.308 with Berger 185 Juggernauts

[Nature Boy]

I'm loading these 185s for the first time in my new rifle and was looking for what might have worked for you guys.

Barrel is a 26" Bartlein 1:10 5R

I'm planning to do a full ladder test this weekend

 

[Boomer9275]

I'm in the same situation. I've been told to use varget and start at 43 grains and work up. They say to seat .015 off lands

 

[watercam]

My Jugg load was: Lapua Palma brass/Tula SR primer/44 gr. Varget for 2660fps. I jumped them .025" after testing. I do prelim seating testing with a non-max load first, then do a ladder test for powder charges. Seems backwards but works for me.

 

[dreever]

I'm loading these 185s for the first time in my new rifle and was looking for what might have worked for you guys.

Barrel is a 26" Bartlein 1:10 5R

I'm planning to do a full ladder test this weekend

I load to max magazine length for my AI mags which is 2.880. Lapua brass CCI 250, 43.5 gr Varget. 2640 fps. Extremely accurate in my rifle.

Danny

 

[Down South]

I tell guys all the time that if you can't make a juggernaut shoot with Varget or H4895 you need to throw the barrel away............One of the easiest bullets i've ever seen to get shooting well.

Nature Boy, not knowing your barrel/chamber specs and brass etc. it's hard to say exactly where to start but 41 gr H4895 or 42 gr Varget working up would probably be a good/safe area to get started. Jump em .010 to .020 off the lands then fine tune from there. Extremely accurate bullet once tuned. I'd be shocked if you don't like em. Good luck!.......

 

[Nature Boy]

All good info to get me started. I have 400 lapua brass, 23lbs of Varget, 20lbs of H4895, 4,500 210M's and 500 juggernauts

I'll let you know how it goes

 

[CH Luke]

All good info to get me started. I have 400 lapua brass, 23lbs of Varget, 20lbs of H4895, 4,500 210M's and 500 juggernauts

I'll let you know how it goes

Suggest testing down to .005" jump with Juggs.

Most importantly you need to know your chamber specs as charge levels perform very differently depending on how much room you have for powder. Measure your cartridge Base To Ogive when you just touch the lands. Then search this site for further point of reference to your BTO.

For example, for a 308 I would test a load with as much as a couple grains more powder if I had over 3" in COAL vs 2.8" COAL. Higher cartridge fill rates cause higher pressure which at a point becomes dangerous.

 

[338Lapua]

ADI 2208 in australia is known as Varget to you guys in the states this load always shot extremely well. cci Br 2 primer was used

 

[Ned Ludd]

CH Luke - I think you mean COAL, not BTO. Mag length COAL will be in the 2.8"-ish range, CBTO will be much shorter, and for single feeding purposes you might load a little over 3" COAL with a Juggernaut in a chamber with sufficient freebore.

My experience with the Juggernauts mirrors Down South's. I start them at .015" off the lands for charge weight testing, then test seating from about .003" off to .024" off. In my hands, they have always tuned in somewhere between .015" and .020" off. However, your rifle will tell where it wants to shoot, so covering a slightly wider seating depth window is usually a sound practice. I wouldn't worry too much about the velocity initially, let the BC of the bullet itself do the heavy lifting and focus on precision rather than speed. With the 26" barrel, I'd expect somewhere in the 2550 to 2650 fps range, assuming this rifle is not throated long specifically for the Juggernauts, but you will find out where they want to shoot in your ladder test and the final velocity will be whatever it is.

 

[Nature Boy]

Using a case with slits in the neck, I'm finding the jammed OAL to be 2.892

Back that off .030-.040-ish and load my ladder?

My plan is to start at 42.0 of Varget and go to 44.1, 0.3g increments, 3 shots per charge

Does that sound like a good plan?

 

[CH Luke]

CH Luke - I think you mean COAL, not BTO. Mag length COAL will be in the 2.8"-ish range, CBTO will be much shorter, and for single feeding purposes you might load a little over 3" COAL with a Juggernaut in a chamber with sufficient freebore.

You are correct as usual Greg. I edited my comment.

 

[Nature Boy]

Ladder test done.

#3- 42.6g and #4- 42.9g look good

Average FPS 2,627 and 2,636 respectively

44.1 also showed potential, brass looked ok, but bolt was starting to stick. Not bad, but just enough to be noticeable

 

[Idaho-45]

Good info here guys! I'm getting ready to test some 185 Juggernauts in my Remington 700 5R, 308. It has the 1-11.25 twist rate. I'm hoping to find a decent LR load with these. Thanks, Idaho-45

 

[Nature Boy]

I'm going to have to revisit my results.

Loaded some of the 42.6g and they didn't hold up

 

[swadiver]

try 43.5 in standard Lapua brass

 

[raptor1ronin]

I currently use 44 grains of Varget in lapua Palma brass with a FPS of 2750. Absolutely shoots lights out with no pressure signs. This is with a kreiger 30"HV barrel and a Defiance action.

 

[Dgd6mm]

My 30" loves H4895 with them. When chronographed with my magnetospeed it was 2790 fps. It holds good x ring waterline at 1000 yards.

 

[Nature Boy]

Thanks for the info fellas

I think I'm going to make some more in intervals past 42.6 up to 44.0 and just shoot them at 100 first to see if the node will reveal itself that way. If I get something consistent I'll move out to further distances and see if it holds up

Honestly, I've had mixed results using ladder test and absolutely no luck whatsoever with the OCW method.

I have just as much success by starting with conventional wisdom (like here) then trial and error from there

 

[6BRinNZ]

Have a read of this thread - http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/long-range-load-development-at-100-yards.3814361/
If you just read Eriks first post it will give you all the info, the other posts are informative as they show real world results and what to look for when its not that obvious at times.
Using this method I have had cleans at 500 600 and 1000 FTR, so pretty happy it works.

@Raptor - was it something else that took those 4 shots larger than the 10 ring?

 

[raptor1ronin]

Have a read of this thread - http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/long-range-load-development-at-100-yards.3814361/
If you just read Eriks first post it will give you all the info, the other posts are informative as they show real world results and what to look for when its not that obvious at times.
Using this method I have had cleans at 500 600 and 1000 FTR, so pretty happy it works.

@Raptor - was it something else that took those 4 shots larger than the 10 ring?

The two high and one low were sighters and the left and right were bad wind calls.