New to Reloading... Successful Start

[waspocrew]

Well I finally decided that I would get into reloading. I had always wanted to do it, but I didn't really have the time, space or money. So when I saw that my father in law bought a Hornady Lock N Load press, I knew that my time had finally come!

I have an elk hunt coming up and needless to say, I'm way excited. I bought a Remington SPS in .308 over the summer and I wanted to come up with a load that my rifle really liked. I ended up buying a box of 165 grain Barnes TSX and went to work!

I loaded them in hornady brass, cci primers and varget powder. I had heard that the tsx like a jump of .050" of the lands, so that's exactly what I tried to do. I loaded 5 shells at increments of .005" starting at the point of .050".

Here's the finished product

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Once I made it down to the range yesterday, I found it to be PACKED! Everyone else is getting ready for the rifle seasons to start as well. After a little waiting, I was able to get a bench and start firing away. Maybe I'm the only one, but I was a little nervous to pull the trigger for the first time . I knew I definitely had a flinch or two haha. I really focused on my trigger pull, breathing etc. and was able to turn out a great group on my final rounds.

These are the last 4 shots at 100 yards. These were seated .070" off the lands ( I don't have the exact measurements with me right now). I was pretty stoked and I think I found something that will be fairly accurate. I just hope I can find a spike in my scope in 2 weeks!

I didn't measure the group, but I thought it was plenty good.

reload shots.jpg (9.33 KiB) Viewed 8227 times

I should add the specs:
Rem 700 SPS .308
Nikon Buckmasters 3-9X40 BDC reticle
100 yards
165 grain Barnes TSX
43 grains Varget
CCI 200 Large Rifle Primers
Hornady Brass

[bh107]

Looks good! I wish I had the time to get into reloading for myself, but I'm lucky enough to have a buddy that works up all of my loads for me...

Good luck on that elk hunt!

[waspocrew]

Thanks! You've got yourself a great friend there. Once you try it, you'll be hooked.

[Springville Shooter]

I would say congrats, but I know the road that you have headed down. There is no turning back. Soon there will come a time in your life when your safe is full of rifles that have never seen a factory load. Even with the recent improvements of factory ammunition, there is still no comparison to precision handloads catered to the individual rifle. Then there is a the cool stuff when you make a great kill shot and recover the bullet that you placed by hand in a perfectly sized case over a super-tuned charge of powder. I love it. My advice is to always strive to improve your loads and you will never find yourself getting complacent in your practices. Good luck on your elk hunt and welcome to the world of the handloader. Lots of help on here if you ever need it. ---------SS

[waspocrew]

SS,
I think my wife senses that coming as well haha. I'm still in college so the funds don't really allow for me to purchase too many goodies, but once I'm settled into a career, I bet I could have some more fun. I never saw a spike to try this current load on, but I'm headed out tomorrow to hopefully try out a handload for my 25-06 on a muley.

[derekp1999]

Unfortunately, I think I'm starting to head down that road as well. My grandfather has handload rifle and pistol rounds for years (even loaded everything Ogden Police Dept. used for a space of about 15 years). He's getting older now & asked if I wanted to give it a try. He has more equipment in his basement than Sportsman's Warehouse & it's like sitting at the feet of a Master. Now he's trying to convince me to hang up the muzzleloader and put in for a late rifle elk hunt next year... I hope my wife will let me.

[waspocrew]

I hope my wife will let me.

I feel that same way every time I have a new idea haha. I'm trying to see if she'll let me get a muzzle loader sometime soon

[derekp1999]

Yeah, I have 4 little ones all under 5 years old, too! It gets harder before it gets easier my friend, but my wife really is very understanding and lets me "do my thing" more often than I deserve. I have heard when the young ones get older and they can take care of themselves a bit more or even come along with me that it will get easier for me to leave (so says my dad).
Muzzleloader is quite fun, I got into after several unsuccessful years of archery and now I've got just enough elk points to be guaranteed a Cache, North muzzleloader tag. I've heard underground rumblings of some good bulls coming off the North unit recently.

[waspocrew]

My wife has definitely been understanding of my hobby and has let me spend way too much time in the field this fall... I owe her some quality time for sure! In fact, she even chased elk with me a couple of times. She LOVED it and even spotted the first cow that came out.

I wish I could draw a North Cache LE tag. That's where I went after spikes and I saw some GREAT bulls. They were bugling like crazy and we even got within 50 yards of a big 6x6. I guess it's time for me to start putting in for points year after year after year....