Which 308 bullets?

[hunter966]

Hi all,

I would like to start shooting longer ranges and hope you folks can give me some pointers. I have shot out to 500 with my setup below but would like to stretch it out further. I tried to search this subject but couldn't find what I was looking for.

I have a Rem. 700 VS in 308 with a Leupold 4x14x50 30mm Mark 4 with target turrets, I have had the trigger adjusted to about 2lbs., and a bed job done. I have played with the Berger 168 VLD's and they shoot great but I have to load them single shot because that's where my rifle likes them

My question is what brand and weight of bullet could you all recommed, I don't mind loading them single shot as I probably won't use this rig for hunting, but if I can build a better mouse trap.

Anything else you can pass on to a new fella would be great.

Thanks in advance,
hunter966

 

[gebhardt02]

I shoot the Sierra 175 matchkings and the Hornady 178 AMAX bullets. I'm guessing that you are single loading in order to seat the bullets out further and with this seating depth, they won't fit in the internal box?

Check out the 175 and 178's. If you can get these to about 2700 fps you should be good out to 1K. You might also want to check out the new Sierra 155 gr palma matchking bullets. I've heard very good things about these. They are different than the older 155 matchkings. And if driven fast enough, will reach out to 1K as well.

Depending on your twist rate, which I'd hazard a guess is 1:12, these may be the heaviest bullets to try. You could check out the 190 SMK's, but if you have a 12 twist, they may not stabilize. Only one way to find out.

Geb

 

[J E Custom]

Hi all,

I would like to start shooting longer ranges and hope you folks can give me some pointers. I have shot out to 500 with my setup below but would like to stretch it out further. I tried to search this subject but couldn't find what I was looking for.

I have a Rem. 700 VS in 308 with a Leupold 4x14x50 30mm Mark 4 with target turrets, I have had the trigger adjusted to about 2lbs., and a bed job done. I have played with the Berger 168 VLD's and they shoot great but I have to load them single shot because that's where my rifle likes them

My question is what brand and weight of bullet could you all recommed, I don't mind loading them single shot as I probably won't use this rig for hunting, but if I can build a better mouse trap.

Anything else you can pass on to a new fella would be great.

Thanks in advance,
hunter966

I would recommend the 168gr SMK ,

It is what most people use in NRA High Power for 600 and 1000yrd shooting.

With the 168 you still get good velocities much larger and velocities suffer.

And it can be loaded to magazine length and still get great accuracy.

J E CUSTOM

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

so whats wrong with what you are shooting now? If you have a good load with a good bullet stick with it.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

The 168gr A-Max would also be a good choice. They shoot rather well in a few of my rifles and they are a lot cheaper than Berger VLD's. Some shooters prefer the 178gr A-Max in their .308 win. You may want to try both. Like the VLD's you will probably have to single round feed them if you load them close to the rifling.

 

[Michael Eichele]

For non-hunting loads AND shooting up to 1K the best bullets I have used in multiple 308's are as follows:

155 AMAX, SCENAR, VLD, Palma.

175 SMK

178 AMAX

190 SMK, VLD

Your 12x will handle anything up to the 190's.

You can expect sub MOA accuracy with any of the 155's at 1K.

The 155's will drop the least and the 190's will drift the least. These two are my personal favoraite 1K 308 bullets.

 

[BountyHunter]

If you plan on going past 900, then go with one of the 175-180s.

The 168s will go subsonic and loose stability after 900 normally. Seen a lot of keyhole "patterns" at 1k with 168s.

Palma guys use 155s in 30 inch tightbore barrels, but that will not work in a standard factory 26" tube.

Go to powders seem to be Varget, and RL 15 being real popular.

BH

 

[Buffalobob]

The Sierra 175 MKs will do a good job at 1000 yards on targets and also works well on animals. The animals don't seem to complain about being killed by a single shot rifle.

 

[Michael Eichele]

Palma guys use 155s in 30 inch tightbore barrels, but that will not work in a standard factory 26" tube.

I am not sure what you meen by this but I have ran the old 155 SMK at 2900 in -20 degree air at under 100' ASL with perfectly straight bullet holes at 1K.