.308 long range

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kestak

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Greetings,

I have been experimenting a little bit and I would like to know what are your own findings:

Do you have better results long distance accuracy with 168 grains bullets (here Sierra 2200 and Nosler HPBT) or 175 grains bullets? I use LMT, HOWA 1500 (1:10 rifle twist if I remember well) and M1A (1:11???) and get good results except with M1A.

Thank you
 
In general, people who want to reach 1000 yards and farther use the 175 because it can stay supersonic out that far. I have read different things on which yardage to switch at. Some of that depends on barrel length and the velocity you can get from it with a 168.

I have some 175s, but am only loading 168s right now as I do not expect to be shooting much more than 600 yards anytime soon, and haven't even done that yet.
 
I can tell you that the long range shooters at the fort told me their .308 goes sub-sonic between 880 and 950 yards depending of the temperature(they all use the longest barrell (24 or 26 inches I think). They are all moving now to 6.5 after some of them moved to 300 winmag and did not like it at all.

But what I am asking is really if anyone found a significant accuracy difference.

Thank you
 
Respectfully, they're wrong if talking 175gr. The 168 I think go sub around 850 mark.

My 1000yd match load using 175gr SMK, is humming around 2760fps from a 26" barrel, which puts it approx 1200fps around the 1000yd mark. Well above the 1090 sub-sonic speed. It actually does very well at 1000yd mark. I plan to work on the load after season is up to try and reach 2800 mark for 1000yd load.

Don't get me wrong, the 6.5 creed or .260 are great at 1000. I shoot FTR though, and it's either the .223 or .308 only for FTR.
 
No reason why you can't find accurate loads for either the 168 or 175SMK. Other options are the 155gr Lapua Scenar and the 190SMK. While I have no experience with the 155 Scenar, I have used the 190SMK at 2700fps. As for the 168SMK at 1k, I was spotting for a guy that was using it and it was a complete disaster. Oh, and BTW, after shooting both the .308 and .30-06, I too moved to a 6.5mm (6.5x55). Easier on the shoulder and shoots much flatter.

Don
 
I shoot the 30-06 over the .308 so my experience will be different since I can get more powder in the case.

I have never shot past 400 yards because there are no ranges longer anywhere near me. I have no reason to use anything other than a 168gr match bullet but I agree if you're going to be shooting past 800 yards the 175gr bullet is a better choice than the 168gr bullet. Sierra has two 155gr bullets that are also very accurate. Their 155gr MatchKing is highly rated (#2155) but a few years back they came out with a 155gr Palma MatchKing (#2156) and that bullet is extremely accurate. (if you do your job of course)

The 155gr Palma Match bullet @ 2800 fps and with a BC of .504 that bullet will still be traveling @~1325 fps when it hits 1000 yards. Then again, a 168gr MatchKing with a BC of .462 will also stay above 1090 fps with a muzzle velocity of 2700 fps but the 175gr SMK will do better.

If it were me I would be shooting the 155gr Sierra Palma MatchKing bullet over the other two. At the end of the day your shoulder will thank you too...

BTW, you didn't tell us what you consider "long range" so how far are you going to be shooting?
 
!75 SMK ~42 gr IMR4064 in LC brass is pretty close to THE FEDERAL Gold Metal load considered a top standard load for most 308s
 
308 Long Range

I have shot SMK 175's at 1000 yards and I did not observe any key-holing. The 308 is a good economic round for long range. The 6.5 is great but the barrel life is poor.

My approach is to shoot a ladder test and work up a good load from there.


good luck
Gary
 
After a lot of struggling, I am now able to constantly shoot head shots on steel at 600 yards. I do not shoot bench, I shoot sling and prone on elbow. 600 yards is considered medium range. However, I see that my group is border line to miss. I begin to suspect this is the precision of my load.

My goal is 900 yards. However at that point I'll have run out of clicks on my scope with the LMT.....
 
Oh! I'll check if I did not get a brain fart about the subsonic part of my message. I may be wrong and remember wrongly what the guys said. I am sure they are right and I must be wrong. They are very serious. So serious that they have ca eras on the targets and a tv to check their hits.
 
Either one will shoot absolutely fine! Make a load with either one that you can get. If you shoot far enough to grow out of the 168s then shoot the others.

Any target closer than 600 yards will never know the difference. If you are shooting head shots slung and prone without much trouble then no worries at all. Keep doing what you are lol.
 
Actually, IMO shooting from 600 yards to 900 yards I would definitely go with the Sierra 155gr Palma Match bullets in your .308 Winchester. As an added bonus, depending on what velocities you generate the 155gr bullet will drop between 60" and 90" LESS than the 168gr bullet @ 1000 yards.
 
I checked the loading data for 308 and 30-06 and the max velocity is about 2700 ft/sec. How do you get the 2800 ft/sec velocity? Moreover, Shooters, my ballistic software gives a .447 BC while midwayusa gives a .504...

But even with the lesser numbers, the drop is 211 compared to 237 at 800 yards. That is a click potential of 120 more yards with my scope without to have to buy a 20 MOA mount.
 
kestak said:
I checked the loading data for 308 and 30-06 and the max velocity is about 2700 ft/sec. How do you get the 2800 ft/sec velocity? Moreover, Shooters, my ballistic software gives a .447 BC while midwayusa gives a .504...

But even with the lesser numbers, the drop is 211 compared to 237 at 800 yards. That is a click potential of 120 more yards with my scope without to have to buy a 20 MOA mount.
Click to expand...


That's the max for their testing equipment, not my rifle. I have 26" barrel. I use 2000-MR as well. Sweet powder. Every rifle is different. My come up at 1k is 31moa+3 clicks (1/8 clicks). My come up at 600 is 13.5moa.

Their manuals are normally lawyerized. Max in one gun, may not be max in another. My load that gets me 2750-2760 with a 175 using 2000-MR is only .2gr from max with 0 high pressure signs using Alliants data.
 
kestak,

Velocity attainable will vary depending upon both barrel length and barrel quality. Obviously, longer barrels will generate higher velocities, but custom barrels such as Krieger, Obermeyer, etc. will also generate higher velocities than factory barrels. For example, using the very same load in .30-06 with a 178gr Amax bullet, I have 2 match rifles both with 26" barrels but one being a Krieger, one rifle delivers 2950fps while other only does 2875fps. With the long barrels used by Palma shooters, they normally get 2900+fps out of their .308 loads with 155gr bullets. With a 26" barrel, I get ~2750fps with 175SMK's and 2700fps with 190SMK's in .308. A chronograph is almost a necessity when doing load development for LR shooting, and they can be bought quite cheaply.

Don
 
I would definitely go with the Sierra 155gr Palma Match bullets in your .308 Winchester
Click to expand...
+1 "I don't always shoot past 300yds but when I do.."

I've noticed a big difference using a lighter bullet. 139gr horn sst's will run a good bit flatter @ 600 yds than 150 grn smk's in my 7-08's.
 
What about the wind impact difference? Does the higher BC compensate for the lesser weight? My 223 when it is windy is hell to shoot pass 300 yards....
 
I don't shoot .223 at long range. I have tried the 155gr SMK Palma and the 175gr SMK at mid and long range. I don't buy 155gr SMK Palmas anymore. I just didn't like them as much as the 175gr SMK.
 
Or would the greater bc and momentum be better than more velocity?

Greater velocity= less dirft-less flight time
Greater momentum= less drift- harder to move from line of impact
Greater B.C.= less drift- holds impulse velocity longer by reducing drag
 
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