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Old May 25, 2009, 06:40 PM   #1
ccjking
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Join Date: May 25, 2009
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.308 bullet seating

I am trying to reload for a new Rem 700 SPS Varmint in .308 Winchester caliber. A lot has been written about seating the bullet to precise distances from the lands (e.g. 0.020" typ). Using a Hornaday OAL gauge, and Hornaday bullet comparitor I am finding that a normal 150gr spire pt factory round is seated about 0.200" away from the lands in this gun. If I try to get closer I am getting bullets that are way over the recommended max overall length and in fact they won't fit in the magazine. Seems like 0.100" is about as close as i can get with this bullet. I saw a recipe for a 110gr bullet calling for 0.010" into the lands. If I tried this the bullet wouldn't even be in the case neck. I've never run into this with other rifles. I asked this on another forum and nobody seemed too surprised.

Is the need for close standoff just a myth? Seems like Remington would chamber differently if it was that important, and their guns are known for great out-of-the-box accuracy. Any comments?
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Old May 25, 2009, 11:46 PM   #2
impactco
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I just went through this same exercise. For my .308 AR I had been loading SMK 175 bullets at a COL of 2.800 and had seen groups in the .6 to .7 MOA range at 100 yards. In my search to break the .5 MOA barrier I bought the Hornady gauge and bullet comparator and found that I still had .085 to go to the lands. I did several loads at .020, .015, .010 and .005 from the lands. I saw minimal improvement until I fired the .005 load. The groups immediately tightened up to .48 MOA. I do have to single load these since they don't fit in the mag.
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Old May 26, 2009, 12:31 AM   #3
Shoney
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WELCOME TO TFL!!!

It's no myth, it's hard to understand and harder to find "the sweet spot".

Go to this post
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=358993
and skip down to post #10. After reading, come back with more questions that may not be answered there.
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Old May 27, 2009, 09:19 AM   #4
whiplash
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I went through the same process when I got my M700 VS. (.308). I did some loads near the lands that worked pretty good, but they couldnt fit in the mag, which I expected. This was going to be my hunting rifle as well, so I had to keep it to 2.800. I just figured if I didnt worry about getting to the lands, that was one less variable (seating depth) to worry about. So from that day on, everything was seated to 2.800 (165gr). With this OAL in MY rifle, and me doing my part, gets groups on average around .25in. You will find a good load using 2.800, or as printed in manuals. This caliber is pretty easy to load for.
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