Who shoots heavies in their 308?

G

GJgo

Guest
Hey all,

I've been searching the subject for the last few months as I'd like to try it out- who is shooting 190-210 gr bullets in their 308, and what are your thoughts on it? I've Googled lots of info on the 208 Amax, a little info on the various Matchkings, a trickle of info on heavy Bergers, and nothing on anyone shooting the 200gr Accubond. I'd like to hear a little more direct info about other's experiences before I start buying $40 boxes of bullets. I have a big jug of RL17, which is the impetus for trying this out.

Thanks :)
 
Its all about twist.

What is the twist in your test rifle? If it is the standard 1 in 12 you may be disappointed in the results. I have shot up to 190's in two different guns at 100 yards. They worked OK. I have been told that thet become unstable further out - don't know about this. I have shot 220 MatchKings and gotten a perfect 1.5" hole at 100yds. The bullets hit sideways in about a 12" group.

That was too bad, if I could have gotten them to hit point of aim I would have used them in a local hunter class match. Imagine the cries of anguish since the rulebook doesn't say 'round' hole. :D

Another question is how far are you planning to shoot?

Have lots of fun.

Russ
 
Aah, sorry. It's a Savage 10FCP HS Precision, 10 twist. I'm setting it up for 600-1000 yd paper punching. Thanks.
 
I've shot up to 185-190 Berger VLDs and SMKs + RE-15 or Varget through factory 12" twist barrels with fairly good results in the past; I'm currently tinkering with a new load using B185BTs & N150 that is showing promise. Longer than that (208-210) and you may start running into throat length issues, although some factory chambers (Remington) tend to be long enough you may not. From what I've heard (haven't tried them myself yet) the slower powders like N550 & RE-17 may work better with the 210 gr pills.
 
308 for informal paper punching is fine if you are going into comp. you will find yourself undergunned with the slow fps and believe me i have tried heavy and slow does work for 1000yds. 600 maybe . The Rifler
 
GJgo said:
Hey all,

I've been searching the subject for the last few months as I'd like to try it out- who is shooting 190-210 gr bullets in their 308, and what are your thoughts on it? I've Googled lots of info on the 208 Amax, a little info on the various Matchkings, a trickle of info on heavy Bergers, and nothing on anyone shooting the 200gr Accubond. I'd like to hear a little more direct info about other's experiences before I start buying $40 boxes of bullets. I have a big jug of RL17, which is the impetus for trying this out. Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Have you checked this out yet? ... http://www.6mmbr.com/308win.html. Looks like the 168 and 175's are the ones to shoot. I just picked up some Varget and 168 grain Sierra MK BTHPs for my son a few hours ago. :)
 
Thanks guys. It really is just for informal target shooting and maybe some local comps for fun. It is a box-stock Savage, after all. :)

I know the 175 SMKs will shoot to 1K, but that's what everyone shoots so a) they're hard to find these days and b) so is Varget. So, I thought I'd work up a long range load to make use of this 5 lb jug of RL17 I currently have no other use for.

I have a suspicion that OAL vs. powder capacity may be an issue in my Savage throat when dealing with the 208 Amax & the 210 Berger & SMK, as was eluded to by milanuk. Easy enough however to unscrew the barrel & lengthen the throat.. So, I've been looking a little closer at 190 & 200gr SMKs (tangent ogive) and also the Bergers in that range (tangent & secant available).

I just figured that there must be guys here shooting the high BC heavies! After all, distance is a lot easier to dope for than wind! As far as being slow, based on what other guys are doing with RL17 & the 208 Amax (.648 BC) I should be able to get around 2600 fps @ the muzzle with my 24" tube *if* I can get the COAL long enough.
 
GJgo

GJgo said:
I know the 175 SMKs will shoot to 1K, but that's what everyone shoots so a) they're hard to find these days and b) so is Varget.
Click to expand...

I found plenty of Varget and the 168 AND 175s at Cabela's in Buda, TX yesterday. :)
 
I've tried the 308 with heavy bullets at long range (NBRSA 1000 yds). I'm here to tell you that 308 - heavy bullets - long range do not go together. Pick two of the three but not all three.

There's a good reason why military and commercial National Match ammunition has always been loaded with 175 grain bullets, max. The case simply is not big enough.

If you want higher BC take a look at the Berger 175 VLD. You can get it up to 2700fps with careful selection of powder and case, but don't expect much more.

If you want to shoot the 190 - 200 grain bullets at the long distances, use a bigger case.

JMHO

Ray
 
Ray,

I'm curious... did you notice a significant decrease in accuracy relative to loads with lighter bullets, or were you not able to get the heavy bullets going fast enough to have an advantage over the lighter pills?

In F/TR, a lot of people use 155gr bullets, especially the 'new generation' designs from Berger, Lapua & Sierra, to very good effect. But an increasing numbe of folks (myself included) are starting to look at the 'cruiser-weight' bullets in the 185-190 range for a possible edge in snaky wind conditions. In the past I've ran B190VLDs over RE15 and got them over 2600fps fairly easily with a 24" LW barrel... I never really tried for 'super' accuracy with that load and that gun, though. More recently I've been experimenting with B185BTs as mentioned earlier... with N150 I'm seeing decent velocity (2710fps) with no pressure sign at all, and so far pretty good accuracy during preliminary testing @ 100 & 300yds. It'll be interesting to see how they hold up further out; we have a 600yd Fullbore match coming up this weekend, and I hope to sneak up to the range for zeroing between now and then. Hopefully things will continue to look good from there...

Monte
 
Monte

I was looking for a dedicated 1000 yard rifle and cartridge when I tried the 308. It was simply a case of not being able to get the heavy bullets going fast enough to offer any wind advantage over the 175 grains. Accuracy was not lacking on any of the 30 cal that I tried but I finally settled on a 280 Ackley with 175 gr VLDs. I won a couple of fake wood trophies with it but finally went back to the 30, a magnum, and 210 grain Bergers.

I didn't try any of the lighter bullets. I understand that the new 155 grain Sierra is really shooting great for both F Class and Palma. Better than the 175from what my friends tell me.

Back then, there was no F Class or 600 yard Benchrest, only 1000 yards, so if I had it to do again today I'd probably look at some different combinations.

Ray
 
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longshooter said:
Yikes!
Click to expand...


:eek::eek::eek:NOOOO Thats much worse than YIKES!!!!!!!

Gjgo
Listen Up Bud.
You CANNOT screw a Savage barrel out to lengthen the throat.
Doing so would increase the headspace and leave the rear of the cartridge unsupported by the barrel.
If you were able to get it to fire in such a condition you'd be very lucky to wake up in a Hospital. Chances are you good you go straight to the morgue.

Its Ok to shorten the headspace on a Savage a few thousandths providing you maintain a small clearence between the bolt and barrel.
Increasing the headspace is absolutely Verboten!
 
I was kind of giving him the benefit of the doubt... that he meant screw it off, have it re-throated, then screw it back on and re-headspace it.

Otherwise I figured Darwinism would take it's course... ;) (just kidding!)
 
milnauk

You may be right. That was'nt my first inclination but after rereading it maybe that was his intent. The mere thought scared the crap out of me:D
Apologies Gjgo if I misread you.
 
I suspect he meant unscrew/remove the barrel, run a throat reamer into it, then reset the headspace by screwing the barrel back in using proper headspace gauges. Somehow I don't think he was going to bak the barrel out and fire it! I guess he can tell us what he meant.
 
longshooter said:
Yikes!
Click to expand...

Sorry, should have used more words for clarification. *Remove the barrel and make the throat longer properly with a throat reamer, then re-install the barrel properly with a headspace gauge. My point was just that it's relatively easy to do in a Savage.

My DBM in the Savage is 3.00" so I could run around 2.9"+ COAL and still mag load.
 
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Ray,

If you were starting over and could run a 308 with:

175 SMK, Varget, 2700 fps, .505 BC

*or*

208 Amax, RL17, 2600 fps, .648 BC

Which would you go with?

Regarding the 155s that are working so well for some these days, I've personally tried them in a 10 twist 308 & a 10 twist 300 WSM and I couldn't get them to shoot worth a darn in either.
 
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