BLR in 308

My .358 win kicks hard. Not a rife you want to sit at the bench and shoot a couple hundred rounds.

Funny thing though, in the field, I never noticed it and I've taken countless deer with it.

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Do you reload for it or shoot factory ammo? If factory, what's your favorite?

Grandad always said there's no shame in being ignorant, just in remaining so. Can't believe I'm pushing 60 and just now discovering these weapons.

Congrats OP, I regret ever selling mine in .308

Stiab,

I do reload but haven't yet for the .358 win. I bought 10 boxes of Hornady the last time I saw it on the shelf and haven't seen any since. I'm saving the brass because I will make my own when it's gone. It's hard to find. Winchester quit making it and from what I read Hornady only makes small quantities in limited runs.

The good news is that it's based on the .308 case so brass will always be handy.

I'm literally salivating at the idea of owning one. Trying to figure out the Spousal Unit calculus. Then again, she's got this crush on Tom Selleck, so it's kind of her fault that we were watching the movie to begin with.

My dad inherited one in .308 from a cousin. He passed it on to me with a box of ammo that he got with it. Later I found the receipt for it and found that it was purchased in 1988 with a box of ammo, the same box that I got with it. The Gun had never been fired! I have put a Bushnell 4-12x40 on it and put about 40 rounds through it. I am going to start loading for it now. I have picked up some 168gr A- Max for it and hope to make up some ladder loads for it soon.

You guys have made me want to take mine to the range this weekend

Sources I have read suggest the BLR is nicest in short-action cartridges (.308,.223,.243 etc).

Apparently the different rack and pinion gear ratio needed for the longer cartridges (.30-06) make it less enjoyable to operate in those longer chamberings.

I like my laminated stainless takedown BLR in .308 Win too

I have a 358. I shoot cast lead bullets at around 1900 FPS most of the time. A 200 grain flat point at 1900 FPS is nothing to sneeze at but its not punishing to shoot at all.

My .308 BLR shoots 3/4 " groups with Sierra 165 gr boattails, Reloader 15 near max, Fed 210, Federal cases. 3 shot groups. Barrel heats up fast and strings high right with 5 shots.

When I get to reloading for it I will try some reduced recoil loads for sure

BLRguy said:

My .308 BLR shoots 3/4 " groups with Sierra 165 gr boattails, Reloader 15 near max, Fed 210, Federal cases. 3 shot groups. Barrel heats up fast and strings high right with 5 shots.

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How long do you give between shots to let the barrel to cool?

With the aluminum receiver and light contour barrel I find the BLR punishing to shoot with full-power .308 Win loadings.

I've worked up a reduced loading around 2700 ft./sec with a 125g Hornady SST that is much more pleasant (I use H4895 powder which is published to handle that reduction well).

It also happens to be a performance clone of Hornady's factory reduced loading too.

http://www.wwpowder.com/PDF/Youth%20Loads.pdf

http://www.hornady.com/store/308-Win-125-gr-SST-Custom-Lite/

Fouled Bore
I don't give it long at the bench. I would guess three shots in a couple of minutes. At that point the barrel is warm and I set it down and shoot something else.

BLRguy said:

Fouled Bore
I don't give it long at the bench. I would guess three shots in a couple of minutes. At that point the barrel is warm and I set it down and shoot something else.

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Thanks, that's good to know. This is the only 308 I have and noticed that it warms up real quick. Because I have not shot it much I didn't know how much the heat was effecting this gun. I do notice it stringing off high right.