Savage 308 Build

[DJSpradley]

I purchased a Savage Model 10 LE with the HS Precision Stock, calibered in .308, today and was wanting some the experts opinions.

I am wanting to set it up to be my 1000 yard rifle. The barrel is a 1in10 twist and I know that it is needing the heavier match ammo to be able to get out to those ranges but as I am not set up to reload yet I will be relying on factory ammo. I am looking at black hills or the federal gold match, but would it be better to go with 168 or 180 grain to reach the 1000 yard plate. I like to use the lightest bullets possible when I can (comes from my days of shooting a 22-250 and trying to get as much speed as possible).

Also I am planing on putting Vortex's PST 6-24x50 FFP on as my optic. My question on that is do i need to think about getting a 20MOA base to make sure that I will have enough compensation for those ranges. I will be anywhere from 100 yards to 1000 yards.

Just a little more about what I plan to do with this thing. I am in the Plains of Texas in the Lubbock area so we are flat with no trees, lots of grass and farm land and are no stranger to the winds. I do want it to be capable reaching 1000 yards, but it will be one that I might carry for some long range hunting (600 yards max) for coyotes and other varmints. So I am looking for that balance that will be the best of both worlds. Any opinions or other thoughts that I have not addressed?

 

[Jud96]

I purchased a Savage Model 10 LE with the HS Precision Stock, calibered in .308, today and was wanting some the experts opinions.

I am wanting to set it up to be my 1000 yard rifle. The barrel is a 1in10 twist and I know that it is needing the heavier match ammo to be able to get out to those ranges but as I am not set up to reload yet I will be relying on factory ammo. I am looking at black hills or the federal gold match, but would it be better to go with 168 or 180 grain to reach the 1000 yard plate. I like to use the lightest bullets possible when I can (comes from my days of shooting a 22-250 and trying to get as much speed as possible).

Also I am planing on putting Vortex's PST 6-24x50 FFP on as my optic. My question on that is do i need to think about getting a 20MOA base to make sure that I will have enough compensation for those ranges. I will be anywhere from 100 yards to 1000 yards.

Just a little more about what I plan to do with this thing. I am in the Plains of Texas in the Lubbock area so we are flat with no trees, lots of grass and farm land and are no stranger to the winds. I do want it to be capable reaching 1000 yards, but it will be one that I might carry for some long range hunting (600 yards max) for coyotes and other varmints. So I am looking for that balance that will be the best of both worlds. Any opinions or other thoughts that I have not addressed?

I would shoot Federal Match 168gr or 175gr. I don't think you'll need a 20 MOA base.

 

[dads300winmag]

i run a rem 700 with 20 bull and 1:10 in my 308 the 168's are nice to 600yds after that the 175 has better performance to 1k not sure what ur setup is but it takes almost 40MOA for me to hit a 10in plate at 1k

 

[westcliffe01]

A 308 "can" shoot out to 1000 yards, but is not the ideal weapon for that range. Now a lot of agencies use it as a training rifle, due to its deficiencies, which means that shooter technique has to be dead on, particularly wind calls or else you do not have a chance. For that matter, a 223 rifle with a 1:7 or 1:7.5 barrel shooting the heavy VLD's will perform in a similar manner and be a LOT cheaper in powder and brass. But the agencies will usually have their men shooting more powerful cartridges in the tactical role, so it makes more sense to shoot the 308 since it is not a pea shooter. They don't really care much about cost either, but most of us on this forum do.

In my case I have both. A 223 "primary trainer" that is very accurate, very easy to shoot and will quickly reveal if someone is in good shooting form before moving on to a more expensive cartridge. Then I have a 308 with a match barrel, and that is my "secondary" training rifle for cartridges that have a bit more oomph to them. It does not wear a brake, and therefore has recoil energy similar to many braked heavier caliber rifles. I'm shooting heavy for the caliber bullets. The 175 SMK at the low end up to 215 Berger Hybrids. The 175's are very effective, particularly at the range I have my steel targets (160, 320 and hopefully another at 500yds soon) so there is no "need" to shoot the 215's but they do produce more recoil and require better technique to shoot accurately compared to the 175's.

Then there are the rifles I acquired for actual longer range shooting and the common thread is that they tend to be more limited in barrel life. So I tend to not shoot them a whole lot other than sighting, drop verification, load development and hunting itself. If I am on form with both of the training rifles, then I have not had a problem shooting any of the others. My drop chart is clear taped to the side of the stock and for the moment I do not have a location to shoot far enough to need to use a ballistic calculator to take into account Coriolis drift. I'm also at a pretty consistent altitude and temperature. I do have the AB version of the Kestrel wind meter and still learning how to use it. I need to get the docking station so that I can download ballistic data to it from the laptop since my bullets are not pre-loaded.

 

[MMERSS]

Your rifle should shoot great with the 175-185's even in a 10 twist. I would seriously consider a 20 MOA base. Is a 20 MOA base needed? I would say yes, yes and yes over a straight base to ensure you reach 1000 without requiring holdover. Don't short yourself elevation when most likely needed and alleviate this issue with a 20 MOA base.

 

[mitch260]

I wouldn't recommend the 168 SMK for shooting at 1000. the design of the boattail causes it to become unstable at transonic speeds; which means you will only have reasonable accuracy out to about 800 yards. The 175 SMK works great though. I used to use them in my F-T/R rifle because they are extremely accurate in my rifle.

 

[FEENIX]

My question on that is do i need to think about getting a 20MOA base to make sure that I will have enough compensation for those ranges. I will be anywhere from 100 yards to 1000 yards.

Yes! Bruce Ventura (http://www.highpoweroptics.com/) explained it best on one of his responses to a similar question. I'll post it as soon as I ran into it ... or perhaps he'll chime in before that.

Use the custom search on the top right corner for many threads/articles about .308 Win LR hunting and shooting, in particular by Montanamarine and Michael Eichelle.

Good luck!

ADDED:

Found it, see #6 of http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f18/20-moa-base-not-87412/

Even though the scope adjustment range may be large enough to get to 1,000 yds, you should use a 20 moa base. That's because off-axis optical aberrations that degrade resolution increase with incidence angle. You should set up your rifle so that the incidence angle is minimized for long distance shots (where resolution matters most).

Assume the base is within +/-10 moa of alignment with the rifle bore. Let's also assume your bullet drops no more than 30 moa at 1,000 yds, and you like to zero your rifle at 100 yds. With a standard base, you would need up to -40 moa of adjustment to get to 1,000 yds. That means you need a total 80 moa of adjustment.

With a 20 moa base you would need up to -20 moa to get to 1,000 yds, but up to 26 moa to get to a 100 yd zero (worse case boresight alignment in each case). That means you need a total 52 moa of adjustment. With a 20 moa base, however, the incidence angle at 1,000 yds is 20 moa less, so the image will have less blur.

 

[trigger puller]

When shooting in West Texas wind you are going to want the 175s I prefer the 185 Berger but my wallet prefers the 175 SMK. Southwest ammo makes good ammo finding loaded ammo is going to be the hard part.gun)