Posted: 11/18/2014 9:40:53 PM EDT
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I have built a new rifle and am looking for some help with a longish range load. The rifle is built on a Stevens 200 action with a CBI 20 inch 30-06 match barrel, these ar in a Bell and Carlson medalist with the aluminum bedding block. I had it cut so short so I could hunt with my Thundebeast 30 P-1. The hunting load I have worked up is 50 gr. of Varget behind a 165 Sierra SBT Gameking in Winchester brass and a CCI large rifle primer. Out of my set-up the is running about 2706 fps. This load is right at 1/2 moa out to 600 yds so far. The problem is that it is only sub sonic to about 1050 yds with 39.25 MOA drop.
This gun seems very accurate and I want to extend its reach as much as possible. I found a thread on the old Hide site with loads for the 208 a-max and reloader 22, but looks like they aren't recommended for shorter barrels. So I am looking for your recommendations for bullets and loads that would give me the best performance in my short barrel. I have Lots of Varget and IMR 4895. I also have some H 4350, IMR 4350 and IMR 4064. |
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http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/p/articles-index.html I don't recall him doing short barrel work, but good 30 caliber reading anyways. What twist is your barrel (I assume 1:10)? |
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You are going to have to run up your own ladder test and watch for pressure signs with this combination.
That is a short bbl for what you are trying to do, but what the heck, why not. Any projectile with a better BC than your 165 is going to extend the range once you develop the load. Just remember this isn't a 30"bbl and it isn't a .30-378 either. The combination you show now is good to about 500 yards on medium game. Does it really pay to push it farther? Try the Berger Hybrid and see if you don't pick up some vertical. |
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Thanks for that link, I have spent a fair amount of time browsing those articles. Yes, the barrel is a 1:10 twist.
The load I have now is definitely a good hunting load out to ranges that I feel comfortable shooting in the field. It will be my deer, elk, antelope load. What I am looking to do is shoot steel at longer ranges. We bought two MGM torso targets to plink at out in the desert. We have an area to shoot just about as far as we would want. I know that my setup is not ideal for shooting longer ranges, but it is what I have and practicing with your hunting rifle is always good. I was just curious if anyone had input as to bullets and powders that could be optimized in my 20" barrel. |
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Those 20" bbls are not common for going out to the limits. Even though Service Rifle bbls are 20", that is mostly .223 and doesn't help. The few .308 shooters that try and copy the format with 20" would only be looking to get out to about 600.
What would help you is a Berger VLD or a Hybrid. Read the articles by Brian Litz http://www.appliedballisticsllc.com/index_files/30cal_fullVersion.pdf And German Salazar http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2009/06/long-range-competitor-looks-at-heavy.html Both of these resources point to much more information, but you can read at your liesure. Try both the 4350 and the 4064 and work your way up with one or more of the heavies. Have fun on your plates out in the next county.... |
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I too am in search of a 600-1000 yd load for my new .30-06, but mine's a 700 w/a 26" (or maybe 28"...sitting next to my shotgun in the safe the barrels are even) Hart 1-10" varminter profile. I picked it up for a steal of a deal--$350 out the door--because someone made it all specialized for them, left handed, iron sight bases with no sights and no scope rail, internal magazine, heavy wood stock that was a right hander cut to go left handed, and some ugly marks on the barrel, making it worthless to anyone but him and me. Oh I'll spend money on making it 100% what I want, that's going to be adding a XLR Element chassis and threading the barrel for my SpecWar762. But so far I've saved probably $900+.
I'm thinking 208 Amax or 220 Nosler. My guess for the OP is trying H380 for the 20" barrel. |
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The idea that you need more is getting absurd. You already have a hot load by anyone's standards. A 165 grain bullet going over 2700 fps from a 20" barrel is HOT!
You're not going to hunt at 1000 yards with any degree of success. Any wind at all will be hard to deal with, lower temperatures associated with hunting season will have to be compensated for by using more elevation. Sierra's 180 grain Game King held a 1000 yard record back in the early 1960's before the best premium bullets were being manufactured. It's very accurate for a hunting bullet. It has close .500 B.C. and can get driven pretty fast with H4350 or IMR-4350. Sierra's 168 grain Match King and their 165 grain Game King are nearly identical bullets in every way. The 168 grain Match King is known for poor performance on targets past 800 yards. You may stretch it out somewhat because you are starting off 100 fps faster than what most people are running. It's still a poor choice for really long range accuracy. I would not consider any hunting shots past 400 yards or so, but that's me. That's what stalking is for. |
| I would use 230gr Berger Hybrid Tacticals(.368 G7- .719 G1 BC) if you want to reach out farther. I got 2340fps out of my 20" .308(64,000 PSI measured) even at that slow speed it stays supersonic farther than anything I have tried. They don't stabilize in my 12 twist of course but will in a 10 twist(I have a 10 twist waiting for the old to burn out). |
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So I think I have found my target load for the moment. Hornady 178 gr BTHP on top of IMR 4064 (don't have the exact charge with me) going right around 2600 fps. It seems to run right around 1/2 MOA so far but have only shoot it out to about 500 yards. Ballistic calculator shows it being supersonic to about 1300 yards, with 52.4 MOA drop. We shall see.
As far as hunting goes, 500 yards is my personal limit under ideal conditions. Less as conditions deteriorate. I shoot probably 1000-1500 rounds a year so I am confident in my abilities at said ranges. The above mentioned load with the Sierra Gamekings will be my go-to hunting load at this point. Playing with new set-ups and tweaking new loads is fun 
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Here is my favorite. I spent a lot of time developing this one.
I copied and pasted from my excel spreadsheet so formatting is messed up. Date caliber bullet powder chargeprimer brassLOA 1/3/201430-06165 gr Sierra GK spitzerIMR 4350 56.5 cci 200mixed3.3 FirearmRem 700 Accuracy0.25moaAvg Vel Velocity Pressurefine Comments had a hunch to try this and it works better than anything I have tried so far. 1/4" moa at 100y. no pressure signs. Check velocity. |