Why 308.

follow up from the "Why not 308?" thread

what I read in the Why not 308? convinced me even more I was going 308 and I did just that.

I had been going around to dealers seeing what they had seeing how they felt and comparing them

the features I wanted were ,

308 win
bolt action
good triger
A laminate or other solid stock , not worried bout material so much but NOT Flimsy .
preferably a threaded muzzle
preferably be able to accept readily available magazines.

I looked at a number of guns , and settled on a Mossberg MVP varmint 7.62

a few days before Christmas I went and ordered it . it cam in after new years and I was able to pick up
the Mossberg MVP Varmint
308 or 7.62x51 cambering
user adjustable trigger down two pounds , not sure what it is at currently but I don't need it any lower as soon as I start to press it releases.
Laminate pistol grip stock with high comb
24 inch medium contour bull barrel with fluting and a threaded muzzle
The ability to feed directly form 7.62 P-Mags that sell locally for under 20 dollars. it can also feed from M14 mags


the bolt was not as smooth as some of the more expensive guns , but with a little grease in the right places and working it back and forth it is very decent now.

local price was $648.00 out the door with tax

if you have done any looking that is a lot of features for a gun at that price

I topped it with a Vortex Diamondback 4-12

so what I wanted to know , how does it shoot , so far very promising , it seems consistent at 1.5 inches at 100 yards with the cheapest ammo they had at wally world 150 gr super x soft points

with my first 2 reloads running 165gr speer bullets both actually seem to be right at an inch but I only shot 5 of each charge weight , I am making more and a few a 1/2 grain hotter my goal is to find a load that will run under a minute and keep above 2600fps doing it, closer to 2700 if I can.

only having 41 rounds through the gun right now , i need to shoot it more and keep working on finding the load for it

I have a Moss. MVP in 7.62 and I am able to use my semi auto mags in it also.It shoot great for me and easy to work with.As for factory loads you doing good. and since you do reload you will get better on your part of the reloading.That is where you will gain with reloading is have the gun shoot the way you want to the gun.I shoot alot of cast bullets in my. Factory is for general gun,hand load is to the that one gun.

The .308 is a very accurate cartridge and easy to reload. The variety of bullets and powders are abundant. Keep working with a particular bullet weight with various powders and primers until you find the sweet spot. It has been my experience that the .308 likes 150 grainers the best.

It is my go to rifle for everything except the big bears. It worked for me during my military career and I see no reason to change. My other go to cartridge and rifle for sport and fun is my Dad's M-1 Garand.

You have made a wise choice and one that should meet all your needs. Sarge

thanks , especially since this is my only 308 and I am neck sizing with the Lee collet neck sizer die this really is brass just for this gun

You may need to full length resize your casings every 3 or 4 firing. Each rifle is different. Your rifle will let you know when it's time. When the bolt starts to close with more effort then usual, then you know. For big game hunts and dangerous game, I always go with virgin cases. Too much on the line for a malfunction. Always keep notes on each batch of brass. I.E the number of firings and load data. Watch for enlarge primer pockets, don't hesitant to discard, brass is abundant and cheap.

If you get once fired mil brass. the primers are crimp so you will need to ream the primer pocket, you will only have to do that once,there are hand reamers that you can get. Lake City brass is the common mil brass and you will need to start over on your data ,because the inside the case is smaller then the normal 308 brass. The mil brass is cheap also.Just to let you know for once fired brass.Also for what was stated already for what to watch for and do also.

try 168 gr Berger 30 thou off the lands if you can reach that, fed. 210 primer, lapua brass, win 748 powder
RR

Watch your case length after resizing. It can creep up on ya' and make chambering harder than usual. Plus, if I don't get little resistance when seating primers, I throw the case away.

I shoot a Savage MP10 in .308. Best group I have so far off a rest is 0.05 at 100 yards using 165gr BT SP in front of 41.7 grains of H4895. It only likes Hornady bullets, and shoots the 165gr BT SP a little tighter than a 165gr SST or 178gr A-Max, but those shoot extremely well out of my rifle.. Both group good enough to kill a yote at 300 meters or more. Just "dope the scope". My rifle doen't like 150gr bullets but that's not to say yours won't - they all have their own "personalities".

I've found that slowing the velocity down on different bullets can make a huge difference in the way they group.
If I get little resistance when seating primers, I throw the case away.

I am not sure where I am off the lands I loaded them as long as I could get them in the magazine that was 2.819 and the bolt still closed easily, min col was 2.750

I am running H4895 with the speer 165gr btsp I am going to see how well I can do with these .
if I don't find what I am looking for I will have to try others these have a BC of .520 and midway had them on sale for 19.99 a hundred

I have done 5.56 brass with primers crimped I would need a large primer pocket reamer but could definitely do that and likely will it was one of the reasons to go 308 for right now I have 40 winchester cases and 50 new star-line cases to work up a load

Just remember to keep it fun and not get frustrated.Then one day you will find the load your rifle loves.Don't load too many when you do. Rifles are like women, they change when you least expect it and then you must start all over again.But always keep your rifle close, and for Gods sake, give it a name.

Hodgdon Varget and some #2200 Sierra 168grain Match King.. most 308 will shoot lights out with that combo..

Well, with the criteria ( cheap to shoot ) that you had from the get go, there was no other option but the 308. I hope that you will find what you are looking for in that round.

Sweet look'n rifle - love the laminated stock!!

I've wanted one of those since they came out!

That one is like my,I have a Predator Quest scope on my. I have work to shoot light load usen a 00Buck shot for small game like rabbit and tree rats.Also have some light load of 32 cal cast bullet too that works on it.Beside the regular cast bullet for it.Not much jacket.

the laminated stock was a big selling point as was the use of P-Mags

I cast 90gr .314 and size down to .311 SWC and put them over a few gr of powder in 30-30 and call them bunny busters , I will have to make some up for this gun

this is the VMR-1 reticel in the scope with hashes every 2 minutes , learning to better range targets and adjust dope is one of the things I plan to work on with this setup.

Hey Sarge, I like the name idea. Got an old 30-30 I call "ole-meat". When you hear ol meat go off you better go get the potatoes! LOL

I have a 12 ga that has dropped a lot of deer for me , it is a Rem 12A a plain version of the Rem 1100 with no scroll work on the metal and a plain maple stock that they tried with the 12P right before they made the 870 express they apparently didn't have the 12A sales to make and 1100 express.

for parts or accessories it is a true 1100 but in plain cloths

Bertha , she's a heavy gal to carry and kind of plain but when she speaks everybody listens.

You got where I am going with this then.I done the same with my 30-30 also and now on this one and 30-06. Have them do more then one use.

Try some Hornady 150 Interlocks, over CFE223. That is all that I shoot now in my .308s. 1/2 moa in two rifles at 2924 fps. My Creedmoor and .260 get the nod mostly, now, though.