Shot my first 49 reloads today! Why not 50? Well, the 50th round was pretty difficult to get chambered. I'm unsure why...I measured the COAL, diameter of the base, diameter of the neck, and they're all below SAAMI max. I measured all cases after resizing and after seating to ensure they were not over SAAMI. All the other 49 rounds chambered smoothly. So I'm unsure about that last one...but I didn't shoot it just to be safe.
Anyway, it was extremely rewarding to know I shot my own reloads and they performed pretty good. Accuracy was so so for the first 25 rounds, I think it was my nerves. Plus this range is known to have wobbly tables which has impacted my accuracy before. I did get some nice groups in the last 25 rounds.
Rifle is a Savage 10T in .308 with a SWFA 3-15x Tactical scope.
I was using PPU brass, 175gr. SMK, & Reloder 15. The Sierra book states minimum is 35.8 and max is 41.3. I loaded 10 rounds each at 36, 38, 39, 40, and 41 grains. I shot 5 rounds from each group of ammo, starting lowest to highest, then did that over again. The 38-40 groups did best today, but obviously more research will need done to really narrow down my primary load. I will be doing a ladder test at some point also
The lower grain rounds left a lot of soot on the empty case. I've read this is due to the powder not burning completely or as rapidly as it should. The higher grain rounds were also a little sooty, but not nearly as bad. I have a friend that shoots in the 44gr. range (Almost 3gr. over book) and he never has this problem. I am hesitant to shoot that hot, especially while I'm getting started.
Here's an image of my best groups. 38gr on the left, 39 in the middle, 40 on the right. I think I am measuring those correctly? Measured outside to outside of the farthest holes based on what I can tell, then subtracted the bullet diameter. That leaves me with half-MOA accuracy at 100 rounds with 5 shot groups which is nothing to be disappointed about, especially for my first go 'round at this.
Anyway just wanted to share my experience and thank all of you for your contributions to this forum. There's a lot of good information out there and I love reading and researching about this. I'm very excited to have this as a new hobby and look forward to growing my expertise and ability. I am open to any thoughts, suggestions, comments, etc based on what I've posted.