RangeReport308Ultra29April06

[rifleman61]

An H/R .308Ultra was test fired at New Bedford Rod and Gun Club
Time of test fire: 1100
Weather conditions: Bright and clear with a wind gusting 10~15 mph at the 9 o`clock position with a temperature of 50 deg.F
Zero range was 100 yards with all firing conducted by bipod support from a test bench
Only one departure from manufacturer's specs. was effected, the weapon forearm prior to firing was removed and a Dremel router with a cutout grinding wheel was used to remove stock back to the barrel lug post sufficient to allow a dollar bill wrapped around the barrell to slip back to the lug post.  Fore arm was not "O" ringed or bedded.
Weapon was given a cleaning using phosphor bronze brush with standard bore cleaning solvent [Shooter's Choice] for twelve strokes and a cleaning patch was used to polish the bore twelve strokes prior to test firing.
Ammunition used:
a. LC Match "86" cases [12], all cases were sized to National Match specifications, primer pockets buffed, and tumbled to factory finish.
b. primers used were WLR
c. powder used was Hodgdon Varget 44 grains
d. bullet heads used were Hornady .308 A-Max 168 grain
e. overall dimension of assembled rounds excedes
National Match tolerances, rounds were assembled to 2.95" to take into consideration generous H/R freebore
Veloctiy approximated at 2700FPS
Scope sighting used was Barska Tactical 6-24X44MDIR
For firing, weapon was shot in with four sighters
Eght rounds fired for record, rounds five through twelve impacting at the eleven o'clock position on the "X" ring with an extreme spread of 1 1/4" center to center on the "y" axis and < 5/8" extreme spread center to center on the "x" axis.
Observations:
1.while some may consider that a 22" barrel is somewhat short as a matter of fact the barrel of the M1A SuperMatch service rifle in 7.62X51mm Nato is 22 inches and will give "submoa" accuracy.  A twist ratio of 1:10 is more than competent for using 180 Grain SierraMatchking loadings and will stabilize that tround quite well.
2. Hodgdon Varget is a duplicated loading of 44 grains from the previous session on 45/70BC; it is a quite versatile loading.  the burn characteristic table in Lyman shows it to be a slow burning powder as evidenced by the uniform warmth of the barrel on its length.  This loading has not adversely affected the grouping of the weapon round to round, and exhibits an extremely consistent round to round velocity.
3. Felt recoil is very low and smooth because of the loading as cited above and allows the individual rifleman to reacquire target quickly after firing.
4. Configured with the Barska Tactical Mildot. scope the H/R Ultra is capable of one shot precision quality that is tactical in character and will necessarily add to the success probability of a hunt, as most hunt scenarios are not generally conducted offhand, rather from a "hide" or ambush.  Barska is an extreme weather scope and will be quite adaptable in hunt conditions whcih can run to extreme conditions in weather and lighting conditions and makes a good marriage to the .308 Ultra.
5. This report is an historic recital of facts relative to this firing situation.  Any loadings of components are individual, relative only to this test firing and should not be regarded in an unqualified manner as being a "safe" for general use.
Conclusion, Off the shelf and out of the box the H/R .308 Ultra is a very high quality weapon which displays the inherent accuracy of the 7.62X51mm Nato [.308] loading to its best in either "match" or hunt scenarios.

Anchor's Away/Semper Fi
CPO Bull

[nomosendero]

Thank you Sir for the report. I found the following to be valuable info. for
me.
(1) Your rifle grouped well while using a bipod. My assumption is that for your gun at least the free floating helped and the stock above the bipod or swivel stud was floated, so the pressure or support for this was the rear
part of the foream only. It makes sense to me I suppose & the ability to use a bipod when needed without accuracy suffering is good indeed. I wonder if shooting offhand or sitting with a sling will yield simular POI results at closer ranges? I hope so.
(2) You were able to load 44 Gr. of Varget without pressure problems &
that is a good charge, esp. with LC brass. Hornady lists 44Gr. as max with Hor. cases & Hodgdon#27 go to 46Grains, in other words you did not have to load light for accuracy & you have good velocity. I see the bolt guys only go up to 46-46.5 as a max., sometimes less.
(3) You obtained this accuracy with the 168A-Max bullets, one of my choices for the 308 for targets or rib cage Deer shots, the others I like are the 178 A-Max & if I could seat out enough the 165BT & alternate with 165Accubond for tougher animals. With your results, I feel these others may shoot also.
(4) With these initial tests, I have no doubt this rifle will shoot better after a couple hundred rounds, & that Sir means this is a jewel!!

Yes, the 22" barrel is not that big a deal as the 308 is a modest case with a good expansion ratio, you just don't lose much. I may have to give the 308 a try in the Ultra, this is encouraging!!!

[rifleman61]

I really never considered  shooting any of the H/R line of rifles without a bipod.  When I set on up I consider it as "system" and a bipod is dedicated to that weapon exclusively; while this may add to the "topend" cost of the weapon I do not really seriously consider that as a problem.  I used the "hide" and "ambush" wordings, even though they come from Maj.David Plaster's manual on "Sniper" marksmanship; while this may seem a bit sanguine at first glance I do think that it rather accurately describes the technique and expected result.  I drill in offhand shooting as a consistent effort in this discipline nevertheless develops good sensitive "squeeze through"; I mind here though that in mine own consideration "offhand" is to me a very low percentage shot and should only be taken as a last resort.
I am fast becoming a fan of Varget, and will develop a loading for 30/06 next.  The 44 gr. loading was half way up the curve in the Lyman, the swing being a four grain swing 41 low to 45.7 high, the swing is similar in the Hodgdon publication 42-46, not cold and not not "hot".  Loadings at 42.5 seemed to show the direction as groups were in the 10-X region on target, but somewhat loose.
I did inspect each case after firing and noted no extraordinary pressure situations, primers were simply dimpled with no cratering noted and generous radiusing at the juncture of cup and primer, and the LC Match cases extracted flawlessly and smoothly.  Normal National Match loading for .308 is 43.5grs. WW748 with WLR primers, 168Sierra MatchKing; as WW748 burns with a flash I nevertheless considered that I was well within parameters. Iwill stay in contact.


Anchor's Away/Semper Fi
CPO Bull