Ruger American Rifle .308 22” barrel 1 in 10 in twist.

[xphunter]

Even with a specialty pistol (6-284 XP-100 with 90 grain AccuBond's-Not a great LR bullet)....I use a small field bag under the pistol grip with a bi-pod you can shoot tight, even at 400 yards.
If all you have is a rolled up towel, by all means, use what you have-I think you shot great for 8 shots with your set-up.
The more I can take myself out of the shot, the more consistent/accurate I am going to be.
3-shots at 400 yards...If I had shot 8x's, my group would have been larger.

 

[JD338]

Even with a specialty pistol (6-284 XP-100 with 90 grain AccuBond's-Not a great LR bullet)....I use a small field bag under the pistol grip with a bi-pod you can shoot tight, even at 400 yards.
If all you have is a rolled up towel, by all means, use what you have-I think you shot great for 8 shots with your set-up.
The more I can take myself out of the shot, the more consistent/accurate I am going to be.
3-shots at 400 yards...If I had shot 8x's, my group would have been larger.

Nice shooting Ernie!

JD338

 

[xphunter]

Nice shooting Ernie!

JD338

Thanks.
I wish I could say, I always shoot that good, but that would be a lie.
If, you have ammo your gun likes, and you have a solid rest combined with good fundamentals...Small groups are in your future

 

[RL338]

If you get tired of the black plastic looking stock you can always paint it.
You have a very nice set up there!

That’s right a can of Aluma-Hyde for the barrel and receiver and Rust-oleum 2X for the stock. With a little time it sure can spruce up any rifle.

 

[Clocktower]

That’s right a can of Aluma-Hyde for the barrel and receiver and Rust-oleum 2X for the stock. With a little time it sure can spruce up any rifle.
View attachment 22471

Thats nice looking! Thanks for the advice and idea!

 

[JD338]

That’s right a can of Aluma-Hyde for the barrel and receiver and Rust-oleum 2X for the stock. With a little time it sure can spruce up any rifle.
View attachment 22471

That's a sharp looking rifle!

JD338

 

[Wolfshead]

That’s right a can of Aluma-Hyde for the barrel and receiver and Rust-oleum 2X for the stock. With a little time it sure can spruce up any rifle.
View attachment 22471

I left my barrel black, and just took off the stock, and painted that. I believe I also used rust oleum paint in camo/mat colors. Not as good as yours is however….

 

[KinleyWater]

Thank you!
Yeah, I hadn’t thought about painting the stock. That’s a good suggestion.

Not just the stock. I repainted the receiver, scope rings, and a few other bits of a rifle for my sister in law using caliper paint I got from an auto parts store. Comes in lots of colors and is heat tolerant to way more than you will get from shooting (I hope). She liked blue, so she got blue.

 

[Clocktower]

Has anyone done any experimenting with factory ammo and the true velocities they get compared to factory published velocities?
Are there any brands or brand of ammo makers that live up to their published velocities?
What about hand loading? Can I expect to get close to published velocities of the .308? Is there a one bullet weight solution that can work for a myriad of big game? I’m thinking that the 1 in 10 inch twist will favor middle to heavy weight bullets. Am I right or wrong?

 

[xphunter]

Has anyone done any experimenting with factory ammo and the true velocities they get compared to factory published velocities?
Are there any brands or brand of ammo makers that live up to their published velocities?
What about hand loading? Can I expect to get close to published velocities of the .308? Is there a one bullet weight solution that can work for a myriad of big game? I’m thinking that the 1 in 10 inch twist will favor middle to heavy weight bullets. Am I right or wrong?

Pd’s through mule deer, Hornady 168 grain TAP.

 

[Wolfshead]

Has anyone done any experimenting with factory ammo and the true velocities they get compared to factory published velocities?
Are there any brands or brand of ammo makers that live up to their published velocities?
What about hand loading? Can I expect to get close to published velocities of the .308? Is there a one bullet weight solution that can work for a myriad of big game? I’m thinking that the 1 in 10 inch twist will favor middle to heavy weight bullets. Am I right or wrong?

I can’t speak to velocities as I don’t have a chronograph.
The factory ammo usually posts the barrel length their box I believe of the test rifle Which seems to usually be 24”?
Is there a reason why you need a certain velocity?
My Tikka T3x compact has a 20” barrel, and using my handloads can get softball sized groups at 300 yds off a rest.
I don’t know the velocity they have, but I’m not that concerned as I can get the bullet where I want it at that distance which is about as far as I need to shoot.
I shoot 150 grain Nosler Accubonds with 46 grains of Varget in Starline brass, and a CCI 200 primer.
Im currently playing with 130 grain Barnes TTSX as NY may go to non lead bullets on State lands and I do a lot of hunting on State lands.
I mostly hunt Whitetail deer and find that the 150s do very well!

 

[RL338]

Has anyone done any experimenting with factory ammo and the true velocities they get compared to factory published velocities?
Are there any brands or brand of ammo makers that live up to their published velocities?
What about hand loading? Can I expect to get close to published velocities of the .308? Is there a one bullet weight solution that can work for a myriad of big game? I’m thinking that the 1 in 10 inch twist will favor middle to heavy weight bullets. Am I right or wrong?

The only factory ammo I can recall running over my Magnetospeed was 150gr Remington. It was shot thru my brother’s Rem 742 carbine in 30-06 , it never broke 2500 fps compared to 2910 as advertised.
With any given bullet one can safely match or accede factory ammo with the right powder.

 

[KinleyWater]

Has anyone done any experimenting with factory ammo and the true velocities they get compared to factory published velocities?
Are there any brands or brand of ammo makers that live up to their published velocities?
What about hand loading? Can I expect to get close to published velocities of the .308? Is there a one bullet weight solution that can work for a myriad of big game? I’m thinking that the 1 in 10 inch twist will favor middle to heavy weight bullets. Am I right or wrong?

Just once for rifle; Hornady Superformance in 35 Whelen. Out of my Rem 700 with a 22 inch tube, it read 2900; average of 3 shots. I learned two lessons that day:
1 - that rifle can pinch nerves in my shoulder bad enough to make my fingers go numb.
2 - my rifle seems to shoot "fast" for some reason. Seen it with hand loads as well. Rule of thumb is velocity loss as the barrel shortens, but not always by as much as people assume. And, yes, sometimes velocities can increase for reasons I cannot explain (according to datasets I've read online; I've never experienced it). If you have not done so already, I suggest reading this rather lengthy article about barrel length and the 308 Winchester:
308 Winchester / 7.62x51mm NATO: Barrel Length versus Velocity (28″ to 16.5″)

As for heavier bullets, my understanding is that the 1:10 is better for heavier bullets. I would defer to those with a more complete understanding of ballistics for a proper answer.

Just don't forget that shot placement really is the king of the hunt; velocity, not so much, unless you are dropping below bullet expansion threshold. And, it seems like you and the rifle are doing just fine in the shot placement department.

 

[xphunter]

Has anyone done any experimenting with factory ammo and the true velocities they get compared to factory published velocities?
Are there any brands or brand of ammo makers that live up to their published velocities?
What about hand loading? Can I expect to get close to published velocities of the .308? Is there a one bullet weight solution that can work for a myriad of big game? I’m thinking that the 1 in 10 inch twist will favor middle to heavy weight bullets. Am I right or wrong?

What would be your self-imposed max distance for hunting big game?
Most of your published data on a box of 308 Winchester ammo is going to be close.
You need to find what barrel length they used to come up with at number though.
It will probably be based on a 24 inch or 26 inch barrel. My guess would be 24" with the 308 Winchester.
If it is longer than your 22", then just subtract 25-30 feet per second per inch of barrel, and you will be pretty close.
How far does your range allow you to practice at?

Depending on the guns potential for accuracy and your ability to shoot it well, reloading gives you a lot of variables to pull the most out of it accuracy wise and you can choose the bullet(s) you want for the tasks you want to use it for.
I am going to be leaving out some folks here, but the two guys that do the most detailed postings about their load development at long and short range @remingtonman_25_06 and @TackDriver284 and they both are involved in comps
Now don't get me wrong, there is a host of others here that are great shooter and reloaders, but the two above seem to document here for us the most recently.
When you read their posts, note that they are not factory guns.
The precision reloading and precision shooting is quite the rabbit hole...It spirals downward and seem to have no end
I imagine good factory ammo will work well for you in most applications

My Dirty Thirty 308 Winchester: 15.75" center-grip XP-100 (Factory Remington take-off barrel 1-10 Twist).
100 yards load development...Prone off of a Harris bi-pod and small field bag, using once fired brass for different rifles, although the same lot of ammo.

After doing some drop confirmations at distance, I went back and did a one-shot attempt at 500 yards. I was shooting at the 10" diamond. A different gun shot the 5" target.

Below is a friend of mine using it for my yearly WY-SHOT match several years ago

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

If you're getting 1 MOA 8 shot groups from factory ammo and a factory rifle than that's really good. You'll be able to get that from handloads, but it may take a little bit of work is all. Where is the target with 8 shot group at 1"? I must have missed it or didn't see it.

Never owned a 308, but they are an inherently accurate cartridge. I'd opt to shoot a 165g AB or 168g NBT bullet for a do all if it was me out of a 308. 180g are to slow from a 308 and 150g is kind of light for elk size game IMO in a 30 cal. 165-168g is kind of where the 308 shines for a good do all bullet IMO. All just really depends what you're doing with the cartridge and expect from it. Handloading opens up a whole new world of options.

 

[Dr. Vette]

Heavy bullets in a .308 is a relative thing.
Due to case size, while you can shoot them the case doesn't really have the horsepower for 180gr bullets and above. Or, it's not the sweet spot.
150-168s are where the 308 really shines.

Having said that, if you trim the trigger spring to just under 0.600 inches, it really helps.
Also, be sure the stock isn't touching the sides of the barrel. The Ruger American is notorious for that. I think I've sanded all of the ones I have worked on to avoid that.

 

[xphunter]

Also, be sure the stock isn't touching the sides of the barrel. The Ruger American is notorious for that. I think I've sanded all of the ones I have worked on to avoid that.

THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[RL338]

Also, be sure the stock isn't touching the sides of the barrel. The Ruger American is notorious for that. I think I've sanded all of the ones I have worked on to avoid that.

This is so true with the RA. On my daughter’s 22-250 it seemed like you needed to sand the whole side off.

 

[AFG270]

Don't have a 308, but my adult son has a 6.5 cm Ruger American and I have a 243 Ruger American for a truck gun, both are very accurate for inexpensive rifles. I've never shot factory loads through mine, but my son's shot slow with factory ammo, so I worked up a load for him with 120g BT'S. Good velocity and very accurate. I wouldn't have believed this was 200 yards had I not been watching through my spotting scope.

 

[xphunter]

I have seen Ruger American's do similar things and at further distance.
It seems like they have it figured out.