Berger 215's in .308
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Keith Glasscock
Gold $$ Contributor
I've run them out of a 308 (30") with Varget. Results were good, but the recoil was too much for me - after 80 rounds, I had a headache. I was only launching them at 2525 or so fps. I run the 200's at 2600 with good results, and no headache, so I'm headed back there.
I fought them for a while before deciding to try something counter-intuitive. I jammed them ~.012 and got better consistency.
If I had unlimited barrel time to play with, I would have tested other powders, but Varget shot well enough for my purposes and gave me a significant wind drift advantage over any lighter bullet I could shoot.
Good luck,
Keith
I fought them for a while before deciding to try something counter-intuitive. I jammed them ~.012 and got better consistency.
If I had unlimited barrel time to play with, I would have tested other powders, but Varget shot well enough for my purposes and gave me a significant wind drift advantage over any lighter bullet I could shoot.
Good luck,
Keith
Keith Glasscock
Gold $$ Contributor
I did.
I won a palma + 20/1000 with them the only time I've had them out to long range. The load needed more tweaking, but it shot well enough to win. I shot the highest X-count I've ever shot at 1k, and my second best score (which wasn't impressive at all) in readable, but not terribly difficult conditions.
At 600, the 215 is a waste. There isn't enough advantage in performance to justify the recoil in my mind. I've only had heavy bullets pick me up points at 600 on the odd occasion that the conditions were totally unreadable. In reality, I'd shoot 155's at 600 if I had my way. They do a wonderful job, and they are more likely to shoot that really tight group that can set records and win consistently in the mid range.
I am actually waiting for an opportunity to develop a 185 grain load and see if that might work out for me at 600 yards. The 200's are grouping well, but I can always go for a little more vertical precision.
I won a palma + 20/1000 with them the only time I've had them out to long range. The load needed more tweaking, but it shot well enough to win. I shot the highest X-count I've ever shot at 1k, and my second best score (which wasn't impressive at all) in readable, but not terribly difficult conditions.
At 600, the 215 is a waste. There isn't enough advantage in performance to justify the recoil in my mind. I've only had heavy bullets pick me up points at 600 on the odd occasion that the conditions were totally unreadable. In reality, I'd shoot 155's at 600 if I had my way. They do a wonderful job, and they are more likely to shoot that really tight group that can set records and win consistently in the mid range.
I am actually waiting for an opportunity to develop a 185 grain load and see if that might work out for me at 600 yards. The 200's are grouping well, but I can always go for a little more vertical precision.
Keith Glasscock
Gold $$ Contributor
It just so happens that I designed the reamer... Well, I determined the freebore and neck geometry - Dave Kiff did the rest.
Freebore on my rifle is .1415 with ~.010 of throat wear (based on seating depth measurements). Otherwise, it is a pretty normal 308 chamber with a tight neck to allow shooting Winchester brass with a very light cleanup turn. My loaded rounds go .333" and the chamber neck is .335" (cast for verification).
One must also be aware that hte 215's are a touch longer than the Berger spec sheet shows (bearing surface appears to be ~.030 longer than the spec), so you'll need every little bit of the ~.152" freebore that I have.
This is an F-TR rig.
Freebore on my rifle is .1415 with ~.010 of throat wear (based on seating depth measurements). Otherwise, it is a pretty normal 308 chamber with a tight neck to allow shooting Winchester brass with a very light cleanup turn. My loaded rounds go .333" and the chamber neck is .335" (cast for verification).
One must also be aware that hte 215's are a touch longer than the Berger spec sheet shows (bearing surface appears to be ~.030 longer than the spec), so you'll need every little bit of the ~.152" freebore that I have.
This is an F-TR rig.
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