Made a little progress with the .308 today!

[JMcDonald]

Last time I went out (second trip with the Handi), my rounds were going all over the place. I thought it might have been the scope since the gun seemed to shoot well the first time. Turns out, the forend was the culprit! It was printing like 7" patterns at 75 yards today (the longer rifle range was closed for maintenance today ) while I was trying to see if maybe it just needed a re-zeroing. I finally remembered to take off the forend based on the Handi Basics, and suddenly it was shooting well again! I did two <2" groups at 75 yards, with my best group being 1.65" (for 5 shots). I shot those groups with the forend basically only supporting the rifle at the hinge so I could still use the bipod (was kindof a balancing act).
I need a lot of work as a shooter as my wobble was at least 1.5MOA. But, all I wanted was a <2MOA rifle so I'm really glad it looks like the Handi should have the potential to get me there! The 1.65" group comes to about 2.2 MOA, so I'm closing in on where I want it to be!
Oh, and this was after about 30 rounds in 20 minutes (it was almost "hot" to the touch), and I hadn't cleaned the bore since I put 20 rounds through it a couple days before. So, not bad for a dirty bore (50 rounds) shooting the cheapest brass ammo I could find .
I also did some work floating the forend today, after I tore a piece of paper trying to slide it under the barrel, haha. Now there is about a 1/16" gap at the front of the forend, and paper effortly moves through the gap all the way to the lug.
I'll be going back with a clean bore and a slightly-worked forend next time and I'll see how I do! I'll post some pics of the group and the work I did on the forend later.

[petemi]

It sounds like you're getting it working.  Don't be too eager to be a clean freak.  Most of our Handis seem to shoot best a little cruddy.  Shoot it dirty.  If your accuracy wanders, do a light cleaning and see what happens.  If you clean it real well, you'll probably have to fire a few rounds to foul it again.  Just a little tip from a dirty old man.

Pete

[Deerhunter#1]

I myself am also going to start loading for the 308 I got. Am going to give the 130 grain hor sp a try with h4198. Maxes out at about 2750 ft second. The 130 is a varm bullet at the 3000 ft second velocity but at 2700 under hornady told me it would work fine for deer. pushing it about 2300 out of my 30-30. Also it will expand down to 1600 instead of 1800 like the nos bt. shood be fun to shoot.

[quickdtoo]

The 130 is a varm bullet at the 3000 ft second velocity but at 2700 under hornady told me it would work fine for deer. pushing it about 2300 out of my 30-30. Also it will expand down to 1600 instead of 1800 like the nos bt. shood be fun to shoot.

Minimum impact velocity for the Nosler BT is 1600fps, maximum is 3000fps per Nosler FAQs. 

Tim

http://www.noslerreloading.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1347

[Deerhunter#1]

Unless I am looking in the wrong place under bowler click on ballistic tip it says
max 3200load and minimum 1800.

[quickdtoo]

Post subject: Impact Velocities for Reliable ExpansionPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 10:22 am 
 

Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2004 8:20 am
Posts: 609
Location: BEND, OR

Partition:
Minimum Impact Velocity for Reliable Expansion- 1800 fps
Maximum Impact Velocity for Reliable Expansion- N/A


Ballistic Tip:
Minimum Impact Velocity for Reliable Expansion- 1600 fps
Maximum Impact Velocity for Reliable Expansion- 3000 fps
 
AccuBond:
Minimum Impact Velocity for Reliable Expansion- 1800 fps
Maximum Impact Velocity for Reliable Expansion- N/A

 

 

[JMcDonald]

It sounds like you're getting it working.  Don't be too eager to be a clean freak.  Most of our Handis seem to shoot best a little cruddy.  Shoot it dirty.  If your accuracy wanders, do a light cleaning and see what happens.  If you clean it real well, you'll probably have to fire a few rounds to foul it again.  Just a little tip from a dirty old man.

Pete

Thanks! I tend to  be pretty lax about cleaning, so no worries :p . I had just figured that at least while I was trying to figure the gun out and get it set up, it might have been smart to clean a little more often, heh. But, it's good to hear they don't need to be spotless to shoot worth a darn.
I'm excited to try out the forend work again. Here is a pic of one of the groups I shot without the forend. Also, here is a pic of the steel "dowel" I used to open up the forend chanel. It is a steel tube 1" OD x .5" ID, with a .5" steel bar tapped into it so I could chuck it up in my drill press (I can be pretty impatient ). That, coupled with a thin washer over the forend stud, and the barrel seems nicely floated!

[Default_Required]

JM do tell , What ammo are you shooting out of your 308 .... You have a few 308 junkies here and there around this place 
 
  DR

[JMcDonald]

JM do tell , What ammo are you shooting out of your 308 .... You have a few 308 junkies here and there around this place 
 
  DR

The ammo I've mostly been shooting was Monarch from Academy--14.99 per 20 rounds (eh). They shoot a 150gr bullet that clocked 2630fps out of my 16.5" barrel. I also shot 20 rounds of Federal 150gr Power Shock from Walmart, though I didn't figure out the forend issue until after I was already back into the Monarch stuff (I bought the Federal because it was also cheap and they had a box left when I stopped by). I have one more box of the Monarch but everything else will be handloads with FMJ bullets (maybe some lighter lead or plated bullets for Unique loads, though). So far I've put 60 rounds of the Monarch and 20 rounds of Federal through it.

[Default_Required]

I tend to have good results from most federal offerings in the calibers I have tried over the years , Been a winchester man even longer.
 The reloading aspect was what I was hoping for, I have had some success with the Amax 168gr over a top charge of varget ( varget being one of those powders like R7 that I usually have three pounds of at any given time )
 The 1 in 10 twist barrel I'm using for my 308 loads is a M10 savage , So not verfied in a handy as of yet . But feel free to pick my reloading logs I have alot of 308 R&D through 4 different 308 platfoms over the last 5 years  And its always a joy to hear about worked up loads providing MOA or better groups .