Hmm. Time for me to fess up. I used a 50 lb. bag of tankage for my bull bag. Tankage is the leftovers from butchering dried and ground. makes a great deer repellant. Get it wet and you'll run for cover if you don't puke first.
Karl
On Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:02:19 -0800, the infamous Gunner Asch scrawled the following:
Bueno, bwana.
Q: have you ever tried the Browning Bulls bags, withe the X shape and suede top? Do they work that much better?
-- When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary. -- Thomas Paine
Man, I got a lot to learn. I've already ordered some once used brass and 150 grain FMJ bullets. I see four powders offerred for 308 (2230,2460,2495,2520). Too much info for a clueless newbie, but I'd like to reload .223 also with the same powder. Keep in mind I have no intention of competing in shooting matches, just want quality servicable ammunition. Would you go with 2520???
Karl
I did not experiment around a lot with powders and loads. Once I developed a load I liked, I stuck with it. I tried to minimize the varieties of powder and components stocked. My objective was to load rounds to shoot, not get into a pursuit of nirvanna and the "perfect" load.
A really useful tool to have is one of the go/no-go case gauges for each caliber you load. I had a lot of feed problems with the 45 reloads until I started size checking every case and discarding the out of spec ones. Rifle brass can be trimmed and are worth it to do so. Pistol brass just got tossed when it was out of spec.
Good Luck, BobH
Ive got xx pounds of 2520 And will be needing to buy another keg or two in the next year or so
2460 is a good powder..but its for lighter bullets. As I often load 190grainers in the 06, etc etc...its a bit too fast for my personal comfort. As long as you use it only in the .223 (5.56) and the 308, you should be in good shape.Find which ever is the best price at the moment and buy a pound of each, try em in your particular weapons, and pick the one you like.
Btw..ball powders meter like water..every charge will be dead nuts to the next.
Gunner
"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster
Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton
True,,but some weight is good for sandbags for firearms usage.
Shrug
Gunner
"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster
Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton
ROFLMAO! Thats cool! Neat Christmas presents for your friends too!
Gunner
"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster
Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton
They work marvelously on shooting rests, clean bench tops and whatnot.
They are however..a bit expensive, so Ive never personally owned any. Several of my friends have more money than good sense however and own them. They are quite satisfied with them.
Gunner
"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster
Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton
Good post!
Gunner
"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster
Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton
"Karl Townsend" wrote in news:4aff54ed$0$65849$ snipped-for-privacy@auth.newsreader.octanews.com:
If you are shooting offhand at stationary targets, the secret is to use your bones to hold up the rifle, not your muscles. A heavy rifle is very stable and helps to soak up recoil as long as you can hold it up OK.
I'm sure there are web sites with good pictures, but the idea is to park the elbow of your support arm on your hip bone, and then park the rifle on your hand somewhere near the trigger guard. Every rifle & every shooter is a little different. I like shooting my 308 bolt gun up on my finger tips, with my thumb on the bottom of the trigger guard. Lots of folks park the rifle on top of a closed fist. The DPMS 308 is perfect, because you can use the bottom of the magazine as a palm rest. You'll want a leather glove to avoid the sharp corners digging into your palm. Ideally, you want to rest the bottom of the magazine on the heel of your hand. In order to get the right elevation and balance the rifle, you may have to lean back a bit.
I rummaged through some photos of my team shooting in last spring's offhand league. Here is a photo that shows the general idea. He's shooting a custom .223 "spacegun" built up on an AR-15 platform.
What are all the weird outfits?
Shooter #3 has far superior position.
Shrug
Pretty good post btw.
Though shooting an M16 clone by using the magazine as a rest does tend to screw with critical recoil and "bedding" criteria.
Shrug again
Gunner
"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster
Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton
I've not loaded for .308 but AA2460 has delivered best performance by a significant margin for both Fitch and I in our .223's.
AA2460 is a ball powder that should meter very consistently in your
550.
Shooting jackets.
When properly worn and adjusted..they strap portions of ones body in rigid position. Shoulder padding also helps deaden recoil. Padding on the elbows helps keep the elbows from being driven onto rocks in recoil and the shiney spots on the left (and often right) arms is there to help work with rifle slings.
The offhand round has little to do with most shooting jackets..but one assumes they simply wont peel their jackets off to shoot standing up
Here are some various examples...
Range eye gear....
The above of course is for standard range shooting matchs, both high and low power.
The gear for other shooting sports is often quite different....
Gunner
"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster
Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton
I looked at some powders in QuickLoad v3.3. AA2460 and AA2520 will certainly work in .308 but safe loads won't be as fast as factory ammo with 150 gn bullets. A slower powder fits better.
Powders that look good for 150 gn FMJ in a shortish barrel are, in decending order of muzzle velocity for safe max pressure:
Vihtavuori N550 IMR3031 IMR4895 Winchester 760 Winchester 748 Hodgdon H4350 Hodgdon BL-C2
A lot of shooters really like Varget. It's a ways down the Quickload list for that caliber and bullet but still within 75 fps of the fastest, and Varget is a very consistent powder which bodes well for accuracy. It's also very versatile.
However, I think all of these are extruded stick powders. If you're going to meter volumetrically with your Dillon 550 then AA2520, which is a ball powder, may be your best choice for .308.
Don't worry about stocking different powders for .223 and .308. You'll go thru powder fast enough and it's not that pricey. A pound of powder will load about 140 rounds of .308.
My recommendation for you, with your Dillon 550 and volumetric powder dispensing, would be:
AA2460 for .223 AA2520 for .308
Good post.
I should mention that Bl-C2 is an extraordenaryly good powder for the smaller cases..marvelous in 223, 22-250..up to 308. Ive shot many many pounds of it. But..its got a rather narrow pressure range in most loadings..all near full pressure.
It might be one of the best for both cartridges if one had to pick only one. Varget is also good for both, and has a slightly wider band..but is a bit slower for .308....humm...I think Id pick Varget over Blc2 if I only had to use a single powder...come to think of it.
Btw..you guys may wish to print this out and post a copy on the wall of your reloading shop....
Fastest to slowest...
Gunner
"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster
Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton
...
Thanks Don, I don't need to go any farther. I'll get some of each.
Karl
THANKS FOR THE TIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the exact opposite of what I do. I hold my left arm straight out at a right angle to my body and pull back to hold the rifle tight.
Gunner - I'll try this a couple days and then send you a pic to critique
Karl
Some tid bits you Dillion owners may wish to review....
Gunner
"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster
Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton
I've read, and it has been my experience, that the fastest load is not usually the most accurate load in a given rifle. Varget is popular because it is extremely consistent even with varying ambient temps. It is a favorite of long-range benchrest shooters, especiallly the 6mm guys. Varget is not the best powder in any of my rifles but it's pretty good in all of them. I have about 20 powders on my shelf.
However, to get consistent performance from any extruded powder it's necessary to carefully weigh every charge. Since you're going to dispense volumetrically, a suitable ball powder is the clear choice.
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