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Posted: 2/5/2010 5:37:55 AM EDT
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I want to work on a load for a new .308 precision rifle. In my research... it seems the 175 SMK is the more popular vs. 168 SMK (which I thought would be). Rel 15 & Varget seem to be the preferred powders... with mid 40gr charges. These will be used in a Savage M10 w/24" heavy barrel 1:10. Any suggestions? I have RE15, I use it for heavier .223 bullets. But I also have IMR4350, 4064, BL-C(2), H335, AA2015 |
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What distance will you be shooting at?
A lot of guys are going with the 175s because they can be pushed to 1k without any issues. Personally I like 168s (both Hornady and Sierra) for just messing around at my 300 yard range. I only have experience with Varget, RE15, IMR4895, and TAC in these weights. |
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What distance will you be shooting at? Most of the time 200 yds. A few times/yr out to around 850 yds. I would like to come up with 1 good load that will work for both. After that I'll play around & experiment with different bullets & weights... but first I want to concentrate on getting the best precision round I can come up with. |
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Ditch the 168's and 175's and pick up some 155's, specifically the Lapua Scenar, Sierra #2156 Palma, and the Berger Fullbore. I bought some of the Sierra 155s but haven't had a chance to work up any loads yet. What loads are you using with them? It definately lets you use more of a range of powders than the heavier bullets. |
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Ditch the 168's and 175's and pick up some 155's, specifically the Lapua Scenar, Sierra #2156 Palma, and the Berger Fullbore. I bought some of the Sierra 155s but haven't had a chance to work up any loads yet. What loads are you using with them? It definately lets you use more of a range of powders than the heavier bullets. I've been shooting the old Sierra Palma bullet over Tac and it's awesome out of my M1A. It was ~46 grains in Winchester cases. NA_Wreckdriver, you might try to get a hold of some 208 Amax's and RL-17, if you want to try some heavy bullets. |
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pick up some 155's, specifically the Lapua Scenar. That looks interesting. Heard a lot of good things about them. I was thinking that with the faster 1:10 twist... one of the heavier bullets might do better. I have a friend with a Savage in 1:10 and my Rem 700 5R is 1:11.25. He has awesome groups with 110 VMax's while I am having trouble getting them to shoot well. You never know until you try them. |
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Based on what you guys have said, what I read HERE , and from the other boards & Bullet Mfr specs.... I think I'll get a box of the 155gr Lapua Scenar & a box of the 175gr SMK's & work with REL 15. Overall those combo's seem to offer the best probable results... so, seems like a good starting point. |
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Ditch the 168's and 175's and pick up some 155's, specifically the Lapua Scenar, Sierra #2156 Palma, and the Berger Fullbore. Sir, WADR while I can't disagree all the bullets you have listed are fine choices for Palma competition the OP made no mention of any intention to comply with the restriction to the 155gr bullets Palma shooters must use. Your post implies that the bullets you recommend are somehow a better choice than the Sierra 168 or 175gr SMK. Based solely on the Sierra claim of a G1 BC of .505 for the 175gr SMK when compared to the G1 BC for all the bullets you list the Sierra 175 is a ballistically superior choice to any of the bullets you list. If there is any intention to shoot past the 300yd distance mentioned the Sierra 175gr Match King would be the better choice in my humble opinion provided the user can achieve a muzzle velocity above 2800fps. JMHO, 7zero1. |
Trying to find a local bullet like SMKs or Bergers that are accurate.
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Based on what you guys have said, what I read HERE , and from the other boards & Bullet Mfr specs.... I think I'll get a box of the 155gr Lapua Scenar & a box of the 175gr SMK's & work with REL 15. Overall those combo's seem to offer the best probable results... so, seems like a good starting point. I worked up the load that they have listed 155 Lapula Scenar over 46.2 grs RL15 in my Rem PSS. I have to say I'm impressed out to 500 meters. |
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168's will shoot just fine to 900 yards, after that things can get dicey. Unless you have a 1/13 twist and a 30" barrel the 155's aren't any better at that range. The 175 will just make 1000 without going subsonic..
The only way you will know which one shoots best in your rifle is to try them. 168's will shoot in anybody's rifle, they're very forgiving. If they shoot the smallest groups for you then run with them. You will be better off with 168's at 850 yards than you will with another bullet (heavier or lighter) with better B.C.'s that won't shoot as well for you. The loads posted for the 155's are maximum loads, work up to that, don't jump in there feet first. The standard Palma load was 46 grains of Varget with a Sierra 155 Match King in Winchester brass and Fed. 210M primers. Again this is a maximum load in this caliber. Work up to it. Barrel length and twist rate will have more of an influence at long range, if most of your shooting is much closer in a lot of bullets and loads will work just fine. I prefer mid range loads because they are easy on the rifle and brass. 42.0 grains of IMR-4064 or 41.5 grains of IMR-4895 168 SMK Winchester commercial brass Winchester primers................................................If these don't shoot, the problem is elsewhere. You can add 1.0 grain to either of these loads and shoot the 155's instead of the 168's |
| Im shooting 155 hronady A-max My load is 47.7 gr of varget , it used to be 47.5 but I changd it a bit and it still shot awsome I had never chronoed this untill 2 weeks ago and it hit 3010 out of my 26inch barreled HV and it shoots 5 shots into one ragged hole and shots into a quarter sized hole and its wicked accurate to 750-800 yds |
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Im shooting 155 hronady A-max My load is 47.7 gr of varget , it used to be 47.5 but I changd it a bit and it still shot awsome I had never chronoed this untill 2 weeks ago and it hit 3010 out of my 26inch barreled HV and it shoots 5 shots into one ragged hole and shots into a quarter sized hole and its wicked accurate to 750-800 yds Do you have any idea what your chamber pressures are? Palma rifles shooting 155's, using 30" barrels rarely go over 2950 fps, some will flirt with 3000. You are probably 2.0 grains over maximum (at least +6000 to +7000 PSI) based on your 26" barrel length. Getting close to "Proof" load. Will this blow your gun up? Probably not, it will beat the crap out of it, develop headspace issues pre-maturely and oyherwise wear it out. When people ask for loads they NEED starting loads and a range of data to work with, not information that exceeds every single reloading manual's maximum. Safety first, last....always. |
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I have a couple of pet loads that work out for me, but use caution and work up to them for your rifle.
Sierra 168 MK, CCI-200BR primer and 46.5 gr of H380. I drop down to 45.5 for the 175/180 grain pills. These are my long range loads. For varmint work I use this load, shoot excellent and vaporizes rodents. Nosler 125 gr. Ballistic tips, CCI-200BR primers and 51.0 grains of Winchester 748. They crank out of my 700 VS over 3200 fps, can load them a little hotter, but they do the job at that speed. Use at your own risk, follow all safe reloading practices and procedures, etc, etc. Indy |
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