have a lilja 24 inch, three groove, 11-1 twist barrel in 308. what bullet and load would be the best? shooting 300-600 yds at paper and steel? all opinions are appreciated.
best bullet and load for 308 with 11 twist barrel
- Thread starter richard_123
- Start date
I have only used Varget in my 308 and never had any reason to change. I like the 155 gr Lapua scenar and 44.5 gr of Varget BR 2 primer in Lapua brass
My trg has a 1 in 11 twist; I have shot bullets up to the 210 gr in it very accurately.
185-gr Lapua scenar and 43.5 gr of Varget BR 2 primer.
168 gr Berger 44.5 gr Varget BR 2 primer
168 gr Hornady national match and 43.6 gr Varget fed 210 GMM primer
Berger 175 gr 44.5 gr Varget BR 2 primer.
210 gr JLK 40 gr Varget fed 210 match primer. Varget is probably not ideal for this weight bullet but it still shot very well. Maybe some RL 17 or RL19 would work better.play with your seating depth but my gun liked them into the lans.
My trg has a 1 in 11 twist; I have shot bullets up to the 210 gr in it very accurately.
185-gr Lapua scenar and 43.5 gr of Varget BR 2 primer.
168 gr Berger 44.5 gr Varget BR 2 primer
168 gr Hornady national match and 43.6 gr Varget fed 210 GMM primer
Berger 175 gr 44.5 gr Varget BR 2 primer.
210 gr JLK 40 gr Varget fed 210 match primer. Varget is probably not ideal for this weight bullet but it still shot very well. Maybe some RL 17 or RL19 would work better.play with your seating depth but my gun liked them into the lans.
If you are only punching paper, something in the 155-175 grain range would be good as far as bullet weight goes. As for what bullet, you need to see what your barrel will shoot best and go from there, as they are all different and no two barrels like the same thing for the most part. But the Bergers, A-Max's, SMK's and even Nosler BT's will all shoot well in certain situations. Do a bit of research and see what you would like to try and find maybe 3 bullets and see if you can make one work. More than likely, if you choose good bullets, one will work out well.
As for powder, again there are quite a few that will work depending on the bullet weight you choose. Varget, BL-C2, H4895, Reloader 15, as well as a few others will all work well. Read up a bit on the advantages of some of the applicable powders and see what you want to try and go from there. You may need to try more than one powder as well, as again, it's a matter of finding what your rifle will shoot best.
You may want to look at the .308 Cartridge Guide as well. It has a lot of good info and explains much of what works with the round in detail.
http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html
I shoot a .308, but not as far as you plan to go. I use Winchester brass as I find it to be of excellent quality and very consistent, and if sorted and neck turned, it can even be comparable to Lapua in some regards.
I shoot several different bullet weights and cast bullets as well as jacketed, and have used a few different powders including Varget, H4895, BL-C2, Reloader 15, H380, Win 748, and even H4350 for 225gr loads as well.
Finding the optimal bullet and powder for your gun is really something that only you can find and nobody can tell you what will work best. Find 2 or 3 different bullets that you would like to try and think might work and go from there. Try to keep it as simple as possible during testing and you should have a good combo sooner than you think.
Good luck
Kenny
As for powder, again there are quite a few that will work depending on the bullet weight you choose. Varget, BL-C2, H4895, Reloader 15, as well as a few others will all work well. Read up a bit on the advantages of some of the applicable powders and see what you want to try and go from there. You may need to try more than one powder as well, as again, it's a matter of finding what your rifle will shoot best.
You may want to look at the .308 Cartridge Guide as well. It has a lot of good info and explains much of what works with the round in detail.
http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html
I shoot a .308, but not as far as you plan to go. I use Winchester brass as I find it to be of excellent quality and very consistent, and if sorted and neck turned, it can even be comparable to Lapua in some regards.
I shoot several different bullet weights and cast bullets as well as jacketed, and have used a few different powders including Varget, H4895, BL-C2, Reloader 15, H380, Win 748, and even H4350 for 225gr loads as well.
Finding the optimal bullet and powder for your gun is really something that only you can find and nobody can tell you what will work best. Find 2 or 3 different bullets that you would like to try and think might work and go from there. Try to keep it as simple as possible during testing and you should have a good combo sooner than you think.
Good luck
Kenny
bozo699
Gold $$ Contributor
Richard,
Kenny said it all in his first two sentences. It seems to be the census on different threads I have read that 338 Lapua is right,
155 Lapua Scenars with a heavy charge of varget. But like Kenny said no two barrels are alike, buy what you would like to try and give it a shot if your gun won't shoot it try something else
I would order the 155Lapua's or 155 SMKs and a pound of Varget.
Wayne.
Kenny said it all in his first two sentences. It seems to be the census on different threads I have read that 338 Lapua is right,
155 Lapua Scenars with a heavy charge of varget. But like Kenny said no two barrels are alike, buy what you would like to try and give it a shot if your gun won't shoot it try something else
I would order the 155Lapua's or 155 SMKs and a pound of Varget.Wayne.
I have a Remmy with a 12 twist that shoots 168s very well. Initially I was sceptical,but they work. Based on that, I'd have to say your 11 twist would stabilize about anything you would want to put through it. A couple of months back I tryed the 155 lapua. They shoot very also, at least out to 300yds,,haven't tryed 600 yet. They are smooth shooting and shoulder friendly. I use re15 in it ,,,,I love that stuff.
Terry
Terry
bozo699
Gold $$ Contributor
Terry,
I have a friend that has a factory tatical .308 savage, in a 1K shoot that shot around 13".... I know thats nothing to brag about but he maintained those groups for 2 days in windy Montana with a factory savage with the little 155s and a full charge of Varget.
It must have been hard to walk up to the line with fifteen other shooters with there Lawton and Bat action 6 dashers sitting there
( I don't know I was down range pulling targets for him) but he did it and never DQd.
Wayne.
I have a friend that has a factory tatical .308 savage, in a 1K shoot that shot around 13".... I know thats nothing to brag about but he maintained those groups for 2 days in windy Montana with a factory savage with the little 155s and a full charge of Varget.
It must have been hard to walk up to the line with fifteen other shooters with there Lawton and Bat action 6 dashers sitting there
( I don't know I was down range pulling targets for him) but he did it and never DQd.
Wayne.
Richard,
I've been using the new Berger 185 grain HPBT Long Range bullet 43.3 grains of Varget Lapua brass CCI 250 gives me 2610 fps out of my 11 twist GAP Hospitaller. Beyond 400 yards this bullet will outshoot my 175 gr. Sierra matchKing load every time. BC is a whopping .560. I can't say enough about the performance of this bullet.
Danny
I've been using the new Berger 185 grain HPBT Long Range bullet 43.3 grains of Varget Lapua brass CCI 250 gives me 2610 fps out of my 11 twist GAP Hospitaller. Beyond 400 yards this bullet will outshoot my 175 gr. Sierra matchKing load every time. BC is a whopping .560. I can't say enough about the performance of this bullet.
Danny
bozo: Your buddy did well! I have shot in one only bonafide f-class 300 & 600yd. I was nervous as heck,but I faired quite well. I was shooting the 168,s and my shoulder knew it. thus the reason for trying the 155's. Each summer three or four guys get together for our own competition out to 600yds. Now, that's a blast! It's great for us old guys , (60's).
Richard-123.....I got sidetracked and got off on a different subject....I apologize.
Richard-123.....I got sidetracked and got off on a different subject....I apologize.
+1 on this. The 185 Berger BT Long-Range is a difficult bullet to beat in .308W right out to 1,000yd. The 175gn SMK is a good bullet and usually easy to get to group well, but its BC is much lower than the Berger and that will start to show up at 600yd in a difficult wind. Try the 185's little brother too, the 175gn BT Long-Range. A lot of Fullbore Rifle shooters use this one and like it. I wouldn't recommend the Berger 175 and 185gn VLDs - good bullets but no benefit in BCs and usually more difficult to 'tune' in the rifle.
Only use the 168gn Sierra and similar models from Speer, Hornady and Nosler at the shortest ranges. By 600yd they are completely outclassed in wind performance by the more modern designs.
Have a browse through German Salazar's Rifleman's Journal blog. There are several articles in it about bullet choice in both .308W and .30-06 for 'sling shooting'
http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/
Laurie,
York, England
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