Plated .30 cal bullets in .308 semi auto rifle

[07JKX]

I may be a bit crazy here... but I am wanting to know if anyone has loaded 110 grn .30 carbine (.308 diam) onto a .308 for light plinking. (i know I have seen load data for it, but I am just curious about personal experience or your thoughts)

I have a saiga and the damn thing chews through ammo quick. Obviously I am not using my precision hand loads for it, but it still comes out to about $0.32 per round

*If* I could use these plated 110 grn for general plinking, I could get my cost down to about $0.24 per round all while reducing recoil at the same time.

Of course, this may be all for not if the FPS required to keep the bullet in one piece and accurate prevents the weapon from cycling properly.

thoughts?

 

[Clarke123]

I don't know the particulars about the specific projectile you are referring to but ...
Lots of guys regularly cast and shoot .308 lead projectiles in their rifles.

Have you tried GOOGLE with the question? If someone else has done it, then they likely posted the results somewhere!

 

[ngcsugrad09]

It's a velocity thing. A .308 will spit out a 110 gr bullet pretty quickly vs. an M1 Carbine at which the plated bullets are designed for.

Your best bet is to hunt down pulled M80 bullets.. which can be currently found at a few places for about 12-13 cents a piece.

 

[07JKX]

yeah... I figure it may not be worth the hassle of working down a load and then ultimately it may not cycle my saiga, thus defeating the purpose of the plinking round

thanks for the info guys

 

[SpeedyR]

I think that the plated bullets (rainier) for the 30 cal are good to 1900fps if I remember right..

is that fast enough to cycle the action?

 

[RamRoddoc]

yeah... I figure it may not be worth the hassle of working down a load and then ultimately it may not cycle my saiga, thus defeating the purpose of the plinking round

thanks for the info guys

Function will most likely be the first issue; the second is the twist rate of the rifling. Some rifles will shoot the 110 grainers well and others will be all over the place. My .308 bolt gun was all over the place with the 110 grainers no matter what charge or seating depth. Chuckdog had some good results with the 110 grainers if memory serves me.

 

[ngcsugrad09]

110gr VMAX probably, not 110gr Plated or RN/FMJ. There is a big difference in bullet shape, which is what ultimately reflects compatability with a given twist rate.

 

[07JKX]

yeah.. i think I am just going to find some pulled FMJ bullets for plinking. I can get my cost down to about $0.32 per round with that. The 110 grn would have gotten me down to .$0.26 per round, but I doubt it would be worth the hassle. Plus I already have solid load data for 168 grn FMJBT for my rifle so the 170 grn should be a cakewalk

 

[Clarke123]

I as well as my FNAR am quite pleased with the 147GR Winchester FMJBT WB762MC147 @ $22-$25 per hundred.
Loaded over 48GR of H380, at 100 yards my FNAR will provide a 20 round magazine group that can be covered by a quarter (if I do my part - and I'm really not a benchrest shooter!)
Sometimes the group will be completely covered, other times "touching" .... Still good enough for a "plinking" round. The FNAR seems to see no difference in whose brass I use or even if it
is once-fired military ...

 

[07JKX]

what are your thoughts on pulled m80 147 grn FMJBT? The place I am looking at has them for $65 per 500 which would get my per round cost to about 32 cents. I dont know if they are air pulled/collet pulled or what, but when I called I was told there were minimal if any marks on the bullet and no sizing was necessary. Ready to load.