load data needed remington 700 pss 12 twist lapua 178 amax

[rockwind1]

which is the best forum, sub forum/thread to ask for load help on a older (back when remington made good rifles imo) remington 700 pss 308,
with a
26" barrel (boltface to muzzle) 1:12 twist.
bout 2000 rounds of m118lr 175 and federal fgmm thru it.

it is NOT a 5r barrel.

it's a cool rifle and i would like it to shoot lights out, it used to but now it seems more like a 3/4 to 1 moa gun.
i was hoping some guru might just tell me a perfect load, i mean, i know there are guys out there that have done the 308 and others so many times they already know. i would surely appreciate the help. for i powder i have IMR 4064, H1000, h4350, retumbo, rl33 laying around. i have 500 amax 178 gr.

400 brand new lapua large primer brass.
cci br2 primer
178 amax

i think it is a pretty common rifle so if someone has the perfect load for it already, i am not above buying some different bullets or powder.
if i do want it to shoot excellent, should i get a different barrel? if so, recommendations?

would prefer to use current barrel, and use the powder/bullets/brass on hand. i shoot several other rifles/calibers so this is sort of a side project.

thanks very much in advance, i may cross post this on other forums. kevin

 

[Dusty Stevens]

id say you need more twist but i'm sure somebody will correct that soon.

 

[Stan Taylor]

id say you need more twist but i'm sure somebody will correct that soon.

I have them same opinion on that a 10 twist would be my preference with anything above 150 grains.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I love the 11.25 for 175smk

 

[memilanuk]

12 twist is plenty. It has worked for many, many, many years with S175MK, H178 A-Max, etc. with untold numbers of 700 VS, PSS and similar rifles.

Pretty much what you need to know is here:

http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/308win/

Nothing special about the rifle. There isn't anything magical about the bullet, brass or anything else. Find a 175-ish load on the page listed above, find a powder listed there that you can source locally, start low and work up.

It's a .308 Win... pretty easy to load for and shoot (unless you're running one of the current 'fringe' combinations that we use in FTR). You'll know after a while whether you *need* to do anything to the gun.

Go forth and do!

 

[rockwind1]

thanks milanuk, and every one else. i looked at the link and while helpful, my combo of rifle, powder, brass, and bullets is so common i just know someone has already got a awesome load made up, i've looked around the interweb quite a bit, hopefully someone might chime in here with it or point me to one, hopefully including coal, jump, neck tension. the 178 amax load in the link used varget and wasn't using lapua brass

i realize a faster twist would help but i really do want to work with materials at hand. as stated, this is a side project.

anyway, fingers crossed,,,, anyone know a website that is just crawling with 308 specialists? other than this one of course.

 

[memilanuk]

my combo of rifle, powder, brass, and bullets is so common i just know someone has already got a awesome load made up

Problem is, 'someone' doesn't have *your* rifle, *your* batch of components, etc.

*HIGHLY* recommend you do *not* just cookbook it using 'someone elses' load, even if they have the *exact* same rifle model of rifle, etc. Use the loads you've found online, in loading manuals, etc. as guides to what is *likely* to work. Then do the load workup in your own gun, with your own components.

 

[rockwind1]

of course, i would be using some one else's load in the same manner as the loads on that link,,,carefully and as a guide only. just hoping for more common elements than what was there, if i can't find that then i will use that as backup.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

No matter what other folks on other sites say your bullet is too long for that twist. You may see load data for your rifle but that doesnt mean the bullet is stable. I recommend you step back the bullet weight to the 150 range then find a good starting load

 

[Richard Coody]

only you can find that magic combination for your rifle. The rifle will tell you what it likes. let the target tell the tale. No matter how much you want that rifle to shoot a certain combination if the rifle doesn't like it you are just.wasting powder.

personally for that rifle i would start with lapua brass (either palma or standard), varget, either BR 2 or 4 and either a 168 gr MK or 168 gr berger hybrid. seating depth i would start about .010 off and use the berger method and fine tune afterwards.
start about midrange of the recommended loads in your loading manual and work up till you find your load or see pressure signs. fine tune seating depth and charge weight to bring it into final tune

 

[geraldgee]

For .308, I prefer a slightly faster burning powder over the ones you've listed. Varget is suggested in the post immediately above this one - great choice as is AR-Comp (my new favorite) or RL15. I will echo the oft-heard advice to start low and work up, allowing you rifle to tell you what it likes. My .308 has shot its best with PP2000 but I never found the powder consistent.

Good luck

Gerald

 

[rijndael]

IMR 4036, H1000, h4350, retumbo, rl33 laying around. i have 500 amax 178 gr.

IMO, these powders aren't great for 308s. I would try Varget, 4064, RE15, or H4895. IME, Varget and 4064 have produced very accurate loads in 175/178 class bullets.

I'd also be flexible with regards to the bullet choice. Your barrel may not like the AMAX.

12 twist is plenty.

Agreed.

 

[rockwind1]

i doubled checked my post and edited it, I have a couple 8 lb's IMR 4064 ( not 4036 as I first wrote)

 

[riflewoman]

Awfully hard to beat 4064 with 175-190 grain bullets. You’ll find a good load somewhere between 41.5 an 43 grains; maybe a bit higher. Test at 200 yards.

 

[joshb]

anyway, fingers crossed,,,, anyone know a website that is just crawling with 308 specialists? other than this one of course.[/QUOTE]

You're getting feedback from some of the best shooters in the US. (Not me, tho) that use a tried and trued method to find what thier gun shoots best . These guys are "gurus" of shooting multiple cartridges and disciplines. The "easy way out" is to shoot Federal GMM. If you do a search here you'll find the "dissected load" info for it. Some guys did that work, years ago.

 

[Zero333]

41.5 to 44 gr of Varget. Nodes should be around 41.5-42 and 43-43.5... There is a higher node around 45 gr but not worth it because it will trash the brass in a handful of reloads.

 

[Eric Leonard]

I shot the 175 SMK and 43 grs IMR4064 in a 700PSS 12 twist 308 by the thousands ,,it would shoot less than 1/2 an inch at 100 yards and bang a 15 inch gong at 1,000 yards pretty regular ,,the 178 AMax may be longer but I would try them if I had them,

RL15,Varget and 4895 all worked also I just settled on 4064 and shot a bunch of it,,

 

[Martin52]

.....i am not above buying some different bullets or powder.
if i do want it to shoot excellent, should i get a different barrel? if so, recommendations?

This might help you give further through to bullet selection for your 1:12 barrel.

http://www.bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/

 

[jr600yd]

Good advice above. Since you’ve got approximately 2000 rds down the tube the first thing I’d do is JB the bore before any testing.

 

[Drop Port]

Good advice above. Since you’ve got approximately 2000 rds down the tube the first thing I’d do is JB the bore before any testing.

+1

"it's a cool rifle and i would like it to shoot lights out, it used to but now it seems more like a 3/4 to 1 moa gun."

Good advice, 2000 rounds in a 308 is not much as long as everything else is in order it should still shoot "lights out". Based on your statement the first thing I would look at is the bore and a good scrubbing.