Reloading .308 Winchester Rounds

[DHonovich]

This is a thread to discuss reloading .308 WIN rounds...

 

[DHonovich]

I will be using www.setpointammo.com to build some custom .308win 175 SMK rounds for my Remington 700 AAC-SD (1/10" twist 20") and didn't know if anyone had any other suggestions for the other options...

 

[megawatt]

I keep using Hornady A-max 168gr.

 

[nitesite]

There are four bullets that I love in the .308 Winchester. Of course, a SMK. Also the Hornady A-Max. And the Lapua Scenar. And lastly the Combined Technology (Nosler/Winchester) Ballistic Silvertip when asking more from a bullet than just target accuracy but still having target accuracy.

I can't suggest weight and OAL for your rifle for obvious reasons but they are all outstanding bullets.

 

[Rossignol]

Am i understanding correctly, that the twist on the 700 .308 of Dans Remington allows for a heavier bullet, the twist being 1:10?

 

[nitesite]

Am i understanding correctly, that the twist on the 700 .308 of Dans Remington allows for a heavier bullet, the twist being 1:10?

Any time one shoots faster twist barrels then the allowable bullet weights increase. But heavier bullets have tradeoffs. A 1:10 is good for the heaviest bullets but also can deliver good performance with medium weight bullets. However velocity is diminished with fast twist. Here's a cut-n-snip from accuraterifles....

"A 1:10" twist rate will let you shoot the popular medium and heavy 30-caliber bullets up to the 210-grainers from Berger and Sierra (provided your barrel delivers enough velocity for the heavy bullets). A ten-twist can also work well with the lighter projectiles. John Whidden, who won the recent U.S. Palma Team Trials, has had great success shooting 155gr Bergers with a Broughton 10-twist 5C barrel. A 1:11" twist, found on many factory rifles, is a good compromise. Palma competitors using the Sierra or Lapua 155s have favored 1:12" or 1:13" twist rates, with the theory being that a slower twist rate may offer better velocity since there is less friction in the barrel. A 1:13" twist is fine for deer hunters who prefer a 150gr-class bullet moving 2850-2900 fps."

 

[nitesite]

I might be mistaken, but a rifle like Dan's is the ultimate when it comes to medium range and in shots for police sharpshooters who might face heavy barriers like autos or thick building frontage glass (can run as much as 5/8" thick). Think bank lobby windows. That rifle can punch partition bullets weighing the MAX thru barriers with less deflection from the target.

And it can also accurately shoot 168-gr bullets with relative ease, even if the top-end velocity isn't what a 1:12 or so would offer.

 

[Rossignol]

Ok, thanks! The barrel is 20" in this case I believe and is the same thing Lazy has too. Make sense there bein more friction with more twist.

So it can better stabalize heavier bullets, but will also slow them down somewhat on the way out, and works well with medium weight bullets too.

 

[bellofello]

My first and only loads to date are:

-168gr SMK
-42gr reloader 15 (43.6gr published max)
-Winchester brass
-Winchester primers
-2.800" OAL (1st of 20 was 2.804" last was 2.798")

Shot from a 26" 1:12 barrel

 

[SHOOTER13]

Good results I would say...

 

[bellofello]

Thanks, I thought so as well for my first attempt! I fell they could do better too, I was underdressed for the cold.

One thing I did find(although I don't rreally have much comparable data) is that the R15 is dirty dirty! It took me a solid hour or so to clean my barrel from 20 rounds...

 

[bellofello]

An interesting article concerning the "for every inch a barrel is shorter, you lose X fps" myths.

Not really reloading, but can be related to in many ways with velocity and barrel length vs long range accuracy.

http://www.tacticaloperations.com/SWATbarrel/

Sub two inch group at 700 yards?!
With a 20" barrel....??!!

Impressive.

 

[bellofello]

And on a reloading note, I just picked up some varget powder to try out. I've heard good things, so I'm going to start load development shortly.

I'll post my findings along the way.

 

[bellofello]

Well, I had today off so I:
-prepped (FL resizing/trimming/chamfered&de-burred) some once fired Winchester brass

-loaded 30 168gr Sierra matchking bthp bullets. All at 2.810" OAL. All using winchester large rifle primers.
10 with 44 grains of varget
10 with 45 grains of "
10 with 46 grains of. "

And got out to my local range

My rifle seemed to like 45 grains much more than 44. I didn't get a chance to shoot the 46gr (max recc. load) rounds.

The 46 grain load gives me a slight crunch whilst seating the bullets at 2.810" OAL

 

[kris]

I use 43.5gr of AR2208 , 150gr hornady round nose interlock , federal brass, remington large rifle primer , 0.002" jump to the lands. My best is 0.977 at 100 metre. The pigs here love them.