Just went to the range today to test out some loads and fire a few off for fun. Took my Howa 1500 .308 with Center Point scope and I was pleased with the results. Howa is a subsidary of Legacy Sports international and is made in Japan. I happened upon the "varminter" model which comes with a floated Hogue overmolded stock and a 1 in 12 twist heavy barrel, the MSRP is 550 dollars. I outfitted my rifle with a Caldwell bipod, Center Point 4-16x scope and Winchester sling. The rifle has a smooth action and crisp trigger especially compared to my last bolt gun (Remington 710). The action is a Mauser type with locking lugs and is smooth as butter. The trigger has no signs of grittines with a crisp break. Recoil is very manageable and I put 50 rounds down range today without a shoulder pad and without shoulder pain probably because the rifle already has a pretty beefy recoil pad installed.
Center Point is made in China and is owned by Crossman, however this is no Air Soft scope. This scope has held zero over 100 rounds of 308 and is very rugged for 70 bucks at your local Wal-Mart. This scope is no Leupold not even a Burris but it is clear and does hold zero. My particular model is the 4-16x illuminated mil-dot, the package stated the scope could withstand recoil up to the 416 rigby so don't think you can go and mount it on a 50 BMG without damage. The rings that came with the scope fit nicely and have not rattled loose, the screws also have not stripped out. I used blue LocTite when installing my scope and rings and that may attribute to the previous fact. The scope has the mil-dot recticle with the option of green, red, or no illumination with 5 setting sof brightness for each color. The magnification was clear and at 12x I could see my bullet holes at 100 yards. The scope supposedly adjust up to 16 x but I could not tell any difference in magnification between 14 and 16x. Overall it is a good scope and I would say the best scope 70 bucks will buy.
The cartridges used today were hand loads of the following recipes, all used full length sized Winchester commercial 308 brass and primers.
147 grain Hornady FMJ in front of 44.5 grains of IMR 4895 OAL of 2.7835
168 grain Barnes Tipped TSX with 39.5 grains of Reloader 15 OAL of 2.8
168 grain Nosler HPBT with 42 grains of Reloader 15
The lighter bullets didn't do so great today, the Noslers performed best. The shots were made from 100 yards out with bipod support on a shooting table in 50 degree weather with a 5mph crosswind.
147 grain Hornady FMJ
168 grain Tipped TSX
168 grain Nosler HPBT
Center Point is made in China and is owned by Crossman, however this is no Air Soft scope. This scope has held zero over 100 rounds of 308 and is very rugged for 70 bucks at your local Wal-Mart. This scope is no Leupold not even a Burris but it is clear and does hold zero. My particular model is the 4-16x illuminated mil-dot, the package stated the scope could withstand recoil up to the 416 rigby so don't think you can go and mount it on a 50 BMG without damage. The rings that came with the scope fit nicely and have not rattled loose, the screws also have not stripped out. I used blue LocTite when installing my scope and rings and that may attribute to the previous fact. The scope has the mil-dot recticle with the option of green, red, or no illumination with 5 setting sof brightness for each color. The magnification was clear and at 12x I could see my bullet holes at 100 yards. The scope supposedly adjust up to 16 x but I could not tell any difference in magnification between 14 and 16x. Overall it is a good scope and I would say the best scope 70 bucks will buy.
The cartridges used today were hand loads of the following recipes, all used full length sized Winchester commercial 308 brass and primers.
147 grain Hornady FMJ in front of 44.5 grains of IMR 4895 OAL of 2.7835
168 grain Barnes Tipped TSX with 39.5 grains of Reloader 15 OAL of 2.8
168 grain Nosler HPBT with 42 grains of Reloader 15
The lighter bullets didn't do so great today, the Noslers performed best. The shots were made from 100 yards out with bipod support on a shooting table in 50 degree weather with a 5mph crosswind.
147 grain Hornady FMJ
168 grain Tipped TSX
168 grain Nosler HPBT