308 Success (target)

[necchi]

FINALLY!    
After beating myself up for months trying to get this thing to shoot 150's, I got some tips from Gent's here and from over on the loading forum and got'er dialed in with some 165's,,
1.18", 100yrd, I can live with that,(it's repeatable), 165 Nosler Accubonds over 43.4grns of RL-15. The trick to getting this was to load out past Sammi COAL closer to the lands. I'm using a OAL gauge so my numbers only apply to this gun,,ya gotta trust me it's another looong throated Handi. I started with .308 of the bullet in the case neck (not counting the boattail) and ended .050 out further. Don't really wanna go any further, I'm still getting good concentricity where it's at.
This is a hunting hold (front hand supported, holding the forearm,,bench)




For new handi owners, I did get this barrel from a member here and fit it myself, I used several tip's from the FAQ's to get this thing to this point, it's all in there, and easy enough to do without breaking the bank.

Now,,What else should I load for it??  There's just gotta be sumpthin better,, 

[tacklebury]

Congrats and nice shooting.   Glad you got something working for you! 

[gcrank1]

Decent enough group for hunting.
I wonder if there is some other cartridge that is the same head as the .308 but longer so you could reform and get a longer neck to hold your bullet?
There still might be a chamber situation with such if it has a 'step' where the .308 case is supposed to stop and the throat began, and a chamber cast of Cerrosafe will show that nicely.
In the meantime, ya got it!

[digs68]

I'm happy for you, I really am! But if I can't get my Handi to shoot any better than 1.5" at 100 (once I get it back from the repair facility), I'll be passing it on. It does appear that Handi's must have alot of head space issues, which I would assume is the cause for the frequent misfires.
As I've said in other posts, I don't reload, and I don't tinker with my guns much more than the average hunter/shooter other than a little stock work, etc. but I've never had that kind of accuracy issues with any other gun. I even had an old SKS that would shoot a respectible 4" group at a hundred with open sights. That's an auto loading rifle!
I had a Savage .270 once that tossed bullets everywhere until I switched from 150 grain to 130 grain factory loads. Then it shot subs regularly.
As I said, it's very respectable, and you worked hard for it. I just bought my first Handi and it's at the repair facility, so i really haven't had a chance to play with it yet.
My question is; Is this the average for the mid-size calibers like .308, .243, .30-30, etc. or is this an exception whereas most do better than that?

I apologize in advance. I mean no offense to you or anyone else on the forum. I just want to know what i'm getting myself into.

[necchi]

No offense taken, and no I don't have head space issues, that's actually about the easiest thing to fix on these things. The Handi is a "Get what ya pay for gun", if you want bench results it'll be hard to come buy for a gun under $300.

I might be able to sqeeze some more out of it, Dustins 708 will get under 2" at 200,,(if the shooter has a good day)
Maybe this one wants a flat base, but I'm just tickled with this group for now.

Did a Cerro safe casting, got the tip from the faqs,,the numbers are a huge diff from sammi case spec but atypical of off the shelf guns and handis for sure.
308 case from base to end of neck (trim) 2.015
My casting-----------------------------2.124 !
and the leape to the lands on the casting from the end of the chamber neck is another .275-.280!  A 125grn bullet will drop out of the measuring case before it hits the lands.   And that's comparable to Weatherbee leape!

And your right gcrank, I wish I could get that extra .109 in the case neck,,, but after all, these ARE hunters and not bench guns, anything under the 2xMOA  the factory guarentees is a good group. My 223 bull will put'm all in that Dime on the same target, so I guess they'er all a bit different.
I'm still haveing alot of fun with these guns,,where else can you do just a little tinkering and gain so much.

[PawPaw]

That target is nothing to sneeze at.  For a hunting rifle, I'm sure it will handle just about any task you put it too.

The load you used, 43.0 grains of RL15 is one that I've seen shoot extremely well in every rifle I've tried it in.  I did some research a while back and if my readings are correct, that's the same load that the Army specifies for their 168 grain .308 match ammo.  It's a real good loading.  Individual rifles vary in what they like and you might consider going up or down a half-grain, but it looks to me like you're in the ball park.

Now,,What else should I load for it??

Try 168 grain MatchKings and see how it does.  Or Nosler BTs in the same weight range.  Or, if you really want to get persnickety, start using the benchrest loading techniques, like indexing brass, weighing individual bullets, uniforming flash holes, using benchrest primers, all those things that folks do who want extreme precision in their handloads.

But, those groups would suit me just fine.

[burntmuch]

Boy this forum is getting tuff. $250 gun. groups just over an inch. Id be happy with that all day everyday. You didnt say what 150s you tried. I had a handi 308 that loved the 150 corlocts. Good shooting.

[mannyrock]

   
    A very nice group, and much better than needed for hunting deer.  So now, go hunting, and stop worrying about group size, handloading and 150 grain bullets.  :-)    Sheesh. 

[moorepower]

OK, just so I understand you, the bullet is only in the case .050 ? For a hunting rifle, it is quite fine. For grins you may try 180 grain bullets. For a hunting gun, there would be less meat damage. If you are trying for a match type load, go up to the 175 grain MK.  .050 in the case, if that is what you are saying is not enough to put in an ammo holder. Alot of game has been taken with groups 4 times that size.

[Winter Hawk]

Ream it out to .30-06!

-WH-

[quickdtoo]

30-06 won't clean up a 308W chamber, you'd have to go to a 30-06 Improved to clean up the shoulder.

Tim

[digs68]

Nechi,
As you stated, this was a hunting hold, which is very respectable. I keep hearing talk of resting the gun on it's forward action, just in front of the trigger guard. This may be OK for bench-shooting, but not really readily achievable in the field. If the forearm is such an issue on these firearms, then why not just leave them off?
I realize that the barrel could fall off when opened, but doesn't "readily" swing off of the rifle. If one took care when reloading, would it be feasible to do this, and would it improve accuracy?
All of that being said, are there better forearms out there to be had that aren't so finicky?

[gcrank1]

Regarding forearms, its all in the FAQs, and not complicated.

[necchi]

digs;
 The forearm issues is one that plages almost all gun's, I'm sure you've heard and read ton's of stuff about bedding and freefloat and rails,,etc,,,
 The nature of the break action and the stock parts being in two pieces is whats formost in Handis and it's simple hinge/lug design.
 When any gun is fired there is barrel whip and vibrations happening in that nano second it takes for the bullet to leave the barrel after the primer sets off the powder, (it actually IS rocket science), the forearm issue/key is to assist the barrel seating firmly in the frame and/or not add too the vibration set up in the frame/barrel fit.

 With the Handis the fix(s) is so easy, but if a guy has no ability, or if a person does not want to mess with guns at all, then they should be content with what the manufacutuer warrenties, inherant accuracy seems directly related to the cost of a gun,,,etc,,
Here's my simple forearm fix for this gun;


 First I pulled the spacer, sanded it and the back of the forearm to match/flat. I reinstalled with longer screws to be sure it's on there snug;
 The blue stuff is RTV Silicone, judicious placement of scotch tape, some Sahran Wrap on the barrel, then a business card up front to hold my space and install the forearm.. 2 days drying time, I added a set screw under the forearm screw with some locktite so my screw pressure is the same every time,,
 Long story short I can now hold or place that forearm any way I want    Not so sure about a tripod, or some fancy ways of wrappin a sling around your arm an such, but that's not my style/technique, I will install a sling but for carry only.

Total cost, common household items and tools, and about 87 cents at the hardwhare store for 2 wood screws and a set screw.
  p.s. I do call rtv silicone and locktite common items
Easy, like gcrank says it's all in the faq's

[Papa Jack]

Good Group , how'd you get them so "symetrical" ?   
                                                                        "PJ"