jgh4445
Member
I liked my Sako 85 .260 Bavarian Carbine so much I bought another Mod 85 in .308. This time I was going to buy the Finnlite and then I noticed the Synthetic Black. It had a twenty two inch barrel vs. the 20 inch in the Finnlite. A discussion with the folks at Beretta confirmed that this was the sole difference in the two. I liked the black stock better and the extra two inches on the fluted barrel, so I bought it. It weighs in at a half a pound more than the Finnlite. Thats a good thing I think, as it turns out.
Ordered some dies and figured I'd just buy some decent ammo to get some brass until I could get set up reloading.
Stopped at a LGS in the area and shopped for some bullets and ammo plus a set of bases and rings. Decided on Sierra 165 gr BTHP Game King. Heard and read that they were great. Went to the ammo counter and asked for Fed Gold Match 168 BTHP Match, a box of Nosler Trophy Grade 165 Accupoints and a box of Federal Premium loaded with 165 gr BTHP's to match the box of 100 bullets I had in my hand. The clerk looked at both items and verified that the loaded ammo was loaded with the bullets I had in my hand. Great. Decided against the Optilock bases and rings and went with the Talleys like on my other Sako. Happy day! Headed home to put it all together and go to the range.
Got home, (4 hour drive) and put the bases and rings on the rifle and a Swarovski 4-12. Reached for the Factory ammo and to my surprise, it was loaded with 165 gr BTSP instead of HP's. I thought, dang that clerk! Opened it up thinking I'd just shoot it for the brass anyway and durned if it isn't nickle brass! I hate nickle brass! Made sure I had the reciet and threw the bullets back in the bag. Looked at the box of bullets and realized it wasn't the clerk's fault, it was my poor eye sight. The box of bullets was also BTSP dang it. He verified that I had the same loaded ammo as the bullets in the box and he was right. Bad day at the poorly lit store with my poor vision lol.
Anyway, I had the Fed Gold Match and the Nosler so the next day I went to the range. Looked thru the bore and got it basically boresighted and fired off a benched round at 25 yds.
OMG!!!! That kicked worse than my 300 win mag! Glad it was a half pound heavier than the Finnlite! Glad I didn't get the Finnlite! Held the rifle steady and had a friend dial the cross hairs to the hole as I always do and headed over to the 100 yd range.
Set up a target and fired. 9 inches low. Never had one shoot that far below POA at 100 after dialing in the scope at 25. anyway, after 32 clicks up and 12 to the right, I was sighted in at 1.5 inches high at 100 with the Gold Match after 3 100 yd shots. . Let the barrel cool and loaded three in the magazine. Shot a threee shot group and was surprised that the group was over 1.5 inches. Shot another group and got similar lousy results. Checked everything. Everything tight. Reviewed my bench technique. Seemed solid as usual. Still amazed at the recoil in this little .308. ( Note to self: order Limbsaver). Cleaned the barrel, changed targets and swapped to the Nosler ammo. 3 shots, almost a two inch group. Again, same result. Packed the gear up and went to the house!
When I got home I tore everything down and started over again paying special attention to torque and making sure the barrel was floated with no obstructions in the channel etc. Tightened everything up and decided to load some rounds. Found a box of Fed .308 brass that belonged to my son that he left at my house so I decided to FL size it and load it. Looked in my stash and found some Nosler Partition 165's. Sure did want to use the Sierra BTHP's though but didn't have any. Did a lot of searching thru all my manuals and some online data and decided to use Varget and RL 15 powders for my first session. All the time I was hearing this aggravating voice in my head, "it's supposed to shoot sub MOA with Premium ammunition!" I was thinking that maybe it only liked 150 gr or 180 gr bullets. I hoped not cause I wanted to try the BTHP's GK's from Sierra.
Loaded the test rounds and was really disappointed with the RL 15 and two loads of Varget. The 3rd load of Varget was awesome. Three holes touching, almost an oblong cloverleaf measuring .678. Repeated this performance three times. All three times were sub MOA by a good bit. My chrono shows an average of 2740 ish. Wonder why it wouldn't shoot those two fine, premium factory loads worth a crap? Never saw a rifle that wouldn't shoot that Gold Medal Match really well. This is my first foray into .308 but for now, I'll stick to the Nosler Partitions and work up something with the Sierras after hunting season is over. I have just heard so many good things about the Sierras. Don't get me wrong, I had those NP's for a reason. They work awesome in my 30.06's and are stone killers. Limbsaver is on the way!
Ordered some dies and figured I'd just buy some decent ammo to get some brass until I could get set up reloading.
Stopped at a LGS in the area and shopped for some bullets and ammo plus a set of bases and rings. Decided on Sierra 165 gr BTHP Game King. Heard and read that they were great. Went to the ammo counter and asked for Fed Gold Match 168 BTHP Match, a box of Nosler Trophy Grade 165 Accupoints and a box of Federal Premium loaded with 165 gr BTHP's to match the box of 100 bullets I had in my hand. The clerk looked at both items and verified that the loaded ammo was loaded with the bullets I had in my hand. Great. Decided against the Optilock bases and rings and went with the Talleys like on my other Sako. Happy day! Headed home to put it all together and go to the range.
Got home, (4 hour drive) and put the bases and rings on the rifle and a Swarovski 4-12. Reached for the Factory ammo and to my surprise, it was loaded with 165 gr BTSP instead of HP's. I thought, dang that clerk! Opened it up thinking I'd just shoot it for the brass anyway and durned if it isn't nickle brass! I hate nickle brass! Made sure I had the reciet and threw the bullets back in the bag. Looked at the box of bullets and realized it wasn't the clerk's fault, it was my poor eye sight. The box of bullets was also BTSP dang it. He verified that I had the same loaded ammo as the bullets in the box and he was right. Bad day at the poorly lit store with my poor vision lol.
Anyway, I had the Fed Gold Match and the Nosler so the next day I went to the range. Looked thru the bore and got it basically boresighted and fired off a benched round at 25 yds.
OMG!!!! That kicked worse than my 300 win mag! Glad it was a half pound heavier than the Finnlite! Glad I didn't get the Finnlite! Held the rifle steady and had a friend dial the cross hairs to the hole as I always do and headed over to the 100 yd range.
Set up a target and fired. 9 inches low. Never had one shoot that far below POA at 100 after dialing in the scope at 25. anyway, after 32 clicks up and 12 to the right, I was sighted in at 1.5 inches high at 100 with the Gold Match after 3 100 yd shots. . Let the barrel cool and loaded three in the magazine. Shot a threee shot group and was surprised that the group was over 1.5 inches. Shot another group and got similar lousy results. Checked everything. Everything tight. Reviewed my bench technique. Seemed solid as usual. Still amazed at the recoil in this little .308. ( Note to self: order Limbsaver). Cleaned the barrel, changed targets and swapped to the Nosler ammo. 3 shots, almost a two inch group. Again, same result. Packed the gear up and went to the house!
When I got home I tore everything down and started over again paying special attention to torque and making sure the barrel was floated with no obstructions in the channel etc. Tightened everything up and decided to load some rounds. Found a box of Fed .308 brass that belonged to my son that he left at my house so I decided to FL size it and load it. Looked in my stash and found some Nosler Partition 165's. Sure did want to use the Sierra BTHP's though but didn't have any. Did a lot of searching thru all my manuals and some online data and decided to use Varget and RL 15 powders for my first session. All the time I was hearing this aggravating voice in my head, "it's supposed to shoot sub MOA with Premium ammunition!" I was thinking that maybe it only liked 150 gr or 180 gr bullets. I hoped not cause I wanted to try the BTHP's GK's from Sierra.
Loaded the test rounds and was really disappointed with the RL 15 and two loads of Varget. The 3rd load of Varget was awesome. Three holes touching, almost an oblong cloverleaf measuring .678. Repeated this performance three times. All three times were sub MOA by a good bit. My chrono shows an average of 2740 ish. Wonder why it wouldn't shoot those two fine, premium factory loads worth a crap? Never saw a rifle that wouldn't shoot that Gold Medal Match really well. This is my first foray into .308 but for now, I'll stick to the Nosler Partitions and work up something with the Sierras after hunting season is over. I have just heard so many good things about the Sierras. Don't get me wrong, I had those NP's for a reason. They work awesome in my 30.06's and are stone killers. Limbsaver is on the way!
