Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles .308W loads in M-70 FWT

I've had a Sako Forester in .308 since 1961. It's still a bug-holer and all I've ever shot through it were 150 gr. bullets.

Several years back I picked up a Model 70 Fwt to eventually replace the Sako. It never did shoot very tight so I originally loaned it to a soon to be ex-son-in-law . After that marriage tubed I kind of ignored it for a while and then had the wife shoot it for a while. It was always erratic so I picked up a nice #1 RS! in .243 and that was that for her.

Now I'm thinking I might be ready to try to make a shooter out of this thing. So far I've bedded the action and chamber area and free floated the barrel. I tweaked the trigger a little but it still has some creep. I've tried a few different scopes on it and now it's wearing a Leupold 2-7.

This past week I took it and my Sako out for a run. The Sako just plain shoots with 150 gr. Nosler Partitions and Speer boat tails using I-4895.

The Model 70 doesn't even shoot consistent patterns. I tried four different variations of 150 gr bullets and I4895, RL-12 and W748 powders. In the past I've also tried BLC-2 and a few others with the same lame results.

I brought it home and tore it down and checked everything I could think of. Bedding, free float, scope screws, action tightening sequence and everything looks fine. The throat and crown look fine and the rifling looks shiny and sharp.

Before I do anything serious, (like a 7-08 Barrel), I'm wondering if trying some 165 grain bullets might be wise.

What say you experts???

Well Twodogs, I'd say I'll give ya $250 for it! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> And ya don't even have to ship it just give me a call and I'll stop by.

BUt if you aren't interested in selling it then I'd say it doesn't like 150gr bullets. Have you tried any other bullet weights? Like 165s?

Elkslayer,

No, not in the M-70. I've been so happy with my Sako and the 150's that I just expected the same from the Winchester.

I bought a box of 180's for elk years ago and still have 18 left.

Thanks for the offer though. I suppose I could just copy one of my Sako targets and post it along with a pin-up picture of the rifle on GunsAmerica or such. But then, I always wanted a 70 in .257 Roberts or 7mm-08.

Looks like we'll all be livin' in Frostbite Falls this coming week. Forecasting a low of 18 around Thursday.

165 Hornady/Varget is sub-MOA in my M-70 308 FWT, and 165 Partitions over the same charge land in the same group. 4064/180 is also a classic.


Okie John

Okie,

Thanks for that put. This gives me an excuse to buy a bucket of Varget, (which I've never used). The more Info I get the more it looks like the 165 Hornady might be a good bet. Wish it wasn't going to get so cold here the next couple days.

Varget is very good under 165/168's in the 308. Treat yourself to a box of Lapua brass. If you seat some 165s straight in the Lapua hulls on top of about 45 grains of Varget, or maybe a couple of tenths more depending on your rifle, and you're not getting good groups it ain't the load. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

mathman

Touch up the crown next. Groups that are always patterns is a sign of a bad crown.

I do them myself. If you screw it up do it over. If you screw it up again take it to a gunsmith.

The next thing I would do is to lay a bead of bedding about 5-6 inches up the barrel channel starting at the lug. Shoot the gun with a variety of loads in your "preferred" bullet weight. If it doesn't start showing you what you want, remove the front inch of the bedding and shoot again. Repeat as necessary till back to free floating ----- then you may have to try the 165s as noted above.
You may try the recrowning first though as noted above.

I chuckled at the crown recommendation because I must have checked it under a magnifying glass a dozen times. Problem is, I can't tell a bad one from a good one just by looking, It's like the throat and the rifling, they all look bright shiny and sharp to me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I've got some old guns with pretty ratty looking rifling that still shoot fine. This thing just mystifies me. Everything looks great including the wood.

It just hasn't been a shooter. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I found that 165 Hornadys btsp/ 44gr rel 15, seated .015 off is sub moa in my Kimber Montanna. I also got 150 ballistic tips to go sub with 47 gr of 4064 also.

roadkill,

One of the first things I did with this was bed the action and chamber area and free float the rest of the barrel. I've had some barrel bedding problems with other rifles but this one is a real pain. I never considered removing the bedding because it wasn't there when I started this mission. You may well be right.

I did bed, float, unbed, rebed, unbed and finally partial bed/float a Weatherby MKV Deluxe once. It had a similar problem, it wouldn't shoot light bullets. I fixed it by giving up and using heavier bullets. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I may end up there with this one too as I'd really like to keep it.

Powerguy,

Now, that's what I've been expecting from this. It shouldn't be all that bullet sensitive, within reason of course.

I have a pre-64 Featherweight in .30-06 that shot like that. I put a business card between the barrel and near the end of the forend. Turned it into a sub MOA shooter. Thanks...Bill.

I'll second the Varget suggestion. I use Varget and 150 molyed Seirra Gamekings in a M70 stainless classic (same barrel config as your FWT) and it typically gives me sub-moa groups. Recently I pulled it out of the synthetic stock and dropped in a pretty FWT stock. It needs bedded now since those groups opened up 2". Hope that's all it takes or it'll go back into that synthetic stock.

M-70,

Funny, when I woke up this morning I thought I might run out and do exactly that today. I don't know why I didn't try it last week when I was burning up powder. If it does work then I'll slip in a blob of AcraGlass and try that.

If that doesn't work then I'm going to try the Varget and heavier bullets later on this week. I have to drive to town on Tuesday and Wednesday anyway so there's the opportunity for that.

Thanks again to all.

Reloder 15 does best in my .308 with the 150s. 45.0 grains does best but of course all the disclaimers apply.

Twodogs
I read somewhere that one of the major manufacturers "fix" for a gun that came back and they could not get it to shoot accurately was to cut an inch off the barrel and try again. I parlaid that thinking into running a finger of bedding half way down the fore end, then removing an inch of bedding at a time till I got something that worked with my bullet of choice. This seemed to be the simplest way to "modify" the harmonics---I could even do it at the range. That method has worked for me a couple times when nothing else seemed to work.
FWIW

I wish I'd asked for advice a couple weeks ago when it was warm here and I could run right out and try these things. It's in the upper 30's right now and not very inviting outside. It might get up to around 60 by next Monday.

For now I'm going to copy all these suggestions and put together a plan of attack starting with barrel harmonics and 150's once again and then the heavier bullets and powder changes.

Thanks again to everyone.

I am using the same load of re15 in my kimber, but I can't get anywhere near the lands due to magazine length, they loads still shoot into an inch though.

Is the middle action screw just finger tight ? If it's any tighter than that, the groups all go south.
This free floated barrel. Can you pass a 4X folded dollar bill down the channel ? Not a 2X folded bill.
Since you've done eveything else I can think of, try another scope. Then try getting it recrowned. After that, it's trim the barrel a bit, then rechamber it.
Mine shoots lots of 150-168 gr. loads well. You should have found some if it would. You did start 5% under and work up one grain at a time right ? E