I give up

I'm done handloading for the LR-308 for now. My last batch of handloads were too hot when the temperature got in the 80's, so I made a new batch for an OCW test that were loaded with 42.8 - 43.2 grains of Varget with a 175 grain Nosler CC bullet. I had those rounds loaded for two months, and I finally got the chance to shoot them, and it turned out to be a cluster fuck.

I should have known better.

It always starts raining the very moment I start shooting. Every time. This has been a phenomenon that has plagued me for years, and yesterday was no exception. I decided that I would spite mother nature and shoot anyways, to hell with her, but the lightning got pretty serious. I sat in my truck in the middle of the woods, stuck like shit because of the aforementioned lack of traction that was a direct result on Nissan engineering incompetence.

The wife watched the kids for a few hours to buy me the time to shoot, and I spent an hour waiting on the rain, forty five minutes digging out my XTerra, and fifteen minutes setting up to shoot my rounds.

The shoot was a disaster.



First, the humidity was so high that the moisture in the air made seeing the target an absolute challenge.



After I fired three rounds from each of the loads, I realized that I was about out of time, so I picked up the pace. The sun came back out and made it so that I could just barely make out the one inch black diamonds, to the point where I was guessing where they were. It was the most challenging light I have ever had to shoot in. I should have just quit.




The range was 121 yards, and my velocities were averaging between 2,400 fps on the low end to 2,490ish on the top end. Too low for what I'm looking at.

So, I have placed an order for some 168 grain Federal Gold Medal Match, as I have decided that since it is a rare occasion that I can go out and actually shoot, I had better spend it shooting and not fiddling around with handloads. One day when my kids are in school, and I have a little more time, I'll be able to find the right load for that gun.

I'm pretty bitter about this, but it's the right thing to do. I can't figure out when life became so busy that one does not have the time to enjoy life. Something has to change.