Tried multiple loads today in an attempt to get ready for deer season in MO, but to no avail. I am shooting a rem 700 SPS Varmint 26" barrel 1 in 12" twist. Tried several loads with a 165 gr SGK but did not get very good results using Varget and IMR 4895 (looking for .75MOA or better). Could get nothing to work with the 4895 but the Varget shows some potential. I normally shoot 175 gr SMKs BTHP as a target load that shoot excellent, so out of frustration tried some of my dads 180 gr SMKs and instantly shot great. So to my question, will the heavier bullets tend to be more accurate in a 26" barrel? Or do I need to try some different powder types to achieve accuracy with the 165 gr bullets? Any ideas or load suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated as I am running out of ideas and money lol (sierra needs to make boxes of 50)
Hunting Loads for .308?????
- Thread starter jlm342000
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Sierra make boxes of 50 on certain bullets.
I have shot some Remington Core Lokt in .270 and was impressed by them. I didn't expect them to be accurate. Not the most expensive bullet.
I have the same rifle you do and normally shoot 168's with no problems.
Seating Depth?? I seat a .308 to 1 x bullet diameter. .270 is seated 1x also. Never had a reason to change. In my .308 or .270 I'm not going to get near the lands anyway.
I used OCW to develop loads and get into the ballpark pretty quick.
I have shot some Remington Core Lokt in .270 and was impressed by them. I didn't expect them to be accurate. Not the most expensive bullet.
I have the same rifle you do and normally shoot 168's with no problems.
Seating Depth?? I seat a .308 to 1 x bullet diameter. .270 is seated 1x also. Never had a reason to change. In my .308 or .270 I'm not going to get near the lands anyway.
I used OCW to develop loads and get into the ballpark pretty quick.
grubbylabs
Member
I am new to all of this but I did get lucky with a load I tried from a poster on another site.
This load falls as a mid range load for the powder listed and can be found in the 13th edition of the
Speer re loading manual.
165 grain BTSP
43 grains of IMR 4064
LR primer. I use magnum since that is what I have and 43 grains is not a max load.
I shoot this out of my Marlin XS-7 and it does really well. The poster stated that he shot a Remington although I don't remember which one.
Good luck.
This load falls as a mid range load for the powder listed and can be found in the 13th edition of the
Speer re loading manual.
165 grain BTSP
43 grains of IMR 4064
LR primer. I use magnum since that is what I have and 43 grains is not a max load.
I shoot this out of my Marlin XS-7 and it does really well. The poster stated that he shot a Remington although I don't remember which one.
Good luck.
tommyintx
Member
i have a friend with the same rifle. His likes 150 grain nosler accubond (or ballistic tip) over 42.5 grains of h4895.. about 2700fps, and shoots 1/2moa average. some groups under .350, big groups around .6.
evan price
Member
I get sub moa accuracy with Hornady 165 SST's and varget in my Rem 700 Police with 26" heavy barrel. Try in the 43-45 grain Varget range. The SSTs are explosive in thin skinned game, close in shots (100 yard range) will leave a big wound and a fragmented bullet.
Sunray
Member
SMK's are match bullets. They're not made for hunting.
Kind of odd that Remington uses a 1 in 12 in the SPS Varmint, but 1 in 10 in a standard SPS. I'd use 150's.
.75" groups aren't required for deer either. Chances and most likely, an SPS barrel isn't capable of that kind of accuracy either. Two to 3" at 100 is enough.
Kind of odd that Remington uses a 1 in 12 in the SPS Varmint, but 1 in 10 in a standard SPS. I'd use 150's.
.75" groups aren't required for deer either. Chances and most likely, an SPS barrel isn't capable of that kind of accuracy either. Two to 3" at 100 is enough.
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Hey, thanks for the suggestions. I will give some of these a whirl but I hope rem bullets are not a reflection of their factory ammo. I know for a fact the SPS is capable of .75 or less with a match bullet(mine shoot about .5 with 175gr SMKs) thats why I thought the game kings would be an easy choice for producing similar accuracy but I am shooting 10gr less bullet weight than my target load. I know people get the lighter bullets to shoot I just need to play with my load I guess. I am just loading to 2.8" but can't get too close to the lands cause they wont fit in my mag. I think I will give the SST's and the accubonds a chance. I bought this rifle to be a shooter, I know 2-3 moa is ok for most deer hunters but I want the best I can get(doesent everyone?). Thanks for the input guys.
USSR
Member
If you want a similar weight match bullet to your 175SMK that is suitable for deer, I would suggest the Hornady 178gr Amax. One of the few match bullets that work well for hunting.
Don
Don
i use berger hunting vld 168's in my 308 for hunting. in my savage i can get groups from .25-.5" @ 100 yards when i do my part. i use 44.2gr of varget with a OAL of 2.905.
with the berger bullets you have to play around with the OAL a lot i had groups change from 1.5" to .5" because of a .008" variation on OAL
with the berger bullets you have to play around with the OAL a lot i had groups change from 1.5" to .5" because of a .008" variation on OAL
tom357mag
Member
My load is
150 grn Nosler Ballistic Tip
45 grns IMR 4064
LR primer
Shot out of a Remington 788 and killed many a deer
150 grn Nosler Ballistic Tip
45 grns IMR 4064
LR primer
Shot out of a Remington 788 and killed many a deer
Ive been running a Rem 700 VS, 26 inch barrel 308 1:12 twist for about 20 years, and after trying all of the popular premium bullets, went back to hornady 165 grain btsp. It works with almost any powder recommended for the cartridge, and thru the years, I find that the bullet has a lot more effect on the accuracy than the powder, within reason.
Nosler partitions are spectacular killers in the game field...couldnt make a bigger hole with a grenade, and the bullet is reasonably accurate. Very expensive bullets, but if I were to hunt something larger than a texas white tail deer, I would load up and go. The hornadys I chose will run under a half minute of angle if Im not shaking like a mad man with buck fever! The 150 grain hornadys also shoot well, but at max velocity tend to tear up a lot of property.
I use a max charge of Reloder 15, 44 grains, Federal 210M primers, Winchester cases, OAL 2.800 oal keeps it just off the lands, and if there is a deer in range that I can see, its mine.
Nosler partitions are spectacular killers in the game field...couldnt make a bigger hole with a grenade, and the bullet is reasonably accurate. Very expensive bullets, but if I were to hunt something larger than a texas white tail deer, I would load up and go. The hornadys I chose will run under a half minute of angle if Im not shaking like a mad man with buck fever! The 150 grain hornadys also shoot well, but at max velocity tend to tear up a lot of property.
I use a max charge of Reloder 15, 44 grains, Federal 210M primers, Winchester cases, OAL 2.800 oal keeps it just off the lands, and if there is a deer in range that I can see, its mine.
Speed Trap
Member
Here is a 5-shot group with 44.5 Varget with 150 grain Hornady BTSP out of that same gun you have. This was trying to work up a load.
Strongbad
Member
Keep tinkering with the loads. You should be able to find the accuracy you're looking for but it may just not like the bullets, or may not like the powder or both. As for the length of barrel and bullet weight preference, forget about all of that. Stick with 150's or 165's and keep messing with it until you find something. You've got the twist for those and that's what matters.
I got extremely lucky with the 308 I snagged last year. Scored a super accurate load with the 2nd combo I tried. 165 gr. Nosler BT's with AA2230. Reloder 10x also showed good results, but not as good as the 2230. Anyway, sometimes you get lucky most times you don't. Keep after it.
I got extremely lucky with the 308 I snagged last year. Scored a super accurate load with the 2nd combo I tried. 165 gr. Nosler BT's with AA2230. Reloder 10x also showed good results, but not as good as the 2230. Anyway, sometimes you get lucky most times you don't. Keep after it.
You never mentioned what size groups you're getting with the GameKings. A group twice the size your looking for is perfectly adequate for deer. The vital zone is the size of a paper plate.
4895, and Varget will be accurate in .308, as will a half a dozen other powders.
Longer barrels help you get more muzzle velocity, but they aren't any more accurate than a shorter barrel. The bullet weights that will be most accurate are determined by the twist rate. Your 1:12" twist will probably work fine for 175gr, probably even up to 190gr. Bullet in the 150gr to 165gr range will work fine for deer, and there's no need to endure the recoil from those heavy bullets, and those GameKings will be fine too, even in a 1.5" group.
4895, and Varget will be accurate in .308, as will a half a dozen other powders.
Longer barrels help you get more muzzle velocity, but they aren't any more accurate than a shorter barrel. The bullet weights that will be most accurate are determined by the twist rate. Your 1:12" twist will probably work fine for 175gr, probably even up to 190gr. Bullet in the 150gr to 165gr range will work fine for deer, and there's no need to endure the recoil from those heavy bullets, and those GameKings will be fine too, even in a 1.5" group.
I was getting about a 2" group with the 165 game kings with IMR 4895 and about 1.25 with varget. I am currently leaning towards the hornadys or bergers and not going crazy trying a bunch of different powders since I have 8lbs of the Varget. I do think I should play with my OAL though, since I am only laoding to 2.8" but I cant get right up on the land cause they wont fit in my mag. I appreciate all the input guys. I do have the potential of some 400 yd shots where I hunt so I would like to finetune as much as possible
Jim, you might also check your groups out at 2-300 yards too. Some powder/bullet combinations take a hundred yards for the bullet to stabilize fully. Varget is a fine powder for the 308, and with a 1:12 twist, you should be good with weights past 190 grains...at least mine is.
Rob96
Member
For target shooting I use 42grs of RL-15 with 168gr SMK's. I want to try the same powder with GMK's. With the above load I get .59moa in my ADL Varmint.
Got chronograph? or a 400 yards practice range? If not I would set your sights 2.5" to 3" high at 100 yards (depending on whether you're near the high or low end of the min/max load range) and then limit your shots to ~260 yards (quite a long ways). This will put you in the kill zone for a deer within that range for any muzzle velocity between 2600 and 2800fps, even with your 1.25" group. This is about what you'll get from your 24" barrel between the start and max loads for Varget and your 165gr SGK. Not to mention that your bullet will drift 8" @ 300yd and 14.6" @ 400 yards in a 10mph cross wind.
Distances beyond ~260 yards, IMO, you will NEED to chrono your loads in order to get a ballistics chart, you will need to KNOW the distance to your quarry within 10 or 20 yards so that you don't miss/wound the deer.
Your 2.8" length is fine if it fits in your magazine and feeds and chambers properly. I've had excellent accuracy with both Sierra Game King, and Hornady SP Interlock (not in .308") but some rifles are more picky than others.
You've got 8lb of Varget and 165gr SKG come in 100 packs, so you've got really good odds of finding a good load with a known good powder and bullet, and still leave yourself with a box of ammo or two for your hunt.
The Hodgdon load data says to start at 42.0gr of Varget under a 165gr bullet and the max load is 46.0gr (compressed). At 0.5 gr increments and loading 3 rounds per increment will only take 27 bullets and <0.2lb of powder. (Nine different loads from 42 to 46gr.) If you don't want a compressed load, then stop when your powder starts getting up into the neck of the case). Load 3 extra at the start load for barrel fowling, to warm the barrel up a little, and sight in at 2.5" high at 100yd. Then put up 9 bullseyes @ 100 yards and start shooting round robin (one shot from each load at each target, then repeat). Watch for pressure signs on the brass and primers, and if the bolt is hard to lift STOP and don't shoot any more from that load or any loads that have a higher powder charge).
Then inspect your target and pick the two or three loads with the smallest groups. Load up 7 of each load, plus a couple more to fowl the barrel. Now you're up to 53 bullets. (Don't worry, you're spending less on a box of 100 bullets than you would buying 20 rounds of factory ammo.
)Shoot each of the 3 loads one at a time, round robin style, at three different targets. Your load is the one with the smallest group.
If you really want to tweak, go up and down 0.2gr from the load that shot the smallest 7-shot group and load 7 of each of those. If either of those groups is smaller than your previous best, then that is your load.
I wouldn't touch your COAL until you've found the load/velocity your rifle likes with the bullet in question.
Why seven shot groups? http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammunition/st_statistics_200810/index.html
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.308 Hunting Load Solved.
I finally got some free time to tinker with load today and I am pleased to say the least. Thanks for all the input guys. I ended up picking up some 180gr nosler balistic tips and tossing 43.6 grains of Varget behind it. It shot about an inch with all loads I tried but 43.6 was the winning load. This was a four shot group @100
I finally got some free time to tinker with load today and I am pleased to say the least. Thanks for all the input guys. I ended up picking up some 180gr nosler balistic tips and tossing 43.6 grains of Varget behind it. It shot about an inch with all loads I tried but 43.6 was the winning load. This was a four shot group @100
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Airborne Falcon
Member
jlm342000 said:
That's great but fair warning, you may want to go with the bonded version on larger game. The regular Nosler BTs are explosive imho, not really designed for thru penetration so they do have a tendency to cause a lot of damage to the meat. But both the regulars and bonded are extremely accurate in my experience, boat tail designed and a good value for the dollar compared to other more expensive high end pills these days if accuracy is your main goal. But just remember, they will come apart in a hurry on thick skinned game. So, you have to decide, are you paper punching with this or hunting? I wouldn't trust them on anything larger than a yote - unless it is a very very well placed shot, not unless they are bonded. Just mho, and don't get me wrong ... I've down my share of whitetails with them but I had two horror stories on big pigs with them and I'd never trust them on black tails, elk or big goats, etc. They are bad about fragmenting into itsy bitsy pieces and either not giving clean kills all the time and they can really mess-up the meat. I've seen it with mine own eyes more than once.
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