178 amax help

[Willoughby]

Im trying to find a load for my Sav .308
I have tryed .5 increments ladder test
starting at the lands
backed up .010 -.020- .030
I'm using neck sized brass -39-45gr Varget- Fed lr match primers
I cant get them to group any better than 1' at 100
it shoots 180 sgk's well .5 average with 43.5gr
should I give up on the amax or keep backing up ?

 

[kelbro]

That bullet shoots very well for me pushed with IMR 4064. I never got great results from Varget with that bullet.

 

[Bob L Swagger]

What kind of brass? How many firings on the brass? What size bushing in the neck sizer?

 

[Willoughby]

lapua brass
4x fired
lee collet neck sized
just enough to hold bullet
I set the die up by trying to push a bullet in the case with my fingers
keep lowering die-just till I cant..
hope that makes sence
I neck size several othe calibers that way -without issue -so far
I went under min charge -started at 39gr
I wonder if I shouldnt go past max charge
I have no pressure signs at 45 gr-max
I hate to give up on this bullet
amax works well for me in 3 other calibers
inexspensive- high bc
not to mention I have some on hand
I have never had a problem with Varget
I do have a 1/2 lb or so of IMR4064 & a couple lbs of R15
I may try
but Varget has allways worked well in my 308's

 

[boogershooter]

Like Kelbro I also had great results with 4064.

 

[Bob L Swagger]

lapua brass
4x fired
lee collet neck sized
just enough to hold bullet
I set the die up by trying to push a bullet in the case with my fingers
keep lowering die-just till I cant..
hope that makes sence
I neck size several othe calibers that way -without issue -so far
I went under min charge -started at 39gr
I wonder if I shouldnt go past max charge
I have no pressure signs at 45 gr-max
I hate to give up on this bullet
amax works well for me in 3 other calibers
inexspensive- high bc
not to mention I have some on hand
I have never had a problem with Varget
I do have a 1/2 lb or so of IMR4064 & a couple lbs of R15
I may try
but Varget has allways worked well in my 308's

Have you annealed the brass? With Lapua brass and 178 AMAX'es I used the .336" TiN Redding bushing. 44.4gr. Varget, 210M's and seated .015" out of the lands. During testing I shot a .487" for six shots @ 100 yards in a 13 MPH wind. I have since switched over to the 155 Scenars and the 175 Berger OTM's.

 

[savageshooter86]

those bullets should shoot well under MOA. I know it's not the same but I was shooting the 168s and getting well under 1/2MOA at 100 constantly