308 light bullet vs 30 BR

[broncman]

Wanting to rebarrel my remy 700 to a 308 setup for 125 grain range flat base match/varmint bullets. 400 yards and less. If the 30BR uses slow twist rates, shouldnt that hold true? Would a 308 have any advantages over a 30 BR at these ranges? I have lots of 308 brass is kinda the reason why I am thinking about it.

 

[ShootDots]

Hey Bronc, a friend of mine had a .308 with a 1-14twist barrel and shot 125gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips and the "old" 135Berger FB match bullets. They both shot VERY well... He used to use the 125 for our "smallish" Texas Hill Country whitetails. He used the Bergers for trigger time. I do not know any loads or velocities etc... All I know is, is that they shot very well...

 

[fm1947]

I have a good Rem 700, SS, R5 Mil Spec .308 and I shoot some 125 now and then but they are no where near as accurate as shooting them from my 30BR they clock 2900FPS, the 30BR is just so accurate, I'm not technical enough to tell you why , but there are a couple here that can the guys who developed what we shoot no Randy Robinette and Al Nyfus can tell you why.

 

[RGRobinett]

Wanting to rebarrel my remy 700 to a 308 setup for 125 grain range flat base match/varmint bullets. 400 yards and less. If the 30BR uses slow twist rates, shouldnt that hold true? Would a 308 have any advantages over a 30 BR at these ranges? I have lots of 308 brass is kinda the reason why I am thinking about it.

Yes, assuming a quality barrel, a decent action, and proper bedding, the full length .308 is capable of excellent precision: for your intended use, a 1:17" twist will nicely stabilize FB bullets of up to 1.10" long, and, except during extreme cold - below 10 Deg. F, or so, works very well with the 125 BTs. For a primarily hunting rig, I'd opt for a 1:15" twist barrel and not look back - that will afford a much larger bullet selection, and unless you are participating in BR tournaments, you will not sacrifice measurable precision . . . and, even then, you particular 15" twist may just be better than my 1:18"! ;D The .308 is very good - yes, it is. For the shorter bullets, free-bore in excess of 0.030" long, in combination with a 1.5 deg. throat angle, is too much. Good shootin'! RG

 

[2506]

I have a 308 Win and a 30X47 both with 10" twist and both shoot the 125 Ballistic tip and Speer TNT extremely accurate. Keep the 125 ballistic tip under 3000 fps impact velocity and it is a real deer size game killer. The 125 Speer TNT is a ground hog vaporizer.

 

[broncman]

Thanks for all the replies. This all got started when I loaded some 125's up for my girlfreind to shoot. I shot the best five shot group of my life with that load! Problem is, the factory barrel is not consistent and moves when it get warm. Gun is pillar bedded and I know it is right. I used the longer 125 SMK's and it really got me thinking about how good it could be with a good barrel properly set up for the light weight bullets.

I bought her a bag of lolipops and gave her a box of 50 handloads. She hit 34 in a row at 100 yards then started commenting on missing....you could fry an egg on the barrel and poi had moved about an inch. Came back when fully cooled.