I'm just wondering what the preferred .308 bullet weight is for F class shooting, whether the choice differs for shooting XTC, or if one load does it all? Obviously different guns will have different preferences, mainly wondering about the external ballistics for this type of shooting.
Preferred bullet wt. for .308 F class
- Thread starter nortac
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But not the 168 SMKs?
They are accurate, but they don't have a very high ballistic coefficient. The 168 SMK was actually designed for 300M International shooting. It was pressed into highpower service because there were no better alternatives. The 155 has as high or higher BC, but can be driven faster. The 175 can be driven as fast as the 168, but has a higher BC. For 600 yards, the 168 sucks hind teat to the newer offerings.
Thanks for the clarification. I guess I'll load up the 168's I have on hand for practice, get some 155,s and some more 175's and see what my Savage likes best.
What kind of velocities are the 155s getting up to?
How fast are you pushing your .308 175 gr. SMKs? I was working up a load with Varget today and was surprised that I was getting velocities much higher than the published data. I know different guns...etc., etc. But my Savage should be pretty typical with a 24" barrel, certainly no match chamber.
Is that a max load for your gun?
No. Depending on the powder and outside temperature it is the range of my most accurate loads. I've no need to push it from there.
It seems most of the reloading data for Varget and 175gr SMK's required max loads to get to 2700 fps. with max being about 45gr of Varget. I started with a midrange load of 43 gr. and was already exceeding that velocity in my gun. I had 0.5 gr. incremental loads up to 45 gr. (10 rounds each increment) and I went ahead and fired each group. The upper end was definitely hot and velocity about 2900 fps.! No flattened primers or signs of extreme pressures, but certainly hotter than I wanted to subject my gun and self to.
I was shooting 44.2gr of R15 under the 175's and was pushing around 2750fps. It was scary accurate under the right conditions, but if the outside temps climbed over 85 it seemed to go to crap.
That's unreal if you actually are getting those kinds of velocities! I haven't heard of many .308's able to get over 2800. You may want to check it against another chrono. I use 43.3gr of Varget in Lapua brass, seated at 2.820" OAL, BR-2's, and am pushing them around 2720fps out of a 22" Mike Rock barrel.
I need to start with a lower charge weight and drop the velocity. The 43gr was running 2800 and had the best group of the bunch, but nothing to celebrate over.
The same Pact Pro. chrono clocked the Federal Gold Match 175 SMK factory loads at 2690 a short while back when the ambient temp was mid 90's which I thought was reasonable. Using the same brass, once fired, today. Fed 210M primmers, charges individually weighed on Pact electric scale, COAL 2.815, I dunno?
This seems to be a bit confusing. I have a 20" barrel. 44.7 grains of varget under the 175 SMK is only showing 2540's and 2550's on my chrono. I know the barrel length has a lot to do with it but that much???? I have been scared to get up to 45 and up for fear of extreme pressure. My COL is 2.815". Any suggestions to get to 2600 safely?
I know the chrono is quite close to perfect because I've checked it with other commercial ammo.
I know the chrono is quite close to perfect because I've checked it with other commercial ammo.
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