Best bullet for F/TR Chamber

[Billch]

Greetings all,
I hope everybody is having fun with all of the toys Santa brought.

Unfortunately He didn't bring me any bullets for Christmas so I'm online getting ready to order some. I've tried several different makes and models of bullets in my .308 F/TR, most have done well. So far, I'd have to say the 175 Sierra MK has worked the best for me but I'm still working on getting the Berger 155.5 FB to fly right.
I've always wondered what reamer Savage uses at the factory and what effect that has on the different bullets.

My question is, what bullet ogive best fits the factory chamber? Does it matter? Is there any point in rechambering to something different?

Thanks all.

[Balljoint]

First what is the twist and length of the barrel you are going to shoot a 1/10 can shoot about anything, my Savage F/TR has a 30 in. 1/12 twist barrel and shoots the Berger 185 HPBT bullet very nicely may not in yours.

[GaCop]

Bullet ogive doesn't matter. Checking your "overall length" to the lands with the bullets your going to shoot is more important. Once you find your max length to the lands with each bullet weight, what the load manuals say is immaterial.

[memilanuk]

Don't make it harder than it needs to be... It's a .308... they ain't that fussy ::)

For the B155.5BT... Lapua brass, 46.5-46.8gn Varget (or N150), 210M primer, seat it ~45-50 thou back off a hard jam as determined with a Hornady LnL OAL comparator/ seating depth tool. Works for me in multiple barrels.

I'm working with the B185LRBT a bit lately... the chamber is a tad short for this one. Seated right up to the lands (10 thou off a hard jam) and the bullet body/boat-tail junction is right down around the case neck/shoulder junction, i.e. 'donut country'. Ideally the throat could be (at least) another 50 thou longer for this bullet, but then you'd be in a pickle with the B155.5BT and S155 Palma that have almost no bearing surface to begin with... 210s would almost certainly need the barrel throated out a bit.

[Billch]

Don't make it harder than it needs to be... It's a .308... they ain't that fussy ::)


Well, I suppose your right.
As far as I'm concerned Savage has done a great job with this rifle, especially considering its cost. It makes me look like I really know what I'm doing when I go to the range. I don't want to sound like I think Savage hung the moon or anything, but I do feel I got my moneys worth. Like I say, it hasn't done a bad job with any hand loads. The worst its ever done was with some factory Winchester Silver Tips I bought just to try for giggles. They did so poorly that I actually thought I'd broken the rifle somehow. :o

My problem isn't really a problem. It's just that I want better.
I was at the range a few weeks ago working on a load for the Hornady 110 gr. V-Max. I'd been doing a lot of head scratching trying to figure out the best powder to use as well as OAL for that bullet. I finally came up with something that was worth trying. I'd been checking against the 200 yard target. It was a slow day at the range so the range safety guy didn't have much more to do than to just watch me shoot. I was the only one there. He came up to me at the end of a string a raved about how great it was, how small the groups were. I said thanks, but I didn't tell him that I was thoroughly disgusted. I want better. It's always nice to get a compliment though.

I guess I'm just wondering about my next barrel. A bit premature maybe, but there may be some things I'll do different. A couple of things I'd consider is having it reamed for a little tighter neck and a shallower lead angle. I've had this thing for eight months and only put a little over a 1000 rounds through it so its pretty hard to justify a new barrel at this stage of the game. If it didn't shoot so well, things would be different.

I think I'll try those 155.5 Bergers with a little more jump and see how that goes. I've been seating them pretty long.

Thanks all.

B