.308 / 168gr MK / Varget & Velocity Question
- Thread starter Wm Cook
- Start date
Target load: 41.7 gr Varget, LC-64, 168 HPBT, GM210M 2450 fps. silhouette load out to 500 meters. Takes down Rams with ease. Yes it groups very well at 100. This rifle is an early 700 Varmint.
HOWEVER:
ELK load: 45.5 gr Varget, Lapua, 165 SBT, GM210M, 2810 fps through front leg and into the heart at 200 yards DOA. This rifle has a Hart at 24"
All my .308's like a light jam.
IMO if you have a rifle chambered in .308 you really need Varget........................
HOWEVER:
ELK load: 45.5 gr Varget, Lapua, 165 SBT, GM210M, 2810 fps through front leg and into the heart at 200 yards DOA. This rifle has a Hart at 24"
All my .308's like a light jam.
IMO if you have a rifle chambered in .308 you really need Varget........................
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I've used this bullet in at least a couple of heavy-barreled Remingtons, a 700VS and a 700 5R Mil-Spec. It shot so well, I never tried the lighter or heavier Match Kings. I've seen fine accuracy with Varget, Reloder 15 and H4895. For me, H4895 has provided slightly better overall accuracy with a wider range of bullets than has Varget, but all three do very well with the 168 MK.
Fasinating Velocity Sweet Spots
I find this incredibly interesting. My site searches turned up velocities from 2,610 fps to 2,829 fps for accuracy with the .308. For me to reach that spread I have to load 41.5 to 45 grains with the bottle of Varget I'm using. Sure is a spread from what I'm used to with a PPC. Heck for short range bench rest all we have to do is load 28.5, 29.0, 29.5 and maybe 30.0 grains of V133 and we can reach from 3,200 to 3,450 fps with 66 grain flat base bullets.
So I guess I'll start at just touching the lands with a .005 shim, then use a .010 shim, then go to a .015 shim that's just short of jam depth. Best guesstimate is that I'll start loading at 41.5, 43.0 and 44.5 grains of Varget. That should stretch me from 2,600 fps to about 2,775 fps. Again, this is using Sierra 168 grain MK and again with a 27.5" Krieger barrel.
Side note on Varget and the .308. I fire formed my brass for the second time before sending the brass and the die off to to Jim Carstense for sizing. I choreographed the five shots in my shop and darn if I only had a 4 fps extreme spread with the five shots. Never saw anything like that before. Not with any caliber or any powder. Thanks for the help, Bill.
I find this incredibly interesting. My site searches turned up velocities from 2,610 fps to 2,829 fps for accuracy with the .308. For me to reach that spread I have to load 41.5 to 45 grains with the bottle of Varget I'm using. Sure is a spread from what I'm used to with a PPC. Heck for short range bench rest all we have to do is load 28.5, 29.0, 29.5 and maybe 30.0 grains of V133 and we can reach from 3,200 to 3,450 fps with 66 grain flat base bullets.
So I guess I'll start at just touching the lands with a .005 shim, then use a .010 shim, then go to a .015 shim that's just short of jam depth. Best guesstimate is that I'll start loading at 41.5, 43.0 and 44.5 grains of Varget. That should stretch me from 2,600 fps to about 2,775 fps. Again, this is using Sierra 168 grain MK and again with a 27.5" Krieger barrel.
Side note on Varget and the .308. I fire formed my brass for the second time before sending the brass and the die off to to Jim Carstense for sizing. I choreographed the five shots in my shop and darn if I only had a 4 fps extreme spread with the five shots. Never saw anything like that before. Not with any caliber or any powder. Thanks for the help, Bill.