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Berger .308 reloading

I bought a bunch of Berger bullets to reload in my .308, specifically the 168gr Match Hybrid Target's. I saw they don't have reloading details online, and instead ask you to email them. I did, and received this response:
We suggest you start your bullet seating depth testing at .015" OFF THE LANDS if you can, and then WORK BACK INTO THE CASE in .005" increments. Any bullet seating depth testing should be done using a starting powder charge listed. Once a good depth is found, adjust the powder charge back up slowly checking for pressure signs and accuracy until a velocity accuracy node is found.

Has anybody done their loading like this? Do you think this is actual reloading advice, or was it written by the legal team?
 
All the time, unless I'm loading a bullet with a reputation for working best when in the lands. Otherwise, I pick a medium charge, and do a seating depth study as outlined above. Once I've got it narrowed down, I work the charge, then rework the seating depth as the node becomes evident.

Caveat Emptor; I don't shoot competitively.
 
That's a pretty standard load workup methodology, they aren't trying to 'cover their ass' by telling you that.

You can do it the way they're recommending, and toss ~44gr of Varget into a case, and do your depth testing first.

You can also look to find your powder node first at .015" off the lands, then go mess with seating depth.

Either way will work. Whichever you choose, you're still fundamentally doing the same thing...finding your optimal charge weight, and your ideal seating depth. Both are required (among other things) for your rifle to be consistently in tune.

Edit: Do a search on these forums for Erik Cortina's thread 'long range load development at 100 yards'. You can see the process listed, and several people applying them with target analysis etc.
 
I've recently worked up very good loads with 168 Hybrids in two different .308s, both chambered with the same reamer (0.085" freebore), both loads in Lapua Palma brass:

A) One has a 28" barrel and the final load ended up at COAL = 2.921", 43.3 gr H4895, Fed 205, 168 Hybrid seated @ .012" off the lands, avg. velocity = 2824 fps

B) The other has a 30" barrel and the final load ended up at COAL = 2.917", 43.7 gr H4895, Fed 205, 168 Hybrid seated @ .015" off the lands, avg. velocity = 2903 fps

I'd start the 168 Hybrids at .015" off the lands, using H4895 (preferably) or Varget, starting at about 43.0-43.2 gr (H4895) or 43.5-43.7 gr (Varget), then work up in 0.1 or 0.2 gr increments until you find your optimal charge weight/velocity. At that point, I'd test seating depth in .003" increments between .006" and .024" off the lands. Chances are very good you'll find your tune somewhere within those parameters.

I've shot the 168 Hybrids out of a few different rifles and they always tuned in well at .012" to .015" off the lands, using the exact approach described above (i.e. charge weight testing followed by seating depth optimization). I doubt you'll need to seat them into the lands or farther off than .030". For jumped bullets, I generally cannot detect a statistically significant change in velocity for a given charge weight between about .006" and .024" off the lands (i.e. approximately .010" change in seating depth in either direction starting from .015" off the lands). For that reason, charge weight testing with the bullets seated at .015" off the lands followed by seating depth optimization does not require re-adjusting the charge weight. If you have to change (jumped) seating depth by ~.030" or more, or seat the into the lands, it may be necessary to adjust charge weight again after seating depth.
 
Thanks for the advice. Have you found that these bullets don't like to be Jammed?

I have Varget, so I'll be using it.

I've done some testing with Sierra Bullets and Federal brass just to get warmed up and learn. Sounds like I should check their seating depth next if I have any left. They are all .010" off the lands.
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@Ned Ludd, I appreciate your explanation of minimal pressure change within those seating depth constraints you describe. I’m a very careful reloader and have been concerned, maybe a bit too much, about the effects on pressure that small seating depth changes to shorter COALs could have.
 
Thanks for the advice. Have you found that these bullets don't like to be Jammed?

I generally don't like to seat bullets into the lands unless they won't shoot jumped. For that reason, I usually test from ~.003" - .006" off, to ~.024" - .027" off first, then move to testing bullets seated into the lands only if I don't find an acceptable seating depth window off the lands. I have found the vast majority of bullets I use will tune in somewhere within that window (i.e. "jumped"). However, every bullet and caliber is unique, so the only way to know for sure is to test.

It is usually helpful if you can find some information at a forum like Accurate Shooter before actually starting a new load as to what powders have been used and where others have seated bullets successfully, so as to pick a decent starting point. On occasion when starting out with a bullet for which I had no idea whatsoever where it might want to be seated, I have carried out a coarse seating depth test over a reasonable range, to get a rough idea where the bullet wanted to shoot best. I might test something like -.010" (into the lands), -.005", "touching", +.005" (jumped), +.010", +.015", +.020", +.025", and +.030", using a slightly reduced charge weight, and only 3-shot groups to minimize the total number of loaded rounds. This is usually sufficient to get a good idea of where to start, then move into charge weight testing, followed by a finer increment (.003) seating depth test.

On fairly infrequent occasions, I will come across someone that has reported a particular bullet/load required a pretty substantial jump (i.e. from .050" to .100", or even more). My typical approach will not address such instances and frankly, I probably wouldn't continue using a bullet that required such a large jump for a couple reasons. First off, my chambers are all cut with freebores that have been optimized for specific classes (base to ogive/bearing surface lengths) of bullets. Second, seating bullets that far off the lands will likely lead to a noticeable reduction in effective case volume, unless the rifle is chambered with a country mile of freebore. For my purposes (F-TR competition), there are plenty of high BC .224" and .308" bullets to choose from that will tune in readily using my approach. So I have no real need to waste a lot of time and effort trying to tune in a bullet that requires fairly unusual seating depth requirements, because there are plenty of good choices that aren't so finicky.

If you're in a situation where using a bullet that may be difficult to tune is the only good option, I'd also suggest thinking about using Berger's approach for testing seating depth. It is a coarse seating depth test that covers a very wide seating depth range, and is a good way to find a seating depth region with which to get started. It was originally intended for use with VLDs, which can sometimes be finicky to tune, but it can used for pretty much any bullet. Note that you still want to go back at some point during load development and fine-tune within the seating depth region initially identified in the Berger VLD test.

https://bergerbullets.com/getting-the-best-precision-and-accuracy-from-vld-bullets-in-your-rifle/

Snozzberries - during seating depth testing, I would always prefer to see a minimum of two successive .003" seating depth increments that group nice and tight. I always load to the longest (COAL) of the seating depth increments that show tight grouping with jumped bullets to allow for maximum land erosion before seating depth must be re-visited (i.e. I don't load to the "middle" of the optimal seating depth window). With that in mind, various different Lot#s of 168 Hybrids have always tuned in for me between .009" and .015" off the lands. FWIW, I have found the same to be true of all the .30 cal Berger Hybrid bullets I have used (168s, 185s, 200.20Xs, 215s).
 
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