can't make 180's out of my 308 work

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bruce1

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have a savage model 11 i ca n get 165 hornadys to shoot great but no matter what i try i can't get 180's to work.trying hornady 180 flat base sp interlock. on the low side of hornady data the accuracy sucks on the high side the primers flatten but the accuracy is good. tried win 748 and 4895 on the 4895 i have no pressure at 38 grains at 38.5 grains i have slightly flat primers at 39 i have flat primers and a sticky bolt but accuracy is real good.im trying the 180 because a friend gave me 600 of them but im ready to go to the gun store and see if i can get anything out of them. this may be a dumb post i don't know only been reloading for 3 months and learned by watching youtube. thanks
 
I have great results with Sierra 180gr out of my Savage 10BA. 1-10" twist.
What twist is your barrel?
Have you tried Varget?
What do you do for case prep?
Are you full length sizing or neck sizing once fired brass which was formed in the same rifle?
How far off the rifling are your bullets sitting?
 
once fired brass range p/u. sizing full length.seting to the length the book says 2.740 haven't tried any other powder im allready powder poor. i don't have much money and just can't afford to do the expermenting that i see some do. thought this reloading would be fun it's turning out to be a exspensive pain in the rear. i have no place to shoot so i have to drive 44 miles one way to a public range to try what i make and it's always packed and there always seems to be some ignorant butt there so it's no fun.i consider myself a very good shooter but i guess i suck at reloading.whats crazy it seems i never had these problemes with factory ammo why would that be
 
If you are using IMR4895, it's hard to believe that you are getting indications of high pressure at the charges listed by you, but not impossible.
www.hodgdon.com lists 40.5gr as a start load with 180gr Speer SP, and 44.7gr compressed at the maximum.
COAL should be 2.80" or under, and not engaging the rifling when chambered.

I don't put a lot of stock into reading primers for pressures, but a stiffened bolt lift can be a symptom. A chronograph can be useful when working up a load because each rifle is an individual, and maximum loads can be different in your particular rifle if you are achieving the velocity goal listed. It may be that you are just being cautious in working up your load, and that's good.
It is difficult posting an opinion on an issue like this without walking in your moccasins. If your cases and loads are to spec, we can only see the results through your eyes and posts. Pictures are always nice.


NCsmitty
 
You should prolly send me those bullets. Sounds like they're out of spec. ;)


Could be yer rifle just doesn't like that weight.

Sent from my CZ85 Combat
 
im trying h4895 i have never tried varget i started with 748 because the shop said it would do for all the rounds i wanted to load 223 308 and 35 rem works great for the 223 and 35 not so good for the 308. dont see how people can afford so many different powders.i had pressure problemes on a previous post and every one said probably my scalea so i bought a new rcbs 505 wasn't that and bought a new set of dies wasn't that. what baffels me is the differant laod data between charts some start where others max. what chart do you trust most
 
Might want to check the weight or water capacity of the brass your using as different types have differing internal capacity which will affect pressures. Segregate by weight and use the lightest, see if that makes a difference.
 
The 180's may be a little long for the twist of your barrel. try googling Greenhills formula for rifiling twist and see what comes up. You will need to know the twist of your Savage.
 
Stock Savage 11 in .308 is 1:10 twist. It should run 180's just fine.
I was able to answer a few of my own questons about loading on youtube, but I learned from ABC's of reloading. Get it. Read it. Read it again.
 
The 180's may be a little long for the twist of your barrel.
Click to expand...
1 in 10 has worked well for a couple/ three generations with 180s and even heavier.
That's not the problem.
Not to mention: Greenhill solidly agrees with 1/10 .308 180 length.
 
Trade those bullets for some 150s or 165s. Your powder works better for the lighter bullets.
 
Just how long is a Hornady 180 gr SPFB
Click to expand...
About 1.24 inches. That ain't the problem.

bruce1 -
What are the loads that work well with your rifle?
What is the OAL with the 180's?
 
Most accurate powder for the 180gr 308 is H380 per Nosler 44gr is your starting load. Some people have reported good results with IMR 4350 as well, I am giving those a try tomorrow since I am out of my 165gr Game Kings (everybody around here is sold out :(). Unfortunately my 308 is a 1:12 twist and I am not sure if it will stabilize a 180gr SGK or SST.
 
I shoot 175gr SMKs out of my .308 in competition. It ought to work fine.


Allow me to ask you a question or two . . . is there anyone in your life who handloads? If not, can you use your social skills to make friends with someone who does?


It took me more than 3 months to develop good handloading skills. And I had someone teaching me; I didn't try to learn it on youtube.

I bet if you befriend someone who knows what he's doing to show you the ropes you'll find out what is causing you a problem. Some skills just can't be acquired "on-line".
 
Id be looking at that range pickup brass...different manufacturers are going to have slightly different case capacities. The twist isnt or at least shouldnt be an issue. A 1:10 twist is standard for a 30-06 since its inception, and mainly because early on the caliber was loaded with 220 jacketed round nose.
I have been shooting and reloading 308 for a long time, and my rifle has the slower 1:12 twist. Had some folks tell me that I might need a 1:10 but I can cut groups under a minute of angle.

From my personal experience, changing powders hasnt made nearly the difference in accuracy that COAL has, and you may find that yours just doesnt like those particular bullets.
2.740 COAL sounds a bit short for a 180 bullet, but before you begin changing the overall length, check to see what your particular chamber will handle. Ive found a lot of Remingtons to have a very long throat in them, so Im able to load to the length of the magazine box and accuracy was much improved.

Edited to add: According to IMR's website, COAL is supposed to be 2.800, which may well explain the pressure signs youre seeing.
 
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To stabilize a bullet a certain RMP is required, this is achieved buy velocity and rate of twist of the barrel.
So you may need more velocity or a faster twist. If you have a 1:10 twist barrel you may need more velocity assuming the barrel length will allow it.
 
According to the calculator at JBM ballistics, a 1/10 twist will stabilize that bullet at 700 fps.
 
wish i had time to find a loading buddy.im single and between work and careing for my daughter there is no time left.my daughter is dieabetic and has kidney failure spend alot of time at the dialisys center. as far as reading something on reloading i have read the reloading manual i got with my hornady press from front to back twice.and in that manual it shows h4895 starting load to be 33 gr and max 38.4 where hogden starts at 40
 
Manny said:
Might want to check the weight or water capacity of the brass your using as different types have differing internal capacity which will affect pressures. Segregate by weight and use the lightest, see if that makes a difference.
Click to expand...
^^^^^^^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^

when I started loading (about 16 years back) I was mixing PMC and Rem brass this was stuff I shot , not range brass , and my groups opened up to over 2.5", rem and win mixed seem to be ok , so I didn't think the PMC mix would hurt , well I was wrong! , sort your brass buy brand , then fill them , and see if they hold the same weight , or just fill one case and dump in the next and then the next , and so on , make sure none over flow and none are less than full
 
dbl. check your case lenght , should be .010 under max case lenght. trim to 2.005 , max lenght is 2.015, if there all under 2.015 you shoud be ok , if there all differant lenghts this can mess with your accuracy , if there over 2.015 the case mouth can pinch the bullet (holding it) and you can/will get PSI spikes , this is BAD! alsol take a loaded round and chamber it and then take it out and see if you can see any marks (scraches) from the rifleing, as it should not be touching at all , some guys like to use a marker to make it eazier to see ,


hope this helps,
 
Yep not all brass is the same, tried a load out of Nosler 6 using 52.5gr of Big Game in my 308 Yeah that is a highly compressed (114%) load, trying to seat the boat tail bullets it was pushing the powder out of my Federal brass, but the Winchester brass took it just fine. A reduction in case volume can make for an increase in pressure so I always try to use the same brass working up the same bullet/powder.
 
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