bullet/primer combo for socom 16

HOOFER

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 15, 2007
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lewistown, MT, Colorado
searched but no dice, plan on using my socom this year for some muley hunting. trying to figure out what load i wanna use for this. i typically use 175 gr smks in my bolt gun with imr4064. was gonna use 178 gr amax, but was worried about possibly breaking off tips while feeding from the magazine. wondering if people have shot these successfully outta m1 platform. some guys i see shoot really light bullets like 110's outta these. so any experience with bullet weight suggestions. also i recently had a slam fire outta my ar so im careful about primer choice, what large rifle primes have a thicker cup, i started using the magnum small rifle primers in my ar.

also where should i start with powder charge to now affect/hurt op rod with standard gas plug

thanks josh
 
Re: bullet/primer combo for socom 16

Regarding the slamfire issue, try the CCI #34 primer. They come in a plain white box. They are supposedly equivalent to the magnum primers but have a greater distance from te tip of the anvil to the bottom of the primer cup which is supposed to help against slamfires in semi-autos.

I have not tried bulets greater than 168gr in my SOCOM as I have read that due to the twist rate, heavier bullets will not stabilize as well. I have not verified this so would load some up and give them a try. I would be concerned with the tips of the premium hunting bullets as well although, again, I have never tried any and would be interested in hearing what others have observed using those.

Nosler makes a 165gr bullet...can't remember what type, that might fit your need and doesn't have a polymer tip. I was using them on elk in Idaho and good results out of my Rem 700 in 30-06.

Good luck hunting this year. I am jealous! I am in Africa right now and will not be back until Feb.