I have had kind of "meh" results from my Savage with 168gr SMK's.  They shoot 1moa or better some days but I had a rough time at a long range match a couple weeks ago and I think I can do better.

here's the options I'm considering:

I've got 500 155gr Nosler custom comp bullets sitting in a drawer.  I need to figure out what powder to use for those.  I've got most of the usual powders (IMR/Hodgdon) that people recommend for those, I'm just not sure where to start.

I've also got 100 208gr Amax bullets sitting on the desk that I haven't tried yet.

I was told by a buddy at the range that his gun (same as mine) likes the 175gr SMK's and they have a little better BC so they'll "fly straight longer"...


Waddau all think about those options?  Or some others I haven't considered maybe?

thanks, Benji

Id give the 175s a try. My buddy has a 10 FP and Ive got a rem 700 and we both produce sub .5 MOA all the way out to 600 yards with 45 grains of IMR4064 and 168 smks. It might be your powder charge. With 44 grains neither of our rifles would do better than 1 MOA. We upped the charge by .2 grains improving accuracy each time until we reached 45.5. Then accuaracy started falling apart. We backed it off half a grain and thats the sweet spot for us. SOmetime you've just got to do a lot of testing with powder charges. You'd be suprised what .2 grains will do for accuracy.

1in10 twist rateslike heavier pills. My  1in10 places 180smks under .5moa. Your good with smk 180, 190 and 208 Amax. I have a ladder run using 208 Amax using R15 but haven't found a long enough range worthy of testing yet.

I use mine for deer hunting, so I use 165 HPBT Sierra Game Kings.  Always under .75 MOA...usually around .5 with Varget or IMR 4007.

How many rounds down the pipe?

My 10FP LE2b took 700 rounds to shoot sub MOA, so it might take a while.   Now it shoots everything from 150 SMKs up through 190 SMKs under an inch, consistently.

What specific loads are you building?

168s are a pretty accurate bullet and unless you're going to be trying to reach 1000 yds, the 175s probably aren't needed.  Some will argue that the 168s are inherently more accurate at moderate ranges than the 175s, but it's always wise to try a few different bullets, powders brass and primers, just to rule things out.

It could also be that your barrel isn't a sub MOA barrel.  Not every Savage barrel shoots sub MOA and there's a reason why Savage doesn't guarantee half inch groups for the rifles they sell.  Some do and some don't.

How much have you fiddled with the 168s?  Nosler makes a 168 CC.  I'd think that the 208 AMAX would be a little on the heavy side, even for the 1:10 twisted barrel.

Chris

My 10FP in HS Precision stock likes 175gr SMK over 41 grains of Varget.

My 10fcp likes the 175 smks, lapua brass, 42.8 gr. Varget, CCI 200. I get great accuracy out to 900 plus yards. I just shoot at 12"x12" steel plates. I can hold under an inch at 100 yards with a bipod and rear bag, prone. I know the gun will shoot better than I can.

I have also had good luck will 155gr. Lapua scenars. I only had the opprotunity to shoot them out to 825, but had good luck with these.  The one thing I really like about the scenars is the small amount of felt recoil compared to the 175s. I know the .308 doesn't kick the way it is, but you can definetly tell between the two.

I'm gonna load up some of the 155gr Nosler CC's but I'm not sure what powder to start with.  I've got a few choices in the cabinet at home, but I guess I just gotta pick one.  I'd like to load up the 208's also but they are so freakin long I haven't looked yet to see if they'll fit into the mag...

Even less recoil with the 155's would be kinda funny.  I was used to 300wm recoil when I bought the Savage; it seems like nothing compared to the Winnie.



thanks for the replies, keep 'em comin, eh.  

The 155s like to be pushed up around ~2950, which Varget, RL-15 and IMR 4895 should be able to accomplish in a 26" tube like I have, but the new FCPs only sport a 24" barrel, so booo!

At 2950 fps, something like the 155 Skinny is tough to beat and quite the laser beam out to 1k.

Honestly, I wouldn't waste my time on loading up the 208s.  Save them for the day when you have a 30'06 or 300WM.  You just won't get them flying fast enough to make up the difference of a better BC than the 155 class.

The 308 case just runs out of gas.

Chris

I don't know what the twist rate is on your Savage, but my 1:12 700 VLS likes 155 Sierra Palmas  MUCH MUCH better than 168's...

- AG

168's over 45 grains of Varget gets me sub .5 moa in a 10fp.

my 10FP didn't like the 168SMK's too well either.  It does love the 168gr Custom Competition from Nosler.  The best I could get with the Sierra's was just under 2" at 100yrds.  I use IMR 4064 and CCI primers.

I had mine cut down to 18"     I don't really ever see the long side of 650yds to be honest.  I'm gonna load up the 155gr Nosler CC's and see what happens.  Just gotta figure out what powders to try out.  I'm signing up to the local range so I should be able to spend a little more dedicated time with the chrono and shooting at known distances.  Should prove a little more accurate than out in the woods like I've been doing so far...


Thanks, keep the info coming.   Benji

Nobody can tell you what your rifle is going to shoot the best. You're going to have to find out for yourself. Every rifle has it's own particular tastes.

Try Sierra's new 155 "pointed" Palma bullet as well as Honady's 155 A-Max and Nosler's 155 Custom Competition bullets. If you want to throw money around try Berger's 155.5 Full Bore bullet and Lapua's 155 Scenar.

Try a different powder with Sierra's 168. Nosler's 168 Custom Competition is a good bullet too.

Nosler and Sierra makes excellent 175's, they would or should be your first bullet to try past 600 yards. All of the other weights have the potential to shine from 600 yards and closer.

155's are driven to 2950 to 3000 fps from Palma rifles with 30" barrels. Don't try this at home with anything shorter.

There are a lot of powders that perform in .308.

Try the VihtaVuori N-140, N-540, N-135 and N-150

Hodgdon's Varget and H-4895 work great.

IMR-3031, IMR-4895 and IMR-4064 work great. IMR-8028XBR should work great too.

RE-15 is good to go.

Change primers. Sometimes Remington's standard large rifle primer will get great groups with IMR powders. Winchester and Federal 210M primers are about the hottest standard primers available. They should be tried, too many people have success with them too be ignored.

You haven't said what brass, primers, powder charge, seating depth, seating dies, ect. you are using. That may tell us something we need to know.

I have tried the bulk of things listed in various responses above, for me yough if I shoot 155 grainers there is zero reason to look further than the Scenars. Also, a powder not yet mentioned is TAC. In a factory remington LTR barrel, hbn coated Scenars, I hover right at the 2900fps mark using TAC powder under the level of any pressure signs. I can't really speak for accuracy as I do not shoot groups, but I have shot from 30yds to 1300 with zero problems. About 1100 fired rounds of these Scenar loads without a single issue, I have no intention of changing anything about what I shoot.

I have had very good luck with Nosler 168 CC as well as the green box 168 pills

My savage loved the 175 smk and i think I tried a 190g and it was good too but i forgot what bullet type it was.