.308 Reloading data for "Mid-Range" Shooting

[CCW]

Looks like I will begin reloading for my .308 to shoot F-Class matches. I shot Federal Gold Metal Match ammo in the Palo Alto match on 4-4-09. Where can I get reloading information to reload a round that is substantially similar to the Federal ammo? Is the 168 gr Sierra Match King bullet the right bullet to reload? I would also like a powder recommendation. Thanks for the help.

 

[Barney88PDC]

Alot of people use 4895 for the .308. I am sure Dan or Ritten will be along shortly with more info.

The .308 lead is the 175gr Sierra Match Kings in Lapua brass holding 44.2gr of RE-15 and CCI BR-2 primers. I set them about .01 off of the lands as the SMK's like a little bit of a jump.

 

[dzelenka]

If you are going to use a Sierra, I would choose the 175 or the 190. If you are a bit recoil sensitive (and you gun likes them). the new 155 Palma bullet has awesome ballistics. I guess what I am saying is that the only way that I would use the 168 would be if my rifle wouldn't shoot the 175, 155 or 190. (Please understand, the 168 Sierra is a wonderfully accurate bullet, but it was designed for 300 meter matches and does not have the ballistic coefficient of the others mentioned. Nosler has 175 and 155 bullets that should work quite well. The 155 Nosler doesn't have the BC of the new Sierra Palma bullet. I shoot both the old style 155 Sierra and the 175 in my M1A and M1 Garand. The 175 is my choice for 600 yards, but the 155 and 190 both have the requisite BC. Pick the bullet that shoots the best in your rifle.

For powder, all of the following work very well in no particular order: Varget, Reloder 15, IMR 4064, IMR and H4895. If you weigh charges, 4064 gives excellent accuracy. The rest of those listed will go through a powder measure with decent consistency. I shot thrown powder charges on my middle string yesterday and did pretty well.

With respect to cartridge cases, Lapua is the best.

dan

 

[jlong]

There are several opinions, and ideas on the best Bullets to reload, and the best powder to use, and the best Brass, Primers, Etc. In working up a load for my rifle, I first loaded 10 rounds each of 168 SMK's, all with different weights of powder H4895. I started with minimums, and worked up to max in .5gr increments. With the 168's I found that 43gr works really good, for SMK's, A-Max's, and Hornady 168 HPBT Match. All will shoot 1/2 MOA, in my rifle with the prescribed amount of powder, and bullets mentioned above. Thats .5gr from recommended max by lee manual, which is semi-conservative. Still do take caution, and work up. Also I have had success with Varget, in 44.5gr with 168's. The load I use for mid-range work, is 155 VLD's, in Lapua Brass trimmed to 2.05, Full length sized, 210 primers, 45gr H4895. OAL 2.810. I consistently get 1/2 MOA out of this round in my rifle. My rifle isn't very picky about what I feed it, as long as it weighs 155, or 168 grains. I have stock 26" Remmy 700 Varmint Barrel, bedded to a Richards Stock, with Bushnell elite 4200 6-24x50T.

When I started load development, I bought a plethora of bullets from 110 V-Max's - 175 SMK's. I know the 1in12 twist is to slow to stabilize much more than a 175gr Bullet, so I stopped there. Not to mention I'll leave the heavier rounds for the 300 mags. Anyways, I prepped 150 Rounds of Brass in one sitting, to minimize any variances in my procedure, loaded 10 rounds of every bullet I had gathered over 43gr H4895, and 210 primers. All bullets were loaded to the same OAL of 2.810. I deduced from this, that my rifle likes most bullets in 155, and 168 grains. It shot Lapua Palmas, Sierra Palmas, 168 MK's, 168 A-Max's, 168 Hornady HPBT Match, 155 and 168 Noslers, all in .5" groups on average. I concluded, that I can't shoot much better than that, so I left with those conclusions. The groups were opening up with the 175's, and anything lighter than 155. Still most were well within 1MOA. I could probably get better performance out of the lighter rounds by sending them down range faster with more powder. 1Moa is acceptable for me though.

AS far a powder, There was almost immeasurable difference between Varget, H4895 Both of those powders are great for .308.


I am done for now, thanks for listening.

 

[Landry308]

These are 2 of my rifle's favorite loads with SMK 175, seated to mag length:
AA2520 42 gr
Varget 43.5 gr

 

[dzelenka]

When I started load development, I bought a plethora of bullets from 110 V-Max's - 175 SMK's. I know the 1in12 twist is to slow to stabilize much more than a 175gr Bullet, so I stopped there.

A 1:12" will handle a 190 gr HPBT Match bullet or a 200 gr flat based bullet with no problem.

 

[dzelenka]

These are 2 of my rifle's favorite loads with SMK 175, seated to mag length:
AA2520 42 gr
Varget 43.5 gr

I have been using the 175 with 44 gr Varget.

How is the lot to lot consistency with AA2520 these days?

 

[jlong]

It will, but my groups open up tremendously at range, and I have had a few of the 190's with oblong holes. More consistent for me are the 168 A-max, and 155 Bergers. Those two are my favorite.

 

[CCW]

A 1:12" will handle a 190 gr HPBT Match bullet or a 200 gr flat based bullet with no problem.

How do I determine the twist in my barrel? I bought a factory gun and have no idea what the barrel twist is.

 

[dzelenka]

How do I determine the twist in my barrel? I bought a factory gun and have no idea what the barrel twist is.

One easy way would be to check the manufacturers website.

You can also put a tight patch in the barrel and mark the cleaning rod, then push the patch in until the rod turns one revolution. Mark the rod again. Then measure the distance from mark to mark.

 

[dzelenka]

It will, but my groups open up tremendously at range, and I have had a few of the 190's with oblong holes. More consistent for me are the 168 A-max, and 155 Bergers. Those two are my favorite.

My advice is to always use what works in your gun. I would trade accuracy for ballistics most of the time. You can always learn to read the wind.

I would measure the twist of your barrel. Button rifled barrels are sometimes not exact in their twist rates. They can be a bit faster or slower than nominal. That is why some 1:9" .223 barrels will shoot 77s and others won't.

 

[Ritten]

My GAP likes the 175's better than the 155 Lapua Scenars so far so I stuck with that. I was using Varget (43.3gr) and the rifle seemed to group just under .5 moa so I was happy with that........until it became damn near impossible to find any Varget.

A couple of weeks ago I switched to Reloader 15 and worked up some loads. At 44.2gr. it was shooting .25moa at 100yds with the 175's jumping .01" to the lands. The 155 scenars have a BC just as high as the 175's when you're pushing them over 2900fps. If I were you I'd buy a box of each bullet that's been listed here and work up some loads with each. Get out to the range and see what your rifle likes. One point to make is that the Remington chambers are usually cut looooong on factory barrels so some of the best shooting rounds probably won't fit in the magazine.

 

[Ritten]

How do I determine the twist in my barrel? I bought a factory gun and have no idea what the barrel twist is.

More than likely it's a 1-12 twist.

 

[mikepizz]

what large rifle primers are you guys using in the .308? thanks

 

[Barney88PDC]

I think the concensus is Federal 210.