hiprimer

Welcome from IL

Welcome from IL (S. of Chicago and N. of Saint Louis).

Welcome from Illinois

I think those loads will all serve for up to 600. I can still play with seating depth some to see if I can squeeze out smaller groups. Now, going on to 1000 I am looking at shooting either Berger 185 Juggernauts or Hornady 178 ELD-M. BC on the Hornady is just a little lower than the Berger but both perform similar on paper. Gotta load hot enough to stay SS and for insurance go past 1000 maybe to 1100-1150. My Strelok Pro tells me at 2500 fps I'll be supersonic only to 900. 2600 will carry me just past 1000 so that would be the lowest velocity load I should shoot at that distance. Next round of testing will be with the 178s , velocity => 2600 with at least one MOA precision.

Above 43.0 RL-15 started seeing ejector marks and at the higher end of Varget some primer flattening. Varget does not pressure spike like RL-15 does so no ejector marks, just bad precision and lower POI. At 2.810 I still have .070" jump. Harmonics playing hell with this rifle. I was not able to get a second accuracy node, just the lower end node at 42 -43 load charges and around 2500 fps.

I am doing load development for my 20" .308 Win and am finding it definitely likes mild loads. In testing with Hornady 168 ELD-M, loads of 42 gr of Varget or 42 of RL-15 shot closest to POA and the tightest sub-MOA groups. Strangely, in my Varget testing, the POI DROPPED as load weight increased. MVs increased steadily as charge weights went up but POI dropped as much as 3 MOA from the 42 gr load to the 45.6 gr load. Strange stuff! MV with the 42 gr Varget is 2492 FPS. I loaded in .4 gr (about 1%) increments ending up at 45.6 / 2693 fps. Brass is Win and OAL is 2.810". 43.0 of IMR4895 shot .768 MOA, 42.0 of IMR4895 shot .847 and 42.0 RL-15 shot .662. 42.0 of Varget shot .808 MOA. Any attempt to load hotter and I'm at 2 MOA or worse. BTW, with the buffer weight, buffer spring, gas tube and extractor issues fixed cycling is perfect.

Welcome from Illinois

New PA-10 owner whose rifle was having problems ejecting brass. I swapped out the carbine stock for an A2 buttstock that I had from my AR-15. The underweight "H" carbine buffer was contacting the lower and the buffer spring was, according to the chart, too short. Next I purchased from Futon Armory a 308 rifle buffer, 308 rifle buffer spring and 15.5" gas tube. I also splurged on a JP enhanced extractor which I tested BEFORE installing the buffer parts and it did fix 99% of the ejection problems. I had one failure to eject out of 50 rounds instead of 1 in 5. The JP extractor has a much stronger spring but I think more importantly, a deeper groove to allow it to hold on the case better. The PSA extractor was able to slip off the case way too easily. The remainder of the issues I expect to have corrected once I can get to the range with the recoil/gas system repairs. The rifle buffer is now the correct length and will not allow the carrier to come into contact with the lower (no quarters needed). With the heavier buffer and the proper spring I also expect the felt recoil to be improved. Pic of my lower showing carrier contact.

I had my mind in the "Creedmoor zone" I meant 168 grain.

In the short time I have had my PA10, 20", .308, the 140 ELD-M has performed the best. Been using Win brass, WLR and 42g of Reloder 15. 43 of IMR4895 also shot well (both shot under .8 MOA). Loads seated to 2.810" OAL. No chrono data, yet. Going to be starting soon on a 1000 yd load and most likely shooting the Berger 185 Juggernaut or maybe a 178 ELD-M. Both have high G7 BCs just depends on which is the most accurate and if I can push them hard enough.

I shoot XTC at Milan and a couple 1000 yard matches at Rivoli.

Welcome from Illinois

Welcome from Illinois

Towanda - central IL

Hello. I just got started in the 308 AR world and coming from AR-15, it sure is "interesting". Bought a bargain rifle Palmetto PA10 with a 20" barrel upper. Making some mods / improvements so I can shoot it in NRA/CMP LR competition, just for kicks. Currently switching the carbine stock for an A2 I had on hand and have to get a LR-308 buffer and spring to complete that. Took out the MIL trigger and installed a spare Geissele High Speed Service Rifle trigger. Had some failure to eject which seems to have been fixed with a JP extractor. Rifle still needs a heavier buffer though. Adjustable gas block are prohibited under CMP SR rules but any buffer weight is OK. I'm looking forward to learning more about these "AR-10" type rifles.