip draw. There is now way the trigger can be pulled by my clothes bunching up or catching on something. This trigger blocks pop out as you insert your finger into the trigger guard so it is not a hindrance to bringing the gun into action. If I put a clip draw on my SW 642 or 1911, I will not worry about the trigger.

First, let me say I love Remington 700's and have owned many. I have 3 right now. But one thing you need to consider is good glass and that is expensive. To stay within a budget of $800 or so, I would consider a Savage. I picked up a 12BVSS 26" fluted heavy barrel in 308 with the accu-trigger and it will shoot near one hole groups at 100 yards. I got it used and I recommend finding most rifles used as most never get shot much. If you are determined to stay with the Remington 700, I would look for an older BDL model because they have good adjustable triggers, most shoot really well and you can find them in the 450-500 range. Plus you can find the heavy barrels in 308. As to scopes, I always try to find a used Leupold. Leupolds have lifetime warranties and the few bad ones I have gotten over the years just got mailed back to them for about 12 bucks and came back fixed and shipped for free. You can't beat their service. Others that are good are Bausch & Lomb, Bushnell 4200 series, Weaver T's or V's, Burris or Nikon Monarchs or Buckmasters. The best cheap scope I have found is the Simmons Whitetail Classic from Midway. I have 3 of the 6.5-20x50's and they are all excellent...their not Leupolds but they ain't bad. As to powers you need at least a 3-9 but a 4 to 12 or stronger would be even better.

Agree on the CZ. I had several Americans and I picked up the synthetic stocked Silhouette. The Americans shot great but the Silhouette out shot them. It is not stainless but it sure will shoot. Ammo is important also. I have had best results with Wolf Match Target, SK Jag or Eley Sport. I have not been able to afford the super expensive stuff yet but these shoot in the same whole at 25 so why spend the money.

Just out of curiosity I sent Remington an email letting them know what happened. I got the usual automated response with a customary apology. They don't care. They wanted me to mail the duds to them and if they determined they were defective they would replace them. Luckily, I had already conned...convinced Walmart into taking them back. What can I say, I'm good.

I agree on the Federal bulk packs. They did not have any of those so in stock I took the Federal 325 target packs instead. Picked up some more CCI 100 packs also. Started with 1650 rounds and trade down to 1175 rounds. But if they will actually go bang it will be worth it. I have shot the Federal bulk in everything I own with decent to good results. I can even make them work in my CMMG AR conversion kit. It is really finicky. I had to polish the extractor to get the cheap federals to work on it but they finally did. I have had mixed results with the Winchester but nothing even close to the Remington. This stuff was bang, click, Bang-bang-click, in everything I tried it in yesterday. Side note. I shot some in my CZ452 Silhouette, this is a testament to the gun not the ammo. It still put 5 rounds of this crap into a 1" at 50 yards.

Picked up 3 of the Remington 550 bulk boxes a few weeks ago. I tried them in 3 different rifles and I am getting a lot of duds. Some will fire when restruck on a different section of rim but most will not. I got them at Walmart and took them back today. I know they have a no ammo return policy but I took a several of the duds with me that had multiple firing pin strikes. I actually got them to exchange the Remington for Federal. Their not supposed to by store policy. I will never buy the Remington 22's again. They were horrible.

As far as feeding the beast, it is not a plinker. You don't need that many rounds for a LW magnum rifle. I have dies you can use, I am sure we can find some brass as most folks don't reload for the 7 mag but a lot of people shoot it. Cost of reloading it is not much more than a 06. Do you still have those magnum primers? I have a couple pounds if IMR 7828, so we should be in business as soon as you come up with a little more brass.

There are a lot of things in this life that are too small.....we just have to learn to compensate with what we have! Just saying.........

Since modern BAR's are chambered for magnum calibers, I believe you would be fine with H4831. I know slow powders are hard on Garands but BAR's are designed for modern high performance factory ammo and I am sure they are loaded with slow powders.