First, picture is not mine, stole it from someone else here in a previous thread.
Just took my Tikka T3 in .308 out to ~600-700 yards for my first time and got it on target (10" steel disc) in 5 shots, it was only bore sighted at the gun store before. Happy as hell to finally have a place I can get between 500 and 1000 yards while in the mountains; we setup the targets on one side of the mountain, drive on the trail to the other side of the valley and setup there. Had a lot of fun and I think the long range but has bit me.
I was shooting ZQ1 M80 surplus and I have ~800 rounds of it and I'm saving the brass. I would like to reload for this and .300 blackout but I'm a bit lost in the whole process. I would like to be able to crank out 220gr blackout but I would also like to do precision 308 stuff. Any suggestions? I was thinking just a Lee turret press but considering a progressive. I'll post a picture of the location in a second.
Here's me taking a few shots at it. Was pretty damn cold.
>>27958860
Do you have any info for reloading on your rifle? OAL and what not? Or are you looking for some basics?
WHY IS EVERYTHING IN MY COUNTRY SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE
I ALSO HAVE TO BE 21 TO BUY A GUN FUCKING BULLSHIT
Whats the max range for .223 a friend wants to use it for goose hunting
>>27960076
depends on your load, hunting goose I would assume you don't need much force or penetration. however .223/5.56 has a hell of a time with wind past 600 yards (548.64 Meters) but with skill you could still make hits out to 1000 yards (914.40 )
77 grain smk would be my bet.
>>27958860
Anyone still hanging around?
>>27960217
Sorry, I left for a while.
>>27959959
Honestly, no I don't. I guess I'm looking for some basics, I was going to actually start with the Lee classic kit, and get some die sets (two 4-hole turret discs). Guess I got to get the powder, primers and bullets.
>>27961070
I would really hammer out what kind of reloading that you are going to be doing. While the kit will do fine for getting you started odds are you will end up replacing 3/4ths of it within two years, and that shits' not cheap.
If I were you I'd go on some of the other weapon related web pages and learn about various .308 loads and the equipment they use and why. This might get you in the ball park. However don't just go ask what would be a good load as most of them are listed on the net somewhere and what you'd be asking is more personal their " pet loads" which is fairly rifle/shooter specific.
tl;dr : go read/ youtube before asking questions.
>>27958860
I have a lee loadmaster and I use it to load 308, 6.5creedmoor, 300 win mag, 44 magnum, 45acp, and 223. For the price it can't be beat, the only problem is it is a little cranky and needs some work to set up how you like to run your operation. For dies, I love hornady. They seem to work the best for me and I havent had any troubles with cases getting stuck. That said use Imperial die wax. It is the best thing there is to lube your cases.
If you want to load 308 for precision I recommend 175gr Sierra Match Kings with 44gr of Varget Powder, 40gr of XBR8208, or 41.5gr of H4895. Cut your brass to 2.005" and get your overall case length to 2.80" With all three of those loads I am shooting 1/2 moa and getting 2650fps from a 24" barrel.
>>27961282
Thanks, will do. I would like to learn before buying, and at the same time I'm not wanting to necessarily get the 'best money can get', but just something that does it without too much frustration.
I guess most of the long range guys aren't on tonight.
>>27961586
Awesome! Thanks. I'll definitely double check reloading books before using someone else's, but I do appreciate the recommendation. How is that press? The reviews on Midway seem to make me a bit skeptical.
Is there anything inherent about a progressive that would make it less capable of producing ammo of the same accuracy as a turret or single stage?
>>27961614
probably not, most of /k/ seems to be " bangity bang" close range steel folks. Not a bad thing.
>>27961638
Too be fair I set it up more like a turret press meaning after I deprime, size, and reprime I use an RCBS powder charge, individually load my cases and then seat my bullet. I still use the progressive feature to load my handgun rounds though.
A progressive wounldnt necessarily make your loads any less accurate, but you would still need to weigh your powder charge separate from the press and then add it to your case, then finish it in the progressive.
Honestly go watch a few videos on turret and progressive presses and see which one would fit what you intend to to better. My instinct leads me to say a turret would be the best for most situations.
Also check out this site for load data. Comes straight from the powder manufacturer. http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle
>>27961736
Start with a single stage press. Speed comes with time. I'm set up to load .308 and including everything I have:
Lee single stage
Quick trim die
quick trim trimmer thing.
Sizing/decapping die
bullet seating die
vibratory tumbler and media
small scale
lee powder dispenser
calipers
primer pocket cleaner
loading book
Think that's about it. Just start out slow and steady.
Thanks guys, I'll look at piecing together a turret press when funds allow, or perhaps start out with a kit. I've definitely got some learning to do before then though; just frustrating that every source you go, or youtube video, they always throw in their little tips/tricks/technicalities that detract from learning the basics.
Get a single stage if you want to get top precision. If your just looking for decent cheap and fast get a progressive. Try to get a cast iron one too.
>>27961614
I'd go with an RCBS press if at all possible. You'll want a full length die set (I'd also recommend RCBS), a powder measure (Lee makes a cheap one that is good enough), a powder scale (electronic, not beam), case lube (I use a pad), a brass tumbler, medium, a caliper, case trimming tools, a deburring and champfering tool, maybe a hand primer if your press doesn't have one, a case lube pad, a seating die, and you'll want some of the cheapo blue boxes to store the rounds/brass in.
I'm sure I'm missing something, but the startup cost even before buying the components of the ammunition is considerable.
For distance shooting it's hard to go wrong with Nosler 168 HPBT Match bullets, but they're expensive, and the rifling in my rifle doesn't like them. A good powder, which is widely available and has a good burn rate for .308 is IMR 4895. It's certainly not the best at anything, but it's a good all around power. I use CCI no. 200 large rifle primers, since IMR is stick powder and magnum primers are meant for ball powder. Lake City brass is a good brand to consider for long ranged loads as it's a little thicker and will hold up better to high pressure loads. Get the annealed stuff if you can for a tiny bit more.
If you have any specific questions I can try my darndest to answer them, I love seeing people my age getting into reloading and distance shooting.
The big thing is how far down the rabbit hole you want to go for reloading. There are so many things that 90% or reloaders dont do that start adding up and could be the difference between 3/8" groups, 1/2", 3/4" and 1"+.
If you're going for the best, i have used a friends stuff for turning necks and used his neck bushing dies to get super conistant neck tension and mic'd total boxes of bullets and all that goodness. I decided it eas further tha i wanted to go because for me i was looking at 3/8 vs 5/8 and i had a hard time shooting the difference. Spendinf all the time on case prep was outside what i wanted.
Typing on a phone sucks ao ill add more info tomorrow
>>27963514
This guy's right. Whereas I'm happy with .75 MOA groups that allow me to hunt (coyotes) out to about 500-600 yards effectively, some people have different standards. How far do you want to shoot? How accurate do you want to be at that distance? What do you consider an acceptable shot group at 100? These things will also influence your load heavily. Are you planning on shooting 1000 yards? 800? 500? You'll want different powders, primers, bullets, and brass for different situations. What do you want out of all of this?
Frankly if you just enjoy shooting really far and being accurate enough to hit large targets a mosin is a fun gun to have. I still think my mosin is one of my favorite guns to shoot when I can throw the lead out 1000+ meters, but I wouldn't dream of hunting with the thing beyond 200 meters.
>>27963514
>>27963594
While I don't reload myself, many of my shooting buddies do. There is a couple that load just to plink where ~ MOA is good enough and we just happily blast plates all day.
My friends that do spend a lot of time in case prep etc seem to spend most of their time at the range shortening their lives with high blood pressure at the 100 yard line than they do having fun.
