308 Semi-automatic

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ExtremeGunCare,
The Winchester SX-AR is the same as the FN-AR but painted. The FN AR was created with the tactical customer in mind. I have the FNAR and I can tell you is a very good rifle but a pain to clean and mags are in the $70 neighborhood. The barrel likes either lower grain .308 (not a good idea for longer reach) and then 175-180gr. It is picky in the middle of the road grain/ type of loads but when you get it to like a load it is very accurate. Mine around .7MOA.

FN, Winchester as well as Browning they all belong to Herstal group in Belgium and that's why they come out with these different flavors of the same.

The FN AR is derived from the time tested BAR auto loading rifles with the advantage that the BARs give you other cartridge choices but only in 4 or 5 rounds. The FNAR and SX-AR can take 20 and 10 mags using the magazine well piece that separates them from the BAR. So if the primary objective is hunting I would also consider the BAR in 243 or even in 270 Winchester!
The BAR mark II also comes with the BOSS brake that can really help to tune those hunting loads to match levels.
BAR is probably one of the most popular auto-loading hunting platforms around the world w/o being a military based system.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/bar.htm

Sorry if I am boring you. I wanted to post in case you or others do not know.
 
Well keep in mind you can purchase a full reloading kit from lee for about 100 bucks shipped. 243 is a very easy cheap round to reload! Top tier ammo loaded with barnes will only get you a couple boxes for what you could get most of your equiptment..just a thought...
 
no problem.. I think it's actually been that way a while.. but I'm not really sure how long
 
In any case I cannot think about many scenarios where you would need more than one round at the time. Maybe two eventually if you totally miss and the animal is still showing or you didn't hit it well and need follow up to end it quickly.
Since I use the TSX never had to follow up. It might happen one day but if you get good placement normally works like lightning striking the animal.
The one occasion one bucked a few times before it hit the ground belly up. All the others didn't even take 2 steps. Always zero movement after that.
I will be trying the nosler e-tip this year.

Cheers.
E.
 
suzukisam - you are peaking my interest in reloading some of my own rifle rounds. I do have a box cardboard box full of .223 and a box full of 22-250 brass and I have just purchased over 400 rounds of .243 so you may have just given me the nudge I needed...

maybe you can recommend some powder, primer and bullet combos to get me started
 
Shurshot,
I think that suzukisam is giving you some very good advice. You will love reloading cost wise but it is also fun! there are many good threads in THR about how to start but I can give you some tips.

The loads that you can get done with just a few days of practice will be superior to most that you can buy for one fraction of the cost and you can really get to customize what your system likes.

Initially I would start reading one of the books about reloading that are quick read and great fun. This will give you a good foundation. Lymans reloading book or the Hornady one are both good starters and cheap to buy.

Also ask in the local club if you can as experienced reloaders are always very responsive to mentor other enthusiasts.

Remember do not experiment beyond the limits of what is well documented and start low with the powder and work your way up slowly.

The most powerful load is not the best one. The most accurate one is the best one more times than not, it is well below your maximum load. Will save powder, case life, barrel life and potentially your eye site or even your life.

SAFETY FIRST!!!!!
 
not to be a buttkiss but marine is also right! as far as reloading goes, don't let anyone tell you that the lee kit is bad.. it has it's shortcumming but for the price difference you can afford to upgrade what you thing you need.. I started several years ago with the lee anniversary breech lock. I have done well with it. as far as powder, I would highly recomend varget. it really does a nice job. it may not be the top powder for every bullet, but it is in the top load most all bullets, and it is the number one 223, 308 powder IMO. rl-15 is good, and I use hybrid 100 in 243 behind my barnes, the two deer I shot this year didn't seem to think is was inefective. they both folded up like a sack of taters!

do yourself a favor and go get the ABC's of reloading. read it once, and then after you make about 500 rounds read it again!

all I can say is that 243 is a great excuse to reload. it is a wonderful cartridge that your reloading efforts will pay off on paper. you are working with a 1:10, so about the 75-85gr range you'll have to test them and see if they will shoot.. I'm sure they will my factory savage shot very well with the 85gr tsx.. if you shoot one deer with a tsx, you'll be addicted.. they're like crack for that gun!
 
My first press was a lee breechlock and it works great. A press is a press (up and down) then I have dies from lee, RCBS, redding and they all work great with the bushing system so nobody should complain about LEE. Lee is less expensive: Yes. Lee is too inferior: Absolutely Not. Lee press and dies can achieve great loads. In fact I always use the lee factory crimp for a light crimp in all my bullets regardless other die brands I might be using and discovered that I can maintain the starting pressure pretty consistently that translate in speed spreads with differences in the single digits many times.
I weight all my loads, segregate the brass by brand, batch, nr. of firing and after prepping. I weight my bullets and everything I do for hunting or precision target is to be consistent.
Consistency is the name of the game. For the Chrono I have a RCBS ammo master that is really simple but very accurate.

NEver forget... start low. Safety first.

Cheers,
E.
 
I appreciate all the info guys. I have shot a lot of trap and got into reloading 12 gauge. I reloaded over 10,000 shells before lead prices got so high that I was able to buy new Federal cheaper than I could reload so I quit reloading. I still have everything I need and I have 15 flats of shells stockpiled. I will look into what is available for the rifle now. You guys got me started again, thanks!
 
I believe that the LEE aniversary with the breech lock system (great for quick replacement of the dies) runs for a bit over 100. The lee dies will serve you well. Varget is a great powder and does very well in extreme cold weather. I use mainly CCI primers as these are hard and a good idea with an autoloader, specially with a floating firing pin that could trigger a slam fire.
Do not use match primers with the AR-15 as these are softer.

I don't use the mechanical scale scale. They work great but they are a bit from the past. Get a nice digital scale and a trickle charger. I zero the scale with the brass on after prep. and then could charge with a .005 precision if I wanted.
I use a JS VG-40 gem scale that are reliable and easy to use. http://jscale.com/product/_vg_series.html

The key to reloading for the AR is to resize and prep the brass every time. Make sure the brass is up to spec. I use a light factory crimp even if I do not have cannelure.

Never go over the o-give or press against the lands and you should be ok. Stay away from max pressures. Start low.

Cheers,
E.
 
For such as a press for rifles, the RCBS stuff is hard to beat. I don't know of a press ever wearing out. :) I'm using '06 dies that were elderly in 1950; still getting sub-MOA. Craig's List, EBay, and gunshows are good places to look and save money.
 
the same gun store I am getting the rifle is where I bought all my trap loading components. I'll see what they have there and do a little price comparison. I am sure I will find something nice enough. Got my scope, ammo and boresight arbor today. just need the gun to get started.

do you buy brass or factory ammo to reload? thanks
 
I use all range pickups for my AR's and pistols. my 243 hunting "precision" loads are new win brass. but honestly I get a lot of life out of 243 brass. I've loaded ten plus on some brass.. your rifle should be pretty precision. it should have a moderately tight chamber and should treat your brass well.. don't get too hot and it should last a while. I'm up to about 6-800 rnds of 243 brass. I still pick up 25-50 rounds every time I go to the public range. keep in mind your varget loads and rl-15 will perform well with higher pressure loads.. I want to be clear here, I'm not saying dangerous or even max, just you'll find that a upper end charge performs well with these loads.. varget is a powder you'll never take out of your selection once you start loading with it, you'll realize pretty quick it's versatility.. many many cartridges perform at a "factory" or better level with it..
 
Don't beat yourself too much. The breech lock anniversary will pay for itself with the same $'s as a couple or three boxes of black hills and you will be doing superior loads in no time.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=423081

I am a .308 guy but there are folks that know more about the .243 here although I can tell you that the important thing is not the hot loads or the seeped but consistent loads and very good bullets.
You can start much slower with a very good bullet and end up much better than with a supercharged average bullet.
6.5 scenar + Grendel, rings a bell?

So for serious shooting look for good bullets, save powder, brass and barrel life and nail those paper targets or game. You might want to customize a hot load for bear or something big but for the rest don't waist. More times than not less is more.
For playing around also save on bullets and save the brass and stay away from the red.

Cheers,
E.
 
I already have a nice electronic scale and another just like what comes in the Lee kit. I will either order something tomorrow or pick one up. Didn't see mention of a tumbler anywhere. I have a friend or two that already load, but not this caliber. I must admit that some of the terms you use like "o-give and cannelure" I don't know. I will definately pick up a book and educate myself on these terms.
 
I have the hornady tumbler. It is not a huge one but so far is working well. Others are great too, make sure the motor is fan cooled like this one.
YEs! get the book like the ABC of reloading and there is some great info to get you started.
Also watch some DVDs and youtube from experienced reloaders after that. There is a lot of good info online.

Always learning. This is more fun that sudoku, I can guarantee you that.

Cheers.
E.
 
I use the cabelas tumbler kit, it's pretty reasonable..you can probably find a used one if you look around.


Sav .250- um.....what? What the heck does that have to do with anything
 
I wouldn't call myself an all round expert, but a lousy shooter I am not... nough said.

1stmarine, suzukisam - well the gun store called me today to tell me that they were unable to get my rifle becuase none of his suppliers had any. told me it would probably be another week. so I called the large gun store in my area and they had one in stock. I will pick it up in the morning. :)

this may have turned out for the best because they have a huge selection of accessories. I may just splurge tomorrow... :D
 
congrats man! very excited for you.. you know when I first decided to get into reloading, I just kept finding little deals here and there. I had a whole gun cabinet full of brass and powder and bullets and I didn't even have any equipment. then I bought a tumbler and started cleaning brass and bagging it. then finally one day I just added a basic lee anniversary breech lock kit and had everything. If you keep your eyes peeled you can find used dies and bags of brass pretty cheap.. check out midwestguntrader.com nothing in ohio right now but a lot people will ship.. anyway you may have some local classifieds in your area
 
Congratulations.
You will love this thing. I shoot Skeet and Trap in competition and the fun is hard to beat there but what the precision shooting allows you to do is to have some fun in solitude and really workout your brain.
So the rifle is just one small part of the equation, you have ballistics, math, reloading learning, atmospherics, etc...
The marksmanship is just one aspect of it. To be a good long range hunter you also need to be able to gain experience in the field and lots of patience. The experience in bird hunting helps but it is totally different with a rifle.
The fun doesn't stop.
For me skeet is the game to socialize and target is a time to go inside a bubble and empty my mind but you will meet great people too. Sometimes very meticulous about their work and I am always learning from everyone.
I will only stop learning the day I die. Anything you need give me a shout here or by PM.

Cheers.
E.
 
That goes for me too I'm no expert but I've been playing with the 243 for a few years now and I do have a couple pet loads and what not.. feel free to pm anytime if I can help I'll be glad to
 
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