Where to start OAL or powder charge?

[Billk65]

I am new to reloading and now that I have a couple hundred rds through the barrel I want to try to find what it really likes.
I have a Remington 700 5R, .308, 24", 1:11.25 twist.
If I load to the standard 2.80 OAL I am jumping .155 with SMK 175's and .139 with Scenar 155's.
So, my question is, should I pick a standard powder charge and play with the jump, or pick a standard jump and play with the powder charge first?
I have learned a lot from reading everyone's posts so far, thanks to all.

 

[jakermeister]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

Find a powder charge first then fine tune it with the seating depth.

 

[doc76251]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

Powder charge and "book" OAL. Then tweek the group with ogive depth.

Cheers,

Doc

 

[sethmstanton]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

Find your Min and Max powder charges out of the book.

Work your way from the Min to the Max in .5 grain increments. Then go fire a 3-5 rd group of each charge. You should be able to see your groups tighten up and the start to open back up again.

Pick the best powder charges (ie 43gr-44.5gr)

Work your way up in .2 grain increments fireing a 3-5 round group of each. Pick the best powder charge.

Now that you have the best powder charge for your gun, start tweakin the seating depth. Get a Hornady OAL Case Length gauge and the Hornady Bullet Comparator (to measure off the ogive of the bullet). Measure the distance too your lands and start Seating your bullets back in .010" increments to your minimum (say 2.810). Go to the range and fire a 3-5 round group of each. You will now be able to see the optimal seating depth for your gun.

And now you will have the best powder charge.seating depth for your gun.

Keep in mind, if you change bullet types, your OAL will change and you will need to figure your OAL again for that bullet. Hope that helps. Also, factory Remingtons are loose. My bullet jumps approx .198" to the lands, but it shoots .5 MOA-.75 MOA all the way to 1K. Its whatever your gun likes.

 

[Billk65]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

Thanks for the advice. I will start this weekend on the powder testing.
I was surprised to see how loose the Remington was, I thought I was using the length guage wrong.

 

[JerkeeJoe]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

Ya, I also just started and was wondering what the hell was up with the huge space on my 5R. Glad to hear its normal.

 

[Lineman711]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

If your rifle is like most new Remingtons, you're not going to get very close to the lands and still be able to load your mag. I've worked up loads for three 5Rs, two being .308s, and with all three I didn't see any decline in accuracy when I loaded to mag length vs. right up there at the lands with SMKs.

 

[308isgreat]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jakermeister</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Find a powder charge first then fine tune it with the seating depth. </div></div>

+1

 

[sethmstanton]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BillK65</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks for the advice. I will start this weekend on the powder testing.
I was surprised to see how loose the Remington was, I thought I was using the length guage wrong.
</div></div>

Yeah, tell me about it, I thought my barrel was gone. but thats just the way they are. Its a safety issue, and to protect the gun manufactures butt.

 

[jetlyting]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

Both, load just barely kissing the lands and find your charge with a ladder test. fine tune load by adjusting seating depth 5 thousandths at a time both in and away from the initial seating depth of just kissing the lands.

 

[SuperXJeff]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

As in all things in life.. YMMV ( your milage may vary) I just finishedd working up a load for my new 22- 250. It is a Remington as well. There isn't a bullet long enough to even touch the lands if my gun had been built as a standard 22 250. They do it on purpose for safety. That said, since my gun has an extra long magazine I took them out as far as the bullets would let me and everywhere in between. Guess what? The best accuracy was from the OAL in the book. That was frustrating to say the least but there is only one way to find out. That gun of yours with a good trigger and good hand loads should cut bullet holes. Anything more then 1/2 inch and it will either be you or the load. I have been present for the load development for two of them and when the dust settled those guns shot a ragged hole at 100 yards. Good luck and keep in mind the .308 and your gun and what they usually like is well documented on this forum. The curve for you should be pretty short. Jeff

 

[Billk65]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

I am loaded and ready to go...range was rained out so maybe this weekend...

 

[Simon Templar]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

http://www.lapua.com/fileadmin/user_upload/esitteet/VihtavuoriInternationalReloguide2009.pdf

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

I start with a dummy round loaded with the OAl slightly longer than where I expect to encounter the rifling. I then identify where the rifling is engaged, and subtract at least .010" to maybe .015".

This is my starting OAL, and the length I use for load development.

I then start with the most accurate charge weight and brand of powder from the rifle handloading manual specs for the specific bullet I've chosen and also make load increments at 1% and 2% more and less than that charge. If that does not uncover a node, I go to the max minus 1% and work down in 1% increments. I am very leery of going above max or below min charges as published by the bullet maker. I'd rather change my powder and start over.

When I find my node, I start lengthening the OAL from the starting OAL in .005" increments, stopping when I am .005-.010" into the lands. If my best accuracy OAL actually engages the lands, I may also try load reductions in .5% increments.

Greg

 

[coues7]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

great thread

 

[9sigman45]

Re: Where to start OAL or powder charge?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BillK65</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am loaded and ready to go...range was rained out so maybe this weekend... </div></div>

You better get ready! Six weeks till the next F-class match. :>)