L42 Repo Range Trip

After getting TBone to install the repo pads on my No4 in 7.62 I assembled it and took it to the range to try and find a good load for it. I have shot it before and it is a decent shooter so I wasn't expecting that to change.

First problem I had was the eye relief of the weaver scope. It is WAY too long and I had to rest my head at the rear of the butt. The next issue was the 2.5 power. Couldn't see the target that well. Anyway, after some issues with sighting it in ( caused by me ) I decided to take that scope off and put on the Bushnell 10x that I had in case this occurred.
This was a much better scope and I went off to do my thing. I was getting generally about 1.5 inch groups out of the 10x scope with the 155 grain sierras. No real change with the different powders or weight. The 168 Hornadys promptly blew out to 2 inches or so no matter what I did. I now have half a packet of them to use on something else I guess.

The downside of the 10x is that I have to take off the top hand guard to use it. I will find another of the same style and modify it. Fortunately that style of hand guard was common on range rifles around here so I won't have to find an L8 ( I think ) hand guard and pay the corresponding prices.

I finally finished modifying the rear sight with the dremel and I can get it out with the scope on. It's quite fiddly to put the bolt back but certainly possible.

I'm quite happy with it. There are a few small things to do such as a front sight and a cheek piece ( plus modify the middle sling swivel ) but it is almost done. I'll keep the 10x on to use it and the weaver to 'show' it. The 'tactical' scope is a small price to be able to see what I am shooting at. I have the utmost respect for people that can shoot as well as I have seen with the low power scopes as I can't !
Attachment 53988

If you put the turrets ahead of the first clamping ring would that help with the eye relief, you do not say what load your using the 168's with I use 42gn 06H with BR-2 primers bbuuut that is in an APRS REM - 700 not the No.4 L42 Repo you have so faithfully done may be a case of doing a ladder test to find the node or just look up the load data for the M-118 I got it somewhere! (Barrels are like women choosey what they like ooops!!!!)
Peter L may know a load that the snipers were using in their L-42's

Hi Cinders, I used various weights of W748 and BM8206 ( or 8208 not sure off the top of my head ) going up in half grain increments but the difference was immediate. I'd like to try other powders but it is just too expensive to buy stuff to try out. Being an old range rifle, it was probably designed to shoot 144s .. of course I recently sold the last of mine a short time ago.
I've put the turrets forward before but didn't like it for some reason. Maybe it was because of the previous scope mount.. can't hurt to try again.

We use 44.6gn 8208 Lap cases and BR- 2 primers with Berger 155.5s in my wifes Barnards so if you dropped it to 38gns and go from there now I will share with you a little issue I had which had dire potential had I not stopped shooting.
In my quest to help conserve the strain on my 6.5/284 I sat down and worked on a load through a programme which gave me a 99.86 burn rate and gave me moderate pressure for reasonable velocity up shot was that a few weeks ago I had 3 primers fall out of the case upon opening of the action also the shots were fliers to say the least it was not sequential so immediate stop and retire the weapon and grab another always take 2 weapons.
Keep to a known parameter the fill was only 83% hence with the fine powder (Win-760 Load - 48 grains) and the 215 primer because the powder was sitting below the primer flash hole in the horizontal plane we surmised I had suffered 3 flashovers sorta causing a mini 2ndary EE, in fact the pressure broke the plunger spring on the Savages bolt yep lucky boy I am

I have now gone back to 52 gn RE-22 much better......Moral - keep high density loads at least 90%+ in large cases, you should be K with the 308 but 8208 is a very quick powder anyway that's my lot for this day thankfully not dec or maimed a good opener after 30 years of reloading this is the luckiest worst thing that has occurred to me TIA guys

I've always tended towards the slower powders for my various reloading adventures, generally because they seem to provide the best velocity / pressure ratio. I don't care about outright velocity but I do care about pressures and accuracy. I use W748 a lot because it works well in the 223 and 308w ( not to mention it meters well out of my powder thrower) but I felt like trying some new powder out that I had got for another calibre that I didn't end up going through with... the 8208. I really didn't see a vast difference in the groups between powders, just between the 155s and 168s.
With this rifle I know the max was probably a little too hot so stopped about 1/2 a grain shy. From experience the cheap chinese ammo from back when I did shoot military rifle comps is way too hot for this particular rifle so I have always erred on the side of caution.