Remington 700 SPS tacticle 308 with 20" 1/10 twist bull barrel

[Cbotha15]

Good day,

I recently purchased this rifle and now I am looking at reloading myself. Could I ask that if there are some members with this specific model (or another model with similar specs) could you provide me with some reloading data to use as a base starting point. This includes what brass, bullets, reloading equipment, powder, powder loads, overall length and case lengths you are using. Some general tips and tricks for a new reloader like myself would also be appreciated.

Thank you very much.

 

[bfglowkey]

As a new Reloader your first stop should be reloading g basics and a reloading book from one of the bullet manufacturers like Hornady or Sierra. Build your fundamentals using their recipes or close variation. For 308 you can get a solid product using Winchester brass, CCI primers and then put in whichever bullet and powder combo you feel will best suit your desired application.
If target shooting is your bag of tea decide distance goal then work from there. As for seating g depth....stick to recommended COAL in the manuals until you understand why/what you will gain or loose from doing so. Basics first then add techniques to broaden your toolbox.
It was great you gave rifle info....but that is only a small piece of the reloaders pie. Once you read some of the paper manuals you will have answered alot of those questions for yourself. And once you have the basics of reloading them here at SnipersHide there is a great section dedicated to reloading and has a sticky specifically for the 308 cartridge.
Folks here will help and lend the knowledge , just will be Leary of giving it away without being sure you understand the context when they it and won't hurt yourself.

 

[bfglowkey]

And for reloading equipment...that's a whole bag of green vs blue vs red vs orange vs whatever color loading manufacturer is out there. Many like Hornady, RCBS or Lyman have kits that get you the basics of all you need and all you need are the Dies and the bullets/brass/powder/primers. It's truly a plethora of options. Get organized and wrote down your goals and purpose then you can narrow down your decisions based on those....pro and cons lists of each that contribute or detract from those goals and end desires.....good luck! Looking forward to seeing your future posts as your journey to the dark side progresses.
Lastly....before investing the money....see if you can find a friend or Reloader locally to expose you to it and see if you truly want to reload. You may decide it's not your cup of tea and can just spend the money on finding factory ammo your gun likes

 

[Cbotha15]

As a new Reloader your first stop should be reloading g basics and a reloading book from one of the bullet manufacturers like Hornady or Sierra. Build your fundamentals using their recipes or close variation. For 308 you can get a solid product using Winchester brass, CCI primers and then put in whichever bullet and powder combo you feel will best suit your desired application.
If target shooting is your bag of tea decide distance goal then work from there. As for seating g depth....stick to recommended COAL in the manuals until you understand why/what you will gain or loose from doing so. Basics first then add techniques to broaden your toolbox.
It was great you gave rifle info....but that is only a small piece of the reloaders pie. Once you read some of the paper manuals you will have answered alot of those questions for yourself. And once you have the basics of reloading them here at SnipersHide there is a great section dedicated to reloading and has a sticky specifically for the 308 cartridge.
Folks here will help and lend the knowledge , just will be Leary of giving it away without being sure you understand the context when they it and won't hurt yourself.

Thanks a lot for the info and the tips I will definitely use you advice and get myself a detailed reloading manual. Could I ask that you perhaps send my the link to the pinned post for the 308 reloading section. I can't seem to find it yet. I am still new to this forum.

 

[m1match]

Please read the stickys in the Reloading section of this forum for tips on reloading techniques, and look at the 308 section of the Reloading Depot for favorite loads that people have posted.

You've posted this thread in the bolt action rifle thread, but you might want to move it to the Reloading section.

I see that you're in South Africa so that may restrict what reloading components you can get. If you give us some guidance about what primers, bullets, & powders you can get it might help Hide members give you guidance.

For myself, I reload all of my precision rifle loads progressively on a Dillon 550 except I have my tool head set up with a powder funnel instead of powder measure at the charging station. I weigh my charges with a RCBS Chargemaster. I do anneal my cases using a AMP annealer before I resize but I don't turn necks, uniform primer pockets, or clean primer pockets before loading.

For ease of loading, I've always loaded the Sierra 175 gr. Matchking for which there are massive amounts of data, and my recipes have been Lake City 94 Match cases, CCI BR2 primers, and 42.5 grains of IMR 4064 or 42 grains or Reloder 15.

There are huge amounts of 308 reloading data and it's a pretty forgiving caliber to develop loads for.

Welcome to the Hide.

 

[Mike Casselton]

As lowkey pointed out, stick with the reloading manuals first and learn the basics.
I have the identical rifle and use Winchester brass, WLR primers, 168 Sierra or 168 Nosler CC and VarGet powder.
Velocity, apparent pressure and OAL are identical.
I seat both bullets with the seating stem in the same place.
Group size is different though...

Plenty of things to learn about reloading and your specific rifle.
Don't cheat yourself out of an education by strictly relying on others.
We're here to help

 

[Cbotha15]

Just a bit more background info on me. I have shot plenty of other people's rifles before, however this is my first weapon that I own, I've never shot this rifle before so it's brand new. Is there any 'break in' procedures that you guys recommend. Also when it comes to sighting in the scope would it be best for starters to buy good quality factory ammo and use that to sight in the gun or is it better to start reloading straight from the beginning?

 

[spife7980]

Watch these. The series was made by a forum member elfster, its pretty good. You dont need to worry about everything like annealing etc, but it offers a good comprehensive view of what is what.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCyPEnjRX7ebb28MKusD6VfMZlnsNkpK0


You can use factory ammo if you want, you can reload some generic low end charges and sight in with that. Depends on what you want to do.

As far as break in, shoot 100 rounds, give it a good cleaning and then keep shooting it until you notice it go to crap and clean it then.

 

[spife7980]

Thanks a lot for the info and the tips I will definitely use you advice and get myself a detailed reloading manual. Could I ask that you perhaps send my the link to the pinned post for the 308 reloading section. I can't seem to find it yet. I am still new to this forum.

The reloading depot 308 section

Hodgdon powder manufacturer is pretty good

If you want alliant powder

Vihtavuori powder since youre in south africa, not sure what you have access to

Nosler offers some data

Sierra page for 308

 

[m1match]

The Reloading section of the Hide has a bunch of threads at the beginning about reloading technique. I and most people here don't go for any time consuming "break in" techniques. I just go shoot then clean after the 1st range session and see how fouled the barrel is. If it fouls badly, I clean that barrel more often.

Also since you don't have any reloading equipment or knowledge yet, I would recommend you buy and shoot factory ammo to build your knowledge and skill level first. As a brand new reloader with a brand new rifle, if something isn't right, it's will be harder to know if the issue is with the rifle or the ammo.

 

[bfglowkey]

I agree...I was under aware you are a new gun owner. That definitely changes the suggestion playing field . Factory ammo:

Buy several boxes of what you have available....

Site in your rifle using a established factory load that has wide success. Something along the lines of Federal gold in either 168 or 175. A common zero distance of 100m is a solid start.
Keep in mind when you switch ammo types plan on 2 shots to foul barrel to the new ammo, then shoot for group. May be a waste or a wives tale but i notice a difference between powders when I first switch even if the rest is the same....
Once you find a factory round that shoots well then rezero to that round and spend a bit of time getting comfortable with how your rifle performs. That way when you start to reload you will have the brass from your factory rounds fired...all formed to your chamber....and a good knowledge base of how your rifle should perform vs how it is when you begin to feed it handloads. Use the saved brass to practice on and take notes on which brands fire faster or slower given the same powder charges and then when you begin getting serious you will be able to grab the right seasoning off the shelf...so to speak. Cause you will have a good base of how to cook...

 

[Cbotha15]

I agree...I was under aware you are a new gun owner. That definitely changes the suggestion playing field . Factory ammo:

Buy several boxes of what you have available....

Site in your rifle using a established factory load that has wide success. Something along the lines of Federal gold in either 168 or 175. A common zero distance of 100m is a solid start.
Keep in mind when you switch ammo types plan on 2 shots to foul barrel to the new ammo, then shoot for group. May be a waste or a wives tale but i notice a difference between powders when I first switch even if the rest is the same....
Once you find a factory round that shoots well then rezero to that round and spend a bit of time getting comfortable with how your rifle performs. That way when you start to reload you will have the brass from your factory rounds fired...all formed to your chamber....and a good knowledge base of how your rifle should perform vs how it is when you begin to feed it handloads. Use the saved brass to practice on and take notes on which brands fire faster or slower given the same powder charges and then when you begin getting serious you will be able to grab the right seasoning off the shelf...so to speak. Cause you will have a good base of how to cook...

That makes sense yes, its easier to eliminate any possible errors or problems like that when starting out

 

[Cbotha15]

To all the guys that replied so far. Thank you very much for taking the time to help out a new guy. I appreciate it a lot.

 

[308pirate]

Also since you don't have any reloading equipment or knowledge yet, I would recommend you buy and shoot factory ammo to build your knowledge and skill level first. As a brand new reloader with a brand new rifle, if something isn't right, it's will be harder to know if the issue is with the rifle or the ammo.

Amen. Being a new rifle owner and a new reloader at the same time is not a good idea. You're making little pressure vessels that can generate over 3500 bar of pressure a few centimeters from your face.