GovtCheese
Inactive
HISTORY:
OK, so this all started about 5 months ago when I bought a new Remington700 SPS Varmint in .308. The rifle I bought was scoring the bullet and casing badly when I tried to cycle handloaded and factory ammo. I went back to the retailer and exchanged it for the same rifle, also new. When I got #2 home I had similar problems. In addition to the same scoring issue, the bolt wouldn't close on my hand loads (which were spec - 2.800" for .308.)
After some research I discovered others had the scoring problem so I sent the rifle back to Remington for their complimentary fix. I'm determined to get this to work because I like the platform and the price is about right for someone like me who is just getting into long(er) range shooting.
CURRENT ISSUE:
I just got the rifle back I decided to use an OAL gauge so that I could optimize the performance of the rifle. Based on everything I've read, you want there to only be about .02" to .04" of travel between where the bullet is seated and the rifling. When I measured for my best overall length, I was getting 2.931" for the OAL with my Sierra 168gr HPBT. As you may know, this seems problematic since the max OAL for a .308 round is supposed to be 2.800".
I hand loaded a round to 2.911" OAL to see if it would cycle smoothly (without firing) and it did. However, one obvious drawback is that because the round is so long I can't load more than one round at a time into the rifle since the internal mag won't allow it.
QUESTIONS:
- Does this mean I have too much headspace?
- Is this a problem and if so, how do I fix this?
- If If I load the rounds down to 2.800" I'll have about 0.131" of free travel before the bullet hits the rifling. Isn't that a lot (as in too much?)
As you might have guessed I'm relatively new to all of this and I'd like to get into long(er) distance shooting (600m - 1000m) but I don't want my efforts to be undercut by an inadequate rifle. HELP!
OK, so this all started about 5 months ago when I bought a new Remington700 SPS Varmint in .308. The rifle I bought was scoring the bullet and casing badly when I tried to cycle handloaded and factory ammo. I went back to the retailer and exchanged it for the same rifle, also new. When I got #2 home I had similar problems. In addition to the same scoring issue, the bolt wouldn't close on my hand loads (which were spec - 2.800" for .308.)
After some research I discovered others had the scoring problem so I sent the rifle back to Remington for their complimentary fix. I'm determined to get this to work because I like the platform and the price is about right for someone like me who is just getting into long(er) range shooting.
CURRENT ISSUE:
I just got the rifle back I decided to use an OAL gauge so that I could optimize the performance of the rifle. Based on everything I've read, you want there to only be about .02" to .04" of travel between where the bullet is seated and the rifling. When I measured for my best overall length, I was getting 2.931" for the OAL with my Sierra 168gr HPBT. As you may know, this seems problematic since the max OAL for a .308 round is supposed to be 2.800".
I hand loaded a round to 2.911" OAL to see if it would cycle smoothly (without firing) and it did. However, one obvious drawback is that because the round is so long I can't load more than one round at a time into the rifle since the internal mag won't allow it.
QUESTIONS:
- Does this mean I have too much headspace?
- Is this a problem and if so, how do I fix this?
- If If I load the rounds down to 2.800" I'll have about 0.131" of free travel before the bullet hits the rifling. Isn't that a lot (as in too much?)
As you might have guessed I'm relatively new to all of this and I'd like to get into long(er) distance shooting (600m - 1000m) but I don't want my efforts to be undercut by an inadequate rifle. HELP!
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