survivalshop

I had a chance to go over most of the data from my Marathon range session last week & found some interesting things about bullets. First , the rifle , Pre ban AR 15 & I removed the original matched upper ( bought it as as a matched set from Olympic arms some where in 1979-80 ) put a Tactical Machine flat top upper on , which is a tighter fit than the org. ever was.( & I mean tight fit, the Org. was not loose at all ) Olympic Arms -24 " Ultra match , HB in 5.56 with 1-10 rifling. Burris 3x9x40 Tac 30 scope (new ) All bullets were taper crimped , with the FMJ's as low on the crimp grove as I possibly could . All charges were hand weighed , WC 846 powder. two different primers , CCI & Rem. bench rest. Bullet -55 gr. FMJ made by Armsco ,I think, from Midway ,bulk bullets , (Avg. group @ 100 Yrds 2 1/2 " ) 55FMJ, CCI, 23 gr. , 2.238" COL. Avg. vol. 3043 ES- 217 SD- 95 55 FMJ, CCI , 24 gr. , 2.238" COL Avg. vol. -3056 ES-66 SD-24 55 FMJ , RBR, 23gr. 2.238" COL. Avg. vol. -3017 ES- 324 SD- 123 55 FMJ , 23.5 gr. , RBR , 2.238 " COL. Avg. vol. - 3086 ES- 238 SD- 93 55 FMJ ,24 gr. RBR. 2.238" COL Avg. vol.-3076 ES- 159 SD- 54 Following are Sierra Match King bullets 52 SMK, 24 gr. , RBR, 2.239 COL. ( best group ,under 1/2 "@ 100 yrds ) Avg. vol. - 3122 ES- 134 SD- 47 55 SMK, 24 gr. , RBR , 2.262 " COL (? ) (about MOA ) ES- 70 SD- 23 69 SMK, 23 gr., RBR 2.245" COL. ( second best group , almost as good as the 52 gr. SNK 's ) ES- 27 SD- 9 So you can see the bullet makes the difference , of course price is up there on any match bullet . I think the un-uniformity of the non match bullets is what got the ES spread up on most of the 55FMJ's . Not sure on the 55 gr. SMK's , the bbl. may just not like 55gr. bullets of any sort or I have to do some tweaking of the charge & or COL. I have some Hornady 55gr. FMJ's to try yet & I've been told they will work much better, we will see. I am loading this rifle up for Predator hunting in Ohio , when I go up there for gun season , so I will not be using match bullets ,but am thinking of going to Barns bullets of some sort .

What ever powder you are using or planing to , got to there web sight & if ya can't find the same manufacturers bullet , get the loading data for the same weight bullet of another manufacturer & start at starting charge & go from there .

I normally clean the barrel in between group charges & it also lets the bbl. cool down. I also shoot five shot groups & have not tried the round robin yet ,but might ,next time out .

Just how many here have broken a Commercial receiver extension ? Not INTERNET babble or Joe blow said he knew some one . I also prefer the mil spec ,but will use commercial where I think its needed. I have a Mil spec one, with the commercial cut threads & the angled back , so watch what you are buying . I just noticed it the other day & not sure where I got it , but will use it , no problem.

I thought her post smelt good. <lmao> <dontknow>

Ya have to remember that all chambers are different & don't expect you loads to perform in another chamber ( could be tighter or looser or at a different head space or longer or shorter free bore to the lands, not to mention barrel length ) I like the results you'all are getting with that powder , going to have to try some . I only care about the SD ,because that shows consistency of your reloading techniques, you will always have spreads , its not a perfect science. If you feel you are not tightening your groups with the adj. you are making , try a different bullet /brand , primer , you will find a bullet that your barrel likes , that's the kick of hand loading . Is that a Forster die ? I'm jealous , damn it , I need one in 308 & .223.

<thumbsup>

I hope the best for ya , but what bothers me is , I assume you purchased the rifle with a collapsible stock & they make it a full rifle stock to make it work . :wtf: I would never do that to a customer.

The whole reason to weigh your cases is because of volume . A heavy case case will be thicker & less volume of the thicker case will cause higher pressure & that will screw up your grouping . I believe that's where some of our fliers come from , not just those ones you know you screw up, I can call a flier just about every time ,because I know I moved or some thing when the round capped off. Since I started weighing brass my groups shrunk even with some of my worst triggers. Its all about consistency , in powder charges, bullets , cases & your pulling the trigger. Ya, that # 5 case is in a different category . Your chrono results for loadings look good , now ya just need more trigger time with the load combo ya pick.

Yes the 39.5 gr. does look like a wining combo , want to see how it does in commercial brass. I know the Remington brass does real well at that loading .I want to see how WW & FC do after weighing & sorting them. I also have different primers to try . I also need to get more SMK bullets, to compare. With my testing on the 5.56/.223 I did with this session , the bullet manufacturer or what kind of bullet , makes a big difference in a lot of things, vol. , ES & SD .

You do know , that if you get much more pink on that rifle , you will have to start a new topic in the PINK rifles section, not the Black rifles section. <lmao>

I had a good four hr. range session & I was alone at the 100 yrd. range all day , what's with that? I tested three 168 gr. Hornady match bullet configurations , seven 5.56 & two 300 BLK configurations & with writing down all the info off the Chrono , took all that time . Here's how the 168's did from my 20" LC brass all test ammo , CCI primers , COL 2.799", all hand weighed charges /with digital scale. 39 gr. WC846 2335 2432 2424 2424 2423 avg. fps- 2408 ES-------97 SD ------ 36 39.5 gr. WC 846 2487 2497 2478 2477 2479 avg. fps .---2484 ES----------20 SD --------- 8 40 gr. WC 846 2462 2451 2494 2451 2475 avg. fps. ----2467 ES -----------43 SD -----------16 I'm showing the beginning of pressure signs on the primer with the 40 gr. but would like to see how WW & Remington brass do , with this loading . When I shoot @ 200 yrds next, I'm going to shoot off some sand bags , to see just how good this bullet performs , with out me being the rear anchor & not off the bipod on a wood bench. I had some real interesting results on the 5.56 test ammo , good enough to start another thread & when I go over the data ,I will start one .

I'm more inclined to believe its the shooter , as long as the bolt locks in the barrel , hand tight ,should not make a difference. It did change impact after the whacking . Makes you wonder what one of these S/S HB would do & no I'm not going there . :cookoo:

Your just rooting for that" century long to make" barrel you bought. <laughs> First time they tried it & had a thread protector with them . Must of thought about what they would do.( or maybe he dropped it the first time ;)) @ 100 yrd's & that's what that BOLT ACTION can do ?

Its been raining since Friday & I'm on vacation & can't even shoot . Damn you Debbie !

Hammer & trigger pins , same size as a normal AR , 0.154".

If its a 22 " barrel you want , you may be better off just having some one make ya one , Don't see too many choices for that length out there. What twist rate ? My 20" HB ,Krieger Criterian ( off the shelf @ Fulton Armory )has proven to be a very accurate barrel . You certainly can't go wrong with a Walther barrel , ether .

Measure the distance between the the Delta ring & hand guard cap of both your 308 & 5.56 ( inside )to see if there is a difference . It may be nothing more than needing a slight modification to the hand guards for fitment . It may also have some thing to do with the hand guard cap/ front sight /gas block.

Good to hear. Ruger will make them whole again or replace them .

Photo shows bullets, but description is some thing different , call them to make sure , because that price for just the bullets is in line .( some what )

Mid length gas system or a variant of it ? Call Rainer arms.

You better read that discription again, (" brass case , 20 rds per box ") ?

I'm calling this rifle , " the build of the century" , because its taking that long <lmao>

NO idea , the first one didn't show packaging , so it could be some ones reloads or what ever . Looks like same bullets were used .

Packaging means nothing , unless its sealed to begin with. I doubt they would mix brass/nickel cases, shoot at your own risk !