range report-handload success

[Bossman 1]

At my last trip to the range,I had loaded several weights and styles of bullets to see what my saiga mght have a taste for,turned out she liked the 125 grain nosler ballistic tips.So Back to the bench,this time I concentrated on loading only the noslers,with varying charges of alliant RL-15,Varget and IMR 4895.Cases were LC surplus military and all were lit with federal gold medal match primers,bullets were seated to 1/8" less than the max the magazine would allow.Without getting into a drawn-out description of the also rans(everything went well into 2"@ 100 yds.) I found that 46 grains of RL15 was the ticket.

The saiga in all her glory,I really dig this gun!

The top target shows a representative group,I was fighting horrendous wind and the G2 trigger was gritty and unpredictable,I have found that the factory saiga hammer when used with the G2 trigger and disconnector gives a better pull,after this range session I`m going to put it back in and use a homemade floor plate to keep the parts count legit,that is until I can afford a red-star set!

This was the best group of the day,definately sub M.O.A. This was the last group I fired, the wind had settled down a bit and I was shooting whenever a lull occured,the flyer was my fault,the first 4 were in one hole,when I fired the 5th shot I knew I had flubbed it before looking at the target.

Now I`ll try 1/10th grain increments of this load up and down a bit to see if I can squeeze any more accuracy out of it.

Once I get a decent trigger pull I feel like I can duplicate this group frequently.If I can then I will have reached firearms nirvana- An inexpensive semi auto in a full power cartridge thats compact,drop dead reliable and very accurate.

Me so happy.

Bossman

[ironhead7544 35]

Reloder 15 works well with the 168 gr match bullets. Much better than I thought it would.

[Bossman 1]

I`ve tried 168`s but I couldnt get them to group well,my rifle seems to like bullets 150 grains and lighter.

[Genocide 0]

I bought some different hand loaded .308 ammo at a gun show not too long ago; shot it in my S308 and it liked the lighter grain also.

Edited January 11, 2007 by Genocide

[Zoojelly 0]

Thanks for the report! My tightest group was found with150 grain AP using the 4895, I only tried 147 to 168 grin bullets and bl-c2 but heard alot of good reports about the Varget with heavier bullets.

There was alot of difference between bullet weights and I guess it is best to find one weight bullet and stick to it or else ya gotta realign scope

[snake54 0]

My 22" Saiga really likes 165gr Rem Corelokts and 41 gr IMR 4064. Usually sub MOA off the bench. Next will try Berger 168gr VLD. My M1A really likes those.

[WYK 0]

Reloader 15 is one of the best powders for 308. It's accurate and consistant.

 

So how does the Saiga 308 treat the brass? Is it easy to reload it, or does it rough em up some?

 

WYK

[Bossman 1]

the brass gets a nice dent in the side about halfway up,the die irons it out fairly well but not completely.

I use surplus military brass because of this,I save my precious federal match brass for the savage.

Some of the military cases I`ve loaded and fired in the saiga 5 times and they seem fine.

[Unknown Poster 5]

You can smooth out the trigger by putting some moly on the sear. I do up all my guns with moly, inside the receivers, bolt carrier/bolt, on the gas piston/tube and the recoil springs too besides the trigger sear. The saiga is a whole different gun after lubing it up with moly it cycles faster and smoother and the trigger is awesome too and it gets better as it works in more too. When i first moly the gun up it seems tight so i work the slide(bolt carrier/bolt) around 50 to 100 times cycling it by hand then its ready to shoot. Do up the rotating bolt too. You have to try this stuff trust me it works. I been using it on trigger sears since the early 70's with great results. I use it in my pistols/revolvers, bolt action rifles and my semi auto's. I put moly anywhere there is metal to metal contact. I have never seen the bluing wear off yet on the rails of my very first chinese sks since the late 80's this stuff is that good.

 

BTW; Moly Eliminates all wear, Reduces Friction, Prevents Galling, fights corrosion, stays were you put it, even if you let it wear into the small pores of the metal and wipe it off its still there doing its thing.

 

My saiga 308/16" barrel with south african 308 ball ammo benchrested on a good day with no cross wind will shoot 1 1/2" groups @ 100yds. Me and my son took turns and we both shot 1 1/2" groups. I expect the saiga to tighten up groups a lot more using my reloads too. I just reloaded some 150gr FMJ using IMR4895 powder. Each round is exactly the same and i did 6k rounds. I'm going to benchrest it again soon to see how it shoots.

[Nanuk 0]

I am rather disapointed with my Saiga 308. Braved the -15 degrees and went to the range. I was bundled up, so that was not a factor. It was my first opportunity to shoot it, sighting in at 25 yards; wolf 3" group, Federal factory 150 and my 150 GRN handloads about 1 1/2" groups. Had that been 100 yards I would have been happy, at 25 yards??? Before I get too discouraged I will put a scope on it. All three AK's that I built shoot better that that.

[Unknown Poster 5]

Nanuk; I'd wait till it gets warmer and sight it in at 100yds and it may surprise you. All of my saiga's are very accurate more accurate than any other semi auto rifles in 308 and in 223. Shoot it at 100yds. Just have a front sight tool handy I did notice my 223 saiga needed to be brought up at 100yds it shoots dead center(R&L) but it was shooting low.

Edited February 10, 2007 by Unknown Poster

[Nanuk 0]

Thats good to know. It is suppossed to start warming up soon....

[Bossman 1]

Nanuk,what kind of rest are you using?My shooting became much better after I abandoned the practice of shooting off a tool box with towel draped over it,my forearm,a 4x4 block of wood etc.etc. even a properly mounted harris bipod will give poor results compared to a nice set of front and rear sand bags.Look at my set-up above,it`s rock solid and dirt cheap-the bags are available at walmart,the concrete block was dug up out of my dads yard.The rear rest is what does the trick as far as steadying the rifle.Also keep in mind not to put the sling swivel on the front bag-NOT like my picture,I put it there to take the picture to make sure it didnt fall.The rifle travels back ever so slightly while the bullet is moving down the bore,if the swivel is on the bag it will ride up on the leather while the rifle is recoiling and cause a slight variation in point of impact.I know this sounds petty but it turned my savage 10fp tactical rifle from a 1" gun to a 1/2" gun instantly.It does work.

Bossman

[DocV 0]

What is moly? How do you apply it? Do you degrease the parts or do any polishing before applying it? Forgive my ignornance ,but Daddy always said the only dumb question is the one that goes unasked.

 

Thanks.

 

DocV

 

 

You can smooth out the trigger by putting some moly on the sear. I do up all my guns with moly, inside the receivers, bolt carrier/bolt, on the gas piston/tube and the recoil springs too besides the trigger sear. The saiga is a whole different gun after lubing it up with moly it cycles faster and smoother and the trigger is awesome too and it gets better as it works in more too. When i first moly the gun up it seems tight so i work the slide(bolt carrier/bolt) around 50 to 100 times cycling it by hand then its ready to shoot. Do up the rotating bolt too. You have to try this stuff trust me it works. I been using it on trigger sears since the early 70's with great results. I use it in my pistols/revolvers, bolt action rifles and my semi auto's. I put moly anywhere there is metal to metal contact. I have never seen the bluing wear off yet on the rails of my very first chinese sks since the late 80's this stuff is that good.

 

BTW; Moly Eliminates all wear, Reduces Friction, Prevents Galling, fights corrosion, stays were you put it, even if you let it wear into the small pores of the metal and wipe it off its still there doing its thing.

 

My saiga 308/16" barrel with south african 308 ball ammo benchrested on a good day with no cross wind will shoot 1 1/2" groups @ 100yds. Me and my son took turns and we both shot 1 1/2" groups. I expect the saiga to tighten up groups a lot more using my reloads too. I just reloaded some 150gr FMJ using IMR4895 powder. Each round is exactly the same and i did 6k rounds. I'm going to benchrest it again soon to see how it shoots.

[WYK 0]

I use Lapua brass, culled by weight, for my bolt actions. If it's gonna ding em, I'll be looking for a different type of brass to use for reloading.

So who has the best price on a skeleton stocked 308 right now?

 

WYK

 

the brass gets a nice dent in the side about halfway up,the die irons it out fairly well but not completely.

I use surplus military brass because of this,I save my precious federal match brass for the savage.

Some of the military cases I`ve loaded and fired in the saiga 5 times and they seem fine.

[kresk 10,063]

What is moly? How do you apply it? Do you degrease the parts or do any polishing before applying it? Forgive my ignornance ,but Daddy always said the only dumb question is the one that goes unasked.

 

Thanks.

 

DocV

Molybdenum paste 70%, known as TS-70, just apply to surfaces that wear against each other. It does not attract dust or dirt. Great stuff!

[Nanuk 0]

Bossman, first I tried the bipod, that was horrible 3" at 25 yards with wolf, I was getting pissy at this stage as the FBMG mag I was using was screwing up. Then I took off the bipod and used sandbags 1 1/2 in group with reloads and Federal factory. I should have tried the reloads with the bipod, but it was to cold to mess around, and I was having fun hitting the steel plate. FWIW, I was shooting several rifles that day, everything else was doing fine. I have a G2 trigger in the Saiga and it has a very nice trigger pull. I am spoiled, my Tikka T3 30-06 will put 3 shot touching at 100 yards, all day. By the way, what kind of stock is that on your Saiga?

Edited February 11, 2007 by Nanuk

[Birrdog 0]

What is moly? How do you apply it? Do you degrease the parts or do any polishing before applying it? Forgive my ignornance ,but Daddy always said the only dumb question is the one that goes unasked.

 

Thanks.

 

DocV

Molybdenum paste 70%, known as TS-70, just apply to surfaces that wear against each other. It does not attract dust or dirt. Great stuff!

Where can you get this TS-70?

[Bossman 1]

It`s the NATO length AK-74 style from K-var,me likes it.I think I`m going to try to get two cr123 batteries for the surefire light to fit in the buttstock cleaning kit hole,maybe heat shrink wrap or something?

[Steve in Allentown, PA 5]

Where can you get this TS-70?

 

Try this URL:

 

http://www.tsmoly.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_7

[kresk 10,063]

Where can you get this TS-70?

 

Try this URL:

 

http://www.tsmoly.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_7

Yes you can order from them directly. An 8 oz tube is about $20 but it goes a long way.

[WYK 0]

BTW, I looked at the groups on the target and the box. Did you notice all the vertical stringing? You may want to take a little more time between shots to allow the barrel to cool, and make sure there is as little pressure on the barrel and forearm as possible.

 

WYK

[Nanuk 0]

Ok, took lil miss Saiga to the range again today. Fired Wolf ammo, 150 grn handloads and 150 grn Factory Federals. Shot 200 rnds, 1" groups at 50 yds with open sights (did not feel like trudging 100 yds in the snow). Russian scope mount sucks, I had to shim the back ring 1/16" just to get it on paper. Really seemed to be settling in. With a little more break-in this just might be the ONE.

[cscharlie 107]

What dies are you guys using?

[Bossman 1]

Hornady new dimension

[SaigaNoobie 66]

I am rather disapointed with my Saiga 308. Braved the -15 degrees and went to the range. I was bundled up, so that was not a factor. It was my first opportunity to shoot it, sighting in at 25 yards; wolf 3" group, Federal factory 150 and my 150 GRN handloads about 1 1/2" groups. Had that been 100 yards I would have been happy, at 25 yards??? Before I get too discouraged I will put a scope on it. All three AK's that I built shoot better that that.

 

I know this is an Old as dirt thread but I had to comment here.

 

My x39 shoots a 2" group at 50yrds. and a 1.5" group at 100yrds.

 

HOW? I dont fucking know.

 

But when I take it to the 50yrd range I get 2" groups all day. At the 100yrd I get 2" or less ALL DAY.

 

It Might be on my end. In fact i'm sure it HAS to be me. I must not take as much time on the closer target or maybe I'm not aiming as precisely since the target looks 2x larger in my scope. Whatever it is it's an odd thing.

[ClickClickD'oh 1]

Bossman, first I tried the bipod, that was horrible 3" at 25 yards with wolf, I was getting pissy at this stage as the FBMG mag I was using was screwing up. Then I took off the bipod and used sandbags 1 1/2 in group with reloads and Federal factory. I should have tried the reloads with the bipod, but it was to cold to mess around, and I was having fun hitting the steel plate.

 

Old thread and all.. but I think this needs some clearing up.. You aren't shooting steel plates at 25 yards with a .308 are you? Please tell me I read that wrong.

[SOPMOD 254]

I'm not surpirsed that the Saiga likes light bullets with a 1 to 12.?? twist,with that loose a twist it shouldn't shoot worth a damn with heavier 168gr stuff but it still does alright but the quality 147gr and under is where I'm finding the best groups with my Saiga.

 

I might have to find some light fast bullets,they'd be perfect out to 500 yards,maybe almost point and shoot with a 250yd zero I'd bet.

[uglyrussian308 0]

Try some Remington .308 125gr. Corlokts. They are relatively cheap at 150.00 per 1000. They shoot very well out of several of my hunting rifles including my Saiga 308 - 16". I have been using 46gr of AA 2520 and have shot groups as small as 1.5" at 100. Noslers are great but IMO a bit pricey for a cheap Russian blaster.