Maybe some of you guys can help me decide if my expectations are reasonable. I have a Savage 10 in .308 with a 24" E.R. Shaw barrel. I'm using Varget behind 155gn Nosler comp. Winchester brass, mag. primers. It will consistantly shoot between .6 and .75 (5 shots) at 100 yds. Is this all I should expect out of this setup. Thanks in advance for your help.

W/O experience with 308, I cannot comment re: load, but what weight is that bbl? Sporter, heavy, etc?

I assume the twist is 10 or 12, do you know?

I would say you are not doing bad and not to be unhappy, but if you are using it for target or competition and it is a heavy bbl, then you might want to get it down more, as it should be capable. What stock is set up? Bedded? Scope used?

All these things as you may know can affect expectations/performance.

6.5BR asks some very important questions the answers to which will tell us a lot.

Also, have you tried heavier bullets and different powders? If that is the first combination of bullet and powder and that is the result, that is one thing. If you have tried multiple bullets and powders and this is the first combination to shoot under 1.5" that is something else.

Also note that the five shot group is very different than a three shot group. Depending on your equipment, consistent 5 shot groups of that size will be difficult to beat.

LWD

It has a heavy barrel and a new trigger. Everything else is factory(synthetic stock, pillar bedded?)I'm not sure about the twist. It has a Simmons 6x18. I'm mainly shooting for my own satisfaction at this point. I've also shot the 168gn SMK with similar results.

Some guys would be dancing in the streets.. with a rifle that consistently shot those sized groups especially with a barrel that was the cost of your Shaw barrel..

Depending on what you are going to use it for, that is plenty accurate for varmint hunting or shooting prairie dog sized varmints...

As 6.5 BR points out above, those are questions to consider along with playing with your load, eg, varying powder charge, varying seating depth of the bullets, trying different primers.. trying other primers....

What exactly are YOU looking for out of it?

What you described above, shows me you have something to work with...

But the only real way to get those groups smaller if that is what you are looking for, is to spend time making sure the rifle, trigger and barrel at set up for it, and then it is just playing with load variations to see what THAT BARREL likes...

How tight is your chamber? there are still tons of areas to look at and tweak to tighten up those groups... a lot of work can tighten up that grouping quite a bit, and other times, you can put in a lot of work for no gain whatsoever...

When guys tell me for suggestions to see how to tighten up a grouping of a rifle at 100 yds, my first two suggestions are...

see how it shoots at 50 yds... that will tell if the group size has to do with the shooter's potential contribution or the rifles & barrels...

number two is to have someone else shoot it at 50 and 100 yds and compare those results...

Accuracy can sometimes vary a lot, just between different shooters, and how they pull the trigger...

Ditto.

I'd be happy with those groups as is.
Try regular large rifle primers to see how it does with them. Mag primers are not needed for the 308.

Don

Powders , brass , primers , case prep do make a difference . .5 " MOA is pretty fair for 5 shot groups by anyones book !.

Shoot straight know Your Target . ...

buy 20 Norma 308 cases. Fire form with anything and a 90% load. Trim to length, and start at 40gr of H4895 and a good 150gr bullet .010" off the lands. Step up .5gr at a time, somewhere between 40 and 43gr you will experience nirvana.

Rich
DRSS

try 43.5gr of 2206H with a 150gr projectile, works in a lot of rifles!

Thanks to everyone for their input.

I have to admit... When my groups shrink to that size... I quit trying

quote:

I have to admit... When my groups shrink to that size... I quit trying

I have shot ten's of thousands of rounds of .308 in competition over the last 40 years. I am of the same opinion as the above quote. I have a Palma rifle that won't shoot any better than .6 MOA and that's good enough for any 1000 yard match.

This is just my opinion, and worth exactly what you paid for it, but here it is:

I suggest you quit worrying about loads and get yourself into some competitive high-power across-the-course shooting competition.

Will you win very often (if at all)? Probably not, those whizz-bang little black aluminum and plastic Mattel toys are enough easier to shoot that they pretty much own the game now.

BUT, you will learn how to read conditions and how to really shoot up to your rifle's capabilities at ranges from 200 to 1,000 yards.

The single best thing a person with a rifle that accurate can do to improve it even more, I believe, is to put a LOT of rounds down the range with it under conditions where every single shot HAS to be counted.

That way a person can't make excuses, can't blame "flyers", so on. He has to look himself in the eye and say "You screwed up. Figger out how and why, and try to do better next time."

Been there, done that, all too many times.

And like Masterrifleman said above, the accuracy you are getting is plenty good for where you're at now. I was a Palma Team member shooting with a rifle possibly not quite as accurate as yours, and I finished in the middle of the team scores in our matches...not because of my rifle, but because about half the guys on the team were better shots than I was.

Smile, and go learn to apply that quite adequate accuracy. <Grin> And, good luck and best wishes.

AC