Recommendation on short range FTR barrel specs (308Win)?

[)Stephan]

Actually it makes sense to me to use a 308Win instead of a 223Rem because the rifle would be allowed in some other 300m disciplines as well (min caliber: .30)…


just out of curiosity:
A 30BR uses light bullets and works great.
A 30BRX uses light bullets and works great as well.
A .308Win with light bullets = 30BR“XXL“?

 

[memilanuk]

Some of the Hunter BR guys might remember this... back when they enforced the 6x scopes and minimum powder capacity, before the Lapua 6.5x47 cartridge came out... people used to run a version of the .308 Win known as the ".308 KS" aka ".308 Kinda-sorta". Basically the shoulder bumped back a bit to reduce the powder capacity to *just* over the minimum requirement, then because the shoulder was now the neck, a *lot* of turning. When the 6.5x47L came out, and those guys could literally just neck it up to .30 cal and voila, be done with it... you never saw a cartridge get dropped so fast Then VFS kinda took over...

But to the point... sure, a .308 with the right chamber and the right twist could probably do pretty well @ 300yds, *especially* on a score Target.

The one drawback that comes to mind is that depending on where you shoot at, they get kinda bitchy about the whole "unmodified chamber" thing... including not making it too *small*. So while there are an astounding number of .308 Win chambers/reamers out there, with necks from SAAMI on down to .330 (or even smaller), you might run afoul of the rules - in the strictest interpretation - if you start running a chamber tight enough to where you actually *need* to turn necks.

 

[)Stephan]

I would have to stick to regular chamber specs („tight“ necks were mostly banned in germany - 6ppc .262 is still allowed..)

I think I will give it (1:17 / 24“ .308Win) a try.. as soon as I have the first results I will let you know if it was a stupid idea

Edit:
26“, not 24“! Sorry..

 

[Will Henry]

It will shoot very well and will definitely be competitive at 300m. It will be a little wind sensitive, however. WH

 

[Trevor60]

re post about my experiences circa 2011

In my early F class days i followed Benchresters idea of the slowest twist possible for the greatest accuracy. The belief being that the smallest groups gave the largest wind error margin. This was supported by examples John Lewis IBS 600yard world record group shooting 155 scenars in a 14 twist. Russel Simmons UK shooter who also used 14t and 155s to win 2009 F class championships. With those excellent examples i followed the slow twist theory.

14 twist I shot 155 Scenars and 185 Bergers juggernauts out to 1,000... 187 BiB shot the tightest groups but only out to 900yards and they are not available to you.

My barrels where heavy palma 32' (land and grove 308-300) UKs Vince Bottomley reamer

enjoy
Trevor

 

[X Count]

I would have to stick to regular chamber specs („tight“ necks were mostly banned in germany - 6ppc .262 is still allowed..)

I think I will give it (1:17 / 24“ .308Win) a try.. as soon as I have the first results I will let you know if it was a stupid idea

Do you have access to high quality projectiles in the 110-125gr range? Bullets that are capable of realising the theoretical accuracy advantage of what your trying to achieve?

In Australia we shoot a class which is F standard. Basically it's FO restricted to 223 with any projectile or 308 with under 156gr projectile so a pretty good platform to compare to other classes.

In calm conditions a 308 with 155s will keep up with FO guns out to 700yds ish. When the BC isn't needed of the FO cals then the inherent and consistent accuracy of the 308 and 155 combination seems to shine.

In medium conditions a 308 with 155s generally keeps up with FTR rifles shooting 200gr bullets out to 7-800yds. I feel this is a balance of the 155 being an optimum weight for the 308 making it consistently accurate, lower recoil and FS having a more stable platform than FTR.

These guys are regularly shooting cleans with high X counts. I've coached quite a few and sub X ring isn't an issue so I struggle to see the advantage of handing away the BC for theoretical accuracy.

MAYBE if you were shooting for group or if you were shooting at a smaller target, but as it sits the 155 is a near perfect match for the 308 and ICFRA target at short ranges in mild to medium conditions.

 

[Belly Benchrester]

155 fullbore in a 12 twist is my vote

 

[)Stephan]

I am looking at Lapua G477 100grs HPCE - until the new G580 100grs bullet is available in germany (should be in a few months according to Lapua)

 

[JBT47]

12” or 13” twist and
155 Lapua Scenars.

 

[LRCampos]

In my part of the World (Brazil), we mostly shoot F-Class at 300m (one Match a year at 600y), so we have a very good experience on rifles built for that distance in FTR and OPEN class.

On paper, a heavier bullet (high bc) will outperforms a lighter bullet (less bc) on wind. But, based on our experience that is simply not true on actuall competition targets: what is most important at 300m F-Class target is pure precision of the rifle/bullet. Get a good combination of match bullet at the range of 155 to 185gr. and try to get the most precision of it, consistently.
The 300m/y F-Class 10 ring circle is quite small and you will need every bit of precision you can get out of your load/rifle combination.

Here, the matches are usually decided on the number of Xs. So the competition is fierce!
Some use 155.5gr., others 168, some 175 and 185gr. I dont remember anyone have constant sucess with bullets over 185gr. (sometimes I shoot 200gr. to train and test loads for matches abroad and they work, but it is much harder on shooter and not so precise on target).

Barrels are usually around 26 to 28 inches long. But I personally got some National Championships with a 24 inches barrel and 155gr. bullets.

For us here, we need a very precise and consistent bullet/rifle combination to win something at FTR 300m F-Class match. Bullet weight does not really matter if it is from 155 to 185gr.