308 win problems

[corbin9191]

Well I have been trying some loads in my marlin xs7 308 win and I have not been able to find a load that will shoot decent in this gun, by decent I mean under 1 inch at 100 yards. I have tried one load that put 2 bullets at .6 inches from center to center and the third bullet was about 2 1/2 inches high. That load consisted of 47 grain of IMR 4064 and there was no pressure signs but I dont plan on using any more powder than 47 grains. I seated the bullet at 2.800 inches and the bullet is a 150 grain bullet that i puled from some cheap magtech ammo I bought for breaking the barrel in. The powder that I have currently for this gun is IMR 4064 and the bullets I have is 168 grain hornady A-Max 180 grain speer hot core and 150 grain bullets that I pulled from the magtech bullets. I have not made it to the store yet to buy some 150 grain nosler BT's. Any ideas on some loads or what I can do? Thank you

 

[Desert Fox]

308 is not that finicky. You should be able to find a good load for it easily. 4064 is one of the best powder for 308. If that doesn't work, try Varget, H4895, Reloader 15 and BLC-2. Goodluck!

 

[TScottW99]

I load for three .308wins. I have yet to find one that will not shoot sub MOA with 42 - 46 grains of Varget and Nosler 165 grain BT. CCI LR primers. Have used three brands of brass, Nosler, Lapua & Remington.

I have never tried any other powder but Varget in the .308s, no need to so far (KNOCK ON WOOD) :lol:

 

[DrMike]

As the others have said, the .308 is not a particularly finicky cartridge. Finding a load that shoots accurately should not be a problem, unless the rifle needs some attention.

 

[rick smith]

Any pressure on the barrel from the stock?Rick.

 

[1Shot]

It is most likely the pulled bullets that are causing your inaccuracy.
If you get you some good Nosler BT or Sierra 150 gr bullets and load 46.1 grs of IMR 4064 you will see a big difference. If you have some IMR 4895 use 43 grs with the 150 gr bullets. I shoot this load and it is very accurate. If you want a real tack driver, deer drop them in their tracks killer, get some 125 gr Nosler BT and load 46 grs IMR 4895 in a WW case with a CCI -BR2 primer OAL 2.742 . It is supper accurate and really hammers deer.
For your 168 gr bullets use 41.4 grs IMR 4064 .
If you check a Sierra manual you will see that all these suggested loads are under max loads and the 150 and 168 gr load with IMR 4064 is the accuracy load they list in the 4th edition manual and they are exactly that, accurate.

To shoot accurate groups you sometimes need to tighten up on the nut behind the butt plate.

 

[corbin9191]

Any pressure on the barrel from the stock?Rick.

Before I even shot the rifle I free floated the barrel so there is no pressure points. I thought the same as you but realized that I had already free floated the barrel.

 

[YoteSmoker]

First, I'd pick one or two bullets to try and if it was me, it would be a 150 or 165 accbuond. Next, get a can of varget and 4064 or just varget and a bag of new winchester or remington brass and work up test loads mid scale to high end in .5 grain increments. I bet you'll find a group in no time! It sounds to me like you are starting out with too many variables and crappy components. I understand shooting that stuff up for barrel break in but you can't honestly expect it to perform well past that.

 

[YoteSmoker]

Fed 210 or WLR primers would be good to add to those ingredients also.

 

[DrMike]

YoteSmoker has given some excellent advice. I tend to restrict myself to 150s and 165s in the .308. You will undoubtedly find a great load in no time with fewer variables and quality components.

 

[corbin9191]

Fed 210 or WLR primers would be good to add to those ingredients also.

The primers that I have are CCi large rifle 250 magnum and CCI BR-2.

 

[corbin9191]

First, I'd pick one or two bullets to try and if it was me, it would be a 150 or 165 accbuond. Next, get a can of varget and 4064 or just varget and a bag of new winchester or remington brass and work up test loads mid scale to high end in .5 grain increments. I bet you'll find a group in no time! It sounds to me like you are starting out with too many variables and crappy components. I understand shooting that stuff up for barrel break in but you can't honestly expect it to perform well past that.

Hopefully I will be going up to cabelas here in the next day or two and I will pick up some powder and some new brass. What brass would be the better choice between the winchester and the remington? The brass that I have been using is federal. But I WILL pick up some new brass. Thank you all for the help that you have given me.

 

[DrMike]

Use the primers you have, especially the BR-2s. They will work, just remember that when you do change primers you will want to drop back your charge and work it up carefully. Federal brass will work just fine. I tend to prefer Winchester over Remington, but either will work just fine for you. Again, as you change components, work up to ensure that you have a safe load for the new recipe.

 

[SJB358]

My favorite load for my wifes 308 is 47gr's of Varget, Hornady 150gr SST and a CCI BR2. It shoots out at 2875 and is very accurate. Later on I will change up to Abonds but the SST's have done well. Scotty

 

[buckfever]

I have really good luck with Varget and 150gr bts and RL 15 with 165 bts and for the 180s give IMR 4350 a try they seem to work really well in my Dads pre 64 M70 featherweght.

 

[corbin9191]

Well I think I found the reason my rifle was not shooting very good. I was looking at the rifle and when I touched the ( plastic :evil: ) trigger guard it was loose. So I took the trigger guard off and looked at the rear bolt and the bolt had broke the trigger gauard and the bolt was just sitting there. So on monday I am going to call marlin up and see if they will replace the guard. Hopefully this is the problem and not something else. Wish I would have caught this before I sent all those rounds through the barrel and wasted them.

 

[spires5d]

I'm currently loading IMR4895 powder at 46.5 grains with a Hornady 150 grain sp bullet for my son. He is shooting a Remington .308 bolt action with a synthetic stock and he likes this load out to 200 yds. the IMR 4064 powder will work good with the Hornady bullets.







Nosler Rocks!