I started a thread a while back about dies. Got the dies and 400 Lapua brass on the way.

175 gr SMK seems to be the standard , but also wondering about the 150gr choices.

Once I get the rifle built I want to go to a long distance shooting class that goes out to 1KM.

What's your favorite?

varget

I've been happy with 4064 with 175's.

IMR-4064
VihtaVuori N150
RE-15
IMR-4895
Varget
VihtaVuori N140
H4895

All of these powders are great performers in .308.

XBR-8208, Varget, and H4895 have all been great for me with 178 Amax and 175 SMK.  Stands to reason they should work well with 155gr SMKs.

Another question I meant to ask: are you seating them against the lands? If not how far off?

I shoot 155 Scenars in Win cases with 47.8 gr Varget at 2950 fps. These things reach 1000 yards at 30 MoA drop.

The 155.5 Berger Fullbore, the 155 SMK (2156) and some other 155 are all so close it does not really matter.
THese above bullets are 1200 yard capable (barely)

The new 155 Tipped Match King goes a full 125 yards further before dropping below SoS.
This bullet is 1300 yard capable (barely).

Other members will anoint you with the wisdom that heavier bullets fly through the wind better, enough better to make dialing in the added drop worth while.
But, on the other hand, lighter bullets have lower recoil and are "less expensive" (ass if that ever made a difference in shooters perceptions of reality.)

But it is your choice, given that you are looking at a high BC bullet, anything from 155 through 220 can be pushed just about as far (1250 yard) as any of the rest of them in 308 case capacity.

RL15 and Hornady 178's. Killer combination!

I load at mag length or just a little under when starting out with load work up, provided that's at least 10 thou off the lands. In a factory Rem 700, that equates to quite the jump from mag length. Each rifle is somewhat unique, so you'll have to figure out what your rifle likes. I've had fantastic results with Hornady bullets in everything except my 260's. The eld's are worth looking at for the .308. Accurate and they aren't overly expensive.

I ordered done of these,  the 175 version and some Hornady 178 ELDs to try.

Ummm, 

How are you measuring where your lans are ?

I like that. never thought about removing the ejector either.


I used machinist marking dye and seated it until there were no marks.

Your ejector pressure is creating a false reading - do it this way you will be amazed - I tryed everything including the hornady guages - this was the only real way in all my bolt guns - I can also see throat erosion I make two dummy rounds - one that just doesnt let the bolt close and one that drops right in - i.e. one has about a thousandth to go and the other is just free - when the longer one allows the bolt to close with no issue , I can just adjust my ogive lengths accordingly and I will then lengthen the dummys to suit.... makes sense ?

Yep, got it.

178s...FTFY

Oops wrong thread