My plan come next spring is to take an instructional class that takes you out to 1000 yards. The Sig academy i'm taking allows shooters to hand load thier own ammo. Currently I am shooting well out to 600 yards. My first consideration is choosing a bullet, then developing a load to stay supersonic to 1000. My R700 Varmint has a 1-12" 26" heavy barrel. I did a quick load test using 155 Lapua Scenars , and 175 SMK's . The 155's shot the best. My max load was 45.2 gr of Varget which yielded an avg velocity of 2906 fps and no excessive overpressure signs with the casings. Per my ballistics I will stay supersonic and at 1000 (approx 1260 fps @ 1000 ft). I also tested the 175's, my max load was 44 gr. of Varget and I was measuring and avg velocity of 2724 , which puts me at about 1240 fps @ 1000 yds. The 155's grouped slighty tighter (about .8 MOA) vs the 175's which Shot about 1.06 MOA . There was some random wind gusts which potentially pushed my shots, but these were averaged out. I'm leaning towards persuing more testing with the 155's as historically the lighter 155's perform better from my 1-12 barrel. The experienced shooters recommend the 175's for the reason of better wind resistance. I'm a newer precision shooter and would like your feedback on what bullet you would choose given my circumstances and initial data. Thanks !
Rich K.
Rich K.